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Sample records for observation period lasted

  1. The INTIMATE event stratigraphy of the last glacial period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olander Rasmussen, Sune; Svensson, Anders

    2015-04-01

    The North Atlantic INTIMATE (INtegration of Ice-core, MArine and TErrestrial records) group has previously recommended an Event Stratigraphy approach for the synchronisation of records of the Last Termination using the Greenland ice core records as the regional stratotypes. A key element of these protocols has been the formal definition of numbered Greenland Stadials (GS) and Greenland Interstadials (GI) within the past glacial period as the Greenland expressions of the characteristic Dansgaard-Oeschger events that represent cold and warm phases of the North Atlantic region, respectively. Using a recent synchronization of the NGRIP, GRIP, and GISP2 ice cores that allows the parallel analysis of all three records on a common time scale, we here present an extension of the GS/GI stratigraphic template to the entire glacial period. In addition to the well-known sequence of Dansgaard-Oeschger events that were first defined and numbered in the ice core records more than two decades ago, a number of short-lived climatic oscillations have been identified in the three synchronized records. Some of these events have been observed in other studies, but we here propose a consistent scheme for discriminating and naming all the significant climatic events of the last glacial period that are represented in the Greenland ice cores. In addition to presenting the updated event stratigraphy, we make a series of recommendations on how to refer to these periods in a way that promotes unambiguous comparison and correlation between different proxy records, providing a more secure basis for investigating the dynamics and fundamental causes of these climatic perturbations. The work presented is a part of a newly published paper in an INTIMATE special issue of Quaternary Science Reviews: Rasmussen et al., 'A stratigraphic framework for abrupt climatic changes during the Last Glacial period based on three synchronized Greenland ice-core records: refining and extending the INTIMATE event

  2. Hydrology of surface waters and thermohaline circulation during the last glacial period

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vidal, L.

    1996-01-01

    Sedimentological studies on oceanic cores from the north Atlantic have revealed, over the last glacial period, abrupt climatic changes with a periodicity of several thousand years which contrasts strongly with the glacial-interglacial periodicity (several tens of thousand years). These periods of abrupt climate changes correspond to massive icebergs discharges into the north Atlantic. The aim of this work was to study the evolution of the thermohaline circulation in relation to these episodic iceberg discharges which punctuated the last 60 ka. To reconstruct the oceanic circulation in the past, we have analysed oxygen and carbon stable isotopes on benthic foraminifera from north Atlantic deep-sea cores. First of all, the higher temporal resolution of sedimentary records has enabled us to establish a precise chrono-stratigraphy for the different cores. Then, we have shown the close linkage between surface water hydrology and deep circulation, giving evidence of the sensibility of thermohaline circulation to melt water input in the north Atlantic ocean. Indeed, changes in deep circulation are synchronous from those identified in surface waters and are recorded on a period which lasted ∼ 1500 years. Deep circulation reconstructions, before and during a typical iceberg discharge reveal several modes of circulation linked to different convection sites at the high latitudes of the Atlantic basin. Moreover, the study of the last glacial period gives the opportunity to differentiate circulation changes due to the external forcing (variations of the orbital parameters) and those linked to a more local forcing (icebergs discharges). 105 refs., 50 figs., 14 tabs., 4 appends

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

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

    2004-01-01

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

  4. Periodical climate variations and their impact on Earth rotation for the last 800Kyr

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapanov, Yavor; Gambis, Daniel

    2010-05-01

    The Earth rotation variations are highly affected by climatic variations associated with the glacial cycles in the late Pleistocene. The processes of glaciation, followed by ice melting, are connected with significant changes of the mean sea level. These processes redistribute great amount of water masses between oceans and ice sheets, which lead to changes of the axial moment of inertia and corresponding variations of the Universal Time UT1 and Length of Day LOD, according to the law of angular momentum conservation. The climatic variations for the last 800Kyr are analyzed by means of time series of temperature changes, determined by deuterium data from Antarctica ice core. Reconstructed glacial sea level variations for the last 380Kyr, determined by the sediments from the Red sea, are used, too. Common periodicities of the temperature and mean sea level variations are determined. Time series of the long-periodical UT1 and LOD oscillations for the last 380Kyr and 800Kyr are reconstructed by means of empirical hydrological model of global water redistribution between the ocean and ice sheets during the last glacial events.

  5. Comparative study of representations of professional autonomy produced by first and last-period undergraduate nursing students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Érick Igor dos Santos

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: to compare the social representations of professional nurse autonomy produced by first and last-period undergraduate nursing students. Method: qualitative, descriptive and exploratory study, based on the structural approach of social representations, the Central Core Theory, carried out with 171 students from three federal public universities, using the free association technique on the object “professional nurse autonomy”. The data were submitted to EVOC 2005 software and to similarity analysis. Results: care was the central core of the representational structure identified among the students of the first period. Among last-period students, knowledge stood out as a core element. The term responsibility was identified as common to both central cores. Conclusion: regarding professional autonomy, the results point to an overlapping process of the reified and consensual universes during the undergraduate course. However, responsibility, inherent in the profession, remains cross-sectional. For the first period students, autonomy is resignified in a practical and attitudinal way, whereas for the last period students, the knowledge acquired stimulates them to assign meaning to professional autonomy with a cognitive and attitudinal representation. The data can support the use of innovative teaching practices in nursing undergraduate courses.

  6. Fossil Coral Records of ENSO during the Last Glacial Period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Partin, J. W.; Taylor, F. W.; Shen, C. C.; Edwards, R. L.; Quinn, T. M.; DiNezro, P.

    2017-12-01

    Only a handful of paleoclimate records exist that can resolve interannual changes, and hence El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability, during the last glacial period, a time of altered mean climate. The few existing data suggest reduced ENSO variability compared to the Holocene, possibly due to a weaker zonal sea surface temperature gradient across the tropical Pacific and/or a deeper thermocline in the eastern tropical Pacific. Our goal is to add crucial data to this extremely limited subset using sub-annually resolved fossil corals that grew during this time period to reconstruct ENSO. We seek to recover fossil corals from Vanuatu, SW Pacific (16°S, 167°E) with the objective of using coral δ18O to reconstruct changes in the ENSO during and near the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Modern δ18O coral records from Vanuatu show a high degree of skill in capturing ENSO variability, making it a suitable site for reconstructing ENSO variability. We have custom designed and are building a drill system that can rapidly core many 0-25 m holes resulting in much more meters of penetration than achieved by previous land-based reef drilling. As the new drill system is extremely portable and can be quickly relocated by workers without landing craft or vehicles, it is time and cost efficient. Because the proposed drilling sites have uplifted extremely fast, 7 mm/year, the LGM shoreline has been raised from 120-140 m depth to within a depth range of 10 below to 20 m above present sea level. This enables all the drilling to be within the time range of interest ( 15-25 ka). A last advantage is that the LGM corals either are still submersed in seawater or emerged only within the last 2000 years at the uplift rate of 7 mm/yr. This greatly reduces the chances of disruption of the original climate signal because sea water is less diagenetically damaging than meteoric water in the mixed, phreatic, or vadose zones. LGM coral records will enable us to compare the proxy variability

  7. Periodic Impact Cratering and Extinction Events Over the Last 260 Million Years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rampino, Michael R.; Caldeira, Ken

    2015-01-01

    The claims of periodicity in impact cratering and biological extinction events are controversial. Anewly revised record of dated impact craters has been analyzed for periodicity, and compared with the record of extinctions over the past 260 Myr. A digital circular spectral analysis of 37 crater ages (ranging in age from 15 to 254 Myr ago) yielded evidence for a significant 25.8 +/- 0.6 Myr cycle. Using the same method, we found a significant 27.0 +/- 0.7 Myr cycle in the dates of the eight recognized marine extinction events over the same period. The cycles detected in impacts and extinctions have a similar phase. The impact crater dataset shows 11 apparent peaks in the last 260 Myr, at least 5 of which correlate closely with significant extinction peaks. These results suggest that the hypothesis of periodic impacts and extinction events is still viable.

  8. Intermediate polars observed from Brazil in the last eight years

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jablonski, F.

    1988-01-01

    The results of observations done, in the last eight years, of the Intermidiate Polars (IP): EX Hya, V1223 Sgr, FO Agr and Ao Psc, are presented. The IP define a subclass of cataclysmic variable stars that present coherent oscillations in their optical and/or X-ray emission. The observations were done from Laboratorio Nacional de Astrofisica, in Itajuba (Brazil). The stability of oscillations in IP was analysed to study the nature of compact stars. (M.C.K.) [pt

  9. Metabolic observations during the treatment of obese patients by periods of total starvation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Riet, H.G. van; Schwarz, F.; Kinderen, P.J. der; Veeman, W.

    Ten very obese female patients were treated by periods of total starvation lasting 10 days each. In the interval between these starvation periods, a diet of 600 calories was given. Twenty-one periods were completed, 6 patients went through 3 periods each. The fasting was generally well tolerated;

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

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

    2007-01-01

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

  11. Chaos and bifurcations in periodic windows observed in plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qin, J.; Wang, L.; Yuan, D.P.; Gao, P.; Zhang, B.Z.

    1989-01-01

    We report the experimental observations of deterministic chaos in a steady-state plasma which is not driven by any extra periodic forces. Two routes to chaos have been found, period-doubling and intermittent chaos. The fine structures in chaos such as periodic windows and bifurcations in windows have also been observed

  12. oas electoral observations vs. unasur accompaniment in the last elections in Venezuela

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Víctor Carlos PASCUAL PLANCHUELO

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Electoral observation has become an essential exercise for the development of electoral democracy. The proliferation of organizations monitoring elections makes necessary to distinguish real «election observation activities», from other similar activities, such as «electoral accompaniment». Independence is an essential element that must be respected by true electoral observation organizations. Accordingly, the lack of independence in some of these organizations transforms them into «intervened electoral observation» actors, dowgrading its credibility and reliability. Hence, the last electoral processes that have taken place in Venezuela, provide the necessary factual basis to distinguish oas election observation missions, from unasur accompaniment missions.

  13. Millennial and sub-millennial scale climatic variations recorded in polar ice cores over the last glacial period

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Capron, E.; Landais, A.; Chappellaz, J.

    2010-01-01

    Since its discovery in Greenland ice cores, the millennial scale climatic variability of the last glacial period has been increasingly documented at all latitudes with studies focusing mainly on Marine Isotopic Stage 3 (MIS 3; 28–60 thousand of years before present, hereafter ka) and characterized...... that when ice sheets are extensive, Antarctica does not necessarily warm during the whole GS as the thermal bipolar seesaw model would predict, questioning the Greenland ice core temperature records as a proxy for AMOC changes throughout the glacial period....

  14. Speleothem records of western Mediterranean. Hydrological variability along the Last Interglacial Period and marine linkages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torner, Judit; Cacho, Isabel; Moreno, Ana; Stoll, Heather; Belmonte, Anchel; Sierro, Francisco J.; Frigola, Jaime; Martrat, Belen; Fornós, Joan; Arnau Fernández, Pedro; Hellstrom, John; Cheng, Hai; Edwards, R. Lawrence

    2016-04-01

    This study aims to identify and characterize regional hydrological variability in the western Mediterranean region in base to different geochemical parameters (δ18O, δ13C, and Mg/Ca ratios). Speleothems have been recovered from several caves located in southern central Pyrenees one and the others form the Balearic Islands. Their chronologies have been constructed in base on U/Th absolute dating and indicate that the speleothem sequences cover the end of the last interglacial and the glacial inception. One of the most remarkable features of the records is the intense and abrupt shift toward more arid conditions that marks the end of the last interglacial (MIS 5e). Furthermore, our speleothem records also show relatively humid but highly variable hydrological conditions during the interstadial periods from MIS 5c to 5a. These speleothem records have been compared with new generated western Mediterranean marine records from the Balearic Sea (MD99-2343) and Alboran Sea (OPD-977). Marine records include (1) proxies of sea surface temperature and changes in evaporation-precipitation rates based on pair analysis of δ18O and the Mg/Ca ratios in planktonic foraminifera Globigerina bulloides; (2) proxies of deep-water currents associated with the Western Mediterranean Deep Water (WMDW) based on grain size analyses. The results reveal that arid conditions on land were coeval with cold sea surface sub-stages (MIS 5b and 5d), and also with increases in the intensity of the WMDW-related currents. By contrast, humid and hydrological unstable atmosphere conditions were synchronous with sea surface warm sub-stages, and lower WMDW-related currents intensities (MIS 5a, c and e). Consequently, our results highly evidence a strong atmospheric-oceanic coupling, involving parallel changes in both surface but also deep western Mediterranean Sea conditions during the last interglacial period and the glacial inception.

  15. Periodic Properties and Inquiry: Student Mental Models Observed during a Periodic Table Puzzle Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larson, Kathleen G.; Long, George R.; Briggs, Michael W.

    2012-01-01

    The mental models of both novice and advanced chemistry students were observed while the students performed a periodic table activity. The mental model framework seems to be an effective way of analyzing student behavior during learning activities. The analysis suggests that students do not recognize periodic trends through the examination of…

  16. A comparison of the present and last interglacial periods in six Antarctic ice cores

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Masson-Delmotte

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available We compare the present and last interglacial periods as recorded in Antarctic water stable isotope records now available at various temporal resolutions from six East Antarctic ice cores: Vostok, Taylor Dome, EPICA Dome C (EDC, EPICA Dronning Maud Land (EDML, Dome Fuji and the recent TALDICE ice core from Talos Dome. We first review the different modern site characteristics in terms of ice flow, meteorological conditions, precipitation intermittency and moisture origin, as depicted by meteorological data, atmospheric reanalyses and Lagrangian moisture source diagnostics. These different factors can indeed alter the relationships between temperature and water stable isotopes. Using five records with sufficient resolution on the EDC3 age scale, common features are quantified through principal component analyses. Consistent with instrumental records and atmospheric model results, the ice core data depict rather coherent and homogenous patterns in East Antarctica during the last two interglacials. Across the East Antarctic plateau, regional differences, with respect to the common East Antarctic signal, appear to have similar patterns during the current and last interglacials. We identify two abrupt shifts in isotopic records during the glacial inception at TALDICE and EDML, likely caused by regional sea ice expansion. These regional differences are discussed in terms of moisture origin and in terms of past changes in local elevation histories, which are compared to ice sheet model results. Our results suggest that elevation changes may contribute significantly to inter-site differences. These elevation changes may be underestimated by current ice sheet models.

  17. Abrupt changes of intermediate water properties on the northeastern slope of the Bering Sea during the last glacial and deglacial period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rella, Stephan F.; Tada, Ryuji; Nagashima, Kana; Ikehara, Minoru; Itaki, Takuya; Ohkushi, Ken'ichi; Sakamoto, Tatsuhiko; Harada, Naomi; Uchida, Masao

    2012-09-01

    Millennial-scale variability in the behavior of North Pacific Intermediate Water during the last glacial and deglacial period, and its association with Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) cycles and Heinrich events, are examined based on benthic foraminiferal oxygen and carbon isotopes (δ18Obf and δ13Cbf) and %CaCO3 using a sediment core recovered from the northeastern slope of the Bering Sea. A suite of positive δ18Obf excursions at intermediate depths of the Bering Sea, which seem at least in part associated with increases in the δ18Obf gradients between the Bering and Okhotsk Seas, suggest the Bering Sea as a proximate source of intermediate water during several severe stadial episodes in the last glacial and deglacial period. Absence of such δ18Obf gradients during periods of high surface productivity in the Bering and Okhotsk Seas, which we correlate to D-O interstadials, suggests a reduction in intermediate water production in the Bering Sea and subsequent introduction of nutrient-rich deep waters from the North Pacific into intermediate depths of the Bering Sea. We argue that a reorganization of atmospheric circulation in the high-latitude North Pacific during severe cold episodes in the last glacial and deglacial period created favorable conditions for brine rejection in the northeastern Bering Sea. The resulting salinity increase in the cold surface waters could have initiated intermediate (and deep) water formation that spread out to the North Pacific.

  18. Observation of the last, weakest neutrino transformation at RENO

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2012-01-01

    The RENO experiment has observed the disappearance of reactor electron antineutrinos, consistent with neutrino oscillations, with a significance of 4.9 standard deviations. Antineutrinos from six reactors at Yonggwang Nuclear Power Plant in Korea, are detected by two identical detectors located at 294 m and 1383 m, respectively, from the reactor array center. In the 229 day data-taking period of 11 August 2011 to 26 March 2012, the far (near) detector observed 17102 (154088) electron antineutrino candidate events with a background fraction of 5.5% (2.7%). A ratio of observed to expected number of antineutrinos in the far detector is 0.920+-0.009(stat.)+-0.014(syst.). From the deficit, we find sin^2(2theta_13)=0.113+-0.013(stat.)+-0.019(syst,) based on a rate-only analysis. In this talk, we will describe experimental setup, data taking, data analysis, and results for the measurement of theta_13.

  19. Climatic trends in Estonia during the period of instrumental observations and climate scenarios

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jaagus, J.

    1996-01-01

    Weather conditions in Estonia are quite variable. Long-term periodical fluctuations have been observed in meteorological values. At the same time, the climate change during the last 100-150 years is marked. As a general tendency, the climate has become more maritime. Air pressure is characterized by an increasing trend in spring and summer, and by a decreasing trend in autumn and winter. Mean air temperature has increased, particularly over the colder half of the year. Precipitation area totals have risen, most of all in autumn and winter. Snow cover duration has decreased significantly. General circulation model-based climate change scenarios expect a general increase in air temperature in Estonia with warming in winter more significant than that in summer. Moreover, they indicate an increase in precipitation, but the results of the individual models are quite variable. The transient scenario shows that the main increase in precipitation will not occur during next decades, but only at the end of the transient period, around 2070. It can be stated that observed tendencies of climate change in Estonia concur with expected changes caused by global warming. According to the long-term fluctuations of meteorological values in Estonia, changes different from general trends can take place during the next decade. An increase in mean air pressure, sunshine duration and snow cover duration, as well as a decrease in mean air temperature and precipitation is expected in the following years

  20. Millennial-scale climate variability during the Last Glacial period in the tropical Andes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fritz, S. C.; Baker, P. A.; Ekdahl, E.; Seltzer, G. O.; Stevens, L. R.

    2010-04-01

    Millennial-scale climate variation during the Last Glacial period is evident in many locations worldwide, but it is unclear if such variation occurred in the interior of tropical South America, and, if so, how the low-latitude variation was related to its high-latitude counterpart. A high-resolution record, derived from the deep drilling of sediments on the floor of Lake Titicaca in the southern tropical Andes, is presented that shows clear evidence of millennial-scale climate variation between ˜60 and 20 ka BP. This variation is manifested by alternations of two interbedded sedimentary units. The two units have distinctive sedimentary, geochemical, and paleobiotic properties that are controlled by the relative abundance of terrigenous or nearshore components versus pelagic components. The sediments of more terrigenous or nearshore nature likely were deposited during regionally wetter climates when river transport of water and sediment was higher, whereas the sediments of more pelagic character were deposited during somewhat drier climates regionally. The majority of the wet periods inferred from the Lake Titicaca sediment record are correlated with the cold events in the Greenland ice cores and North Atlantic sediment cores, indicating that increased intensity of the South American summer monsoon was part of near-global scale climate excursions.

  1. The time since last menstrual period is important as a clinical predictor for non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor-related arthralgia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanematsu, Miyuki; Morimoto, Masami; Honda, Junko; Nagao, Taeko; Nakagawa, Misako; Takahashi, Masako; Tangoku, Akira; Sasa, Mitsunori

    2011-10-10

    The clinical predictors of aromatase inhibitor-related arthralgia (AIA), a drug-related adverse reaction of aromatase inhibitors (AIs), remain unclear. AIA was prospectively surveyed every 4 months in 328 postmenopausal breast cancer patients administered a non-steroidal AI (anastrozole). Various clinicopathological parameters were recorded and analyzed (chi-square test, Fisher's exact test and logistic regression analysis). The mean observation period was 39.9 months. AIA manifested in 114 patients (34.8%), with peaks of onset at 4 (33.7%) and 8 months (11.4%) after starting AI administration. Some cases manifested even after 13 months. AIA tended to occur in younger patients (incidences of 46.3%, 37.4% and 28.0% for ages of 65 years, respectively (p = 0.063)) and decreased significantly with the age at menarche (53.3%, 35.3% and 15.4% for 15 years, respectively (p = 0.036)). The incidences were 45.1%, 46.3 and 25.1% for the time since the last menstrual period (LMP) 10 years, being significantly lower at > 10 years (p time since LMP > 10-year group versus the time since LMP became shorter ( 10 years since LMP. When the time since LMP was short, the onset of AIA was significantly earlier after starting AI administration.

  2. Effective utilization period of long-lasting insecticide treated nets ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study was conducted to evaluate the bioefficacy of long-lasting insecticide treated nets (LLITNs) (PermaNet®2.0) over time and the species composition of Anopheles mosquitoes around Bahir Dar. The space spray collection method was used to determine the species composition of indoor resting Anopheles ...

  3. Intermittent ice sheet discharge events in northeastern North America during the last glacial period

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Papa, Brian D.; Mysak, Lawrence A.; Wang, Zhaomin [McGill University, Earth System Modelling Group, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Montreal, QC (Canada)

    2006-02-01

    The 3D ice sheet model of Marshall and Clarke, which includes both dynamics and thermodynamics, is used to successfully simulate millennial-scale oscillations within an ice sheet under steady external forcing. Such internal oscillations are theorized to be the main cause of quasi-periodic large-scale ice discharges known as Heinrich Events. An analysis of the mechanisms associated with multi-millennial oscillations of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, including the initiation and termination of sliding events, is performed. This analysis involves an examination of the various heat sources and sinks that affect the basal ice temperature, which in turn determines the nature of the ice sheet movement. The ice sheet thickness and surface slope, which affect the pressure-melting point and strain heating, respectively, are found to be critical for the formation and development of fast moving ice streams, which lead to large iceberg calving. Although the main provenance for Heinrich Events is thought to be from Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait, we show that the more northerly regions around Lancaster Strait and Baffin Island may also be important sources for ice discharges during the last glacial period. (orig.)

  4. The rare peat moss Sphagnum wulfianum (Sphagnaceae) did not survive the last glacial period in northern European refugia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kyrkjeeide, Magni Olsen; Hassel, Kristian; Flatberg, Kjell I; Stenøien, Hans K

    2012-04-01

    Organisms may survive unfavorable conditions either by moving to more favorable areas by means of dispersal or by adapting to stressful environments. Pleistocene glacial periods represent extremely unfavorable conditions for the majority of life forms, especially sessile organisms. Many studies have revealed placements of refugial areas and postglacial colonization patterns of seed plants, but little is still known about areas of long-term survival and historical migration routes of bryophytes. Given overall differences in stress tolerance between seed plants and bryophytes, it is of interest to know whether bryophytes have survived periods of extreme climatic conditions better then seed plants in northern areas. The haploid and rarely spore-producing peat moss Sphagnum wulfianum is mostly found in areas that were covered by ice during the last glacial maximum. Twelve microsatellite markers were amplified from 43 populations (367 shoots) of this species, and data were analyzed using population genetic diversity statistics, Bayesian clustering methods, and coalescence-based inference tools to estimate historical and demographic parameters. Genetic diversity within populations was low, but populations were highly differentiated, with two main genetic clusters being recognized. The two main genetic groups have diverged quite recently in the Holocene, and the pattern of genetic variability and structuring gives no support for survival in Scandinavian refugia during the last glacial period in this species. The dispersal ability of this plant thus seems surprisingly high despite its infrequent spore production.

  5. Observation of a Short Period Quasi-periodic Pulsation in Solar X-Ray, Microwave, and EUV Emissions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumar, Pankaj; Cho, Kyung-Suk [Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI), Daejeon, 305-348 (Korea, Republic of); Nakariakov, Valery M., E-mail: pankaj@kasi.re.kr [Centre for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Warwick, CV4 7AL (United Kingdom)

    2017-02-10

    This paper presents the multiwavelength analysis of a 13 s quasi-periodic pulsation (QPP) observed in hard X-ray (12–300 keV) and microwave (4.9–34 GHz) emissions during a C-class flare that occurred on 2015 September 21. Atmospheric Image Assembly (AIA) 304 and 171 Å images show an emerging loop/flux tube (L1) moving radially outward, which interacts with the preexisting structures within the active region (AR). The QPP was observed during the expansion of and rising motion of L1. The Nobeyama Radioheliograph microwave images in 17/34 GHz channels reveal a single radio source that was co-spatial with a neighboring loop (L2). In addition, using AIA 304 Å images, we detected intensity oscillations in the legs of L2 with a period of about 26 s. A similar oscillation period was observed in the GOES soft X-ray flux derivative. This oscillation period seems to increase with time. We suggest that the observed QPP is most likely generated by the interaction between L2 and L3 observed in the AIA hot channels (131 and 94 Å). The merging speed of loops L2 and L3 was ∼35 km s{sup −1}. L1 was destroyed possibly by its interaction with preexisting structures in the AR, and produced a cool jet with the speed of ∼106–118 km s{sup −1} associated with a narrow CME (∼770 km s{sup −1}). Another mechanism of the QPP in terms of a sausage oscillation of the loop (L2) is also possible.

  6. Climate simulations for the last interglacial period by means of climate models of different complexity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Montoya, M L [GKSS-Forschungszentrum Geesthacht GmbH (Germany). Inst. fuer Hydrophysik

    1999-07-01

    Climatic conditions during the lst interglacial (125,000 years before present) are investigated with two climate models of different complexity: The atmosphere-ocean general circulation model ECHAM-1/LSG and the climate system model of intermediate complexity CLIMBER-2. In particular the role of vegetation at the last interglacial maximum, and its importance for a consistent simulation of the Mid-Holocene climate, has been investigated (EU project ASPEN: Air-Sea Wave Processes in Climate Change Models). Comparison of the results of the two models reveals a broad agreement in most large-scale features. Nevertheless, discrepancies are also detected. Essentially, the models differ in their ocean circulation responses. Profiting of the fast turnaround time of CLIMBER-2, a number of sensitivity experiments have been performed to try to explain the possible reasons for these differences, and to analyze additional effects not included in the previous simulations. In particular, the role of vegetation at the last interglacial maximum has been investigated. Comparison of the simulated responses against CLIMAP reconstructed SSTs for Marine Isotope Stage 5e shows a satisfactory agreement within the data uncertainties. (orig.) [German] Die klimatischen Bedingungen waehrend der letzten interglazialen Periode (vor 125 000 Jahren) werden anhand zweier Klimamodelle unterschiedlicher Komplexitaet untersucht: Dem Ozean-Atmosphaere gekoppelten allgemeinen Zirkulationsmodell ECHAM-1/LSG und dem Klimasystemmodell mittlerer Komplexitaet CLIMBER-2. Inbesondere wurde die Rolle der Vegetation in der letzten interglazialen Periode und ihre Bedeutung fuer eine konsistente Simulation des mittelholozaenischen Klimas untersucht (EU-Projekt ASPEN: Air-Sea Wave Processes in Climate Change Models - 'Klimavariationen in historischen Zeiten'). Der Vergleich der Ergebnisse beider Modelle zeigt eine gute Uebereinstimmung der meisten der grossskaligen Eigenschaften, allerdings zeigen sich auch

  7. Climate simulations for the last interglacial period by means of climate models of different complexity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Montoya, M.L. [GKSS-Forschungszentrum Geesthacht GmbH (Germany). Inst. fuer Hydrophysik

    1999-07-01

    Climatic conditions during the lst interglacial (125,000 years before present) are investigated with two climate models of different complexity: The atmosphere-ocean general circulation model ECHAM-1/LSG and the climate system model of intermediate complexity CLIMBER-2. In particular the role of vegetation at the last interglacial maximum, and its importance for a consistent simulation of the Mid-Holocene climate, has been investigated (EU project ASPEN: Air-Sea Wave Processes in Climate Change Models). Comparison of the results of the two models reveals a broad agreement in most large-scale features. Nevertheless, discrepancies are also detected. Essentially, the models differ in their ocean circulation responses. Profiting of the fast turnaround time of CLIMBER-2, a number of sensitivity experiments have been performed to try to explain the possible reasons for these differences, and to analyze additional effects not included in the previous simulations. In particular, the role of vegetation at the last interglacial maximum has been investigated. Comparison of the simulated responses against CLIMAP reconstructed SSTs for Marine Isotope Stage 5e shows a satisfactory agreement within the data uncertainties. (orig.) [German] Die klimatischen Bedingungen waehrend der letzten interglazialen Periode (vor 125 000 Jahren) werden anhand zweier Klimamodelle unterschiedlicher Komplexitaet untersucht: Dem Ozean-Atmosphaere gekoppelten allgemeinen Zirkulationsmodell ECHAM-1/LSG und dem Klimasystemmodell mittlerer Komplexitaet CLIMBER-2. Inbesondere wurde die Rolle der Vegetation in der letzten interglazialen Periode und ihre Bedeutung fuer eine konsistente Simulation des mittelholozaenischen Klimas untersucht (EU-Projekt ASPEN: Air-Sea Wave Processes in Climate Change Models - 'Klimavariationen in historischen Zeiten'). Der Vergleich der Ergebnisse beider Modelle zeigt eine gute Uebereinstimmung der meisten der grossskaligen Eigenschaften, allerdings zeigen sich

  8. Periodic variations of cosmic ray intensity with period of -37 minute observed on April 25th, 1984

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sakai, Takasuke; Kato, Masahito; Takei, Ryoji; Tamai, Eiji

    1985-01-01

    Existence of cosmic ray variation with period ranging from a few hours to seconds during geomagnetically quiet and perturb period at different altitude with different detector, was reported previously. As short period variation is thought to be transient with small amplitude fluctuation, consequently high counting rate of cosmic ray and appropriate method for finding short periodicity, is required. Further, there is similar phenomenon in which short variation, followed by storm sudden commencement (SSC) and/or Forbush decrease (FD) occurs. In 1979, Kato et al. used 3 minutes data at Mt. Norikura and obtained -6 x 10 5 count/min, and tried to find out short periodicity of cosmic ray around SSC, but no clear conclusion was obtained. T. Sakai, et al., used plastic scintillation counter of Akeno observatory, following their preceding work. The counter has an area about 154 m 2 . High counting rate of -2 x 10 6 counts/min. was observed at Akeno which revealed the existence of -37 minute periodical oscillation with an amplitude of 0.1 % in p-p during the time period of 1300 - 1900 UT on April 25th 1984, one day before FD. Observed periodical oscillation of cosmic ray counting rate may be the result of the changes in magnetic field. But, it must be noted that there remains possibility of oscillation of cosmic ray intensity in the interplanetary space during the period, independent of geomagnetic field. (author)

  9. Observations and light curve solutions of four ultrashort-period binaries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kjurkchieva D.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents light curve solutions of our observations of four new ultrashort-period eclipsing binaries with MS components. Two of them have periods almost at the upper limit (0.22 days of the ultrashort-period binaries, while the periods of around 0.18 days of CSS J171508.5+350658 and CSS J214633.8+120016 are amongst the shortest known orbital periods. CSS J171410.0+ 445850, CSS J214633.8+120016 and CSS J224326.0+154532 are over contact binaries with fill out factors around 0.25 while CSS J171508.5+350658 is a semidetached system. The two targets with shortest periods consist of M dwarfs.

  10. Sediment-palaeosol successions in Calabria and Sardinia suggest spatially differentiated palaeo-vegetation patterns in southern Italy during the Last Glacial period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sauer, Daniela; Zucca, Claudio; Al-Sharif, Riyad; Zwanzig, Lisa; Madrau, Salvatore; Andreucci, Stefano; Pascucci, Vincenzo; Kadereit, Annette; Scarciglia, Fabio; Brückner, Helmut

    2016-04-01

    Several lakes on the southern Italian peninsula provide valuable palaeoenvironmental archives of the Last Glacial period. These archives include, e.g., the long high-resolution record from varved lake sediments of Lago Grande di Monticchio, the bigger one of two maar lakes situated on top of Mt. Vulture. Its pollen record indicates (1) temperate deciduous forest during MIS5.2-MIS5.1 (St. Germain 2); (2) frequent vegetation fluctuations, then Artemisia steppe during MIS5.1-MIS4; (3) alternations between open steppe (stadials) and wooded steppe (interstadials) during MIS3; and (4) open steppe during MIS2 (Last Glacial Maximum). However, only few palaeosol records of this period have been reported from southern Italy in the literature so far. Such records would allow for gaining insight also into spatial patterns of the vegetation cover during this period that should have formed, e.g., according to relief, elevation, and continentality gradient (related to the much lower coastline during the last glacial period). So far, we have studied three sediment-palaeosol successions in southern Italy, two in the Calabria region, and one in north-western Sardinia. All of them have developed in alluvial fan deposits resting on littoral sediments of the Last Interglacial period (MIS 5). The southernmost succession studied is located near Lazzaro (south of Reggio di Calabria). It is exposed in an alluvial fan overlying the MIS5.5 terrace. Due to strong tectonic uplift (1.3 m ka-1) the alluvial fan has been dissected by the same creek which previously had built it up. Therefore, its internal structure is exposed, exhibiting a detailed sediment-palaeosol sequence. The palaeosols are mainly characterized by accumulation of soil organic matter (SOM), bioturbation and secondary carbonates. They represent Chernozem- and Phaeozem-like soils that most likely formed under steppe to forest steppe. SOM of the two uppermost Lazzaro palaeosols was 14C-dated to 26.8-28.8 ka cal BP and 28

  11. Characteristics of long-lasting haze episodes observed in Seoul, South Korea, for 2009-2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Hae-Jung; Kim, Jeong Eun; Cha, Joo Wan; Song, Seungjoo; Ryoo, Sang-Boom; Kim, Yong Pyo

    2018-03-01

    The meteorological, physical, chemical, and optical characteristics of long-lasting haze in Seoul were studied. Four episodes were observed between 2009 and 2014, all in winter. PM10 mass concentration (PM10), chemical species, and aerosol optical depth (AOD) were analyzed along with the synoptic meteorological conditions. During the episodes, the temporal variations of the PM10 generally proceeded from the west along the Yellow Sea. The ground-based AOD was also high in Seoul and other sites. High AOD (MODIS) distributions were observed to move from China to Korea. The high sulfate concentration, along with the high sulfur oxidation ratio value of the third and fourth episodes (Eps. 3 and 4), respectively, corroborated the possible long-range transport of air pollutants. Stagnant meteorological conditions were a reason for the occurrence of long-lasting hazes. An anticyclone system had a dominant influence on the Korean peninsula during all episodes. The air mass over China was able to rise, and that over Korea was more stagnant in terms of climatology except Ep. 2. In addition to transport from outside, locally emitted air pollutants contributed to the PM10 partly due to the stagnant conditions, during which diurnal variations in NO2 and nitrates showed similar peak times during Eps. 3 and 4. Analysis of the episodes consistently showed that the long-lasting haze episodes were influenced by both the long-range transport of air pollutants from outside Seoul, mostly from China, and the accumulation of air pollutants that were locally emitted and transformed.

  12. SOHO/SWAN OBSERVATIONS OF SHORT-PERIOD SPACECRAFT TARGET COMETS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Combi, M. R.; Lee, Y.; Patel, T. S.; Maekinen, J. T. T.; Bertaux, J.-L.; Quemerais, E.

    2011-01-01

    SWAN, the Solar Wind ANisotropies all-sky hydrogen Lyα camera on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory spacecraft that makes all-sky images of interplanetary neutral hydrogen, has an ongoing campaign to make special observations of comets, both short- and long-period ones, in addition to the serendipitous observations of comets as part of the all-sky monitoring program. We report here on a study of several short-period comets that were detected by SWAN: 21P/Giacobini-Zinner (1998 and 2005 apparitions), 19P/Borrelly (2001 apparition), 81P/Wild 2 (1997 apparition), and 103P/Hartley 2 (1997 apparition). SWAN observes comets over long continuous stretches of their visible apparitions and therefore provides excellent temporal coverage of the water production. For some of the observations we are also able to analyze an entire sequence of images over many days to several weeks/months using our time-resolved model and extract daily average water production rates over continuous periods of several days to months. The short-term (outburst) and long-term behavior can be correlated with other observations. The overall long-term variation is examined in light of seasonal effects seen in the pre- to post-perihelion differences. For 21P/Giacobini-Zinner and 81P/Wild 2 the activity variations over each apparition were more continuously monitored but nonetheless consistent with previous observations. For 19P/Borrelly we found a very steep variation of water production rates, again consistent with some previous observations, and a variation over six months around perihelion that was reasonably consistent with the spin-axis model of Schleicher et al. and the illumination of the main active areas. During the 1997-1998 apparition of 103P/Hartley 2, the target comet of the EPOXI mission (the Deep Impact extended mission), we found a variation with heliocentric distance (∼r -3.6 ) that was almost as steep as 19P/Borrelly and, given the small measured radius near aphelion, this places

  13. Period Study and Analyses of 2017 Observations of the Totally Eclipsing, Solar Type Binary, MT Camelopardalis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faulkner, Danny R.; Samec, Ronald G.; Caton, Daniel B.

    2018-06-01

    We report here on a period study and the analysis of BVRcIc light curves (taken in 2017) of MT Cam (GSC03737-01085), which is a solar type (T ~ 5500K) eclipsing binary. D. Caton observed MT Cam on 05, 14, 15, 16, and 17, December 2017 with the 0.81-m reflector at Dark Sky Observatory. Six times of minimum light were calculated from four primary eclipses and two secondary eclipses:HJD I = 24 58092.4937±0.0002, 2458102.74600±0.0021, 2458104.5769±0.0002, 2458104.9434±0.0029HJD II = 2458103.6610±0.0001, 2458104.7607±0.0020,Six times of minimum light were also calculated from data taken by Terrell, Gross, and Cooney, in their 2016 and 2004 observations (reported in IBVS #6166; TGC, hereafter). In addition, six more times of minimum light were taken from the literature. From all 18 times of minimum light, we determined the following light elements:JD Hel Min I=2458102.7460(4) + 0.36613937(5) EWe found the orbital period was constant over the 14 years spanning all observations. We note that TGC found a slightly increasing period. However, our results were obtained from a period study rather than comparison of observations from only two epochs by the Wilson-Devinney (W-D) Program. A BVRcIc Johnson-Cousins filtered simultaneous W-D Program solution gives a mass ratio (0.3385±0.0014) very nearly the same as TGC’s (0.347±0.003), and a component temperature difference of only ~40 K. As with TGC, no spot was needed in the modeling. Our modeling (beginning with Binary Maker 3.0 fits) was done without prior knowledge of TGC’s. This shows the agreement achieved when independent analyses are done with the W-D code. The present observations were taken 1.8 years later than the last curves by TGC, so some variation is expected.The Roche Lobe fill-out of the binary is ~13% and the inclination is ~83.5 degrees. The system is a shallow contact W-type W UMa Binary, albeit, the amplitudes of the primary and secondary eclipse are very nearly identical. An eclipse duration of ~21

  14. Interhemispheric leakage of isotopically heavy nitrate in the eastern tropical Pacific during the last glacial period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pichevin, Laetitia E.; Ganeshram, Raja S.; Francavilla, Stephen; Arellano-Torres, Elsa; Pedersen, Tom F.; Beaufort, Luc

    2010-02-01

    We present new high-resolution N isotope records from the Gulf of Tehuantepec and the Nicaragua Basin spanning the last 50-70 ka. The Tehuantepec site is situated within the core of the north subtropical denitrification zone while the Nicaragua site is at the southern boundary. The δ15N record from Nicaragua shows an “Antarctic” timing similar to denitrification changes observed off Peru-Chile but is radically different from the northern records. We attribute this to the leakage of isotopically heavy nitrate from the South Pacific oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) into the Nicaragua Basin. The Nicaragua record leads the other eastern tropical North Pacific (ETNP) records by about 1000 years because denitrification peaks in the eastern tropical South Pacific (ETSP) before denitrification starts to increase in the Northern Hemisphere OMZ, i.e., during warming episodes in Antarctica. We find that the influence of the heavy nitrate leakage from the ETSP is still noticeable, although attenuated, in the Gulf of Tehuantepec record, particularly at the end of the Heinrich events, and tends to alter the recording of millennial timescale denitrification changes in the ETNP. This implies (1) that sedimentary δ15N records from the southern parts of the ETNP cannot be used straightforwardly as a proxy for local denitrification and (2) that denitrification history in the ETNP, like in the Arabian Sea, is synchronous with Greenland temperature changes. These observations reinforce the conclusion that on millennial timescales during the last ice age, denitrification in the ETNP is strongly influenced by climatic variations that originated in the high-latitude North Atlantic region, while commensurate changes in Southern Ocean hydrography more directly, and slightly earlier, affected oxygen concentrations in the ETSP. Furthermore, the δ15N records imply ongoing physical communication across the equator in the shallow subsurface continuously over the last 50-70 ka.

  15. Solar wind plasma periodicities observed at 1 AU by IMP 8

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paularena, K. I.; Szabo, A.; Lazarus, A. J.

    1995-01-01

    The IMP 8 spacecraft has been in Earth orbit since 1973, gathering plasma data over one complete 22-year solar cycle. These data are being examined to look for periodicities at time scales ranging from several hours to the entire span of the data set. A 1.3-year periodicity in the radial speed observed by IMP 8 and Voyager 2 has already been reported for the years from 1987 to 1993. The periodogram method, useful for unevenly sampled data such as the IMP 8 plasma data, has been used to search for other periods. It is interesting to note that the 13-year period is not present in the out-of-the-ecliptic component of the velocity (Vz), although a 1-year period is very obvious both visually and on the periodogram. Both components show a very strong peak associated with the 11-year solar cycle variation. This work will be extended to the thermal speed (a measure of the wind's temperature) and density, although the frequent correlations between these parameters and the velocity are expected to cause similar results. Additionally, the fine resolution data will be examined for shorter time periods than are visible using the hourly average data which are appropriate for longer periods. A comparison with periods observed at other spacecraft may also be made.

  16. Multipoint spacecraft observations of long-lasting poloidal Pc4 pulsations in the dayside magnetosphere on 1–2 May 2014

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Korotova

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available We use magnetic field and plasma observations from the Van Allen Probes, Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite system (GOES spacecraft to study the spatial and temporal characteristics of long-lasting poloidal Pc4 pulsations in the dayside magnetosphere. The pulsations were observed after the main phase of a moderate storm during low geomagnetic activity. The pulsations occurred during various interplanetary conditions and the solar wind parameters do not seem to control the occurrence of the pulsations. The most striking feature of the Pc4 magnetic field pulsations was their occurrence at similar locations during three of four successive orbits. We used this information to study the latitudinal nodal structure of the pulsations and demonstrated that the latitudinal extent of the magnetic field pulsations did not exceed 2 Earth radii (RE. A phase shift between the azimuthal and radial components of the electric and magnetic fields was observed from ZSM  =  0.30 RE to ZSM  =  −0.16 RE. We used magnetic and electric field data from Van Allen Probes to determine the structure of ULF waves. We showed that the Pc4 magnetic field pulsations were radially polarized and are the second-mode harmonic waves. We suggest that the spacecraft were near a magnetic field null during the second orbit when they failed to observe the magnetic field pulsations at the local times where pulsations were observed on previous and successive orbits. We investigated the spectral structure of the Pc4 pulsations. Each spacecraft observed a decrease of the dominant period as it moved to a smaller L shell (stronger magnetic field strength. We demonstrated that higher frequencies occurred at times and locations where Alfvén velocities were greater, i.e., on Orbit 1. There is some evidence that the periods of the pulsations increased during the plasmasphere refilling

  17. Long-period and short-period variations of ionospheric parameters studied from complex observations performed on Cuba

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Laso, B; Lobachevskii, L A; Potapova, N I; Freizon, I A; Shapiro, B S

    1980-09-01

    Cuban data from 1978 are used to study long-period (i.e., diurnal) variations of Doppler shift on a 3000 km path at frequencies of 10 and 15 MHz these variations are related to variations of parameters on the ionospheric path. Short-period variations were also studied on the basis of Doppler shift data and vertical sounding data in the 0.000111-0.00113 Hz frequency range. The relation between the observed variations and internal gravity waves are discussed.

  18. Observation of short period fluctuation of CygX-1 with balloon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakagawa, Michio; Sakurai, Takahisa; Uchida, Masayoshi

    1977-01-01

    CygX-1 presents very complex short period fluctuation of X-ray, therefore the hard X-ray was especially observed in 1972 and 1973 with large balloons, and the data were analyzed. This short period fluctuation and energy spectra of CygX-1 in the normal and flare time bands were compared. The observing apparatuses consisted of the 3 in diameter NaI detector and a high pressure proportional counter. The observing method is to turn the gondora alternately to the directions of source (ON) and background (OFF). As for the data analysis, the events at ON and OFF in the observation data in 1972 and 1973 were plotted for time interval. The background component is in agreement with Poisson's distribution, but source component is not. This difference for Poisson's distribution means the behavior of CygX-1. The power spectrum was analyzed, and the strong power density was observed at 5.4 x 10 -2 Hz in ON, but such power density was not observed in OFF. Accordingly this is presumed to be caused by CygX-1. The events for time interval in flare time are shown. The rise of about 2.9 σ exists at 80 msec. The count rates were compared for photon energy in the normal and flare times. The short period fluctuation of hard X-ray from CygX-1 deviates from Poisson's distribution and is different in the normal and flare times. (Nakai, Y.)

  19. Lack of lasting effectiveness of PEG 3350 laxative treatment of constipation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tran, Lily C; Di Palma, Jack A

    2005-08-01

    PEG 3350 (MiraLax, Braintree Laboratories Inc., Braintree, MA) 17 g daily has been shown to be safe and effective in a 14-day trial for constipation. This present investigation was designed to extend the treatment and safety experience with PEG 3350 and to evaluate any lasting effectiveness during a 30-day post-treatment observation period. Study subjects met Rome II criteria for constipation and reported PEG 3350 17 g daily for 14 days. Treatment efficacy was defined by resolution of constipation symptoms as determined by the Rome II and stool frequency definitions during the treatment period. Fifty healthy constipated subjects formed the study group. There were 42 females and 8 males. Mean age was 52 +/- 15.5 years (+/-SD). Symptom duration was 22.6 +/- 16.7 months (+/-SD). At baseline, all had 3 stools in the last week and no longer met Rome criteria. Thirty-two of 45 (71.1%) reported satisfaction with the first bowel movement after initiating treatment. Thirty days after active treatment, 29 of 47 (61.7%) responded that they needed laxative treatment. PEG 3350 relieved constipation in most treated study subjects. During a 30-day post-treatment observation period, 29 of 47 (61.7%) had additional constipation treatment interventions.

  20. Elemental GCR Observations during the 2009-2010 Solar Minimum Period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lave, K. A.; Israel, M. H.; Binns, W. R.; Christian, E. R.; Cummings, A. C.; Davis, A. J.; deNolfo, G. A.; Leske, R. A.; Mewaldt, R. A.; Stone, E. C.; hide

    2013-01-01

    Using observations from the Cosmic Ray Isotope Spectrometer (CRIS) onboard the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), we present new measurements of the galactic cosmic ray (GCR) elemental composition and energy spectra for the species B through Ni in the energy range approx. 50-550 MeV/nucleon during the record setting 2009-2010 solar minimum period. These data are compared with our observations from the 1997-1998 solar minimum period, when solar modulation in the heliosphere was somewhat higher. For these species, we find that the intensities during the 2009-2010 solar minimum were approx. 20% higher than those in the previous solar minimum, and in fact were the highest GCR intensities recorded during the space age. Relative abundances for these species during the two solar minimum periods differed by small but statistically significant amounts, which are attributed to the combination of spectral shape differences between primary and secondary GCRs in the interstellar medium and differences between the levels of solar modulation in the two solar minima. We also present the secondary-to-primary ratios B/C and (Sc+Ti+V)/Fe for both solar minimum periods, and demonstrate that these ratios are reasonably well fit by a simple "leaky-box" galactic transport model that is combined with a spherically symmetric solar modulation model.

  1. Developing methods of determining unknown roational periods of asteroids via observations of (3122) Florence by the Harvard Observing Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abrams, Natasha Sarah; Bieryla, Allyson; Gomez, Sebastian; Huang, Jane; Lewis, John; Todd, Zoe; Alam, Munazza; Carmichael, Theron; Garrison, Lehman H.; Weaver, Ian; Chen, Chen; McGruder, Chima; Medina, Amber

    2018-06-01

    (3122) Florence is an asteroid that made the headlines with its close approach to Earth in late 2017. It is one of the biggest and brightest near-Earth asteroids that has been discovered and it has recently been found to have two moons. By observing the light reflected off an asteroid, we can measure its brightness over time and determine the rotational period of the asteroid. An asteroid’s rotational period can reveal information about its physical characteristics, such as its shape, and further our knowledge about processes that contribute to asteroid rotation in general. The Harvard Observing Project (HOP) is an initiative that allows undergraduates to learn about observational astronomy and take part in formal data collection and analysis. Over the course of the fall 2017 semester, HOP obtained four multi-hour, continuous observations in the R-band of the asteroid using the Harvard University 16-inch Clay Telescope. In our analysis, we reduced the images and performed astrometry and photometry on the data. The asteroid’s light curve was produced using AstroImageJ and we used the Python package gatspy to determine its rotational period. We found the rotational period to be 2.22 hours +/- 0.25, which agrees with the known rotational period of 2.3580 hours +/- 0.0002. This spring 2018 semester we are applying our methods to data collected on asteroids with unknown rotational periods and plan to present our findings.

  2. Quasi-periodic fluctuations of atmospheric pressure and cosmic rays observed in the stratosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kodama, Masahiro; Abe, Toshiaki; Sakai, Takasuke; Kato, Masato; Kogami, Shinichi.

    1976-01-01

    Quasi-periodicities of barometric pressure and cosmic ray intensity, with 5.5-minute period and one hour persistency, have been observed by means of a high-precision barometer and a large plastic scintillation counter in a balloon at an altitude of --18 km over the Pacific Ocean. From characteristics of such short period fluctuations, it is suggested that the observed pressure fluctuation may possibly be caused by the internal atmospheric gravity wave whose amplitude and wave length are --30 m and --30 km respectively. (auth.)

  3. The time since last menstrual period is important as a clinical predictor for non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor-related arthralgia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kanematsu, Miyuki; Morimoto, Masami; Honda, Junko; Nagao, Taeko; Nakagawa, Misako; Takahashi, Masako; Tangoku, Akira; Sasa, Mitsunori

    2011-01-01

    The clinical predictors of aromatase inhibitor-related arthralgia (AIA), a drug-related adverse reaction of aromatase inhibitors (AIs), remain unclear. AIA was prospectively surveyed every 4 months in 328 postmenopausal breast cancer patients administered a non-steroidal AI (anastrozole). Various clinicopathological parameters were recorded and analyzed (chi-square test, Fisher's exact test and logistic regression analysis). The mean observation period was 39.9 months. AIA manifested in 114 patients (34.8%), with peaks of onset at 4 (33.7%) and 8 months (11.4%) after starting AI administration. Some cases manifested even after 13 months. AIA tended to occur in younger patients (incidences of 46.3%, 37.4% and 28.0% for ages of < 55, 55-65 and > 65 years, respectively (p = 0.063)) and decreased significantly with the age at menarche (53.3%, 35.3% and 15.4% for < 12, 12-15 and > 15 years, respectively (p = 0.036)). The incidences were 45.1%, 46.3 and 25.1% for the time since the last menstrual period (LMP) < 5 years, 5-10 years and > 10 years, being significantly lower at > 10 years (p < 0.001). In logistic regression analysis, the AIA incidence was significantly lower in the time since LMP > 10-year group versus the < 5-year group (odds ratio 0.44, p = 0.002), but the age at menarche showed no association. AIA manifested significantly earlier (≤ 6 months) as the time since LMP became shorter (< 5 years). AIA tends to manifest early after starting AI, but some cases show delayed onset. The incidence was significantly lower in patients with a duration of > 10 years since LMP. When the time since LMP was short, the onset of AIA was significantly earlier after starting AI administration

  4. Periodicities observed on solar flux index (F10.7) during geomagnetic disturbances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adhikari, B.; Narayan, C.; Chhatkuli, D. N.

    2017-12-01

    Solar activities change within the period of 11 years. Sometimes the greatest event occurs in the period of solar maxima and the lowest activity occurs in the period of solar minimum. During the time period of solar activity sunspots number will vary. A 10.7 cm solar flux measurement is a determination of the strength of solar radio emission. The solar flux index is more often used for the prediction and monitoring of the solar activity. This study mainly focused on the variation on solar flux index and amount of electromagnetic wave in the atmosphere. Both seasonal and yearly variation on solar F10.7 index. We also analyzed the dataset obatained from riometer.Both instruments show seasonal and yearly variations. We also observed the solar cycle dependence on solar flux index and found a strong dependence on solar activity. Results also show that solar intensities higher during the rising phase of solar cycle. We also observed periodicities on solar flux index using wavelet analysis. Through this analysis, it was found that the power intensities of solar flux index show a high spectral variability.

  5. Lake Level Changes in the Mono Basin During the Last Deglacial Period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, X.; Ali, G.; Hemming, S. R.; Zimmerman, S. R. H.; Stine, S. W.; Hemming, G.

    2014-12-01

    Mono Basin, located in the southwestern corner of the US Great Basin, has long been known to have experienced large lake level changes, particularly during the last deglaciation. But until recently it was not possible to establish a reliable lake level time series. We discovered many visually clean, white, shiny, dense calcite samples in the basin, associated with tufa deposits from high terraces. Their low thorium, but high uranium contents allow precise and reproducible U/Th age determinations. A highly resolved history of a minimum lake level through the last deglaciation can therefore be inferred based on sample locations and their ages. We found that the lake level reached ~2030 m asl at ~20.4 ka, evidenced by calcite coatings on a tufa mound at the upper Wilson Creek. The lake then rose to ~2075 m by ~19.1 ka, shown by calcite cements on conglomerates from the Hansen Cut terrace. The lake climbed to at least ~2140 m at ~15.9 ka, indicated by beach calcites from the east Sierra slope. Such timing of the highest lake stand, occurring within Heinrich Stadial 1, is reinforced by U/Th dates on calcite coatings from widespread locations in the basin, including the Bodie Hills and Cowtrack Mountains. The lake then dropped rapidly to ~2075 m at ~14.5 ka. It stood near this height over the next ~300 years, evidenced by a few-centimeter thick, laminated calcite rims on the Goat Ranch tufa mounds. It subsequently plunged to ~2007 m at ~13.8 ka, indicated by calcite coatings from cemetery road tufa mounds. The lake level came back to ~2030 m at ~12.9 ka, as seen in upper Wilson Creek tufa mounds. The lake level had a few fluctuations within the Younger Dryas, and even shot up to ~2075 m at ~12.0 ka. It then fell to levels in accord with Holocene climatic conditions. Relative to the present lake level of ~1950 m, Mono Lake broadly stood high during Heinrich Stadial 1 and Younger Dryas, when the climate was extremely cold over the North Atlantic, and the Asian monsoon was

  6. The Preboreal-like Asian monsoon climate in the early last interglacial period recorded from the Dark Cave, Southwest China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Xiuyang; He, Yaoqi; Wang, Xiaoyan; Sun, Xiaoshuang; Hong, Hui; Liu, Juan; Yu, Tsai-Luen; Li, Zhizhong; Shen, Chuan-Chou

    2017-08-01

    Transitions of glacial-interglacial cycles are critical periods for Quaternary climate shifts. Here, we present new, decadal resolution Asian summer monsoon (ASM) record from three stalagmites obtained from the Dark Cave in southwestern China over 130-114 thousand years ago (ka, before CE 1950). Chronology was anchored by 28 230Th dates with typical uncertainties of ±0.3-1.0 kyr, allowing an assessment of timing and transition of climate changes during the onset and end of the last interglacial. An agreement between this new and previous stalagmite δ18O records supports that summer insolation predominates orbital-scale ASM evolution. A 2-3 kyr-long gradually increasing ASM period, analogous to the classical Preboreal episode in the early Holocene, follows the termination of a weak monsoon interval at 129.0 ± 0.8 ka. This finding suggests a strong influence of high-latitude ice-sheet dynamics on Asian monsoonal conditions during the early interglacial period. An abrupt end of the marine isotope stage 5e at 118.8 ± 0.6 ka was probably caused by the internal climate system threshold effects.

  7. Indian monsoon variations during three contrasting climatic periods: the Holocene, Heinrich Stadial 2 and the last interglacial-glacial transition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zorzi, Coralie; Fernanda Sanchez Goñi, Maria; Anupama, Krishnamurthy; Prasad, Srinivasan; Hanquiez, Vincent; Johnson, Joel; Giosan, Liviu

    2016-04-01

    In contrast to the East Asian and African monsoons the Indian monsoon is still poorly documented throughout the last climatic cycle (last 135,000 years). Pollen analysis from two marine sediment cores (NGHP-01-16A and NGHP-01-19B) collected from the offshore Godavari and Mahanadi basins, both located in the Core Monsoon Zone (CMZ) reveals changes in Indian summer monsoon variability and intensity during three contrasting climatic periods: the Holocene, the Heinrich Stadial (HS) 2 and the Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 5/4 during the ice sheet growth transition. During the first part of the Holocene between 11,300 and 4,200 cal years BP, characterized by high insolation (minimum precession, maximum obliquity), the maximum extension of the coastal forest and mangrove reflects high monsoon rainfall. This climatic regime contrasts with that of the second phase of the Holocene, from 4,200 cal years BP to the present, marked by the development of drier vegetation in a context of low insolation (maximum precession, minimum obliquity). The historical period in India is characterized by an alternation of strong and weak monsoon centennial phases that may reflect the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Little Ice Age, respectively. During the HS 2, a period of low insolation and extensive iceberg discharge in the North Atlantic Ocean, vegetation was dominated by grassland and dry flora indicating pronounced aridity as the result of a weak Indian summer monsoon. The MIS 5/4 glaciation, also associated with low insolation but moderate freshwater fluxes, was characterized by a weaker reduction of the Indian summer monsoon and a decrease of seasonal contrast as recorded by the expansion of dry vegetation and the development of Artemisia, respectively. Our results support model predictions suggesting that insolation changes control the long term trend of the Indian monsoon precipitation, but its millennial scale variability and intensity are instead modulated by atmospheric

  8. LOW-FREQUENCY OBSERVATIONS OF TRANSIENT QUASI-PERIODIC RADIO EMISSION FROM THE SOLAR ATMOSPHERE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sasikumar Raja, K.; Ramesh, R., E-mail: sasikumar@iiap.res.in [Indian Institute of Astrophysics, II Block, Koramangala, Bangalore 560 034 (India)

    2013-09-20

    We report low-frequency observations of quasi-periodic, circularly polarized, harmonic type III radio bursts whose associated sunspot active regions were located close to the solar limb. The measured periodicity of the bursts at 80 MHz was ≈5.2 s, and their average degree of circular polarization (dcp) was ≈0.12. We calculated the associated magnetic field B (1) using the empirical relationship between the dcp and B for the harmonic type III emission, and (2) from the observed quasi-periodicity of the bursts. Both the methods result in B ≈ 4.2 G at the location of the 80 MHz plasma level (radial distance r ≈ 1.3 R{sub ☉}) in the active region corona.

  9. Mismatch between observed and modeled trends in dissolved upper-ocean oxygen over the last 50 yr

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Stramma

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Observations and model runs indicate trends in dissolved oxygen (DO associated with current and ongoing global warming. However, a large-scale observation-to-model comparison has been missing and is presented here. This study presents a first global compilation of DO measurements covering the last 50 yr. It shows declining upper-ocean DO levels in many regions, especially the tropical oceans, whereas areas with increasing trends are found in the subtropics and in some subpolar regions. For the Atlantic Ocean south of 20° N, the DO history could even be extended back to about 70 yr, showing decreasing DO in the subtropical South Atlantic. The global mean DO trend between 50° S and 50° N at 300 dbar for the period 1960 to 2010 is –0.066 μmol kg−1 yr−1. Results of a numerical biogeochemical Earth system model reveal that the magnitude of the observed change is consistent with CO2-induced climate change. However, the pattern correlation between simulated and observed patterns of past DO change is negative, indicating that the model does not correctly reproduce the processes responsible for observed regional oxygen changes in the past 50 yr. A negative pattern correlation is also obtained for model configurations with particularly low and particularly high diapycnal mixing, for a configuration that assumes a CO2-induced enhancement of the C : N ratios of exported organic matter and irrespective of whether climatological or realistic winds from reanalysis products are used to force the model. Depending on the model configuration the 300 dbar DO trend between 50° S and 50° N is −0.027 to –0.047 μmol kg−1 yr−1 for climatological wind forcing, with a much larger range of –0.083 to +0.027 μmol kg−1 yr−1 for different initializations of sensitivity runs with reanalysis wind forcing. Although numerical models reproduce the overall sign and, to

  10. Increasing trends in kidney cancer over the last 2 decades in Saudi Arabia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alkhateeb, Sultan S; Alkhateeb, Jawaher M; Alrashidi, Eman A

    2015-06-01

    To examine the trends of kidney cancer over the last 2 decades in a subset of a Saudi Arabian population.   We conducted a retrospective study in a tertiary care center including all adult patients with primary kidney cancer who presented and were managed between 1990 and 2010. The time period was split into 4 quartiles, and variables tested and compared using chi-square, T-test, and Kaplan-Meier curves for survival.   The total was 215 patients with a mean age of 57.8 years. There was an increase in the number of kidney cancer cases over the last 2 decades. There was no significant difference in the mode of presentation or stage distribution between quartiles. A significant change was observed in the management towards minimally invasive and nephron-sparing surgeries (p less than 0.001). There was no change in recurrence-free and disease-specific survival over the last 20 years.   There have been an increasing number of kidney cancer patients over the last 2 decades with no observed migration towards more incidental and low stage tumors as compared with developed countries.

  11. SPITZER OBSERVATIONS OF GX17+2: CONFIRMATION OF A PERIODIC SYNCHROTRON SOURCE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harrison, Thomas E.; McNamara, Bernard J.; Bornak, Jillian; Gelino, Dawn M.; Wachter, Stefanie; Rupen, Michael P.; Gelino, Christopher R.

    2011-01-01

    GX17+2 is a low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) that is also a member of a small family of LMXBs known as 'Z-sources' that are believed to have persistent X-ray luminosities that are very close to the Eddington limit. GX17+2 is highly variable at both radio and X-ray frequencies, a feature common to Z-sources. What sets GX17+2 apart is its dramatic variability in the near-infrared, where it changes by ΔK ∼ 3 mag. Previous investigations have shown that these brightenings are periodic, recurring every 3.01 days. Given its high extinction (A V ≥ 9 mag), it has not been possible to ascertain the nature of these events with ground-based observations. We report mid-infrared Spitzer observations of GX17+2 which indicate a synchrotron spectrum for the infrared brightenings. In addition, GX17+2 is highly variable in the mid-infrared during these events. The combination of the large-scale outbursts, the presence of a synchrotron spectrum, and the dramatic variability in the mid-infrared suggest that the infrared brightening events are due to the periodic transit of a synchrotron jet across our line of sight. An analysis of both new, and archival, infrared observations has led us to revise the period for these events to 3.0367 days. We also present new Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) data for GX17+2 obtained during two predicted infrared brightening events. Analysis of these new data, and data from the RXTE archive, indicates that there is no correlation between the X-ray behavior of this source and the observed infrared brightenings. We examine various scenarios that might produce periodic jet emission.

  12. Observed periodicities and the spectrum of field variations in Holocene magnetic records

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Panovska, S.; Finlay, Chris; Hirt, A.M.

    2013-01-01

    , globally observed, periods. Rather we find a continuous broadband spectrum, with a slope corresponding to a power law with exponent of -2.3 ± 0.6 for the period range between 300 and 4000 yr. This is consistent with the hypothesis that chaotic convection in the outer core drives the majority of secular......In order to understand mechanisms that maintain and drive the evolution of the Earth's magnetic field, a characterization of its behavior on time scales of centuries to millennia is required. We have conducted a search for periodicities in Holocene sediment magnetic records, by applying three...

  13. Death Row Confessions and the Last Meal Test of Innocence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kevin M. Kniffin

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Post hoc analyses of Rector v. Arkansas have regularly highlighted that the defendant requested that part of his last meal be saved so that he could it eat later. While the observation is typically raised as part of arguments that Rector was incompetent and unfit for execution, the more basic fact is that commentators have drawn important inferences about Rector’s mental state from how he treated his last meal. In this essay, we draw upon multiple disciplines in order to apply the same inferential logic to a much broader sample and explore the question of whether traditionally customized last meals might offer signals of defendants’ guilt or innocence. To investigate this, the content of last-meal requests and last words reported for people executed in the United States during a recent five-year period were examined. Consistent with the idea that declination of the last meal is equivalent to a signal of (self-perceived innocence, those who denied guilt were 2.7 times as likely to decline a last meal than people who admitted guilt (29% versus 8%. Consistent with the complementary theory that people who admit guilt are relatively more “at peace” with their sentence, these individuals requested 34% more calories of food than the rest of the sample (2786 versus 2085 calories. A third finding is that those who denied guilt also tended to eat significantly fewer brand-name food items. Previous discussions of last meals have often lacked quantitative measurements; however, this systematic analysis shows that last meal requests offer windows into self-perceived or self-proclaimed innocence. Knowing one’s last meal request and one’s last words can provide valuable new variables for retrospectively assessing the processes that led to past executions.

  14. Observation of quasi-periodic solar radio bursts associated with propagating fast-mode waves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goddard, C. R.; Nisticò, G.; Nakariakov, V. M.; Zimovets, I. V.; White, S. M.

    2016-10-01

    Aims: Radio emission observations from the Learmonth and Bruny Island radio spectrographs are analysed to determine the nature of a train of discrete, periodic radio "sparks" (finite-bandwidth, short-duration isolated radio features) which precede a type II burst. We analyse extreme ultraviolet (EUV) imaging from SDO/AIA at multiple wavelengths and identify a series of quasi-periodic rapidly-propagating enhancements, which we interpret as a fast wave train, and link these to the detected radio features. Methods: The speeds and positions of the periodic rapidly propagating fast waves and the coronal mass ejection (CME) were recorded using running-difference images and time-distance analysis. From the frequency of the radio sparks the local electron density at the emission location was estimated for each. Using an empirical model for the scaling of density in the corona, the calculated electron density was used to obtain the height above the surface at which the emission occurs, and the propagation velocity of the emission location. Results: The period of the radio sparks, δtr = 1.78 ± 0.04 min, matches the period of the fast wave train observed at 171 Å, δtEUV = 1.7 ± 0.2 min. The inferred speed of the emission location of the radio sparks, 630 km s-1, is comparable to the measured speed of the CME leading edge, 500 km s-1, and the speeds derived from the drifting of the type II lanes. The calculated height of the radio emission (obtained from the density) matches the observed location of the CME leading edge. From the above evidence we propose that the radio sparks are caused by the quasi-periodic fast waves, and the emission is generated as they catch up and interact with the leading edge of the CME. The movie associated to Fig. 2 is available at http://www.aanda.org

  15. The Latest from the LHC : Last period of proton running for 2010.

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN Bulletin

    2010-01-01

    During the recent technical stop, which was brought forward by two weeks to 19-22 October, an aperture restriction in the beam 1 injection channel at Point 2 of the LHC was successfully repaired.   The machine was restarted on Friday 22 October, with the priority to re-establish clean injection conditions in the repaired injection channel. This was achieved over the weekend, resulting in a return to physics operation with 312 bunches per beam on Sunday 24 October. Since then, the number of bunches has been increased to 368, still using the 150ns bunch spacing scheme employed since late September. This has seen peak luminosities in excess of 2 1032 cm-1 s-1 and delivered integrated luminosity climbing above 48 pb-1 in the highest luminosity experiments. Routine operation with 25 MJ stored beam energy was achieved. For the last week of proton running in 2010, attention will shift to operation with 50ns bunch spacing, the scheme planned for 2011. The aims for this last week are two-fold: to ...

  16. The Snowmastodon Project: A view of the Last Interglacial Period from high in the Colorado Rockies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pigati, Jeffery S.

    2015-01-01

    In North America, terrestrial records of biodiversity and climate change that span the Last Interglacial Period [or Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 5] are rare. In 2010-11, construction at Ziegler Reservoir near Snowmass Village, Colorado revealed a lacustrine/wetland sedimentary sequence that preserved evidence of past plant communities between ~140 and 55 ka, including all of MIS 5. At an elevation of 2705 m, the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site (ZRFS) also contained thousands of well-preserved bones and teeth of Pleistocene megafauna, including mastodons, mammoths, ground sloths, horses, camels, deer, bison, black bear, coyotes, and bighorn sheep. In addition, the site contained more than 26,000 bones from at least 30 species of small animals, including salamanders, otters, muskrats, minks, rabbits, beavers, frogs, lizards, snakes, fish, and birds. The combination of macro- and micro-vertebrates, invertebrates, terrestrial and aquatic plant macrofossils, a detailed pollen record, and a robust, directly dated stratigraphic framework, shows that high-elevation ecosystems in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado are climatically sensitive and varied dramatically throughout MIS 5.

  17. Millennial and sub-millennial scale climatic variations recorded in polar ice cores over the last glacial period

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Capron

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Since its discovery in Greenland ice cores, the millennial scale climatic variability of the last glacial period has been increasingly documented at all latitudes with studies focusing mainly on Marine Isotopic Stage 3 (MIS 3; 28–60 thousand of years before present, hereafter ka and characterized by short Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO events. Recent and new results obtained on the EPICA and NorthGRIP ice cores now precisely describe the rapid variations of Antarctic and Greenland temperature during MIS 5 (73.5–123 ka, a time period corresponding to relatively high sea level. The results display a succession of abrupt events associated with long Greenland InterStadial phases (GIS enabling us to highlight a sub-millennial scale climatic variability depicted by (i short-lived and abrupt warming events preceding some GIS (precursor-type events and (ii abrupt warming events at the end of some GIS (rebound-type events. The occurrence of these sub-millennial scale events is suggested to be driven by the insolation at high northern latitudes together with the internal forcing of ice sheets. Thanks to a recent NorthGRIP-EPICA Dronning Maud Land (EDML common timescale over MIS 5, the bipolar sequence of climatic events can be established at millennial to sub-millennial timescale. This shows that for extraordinary long stadial durations the accompanying Antarctic warming amplitude cannot be described by a simple linear relationship between the two as expected from the bipolar seesaw concept. We also show that when ice sheets are extensive, Antarctica does not necessarily warm during the whole GS as the thermal bipolar seesaw model would predict, questioning the Greenland ice core temperature records as a proxy for AMOC changes throughout the glacial period.

  18. Exercise Brings Bone Benefits that Last

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Subscribe May 2014 Print this issue Health Capsule Exercise Brings Bone Benefits that Last En español Send ... lose bone. Studies of animals have shown that exercise during periods of rapid growth can lead to ...

  19. Pediatric and Gynecologic Rates of Documentation of Last Menstrual Period in Female Adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomlin, Kristl; Mirea, Lucia; Williamson, Amy

    2018-03-08

    The American Academy of Pediatrics and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have identified the menstrual cycle as essential in assessing overall health of adolescent girls. Menses should be considered a "vital sign" and documentation of last menstrual period (LMP) is recommended at every patient encounter. The aim of this study was to estimate and compare LMP documentation among adolescent and pediatric health care providers. A retrospective cohort study identified a random sample of 50 female patients seen in the general pediatrics (PEDS), adolescent medicine (AM), and pediatric and adolescent gynecology (PAG) ambulatory clinics at Phoenix Children's Hospital between January 1, 2016 and March 31, 2016. Rates of LMP documentation were compared between clinics using the Pearson χ 2 test. Multivariable logistic regression analyses quantified the association of clinic and LMP documentation, with adjustments for visit reason, provider gender, and age at presentation. Rates of LMP documentation were 100% for adolescent gynecologists, but significantly lower for general pediatricians (14%) and AM (60%) providers (P < .0001). These findings were confirmed in multivariable analyses (PAG vs PEDS: odds ratio [OR], 280; 95% confidence interval [CI], 32-2331; PAG vs AM: OR, 34; 95% CI, 4.4-270; AM vs PEDS: OR, 3.8; 95% CI, 1.3-11.0). Adolescent gynecologists document LMP routinely. In contrast, LMP documentation rates in AM, and especially in PEDS, were significantly lower. Quality improvement methods such as incorporation of an LMP section into the vitals portion of an electronic medical record could help improve rates of compliance. Copyright © 2018 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Overview of the first HyMeX special observation period over Croatia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivančan-Picek, Branka; Tudor, Martina; Horvath, Kristian; Stanešić, Antonio; Ivatek-Šahdan, Stjepan

    2016-12-01

    The HYdrological cycle in the Mediterranean EXperiment (HyMeX) is intended to improve the capabilities of predicting high-impact weather events. Within its framework, the aim of the first special observation period (SOP1), 5 September to 6 November 2012, was to study heavy precipitation events and flash floods. Here, we present high-impact weather events over Croatia that occurred during SOP1. Particular attention is given to eight intense observation periods (IOPs), during which high precipitation occurred over the eastern Adriatic and Dinaric Alps. During the entire SOP1, the operational model forecasts generally well represented medium intensity precipitation, but heavy precipitation was frequently underestimated by the ALADIN model at an 8 km grid spacing and was overestimated at a higher resolution (2 km grid spacing). During IOP2, intensive rainfall occurred over a wider area around the city of Rijeka in the northern Adriatic. The short-range maximum rainfall totals were the largest ever recorded at the Rijeka station since the beginning of measurements in 1958. The rainfall amounts measured in intervals of 20, 30 and 40 min were exceptional, with return periods that exceeded a thousand, a few hundred and one hundred years, respectively. The operational precipitation forecast using the ALADIN model at an 8 km grid spacing provided guidance regarding the event but underestimated the rainfall intensity. An evaluation of numerical sensitivity experiments suggested that the forecast was slightly enhanced by improving the initial conditions through variational data assimilation. The operational non-hydrostatic run at a 2 km grid spacing using a configuration with the ALARO physics package further improved the forecast. This article highlights the need for an intensive observation period in the future over the Adriatic region to validate the simulated mechanisms and improve numerical weather predictions via data assimilation and model improvements in descriptions

  1. Climate of the last millennium: a sensitivity study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bertrand, Cedric [Royal Meterological Inst. of Belgium, Brussels (Belgium); Loutre, Marie-France; Crucifix, Michel; Berger, Andre [Univ. catholique de Louvain, Louvain la-neuve (Belgium). Inst. d' Astronomie et de Geophysique G. Lemaitre

    2002-05-01

    Seventy-one sensitivity experiments have been performed using a two-dimensional sector-averaged global climate model to assess the potential impact of six different factors on the last millennium climate and in particular on the surface air temperature evolution. Both natural (i.e. solar and volcanism) and anthropogenically-induced (i.e. deforestation, additional greenhouse gases, and tropospheric aerosol burden) climate forcings have been considered. Comparisons of climate reconstructions with model results indicate that all the investigated forcings are needed to simulate the surface air temperature evolution. Due to uncertainties in historical climate forcings and temperature reconstructions, the relative importance of a particular forcing in the explanation of the recorded temperature variance is largely function of the forcing time series used. Nevertheless, our results indicate that whatever the historical solar and volcanic reconstructions may be, these externally driven natural climate forcings are unable to give climate responses comparable in magnitude and time to the late-2Oth-century temperature warming while for earlier periods combination of solar and volcanic forcings can explain the Little Ice Age and the Medieval Warm Period. Only the greenhouse gas forcing allows the model to simulate an accelerated warming rate during the last three decades. The best guess simulation (largest similarity with the reconstruction) for the period starting 1850 AD requires however to include anthropogenic sulphate forcing as well as the impact of deforestation to constrain the magnitude of the greenhouse gas twentieth century warming to better fit the observation. On the contrary, prior to 1850 AD mid-latitude land clearance tends to reinforce the Little Ice age in our simulations.

  2. Last interglacial temperature evolution – a model inter-comparison

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bakker, P.; Stone, E.J.; Charbit, S.; Gröger, M.; Krebs-Kanzow, U.; Ritz, S.P.; Varma, V.; Khon, S.; Lunt, D.J.; Mikolajewicz, U.; Prange, M.; Renssen, H.; Schneider, B.; Schulz, M.

    2013-01-01

    There is a growing number of proxy-based reconstructions detailing the climatic changes that occurred during the last interglacial period (LIG). This period is of special interest, because large parts of the globe were characterized by a warmer-than-present-day climate, making this period an

  3. Periodic feedback stabilization for linear periodic evolution equations

    CERN Document Server

    Wang, Gengsheng

    2016-01-01

    This book introduces a number of recent advances regarding periodic feedback stabilization for linear and time periodic evolution equations. First, it presents selected connections between linear quadratic optimal control theory and feedback stabilization theory for linear periodic evolution equations. Secondly, it identifies several criteria for the periodic feedback stabilization from the perspective of geometry, algebra and analyses respectively. Next, it describes several ways to design periodic feedback laws. Lastly, the book introduces readers to key methods for designing the control machines. Given its coverage and scope, it offers a helpful guide for graduate students and researchers in the areas of control theory and applied mathematics.

  4. Relationship between weights of planktonic foraminifer shell and surface water CO sub(3) sup(=) concentration during the Holocene and Last Glacial Period

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Naik, S.S.; Naidu, P.D.; Govil, P.; Godad, S.

    = change in the Arabian Sea is quantified and found that a [CO 3 = ] variation of ~8 µmol/kg occurred during the Holocene and a ~36µmol/kg variation occurred during the last glacial period. Keywords: Atmospheric CO 2 proxy, carbonate ion... it influences the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) species; CO 2 (aq), H 2 CO 3 , HCO 3 - and CO 3 = (Broecker and Peng, 1982). The increased dissolution of CO 2 consequently decreases the pH and carbonate ion concentration [CO 3 = ] of surface...

  5. Intestinal stoma in patients with colorectal cancer from the perspective of 20-year period of clinical observation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banaszkiewicz, Zbigniew; Woda, Łukasz P; Zwoliński, Tomasz; Tojek, Krzysztof; Jarmocik, Paweł; Jawień, Arkadiusz

    2015-01-01

    Intestinal stoma is a procedure most often performed in patients with colorectal cancer. To identify the percentage of patients with colorectal cancer in which the intestinal stoma was performed. We retrospectively analysed 443 patients treated during a 20-year period (1994-2013) due to colorectal cancer, in which the intestinal stoma was made during the first surgical intervention. In the second analysed decade, a significant decrease in the percentage of created stomas, definitive stomas in particular, was observed. Stomas were made significantly more often in patients with a tumour located in the rectum, the left half of the colon, and in patients undergoing urgent surgeries. An increased incidence of intestinal stomas was associated with a higher severity of illness and higher proportion of unresectable and non-radical procedures. The definitive stomas were significantly more often made in men and in patients with tumours located in the rectum, whereas temporary stomas were created significantly more often in patients undergoing urgent operations. In the last decade (2004-2013) the number of intestinal stomas in patients operated due to colorectal cancer was significantly reduced.

  6. [Assessment of clinical observation skills of last year medical students].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steichen, O; Georgin-Lavialle, S; Grateau, G; Ranque, B

    2015-05-01

    Clinical examination skills are poorly evaluated by theoretical tests. We observed the clinical examination of real patients by 6th year medical students. Four internists involved in teaching activities defined 11 clinical examination items, with two objective performance criteria each. The students were evaluated in two internal medicine departments during the rotation preceding or following their national graduation test. Scores by item and by criterion and an overall score were calculated and correlated with their rank at the national graduation test. Thirty-two students were evaluated in one department and 18 in the other; each evaluation lasted approximately 30 minutes. The results were similar in both departments. Only 2 items got a score over 75% in this students' sample (acute respiratory failure, peripheral pulses); 4 items were satisfied at less than 50% (lymph nodes, right heart failure, liver failure, and attention). The mean overall score was 6.5/11 (standard deviation 1.5). National rankings were good (median 1605/8001, interquartile 453-3036) but uncorrelated with the global score (Spearman coefficient -0.13; P=0.39). Bedside evaluation of the students reveals substantial deficiencies, a few months or weeks before taking their position as residents. Several elementary skills are mastered by a minority of them (search for an asterixis, distended jugular veins, deep tendon reflexes), even among those successful at the national graduation test. Bedside evaluation of clinical examination skills should be more systematically performed. Copyright © 2014 Société nationale française de médecine interne (SNFMI). Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

  7. New type of ensemble of quasi-periodic, long-lasting VLF emissions at the auroral zone

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Manninen

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available A new type of the series of quasi-periodic (QP very low frequency (VLF emissions in frequency range of 1–5 kHz, and not associated with geomagnetic pulsations, has been discovered at auroral latitudes (L = 5.3 during the Finnish VLF campaign (held in December 2011. At least five unusually spectacular events, each with a duration of several hours, have been observed during the night under conditions of quiet geomagnetic activity (Kp = 0–1, although QPs usually occur during the daytime. Contrary to the QP emissions typically occurring during the day, the spectral structure of these QP events represented an extended, complicated sequence of repeated discrete rising VLF signals. Their duration was about 2–3 min each, with the repetition periods ranging from ~1 min to ~10 min. Two such nighttime non-typical events are reported in this paper. The fine structure of the separated QP elements may represent a mixture of the different frequency band signals, which seem to have independent origins. It was found that the periodic signals with lower frequency appear to trigger the strong dispersive upper frequency signals. The temporal dynamics of the spectral structure of the QPs studied were significantly controlled by some disturbances in the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF. This finding is very important for future theoretical investigations because the generation mechanism of this new type of QP emissions is not yet understood.

  8. Accuracy of self-reported drinking: observational verification of 'last occasion' drink estimates of young adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Northcote, Jeremy; Livingston, Michael

    2011-01-01

    As a formative step towards determining the accuracy of self-reported drinking levels commonly used for estimating population alcohol use, the validity of a 'last occasion' self-reporting approach is tested with corresponding field observations of participants' drinking quantity. This study is the first known attempt to validate the accuracy of self-reported alcohol consumption using data from a natural setting. A total of 81 young adults (aged 18-25 years) were purposively selected in Perth, Western Australia. Participants were asked to report the number of alcoholic drinks consumed at nightlife venues 1-2 days after being observed by peer-based researchers on 239 occasions. Complete observation data and self-report estimates were available for 129 sessions, which were fitted with multi-level models assessing the relationship between observed and reported consumption. Participants accurately estimated their consumption when engaging in light to moderate drinking (eight or fewer drinks in a single session), with no significant difference between the mean reported consumption and the mean observed consumption. In contrast, participants underestimated their own consumption by increasing amounts when engaging in heavy drinking of more than eight drinks. It is suggested that recent recall methods in self-report surveys are potentially reasonably accurate measures of actual drinking levels for light to moderate drinkers, but that underestimating of alcohol consumption increases with heavy consumption. Some of the possible reasons for underestimation of heavy drinking are discussed, with both cognitive and socio-cultural factors considered.

  9. Possible Evidence of Multiple Sea Level Oscillations in the Seychelles During the Last Interglacial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dutton, A. L.; Vyverberg, K.; Webster, J.; Dechnik, B.; Zwartz, D.; Lambeck, K.

    2013-12-01

    In search of a eustatic sea level signal on glacial-interglacial timescales, the Seychelles ranks as one of the best places on the planet to study. Owing to its far-field location with respect to the former margins of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets, glacio-hydro-isostatic models predict that relative sea level in the Seychelles should lie within a few meters of the globally averaged eustatic signal during interglacial periods. We have surveyed and dated fossil coral reefs from the last interglacial period to determine the magnitude of peak sea level and to assess sedimentologic evidence of potential sea level oscillations. Numerous outcrops we studied in detail exhibit a stratigraphic sequence comprised of in situ coralgal framework at the base, capped by thick coralline algae crusts, and overlain by coral rubble deposits. We also observed a succession of three stacked coralgal reefs within a single outcrop, separated by hardgrounds that have been bored by molluscs. In general, the succession within each reef unit consists of interlayered corals and crusts of coralline algae-vermetid gastropods-encrusting foraminifera. The lower two reef units are capped by a well-cemented 5 to 10 cm thick carbonate mud layer that is heavily bored by molluscs. These two surfaces may represent exposure surfaces during brief sea level oscillations, where sea level fell and exposed the top of the reef sequence, which was subsequently bored when sea level rose again and reef growth resumed. The elevations of the corals in each reef unit provide minimum elevations of sea level during each of the three pulses of sea level highstands during the last interglacial period. Significantly, since many of these corals are capped by thick coralline algae layers that contain vermetid gastropods and encrusting foraminifera that are indicative of the intertidal zone, there is strong evidence that these corals grew in extremely shallow water, providing a robust indication of sea level position. These

  10. Some reasons for saffron yield loss over the last 30 years period (Review Article

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alireza Koocheki

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Saffron (Crocus sativus L. is a perennial plant which grows basically in arid and semi-arid regions of Iran. Despite saffron’s adaptation to these regions, the assessment of changes in cultivation area over the last 30 years reveals that cultivation of this crop has sharply increased. According to the available statistics, there are 21 provinces where saffron is cultivated on about 84,000 hectares of land. Nonetheless, saffron yield per unit area has aggressively fallen from 5.1 kg ha-1 in 1982 to 3.2 kg ha-1 in 2015. Saffron yield loss can be caused by several factors, such as mismanagement in agriculture section, economics and post-harvest processing as well as the recent droughts. Lack of attention to these factors could lead to further decline in saffron yield in the future. The saffron yield loss over the last 30 years is an alert for saffron-related institutions such as the universities, research centers and Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO to pay more attention to this crop and prepare more comprehensive programs. In developing these programs, the importance of government policies for planning and approving enough budget is to be highlighted. In this review, first we focus on the reasons for saffron yield loss during the last 30 years and then we try to provide some solutions in relation to these reasons.

  11. Links between Patagonian Ice Sheet fluctuations and Antarctic dust variability during the last glacial period (MIS 4-2)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaiser, Jérôme; Lamy, Frank

    2010-06-01

    Antarctic and Greenland ice-core records reveal large fluctuations of dust input on both orbital and millennial time-scales with potential global climate implications. At least during glacial periods, the Antarctic dust fluctuations appear to be largely controlled by environmental changes in southern South America. We compare dust flux records from two Antarctic ice-cores to variations in the composition of the terrigenous supply at ODP Site 1233 located off southern Chile and known to record fluctuations in the extent of the northern part of the Patagonian ice-sheet (NPIS) during the last glacial period (Marine Isotope Stage, MIS, 4 to 2). Within age uncertainties, millennial-scale glacial advances (retreats) of the NPIS correlate to Antarctic dust maxima (minima). In turn, NPIS fluctuations were closely related to offshore sea surface temperature (SST) changes. This pattern suggests a causal link involving changes in temperature, in rock flour availability, in latitudinal extensions of the westerly winds and in foehn winds in the southern Pampas and Patagonia. We further suggest that the long-term trend of dust accumulation is partly linked to the sea-level related changes in the size if the Patagonian source area due to the particular morphology of the Argentine shelf. We suggest that sea-level drops at the beginning of MIS 4 and MIS 2 were important for long-term dust increases, while changes in the Patagonian dust source regions primarily control the early dust decrease during the MIS 4/3 transition and Termination 1.

  12. The key role of topography in altering North Atlantic atmospheric circulation during the last glacial period

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. S. R. Pausata

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; 21 000 yr before present was a period of low atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, when vast ice sheets covered large parts of North America and Europe. Paleoclimate reconstructions and modeling studies suggest that the atmospheric circulation was substantially altered compared to today, both in terms of its mean state and its variability. Here we present a suite of coupled model simulations designed to investigate both the separate and combined influences of the main LGM boundary condition changes (greenhouse gases, ice sheet topography and ice sheet albedo on the mean state and variability of the atmospheric circulation as represented by sea level pressure (SLP and 200-hPa zonal wind in the North Atlantic sector. We find that ice sheet topography accounts for most of the simulated changes during the LGM. Greenhouse gases and ice sheet albedo affect the SLP gradient in the North Atlantic, but the overall placement of high and low pressure centers is controlled by topography. Additional analysis shows that North Atlantic sea surface temperatures and sea ice edge position do not substantially influence the pattern of the climatological-mean SLP field, SLP variability or the position of the North Atlantic jet in the LGM.

  13. A regional climate simulation over the Iberian Peninsula for the last millennium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. J. Gómez-Navarro

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available A high-resolution (30 km regional paleoclimate simulation of the last millennium over the Iberian Peninsula (IP is presented. The simulation was performed with a climate version of the mesoscale model MM5 driven by the global model ECHO-G. Both models were driven by the same reconstructions of several external forcing factors. The high spatial resolution of the regional model allows climatologists to realistically simulate many aspects of the climate in the IP, as compared to an observational data set in the reference period 1961–1990. Although the spatial-averaged values developed by the regional model are tightly driven by the boundary conditions, it is capable to develop a different realisation of the past climate at regional scales, especially in the high-frequency domain and for precipitation. This has to be considered when comparing the results of climate simulations versus proxy reconstructions. A preliminary comparison of the simulation results with reconstructions of temperature and precipitation over the IP shows good agreement in the warming trends in the last century of the simulation, although there are large disagreements in key periods such as the precipitation anomalies in the Maunder Minimum.

  14. EVOLUTIONARY TRACKS OF TRAPPED, ACCRETING PROTOPLANETS: THE ORIGIN OF THE OBSERVED MASS-PERIOD RELATION

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hasegawa, Yasuhiro; Pudritz, Ralph E.

    2012-01-01

    The large number of observed exoplanets (∼>700) provides important constraints on their origin as deduced from the mass-period diagram of planets. The most surprising features in the diagram are (1) the (apparent) pileup of gas giants at a period of ∼500 days (∼1 AU) and (2) the so-called mass-period relation, which indicates that planetary mass is an increasing function of orbital period. We construct the evolutionary tracks of growing planets at planet traps in evolving protoplanetary disks and show that they provide a good physical understanding of how these observational properties arise. The fundamental feature of our model is that inhomogeneities in protoplanetary disks give rise to multiple (up to 3) trapping sites for rapid (type I) planetary migration of planetary cores. The viscous evolution of disks results in the slow radial movement of the traps and their cores from large to small orbital periods. In our model, the slow inward motion of planet traps is coupled with the standard core accretion scenario for planetary growth. As planets grow, type II migration takes over. Planet growth and radial movement are ultimately stalled by the dispersal of gas disks via photoevaporation. Our model makes a number of important predictions: that distinct sub-populations of planets that reflect the properties of planet traps where they have grown result in the mass-period relation, that the presence of these sub-populations naturally explains a pileup of planets at ∼1 AU, and that evolutionary tracks from the ice line do put planets at short periods and fill an earlier claimed p lanet desert — a sparse population of planets in the mass-semimajor axis diagram.

  15. Short-Period Binary Stars: Observations, Analyses, and Results

    CERN Document Server

    Milone, Eugene F; Hobill, David W

    2008-01-01

    Short-period binaries run the gamut from widely separated stars to black-hole pairs; in between are systems that include neutron stars and white dwarfs, and partially evolved systems such as tidally distorted and over-contact systems. These objects represent stages of evolution of binary stars, and their degrees of separation provide critical clues to how their evolutionary paths differ from that of single stars. The widest and least distorted systems provide astronomers with the essential precise data needed to study all stars: mass and radius. The interactions of binary star components, on the other hand, provide a natural laboratory to observe how the matter in these stars behaves under different and often varying physical conditions. Thus, cataclysmic variables with and without overpoweringly strong magnetic fields, and stars with densities from that found in the Sun to the degenerate matter of white dwarfs and the ultra-compact states of neutron stars and black holes are all discussed. The extensive inde...

  16. Pervasive multidecadal variations in productivity within the Peruvian Upwelling System over the last millennium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleury, S.; Martinez, P.; Crosta, X.; Charlier, K.; Billy, I.; Hanquiez, V.; Blanz, T.; Schneider, R. R.

    2015-10-01

    There is no agreement on the pluri-decadal expression of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the Pacific over the last millennium. Marine records from the Peruvian margin indicate humid conditions (El Niño-like mean conditions) over the Little Ice Age, while precipitation records from the eastern equatorial Pacific infer arid conditions (La Niña-like mean conditions) for the same period. We here studied diatom assemblages, nitrogen isotopes, and major and minor elements at the lamination level in three laminated trigger cores located between 11°S and 15°S on the Peruvian shelf within the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) to reconstruct precipitation and ocean productivity at the multiannual to multidecadal timescales over the last millennium. We respected the sediment structure, thus providing the first records of the mean climatic conditions at the origin of the lamination deposition, which ones represent several years. Light laminations were deposited under productive and dry conditions, indicative of La Niña-like mean conditions in the system, while dark laminations were deposited under non-productive and humid conditions, representative of El Niño-like mean conditions. La Niña-like mean conditions were predominant during the Medieval Warm Period (MWP; 1000-600 years BP) and Current Warm Period (CWP; 150 years BP to present), while El Niño-like mean conditions prevailed over the Little Ice Age (LIA; 600-150 years BP). We provide evidence for persistent multidecadal variations in productivity over the last millennium, which were disconnected from the mean climate state. Multidecadal variability has been stronger over the last 450 years concomitantly to increased variability in the NAO index. Two intervals of strong multidecadal variability were also observed over the MWP, congruent to decreased solar irradiance and increased volcanic activity.

  17. Observed Regional Climate Variability during the Last 50 Years in Reindeer Herding Cooperatives of Finnish Fell Lapland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Élise Lépy

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available In Finnish Lapland, reindeer herders’ activity is strongly dependent on the surrounding natural environment, which is directly exposed to environmental changes and climatic variations. By assessing whether there is any evidence of change in climate in Fell Lapland over the last 50 years, this paper attempts to link global climatic trends with local conditions and respond to the need of information at the local level. It aims at assessing the changes in temperature, precipitation and snow cover at a regional and local scale, as well as determining the climatic trends for the period 1960–2011. Statistical methods were used to conduct analyses of the regional homogeneity, the annual and seasonal variability, and the cold intensity. The results show that the regional climate is not homogeneous and differences exist between locations. Nevertheless, it can be concluded that, in general, a warming trend is discernible for the period 1960–2011, frost and thaw cycles slightly increase, and variations in mean temperatures are more important in the winter. Precipitation is more variable according to the site but, in general, precipitation is increasing with time, especially in the winter, and the snow cover does not seem to contain any discernible trend.

  18. NATURE OF THE LAST CONTACT WITH A MEDICAL DOCTOR BEFORE SUICIDE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Urša Mars Bitenc

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available A relevant number of suicide decedents visit medical doctors (MDs in a short period before death. This study aimed to learn about MDs’ attitudes towards suicide prevention, their previous education on suicide, the experience with suicide, and eventually the nature of the last visit with a patient that died by suicide. 159 Slovenian MDs participated in an online survey covering previously mentioned topics. More than a third of MDs have never been trained on suicide prevention and reported lack of knowledge in this area. More than half experienced suicide of a patient or close one. During the last contact before suicide, MDs frequently noticed symptoms of mental health problems, hopelessness, sleep problems, somatic pain and suicidal ideation. More seldom they observed stocking pills, giving away values, gaining access to firearms, and changing a will. At the time of the last visit, main diagnoses were depression (54.5%, schizophrenia (22.7%, bipolar disorder (12.5%, alcohol use disorder (9.6%, and dementia (4.5%. To improve risk assessment and suicide prevention in health-care settings, a specific training would be a highly desirable option for educating MD's.

  19. Experimental observation of parametric effects near period doubling in a loss-modulated CO2 laser

    OpenAIRE

    Chizhevsky, V. N.

    1996-01-01

    A number of parametric effects, such as suppression of period doubling, shift of the bifurcation point, scaling law relating the shift and the perturbation amplitude, influence of the detuning on the suppression, reaching of the maximum gain between the original and shifted bifurcation points, and scaling law for idler power are experimentally observed near period doubling bifurcation in a loss-driven CO2 laser that is subjected to periodic loss perturbations at a frequency that is close to a...

  20. TIME DELAYS IN QUASI-PERIODIC PULSATIONS OBSERVED DURING THE X2.2 SOLAR FLARE ON 2011 FEBRUARY 15

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dolla, L.; Marque, C.; Seaton, D. B.; Dominique, M.; Berghmans, D.; Cabanas, C.; De Groof, A.; Verdini, A.; West, M. J.; Zhukov, A. N. [Solar-Terrestrial Center of Excellence, Royal Observatory of Belgium, Avenue Circulaire 3, B-1180 Brussels (Belgium); Van Doorsselaere, T. [Centrum voor Plasma-Astrofysica, Department of Mathematics, KULeuven, Celestijnenlaan 200B bus 2400, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Schmutz, W. [Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos, World Radiation Center, Davos Dorf (Switzerland); Zender, J., E-mail: dolla@sidc.be [European Space Agency, ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ Noordwijk (Netherlands)

    2012-04-10

    We report observations of quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) during the X2.2 flare of 2011 February 15, observed simultaneously in several wavebands. We focus on fluctuations on timescale 1-30 s and find different time lags between different wavebands. During the impulsive phase, the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager channels in the range 25-100 keV lead all the other channels. They are followed by the Nobeyama RadioPolarimeters at 9 and 17 GHz and the extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) channels of the Euv SpectroPhotometer (ESP) on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory. The zirconium and aluminum filter channels of the Large Yield Radiometer on board the Project for On-Board Autonomy satellite and the soft X-ray (SXR) channel of ESP follow. The largest lags occur in observations from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, where the channel at 1-8 A leads the 0.5-4 A channel by several seconds. The time lags between the first and last channels is up to Almost-Equal-To 9 s. We identified at least two distinct time intervals during the flare impulsive phase, during which the QPPs were associated with two different sources in the Nobeyama RadioHeliograph at 17 GHz. The radio as well as the hard X-ray channels showed different lags during these two intervals. To our knowledge, this is the first time that time lags are reported between EUV and SXR fluctuations on these timescales. We discuss possible emission mechanisms and interpretations, including flare electron trapping.

  1. New O-C Observations for 150 Algols: Insight to the Origins of Period Shifts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffman, D. I.; Harrison, T. E.; McNamara, B. J.; Vestrand, W. T.

    2005-12-01

    Many eclipsing binaries of type Algol, RS CVn, and W UMa have observed orbital period shifts. Of these, many show both increasing and decreasing period shifts. Two leading explanations for these shifts are third body effects and magnetic activity changing the oblateness of the secondary, though neither one can explain all of the observed period oscillations. The first-generation Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment (ROTSE-I) based in Los Alamos, NM, was primarily designed to look for the optical counterparts to gamma-ray bursts as well as searching for other optical transients not detected in gamma-rays. The telescope, consisting of four 200mm camera lenses, can image the entire northern sky twice in a night, which is a very useful tool in monitoring relatively bright eclipsing binaries for period shifts. The public data release from ROTSE-I, the Northern Sky Variability Survey (NSVS), spans one year of data stating in April, 1999. O-C data for 150 eclipsing binaries are presented using the NSVS data. We revisit work by Borkovits and Hegedüs on some third body candidates in several eclipsing binary systems using recent AAVSO and NSVS data. Some unusual light curves of eclipsing binaries produced from NSVS data is presented and discussed.

  2. The last interglacial period at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and an estimate of late Quaternary tectonic uplift rate in a strike-slip regime

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schweig, E. S.; Muhs, D. R.; Simmons, K. R.; Halley, R. B.

    2015-12-01

    Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is an area dominated by a strike-slip tectonic regime and is therefore expected to have very low Quaternary uplift rates. We tested this hypothesis by study of an unusually well preserved emergent reef terrace around the bay. Up to 12 m of unaltered, growth-position reef corals are exposed at about 40 sections examined around ˜40 km of coastline. Maximum reef elevations in the protected, inner part of the bay are ˜11-12 m, whereas outer-coast shoreline angles of wave-cut benches are as high as ˜14 m. Fifty uranium-series analyses of unrecrystallized corals from six localities yield ages ranging from ˜134 ka to ˜115 ka, when adjusted for small biases due to slightly elevated initial 234U/238U values. Thus, ages of corals correlate this reef to the peak of the last interglacial period, marine isotope stage (MIS) 5.5. Previously, we dated the Key Largo Limestone to the same high-sea stand in the tectonically stable Florida Keys. Estimates of paleo-sea level during MIS 5.5 in the Florida Keys are ~6.6 to 8.3 m above present. Assuming a similar paleo-sea level in Cuba, this yields a long-term tectonic uplift rate of 0.04-0.06 m/ka over the past ~120 ka. This estimate supports the hypothesis that the tectonic uplift rate should be low in this strike-slip regime. Nevertheless, on the southeast coast of Cuba, east of our study area, we have observed flights of multiple marine terraces, suggesting either (1) a higher uplift rate or (2) an unusually well-preserved record of pre-MIS 5.5 terraces not observed at Guantanamo Bay.

  3. Explosive dome eruptions modulated by periodic gas-driven inflation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Jeffrey B.; Lyons, John; Andrews, B. J.; Lees, J.M.

    2014-01-01

    Volcan Santiaguito (Guatemala) “breathes” with extraordinary regularity as the edifice's conduit system accumulates free gas, which periodically vents to the atmosphere. Periodic pressurization controls explosion timing, which nearly always occurs at peak inflation, as detected with tiltmeters. Tilt cycles in January 2012 reveal regular 26 ± 6 min inflation/deflation cycles corresponding to at least ~101 kg/s of gas fluxing the system. Very long period (VLP) earthquakes presage explosions and occur during cycles when inflation rates are most rapid. VLPs locate ~300 m below the vent and indicate mobilization of volatiles, which ascend at ~50 m/s. Rapid gas ascent feeds pyroclast-laden eruptions lasting several minutes and rising to ~1 km. VLPs are not observed during less rapid inflation episodes; instead, gas vents passively through the conduit producing no infrasound and no explosion. These observations intimate that steady gas exsolution and accumulation in shallow reservoirs may drive inflation cycles at open-vent silicic volcanoes.

  4. Observations of TT Ari requested in support of MOST observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waagen, Elizabeth O.

    2012-08-01

    Dr. Nikolaus Vogt (Universidad de Valparaiso, Chile) requested simultaneous photometry and spectroscopy of the novalike (VY Scl subtype) cataclysmic variable TT Ari in support of upcoming observations with the Canadian Microvariability and Oscillations of Stars (MOST) satellite 2012 September 13 through October 20. The Departamento de Fisica y Astronomia of the Valparaiso University will carry out photometry with small telescopes in central Chile but the assistance of other observers, particularly in other latitudes and longitudes, is requested. The observations are being carried out to study superhump behavior, which is still not well understood despite the amount of research done in all classes of cataclysmic variables. TT Ari exibits superhumps - both positive (the superhump period is longer than the orbital period) and negative (the superhump period is shorter than the orbital period). While positive superhumps are thought probably to be the result of an eccentric configuration in the accretion disk, the mechanism for negative superhumps is not yet understood except that it may be related to the disk's being warped out of the orbital plane, leading to complex torque phenomena. TT Ari, one of the brightest cataclysmic variables, exhibits occasional fadings of several magnitudes, from its usual high-state (maximum) magnitude of ~10.5V to a low-state magnitude as faint as 16V. These fadings occur every 20-25 years, and last between 500 and 1000 days. According to observations in the AAVSO International Database, TT Ari is currently magnitude 10.5V. Finder charts with sequence may be created using the AAVSO Variable Star Plotter (http://www.aavso.org/vsp). Observations should be submitted to the AAVSO International Database. See full Alert Notice for more details, particularly regarding goals of the campaign, and observing instructions.

  5. The evolution of the Great Barrier Reef during the Last Interglacial Period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dechnik, Belinda; Webster, Jody M.; Webb, Gregory E.; Nothdurft, Luke; Dutton, Andrea; Braga, Juan-Carlos; Zhao, Jian-xin; Duce, Stephanie; Sadler, James

    2017-02-01

    Reef response to Last Interglacial (LIG) sea level and palaeoenvironmental change has been well documented at a limited number of far-field sites remote from former ice sheets. However, the age and development of LIG reefs in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) remain poorly understood due to their location beneath modern living reefs. Here we report thirty-nine new mass spectrometry U-Th ages from seven LIG platform reefs across the northern, central and southern GBR. Two distinct geochemical populations of corals were observed, displaying activity ratios consistent with either closed or open system evolution. Our closed-system ages ( 129-126 ka) provide the first reliable LIG ages for the entire GBR. Combined with our open-system model ages, we are able to constrain the interval of significant LIG reef growth in the southern GBR to between 129-121 ka. Using age-elevation data in conjunction with newly defined coralgal assemblages and sedimentary facies analysis we have defined three distinct phases of LIG reef development in response to major sea level and oceanographic changes. These phases include: Phase 1 (> 129 ka), a shallow-water coralgal colonisation phase following initial flooding of the older, likely Marine Isotope Stage 7 (MIS7) antecedent platform; Phase 2 ( 129 ka), a near drowning event in response to rapid sea level rise and greater nutrient-rich upwelling and; Phase 3 ( 128-121 ka), establishment of significant reef framework through catch-up reef growth, initially characterised by deeper, more turbid coralgal assemblages (Phase 3a) that transition to shallow-water assemblages following sea level stabilisation (Phase 3b). Coralgal assemblage analysis indicates that the palaeoenvironments during initial reef growth phases (1 and 2) of the LIG were significantly different than the initial reef growth phases in the Holocene. However, the similar composition of ultimate shallow-water coralgal assemblages and slow reef accretion rates following stabilisation

  6. The ACER pollen and charcoal database: a global resource to document vegetation and fire response to abrupt climate changes during the last glacial period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez Goñi, María Fernanda; Desprat, Stéphanie; Daniau, Anne-Laure; Bassinot, Frank C.; Polanco-Martínez, Josué M.; Harrison, Sandy P.; Allen, Judy R. M.; Anderson, R. Scott; Behling, Hermann; Bonnefille, Raymonde; Burjachs, Francesc; Carrión, José S.; Cheddadi, Rachid; Clark, James S.; Combourieu-Nebout, Nathalie; Mustaphi, Colin. J. Courtney; Debusk, Georg H.; Dupont, Lydie M.; Finch, Jemma M.; Fletcher, William J.; Giardini, Marco; González, Catalina; Gosling, William D.; Grigg, Laurie D.; Grimm, Eric C.; Hayashi, Ryoma; Helmens, Karin; Heusser, Linda E.; Hill, Trevor; Hope, Geoffrey; Huntley, Brian; Igarashi, Yaeko; Irino, Tomohisa; Jacobs, Bonnie; Jiménez-Moreno, Gonzalo; Kawai, Sayuri; Kershaw, A. Peter; Kumon, Fujio; Lawson, Ian T.; Ledru, Marie-Pierre; Lézine, Anne-Marie; Liew, Ping Mei; Magri, Donatella; Marchant, Robert; Margari, Vasiliki; Mayle, Francis E.; Merna McKenzie, G.; Moss, Patrick; Müller, Stefanie; Müller, Ulrich C.; Naughton, Filipa; Newnham, Rewi M.; Oba, Tadamichi; Pérez-Obiol, Ramón; Pini, Roberta; Ravazzi, Cesare; Roucoux, Katy H.; Rucina, Stephen M.; Scott, Louis; Takahara, Hikaru; Tzedakis, Polichronis C.; Urrego, Dunia H.; van Geel, Bas; Valencia, B. Guido; Vandergoes, Marcus J.; Vincens, Annie; Whitlock, Cathy L.; Willard, Debra A.; Yamamoto, Masanobu

    2017-09-01

    Quaternary records provide an opportunity to examine the nature of the vegetation and fire responses to rapid past climate changes comparable in velocity and magnitude to those expected in the 21st-century. The best documented examples of rapid climate change in the past are the warming events associated with the Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) cycles during the last glacial period, which were sufficiently large to have had a potential feedback through changes in albedo and greenhouse gas emissions on climate. Previous reconstructions of vegetation and fire changes during the D-O cycles used independently constructed age models, making it difficult to compare the changes between different sites and regions. Here, we present the ACER (Abrupt Climate Changes and Environmental Responses) global database, which includes 93 pollen records from the last glacial period (73-15 ka) with a temporal resolution better than 1000 years, 32 of which also provide charcoal records. A harmonized and consistent chronology based on radiometric dating (14C, 234U/230Th, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), 40Ar/39Ar-dated tephra layers) has been constructed for 86 of these records, although in some cases additional information was derived using common control points based on event stratigraphy. The ACER database compiles metadata including geospatial and dating information, pollen and charcoal counts, and pollen percentages of the characteristic biomes and is archived in Microsoft AccessTM at PANGAEA.870867" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.870867.

  7. Beam-wave interaction in periodic and quasi-periodic structures. 2. ed.

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schaechter, Levi

    2011-01-01

    The main theme of this book is the interaction of electrons with electromagnetic waves in the presence of periodic and quasi-periodic structures in vacuum, in view of applications in the design and operation of particle accelerators. The first part of the book is concerned with the textbook-like presentation of the basic material, in particular reviewing elementary electromagnetic phenomena and electron dynamics. The second part of the book describes the current models for beam-wave interactions with periodic and quasi-periodic structures. This is the basis for introducing, in the last part of the book, a number of particle and radiation sources that rest on these principles, in particular the free-electron laser, wake-field acceleration schemes and a number of other advanced particle accelerator concepts. This second edition brings this fundamental text up-to-date in view of the enormous advances that have been made over the last decade since the first edition was published. All chapters, as well as the bibliography, have been significantly revised and extended, and the number of end-of-chapter exercises has been further increased to enhance this book's usefulness for teaching specialized graduate courses. (orig.)

  8. On the observed excess of retrograde orbits among long-period comets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernandez, J.A.

    1981-01-01

    The distribution of orbital inclinations of the observed long-period comets is analysed. An excess of retrograde orbits is found which increases with the perihelion distance, except for the range 1.1 10 3 A U) has the same behaviour as the total sample. It is thus suggested that the excess of retrograde orbits among long-period comets is related to an already existent excess among the incoming new comets (i.e. comets driven into the planetary region by stellar perturbations). Using theoretical considerations and a numerical model it is proposed that an important fraction of the so-called new comets are actually repeating passages through the planetary region. Nearly a half of the new comets with q > 2 A U may be repeating passages. An important consequence of the presence of comets repeating passages among the new ones is the production of an excess of retrograde orbits in the whole sample. (author)

  9. SDO/AIA Observations of Quasi-periodic Fast (~1000 km/s) Propagating (QFP) Waves as Evidence of Fast-mode Magnetosonic Waves in the Low Corona: Statistics and Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, W.; Ofman, L.; Title, A. M.; Zhao, J.; Aschwanden, M. J.

    2011-12-01

    Recent EUV imaging observations from SDO/AIA led to the discovery of quasi-periodic fast (~2000 km/s) propagating (QFP) waves in active regions (Liu et al. 2011). They were interpreted as fast-mode magnetosonic waves and reproduced in 3D MHD simulations (Ofman et al. 2011). Since then, we have extended our study to a sample of more than a dozen such waves observed during the SDO mission (2010/04-now). We will present the statistical properties of these waves including: (1) Their projected speeds measured in the plane of the sky are about 400-2200 km/s, which, as the lower limits of their true speeds in 3D space, fall in the expected range of coronal Alfven or fast-mode speeds. (2) They usually originate near flare kernels, often in the wake of a coronal mass ejection, and propagate in narrow funnels of coronal loops that serve as waveguides. (3) These waves are launched repeatedly with quasi-periodicities in the 30-200 seconds range, often lasting for more than one hour; some frequencies coincide with those of the quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) in the accompanying flare, suggestive a common excitation mechanism. We obtained the k-omega diagrams and dispersion relations of these waves using Fourier analysis. We estimate their energy fluxes and discuss their contribution to coronal heating as well as their diagnostic potential for coronal seismology.

  10. Depressive disorder in the last phase of life in patients with cardiovascular disease, cancer, and COPD: data from a 20-year follow-up period in general practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warmenhoven, Franca; Bor, Hans; Lucassen, Peter; Vissers, Kris; van Weel, Chris; Prins, Judith; Schers, Henk

    2013-05-01

    Depression is assumed to be common in chronically ill patients during their last phase of life and is associated with poorer outcomes. The prevalence of depression is widely varying in previous studies due to the use of different terminology, classification, and assessment methods. To explore the reported incidence of depressive disorder, as registered in the last phase of life of patients who died from cardiovascular disease, cancer or COPD, in a sample of primary care patients. A historic cohort study, using a 20-year period registration database of medical records in four Dutch general practices (a dynamic population based on the Continuous Morbidity Registration database). Medical history of the sample cohort was analysed for the diagnosis of a new episode of depressive disorder and descriptive statistics were used. In total 982 patients were included, and 19 patients (1.9%) were diagnosed with a new depressive disorder in the last year of their life. The lifetime prevalence of depressive disorder in this sample was 8.2%. The incidence of depressive disorder in the last phase of life is remarkably low in this study. These data were derived from actual patient care in general practice. Psychiatric diagnoses were made by GPs in the context of both patient needs and delivered care. A broader concept of depression in general practice is recommended to improve the diagnosis and treatment of mood disorders in patients in the last phase of life.

  11. The ~ 2400-year cycle in atmospheric radiocarbon concentration: bispectrum of 14C data over the last 8000 years

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. S. Vasiliev

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available We have carried out power spectrum, time-spectrum and bispectrum analyses of the long-term series of the radiocarbon concentrations deduced from measurements of the radiocarbon content in tree rings for the last 8000 years. Classical harmonic analysis of this time series shows a number of periods: 2400, 940, 710, 570, 500, 420, 360, 230, 210 and 190 years. A principle feature of the time series is the long period of ~ 2400 years, which is well known. The lines with periods of 710, 420 and 210 years are found to be the primary secular components of power spectrum. The complicated structure of the observed power spectrum is the result of ~ 2400-year modulation of primary secular components. The modulation induces the appearance of two side lines for every primary one, namely lines with periods of 940 and 570 years, of 500 and 360 years, and 230 and 190 years. The bispectral analysis shows that the parameters of carbon exchange system varied with the ~ 2400-year period during the last 8000 years. Variations of these parameters appear to be a climate effect on the rate of transfer of 14C between the atmosphere and the the ocean.Key words. Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (climatology; ocean-atmosphere interaction; paleoclimatology

  12. Bounded and Periodic Solutions of Semilinear Impulsive Periodic System on Banach Spaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei W

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract A class of semilinear impulsive periodic system on Banach spaces is considered. First, we introduce the -periodic PC-mild solution of semilinear impulsive periodic system. By virtue of Gronwall lemma with impulse, the estimate on the PC-mild solutions is derived. The continuity and compactness of the new constructed Poincaré operator determined by impulsive evolution operator corresponding to homogenous linear impulsive periodic system are shown. This allows us to apply Horn's fixed-point theorem to prove the existence of -periodic PC-mild solutions when PC-mild solutions are ultimate bounded. This extends the study on periodic solutions of periodic system without impulse to periodic system with impulse on general Banach spaces. At last, an example is given for demonstration.

  13. Nutritional intake evolution in adolescent sporting boys over the last two decades.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Biervliet, S; Van Biervliet, J P; De Neve, J; Watteyne, R; D'Hooghe, M

    2011-01-01

    The AIM of the study was to evaluate the nutritional trends in young elite male soccer players, attending national soccer league at RFC Bruges over the last two decades. At the start of each season, players and parents are instructed about normal healthy nutrition and fluid intake by dieticians. Since 1983, dieticians perform dietary habit surveys in the adolescent player groups. They instruct players and parents how to record all food and fluid intake during 3 days, a training-day, a match-day and an off -day. It is asked to do the recordings when players and parents are together and parents are asked to supervise the recording. Intakes are calculated using the Becel institute nutrition software (BINS), Becel, 2003. A significant decrease of energy intake/m2 is observed over the last 20 years. Body composition, measured as age-matched body mass index remained at median levels for the population during this period. An important modification of dietary content towards the recommended daily intakes is observed. Fat, saturated fat and cholesterol intake decreased dramatically. Carbohydrate intake increased. A positive evolution towards the recommended dietary composition is observed over the years. However, the decrease in caloric intake without influence on the body mass index could suggest that these elite male footballers have a decreased physical activity as compared to 20 years ago.

  14. The ACER pollen and charcoal database: a global resource to document vegetation and fire response to abrupt climate changes during the last glacial period

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. F. Sánchez Goñi

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Quaternary records provide an opportunity to examine the nature of the vegetation and fire responses to rapid past climate changes comparable in velocity and magnitude to those expected in the 21st-century. The best documented examples of rapid climate change in the past are the warming events associated with the Dansgaard–Oeschger (D–O cycles during the last glacial period, which were sufficiently large to have had a potential feedback through changes in albedo and greenhouse gas emissions on climate. Previous reconstructions of vegetation and fire changes during the D–O cycles used independently constructed age models, making it difficult to compare the changes between different sites and regions. Here, we present the ACER (Abrupt Climate Changes and Environmental Responses global database, which includes 93 pollen records from the last glacial period (73–15 ka with a temporal resolution better than 1000 years, 32 of which also provide charcoal records. A harmonized and consistent chronology based on radiometric dating (14C, 234U∕230Th, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL, 40Ar∕39Ar-dated tephra layers has been constructed for 86 of these records, although in some cases additional information was derived using common control points based on event stratigraphy. The ACER database compiles metadata including geospatial and dating information, pollen and charcoal counts, and pollen percentages of the characteristic biomes and is archived in Microsoft AccessTM at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.870867.

  15. Origin of last-glacial loess in the western Yukon-Tanana Upland, central Alaska, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muhs, Daniel; Pigati, Jeffrey S.; Budahn, James R.; Skipp, Gary L.; Bettis, E. Arthur; Jensen, Britta

    2018-01-01

    Loess is widespread over Alaska, and its accumulation has traditionally been associated with glacial periods. Surprisingly, loess deposits securely dated to the last glacial period are rare in Alaska, and paleowind reconstructions for this time period are limited to inferences from dune orientations. We report a rare occurrence of loess deposits dating to the last glacial period, ~19 ka to ~12 ka, in the Yukon-Tanana Upland. Loess in this area is very coarse grained (abundant coarse silt), with decreases in particle size moving south of the Yukon River, implying that the drainage basin of this river was the main source. Geochemical data show, however, that the Tanana River valley to the south is also a likely distal source. The occurrence of last-glacial loess with sources to both the south and north is explained by both regional, synoptic-scale winds from the northeast and opposing katabatic winds that could have developed from expanded glaciers in both the Brooks Range to the north and the Alaska Range to the south. Based on a comparison with recent climate modeling for the last glacial period, seasonality of dust transport may also have played a role in bringing about contributions from both northern and southern sources.

  16. DMS photochemistry during the Asian dust-storm period in the Spring of 2001: model simulations vs. field observations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shon, Zang-Ho; Kim, Ki-Hyun; Swan, Hilton; Lee, Gangwoong; Kim, Yoo-Keun

    2005-01-01

    This study examines the local/regional DMS oxidation chemistry on Jeju Island (33.17 degrees N, 126.10 degrees E) during the Asian dust-storm (ADS) period of April 2001. Three ADS events were observed during the periods of April 10-12, 13-14, and 25-26, respectively. For comparative purposes, a non-Asian-dust-storm (NADS) period was also considered in this study, which represents the entire measurement periods in April except the ADS events. The atmospheric concentrations of DMS and SO2 were measured at a ground station on Jeju Island, Korea, as part of the ACE-Asia intensive operation. DMS (means of 34-52 pptv) and SO2 (means of 0.96-1.14 ppbv) levels measured during the ADS period were higher than those (mean of 0.45 ppbv) during the NADS period. The enhanced DMS levels during the ADS period were likely due to the increase in DMS flux under reduced oxidant levels (OH and NO3). SO2 levels between the two contrasting periods were affected sensitively by some factors such as air mass origins. The diurnal variation patterns of DMS observed during the two periods were largely different from those seen in the background environment (e.g., the marine boundary layer (MBL)). In contrast to the MBL, the maximum DMS value during the ADS period was seen in the late afternoon at about sunset; this reversed pattern appears to be regulated by certain factors (e.g., enhanced NO3 oxidation). The sea-to-air fluxes of DMS between the ADS and NADS periods were calculated based on the mass-balance photochemical-modeling approach; their results were clearly distinguished with the values of 4.4 and 2.4 micromole m(-2) day(-1), respectively. This study confirmed that the contribution of DMS oxidation to observed SO2 levels on Jeju Island was not significant during our study period regardless of ADS or NADS periods.

  17. The period-age relation for cepheids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Efremov, Yu.N.

    1978-01-01

    The list of 119 cepheid-members of 55 clusters and associations of the Magellanic Clouds, the Galaxy, and M31 is given. The period-age relation is found from the data on 64 cepheids in 29 clusters for which the age determinations are available, the ages of extragalactic clusters were determined mainly from their integral colours. The U-B colours are found to be of much better age parameters than the B-V ones. The composite period-age relation agrees well with the theoretical one. The observed dispersion of the period-age relation leads to an estimate of the age dispersion about 1x10 7 years in the associations. Some peculiarities of the cepheids with the shortest periods amongst others in the same clusters are probably explained if they are overtone pulsators. The period-age relation may be used for an investigation of the recent history of star formation in the galaxies. This relation allows to determine the age gradient across the spiral arm in M31 which is in agreement with the density wave theory predictions. The distribution of cepheids in our Galaxy and neighbouring galaxies is consistent with the conception of star formation lasting for some dozen million years in cells with a dimension of some hundreds of parsecs

  18. Homicides among women in the different Brazilian regions in the last 35 years: an analysis of age-period-birth cohort effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Souza, Edinilsa Ramos de; Meira, Karina Cardoso; Ribeiro, Adalgisa Peixoto; Santos, Juliano Dos; Guimarães, Raphael Mendonça; Borges, Laiane Felix; Oliveira, Lannuzya Veríssimo E; Simões, Taynãna César

    2017-09-01

    The aim of this study is to estimate the effects of age-period-birth cohort (APC) on female homicides. This is an ecological study which analyzed the violence-related death records of women aged 10 years and older, in the Brazilian geographic regions, between 1980 and 2014. Data on mortality were extracted from the Mortality Information System. The trend analysis was conducted using negative binomial regression and APC effects were analyzed using estimable functions. The average mortality rate for the period was 5.13 deaths per 100,000 women, with the highest rates observed in the Central-West (7.98 deaths), followed by the Southeast (4.78 deaths), North (4.77 deaths), Northeast (4.05 deaths) and South (3.82 deaths) regions. All regions presented a decrease in the risk of death in the period from 2010 to 2014, except for the Northeast region (RR = 1.06, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.10). There was a progressive increase in the homicide risk for women born from 1955 to 1959 in all Brazilian regions. Younger women are at higher risk of dying from homicides in all Brazilian geographic regions. The upward trend of homicide mortality rates according to birth cohort was significant and the highest risk was observed in women born between 2000 and 2004.

  19. Changes in temperature and precipitation extremes observed in Modena, Italy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boccolari, M.; Malmusi, S.

    2013-03-01

    Climate changes has become one of the most analysed subjects from researchers community, mainly because of the numerous extreme events that hit the globe. To have a better view of climate changes and trends, long observations time series are needed. During last decade a lot of Italian time series, concerning several surface meteorological variables, have been analysed and published. No one of them includes one of the longest record in Italy, the time series of the Geophysical Observatory of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. Measurements, collected since early 19th century, always in the same position, except for some months during the second world war, embrace daily temperature, precipitation amount, relative humidity, pressure, cloudiness and other variables. In this work we concentrated on the analysis of yearly and seasonal trends and climate extremes of temperature, both minimum and maximum, and precipitation time series, for the periods 1861-2010 and 1831-2010 respectively, in which continuous measurements are available. In general, our results confirm quite well those reported by IPCC and in many other studies over Mediterranean area. In particular, we found that minimum temperature has a non significant positive trend of + 0.1 °C per decade considering all the period, the value increases to 0.9 °C per decade for 1981-2010. For maximum temperature we observed a non significant + 0.1 °C trend for all the period, while + 0.8 °C for the last thirty years. On the other hand precipitation is decreasing, -6.3 mm per decade, considering all the analysed period, while the last thirty years are characterised by a great increment of 74.8 mm per decade. For both variables several climate indices have been analysed and they confirm what has been found for minimum and maximum temperatures and precipitation. In particular, during last 30 years frost days and ice days are decreasing, whereas summer days are increasing. During the last 30-year tropical nights

  20. Hydrological change during the last 600 years as observed from landscape analysis and historical maps: a case study from the Nete catchment, Campine area, NE-Belgium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beerten, Koen; Leterme, Bertrand

    2015-04-01

    increased from 2 km to 25 km, while land cover changed from 80% heathland and almost no trees to only 20% heathland and 50% coniferous forest. Available palaeoclimate records suggest that there is no correlation between groundwater level change and average annual temperature or precipitation. Furthermore, population density seems to be uncorrelated with the observed hydrological changes. Internal consistency checks are performed and found satisfactory. For example, the high groundwater levels predicted by the blown-out surfaces for 1400-1600 AD are confirmed by surface water features on younger historical maps (~1770 AD and ~1850 AD). Indeed, pollen analysis, topographical maps and climate records show that land cover and climate did not change significantly throughout the period 1400 AD to 1850 AD. We conclude that the proposed methods are useful tools to gather verification data (i.e., groundwater table depth) for palaeohydrological modelling in the European sand belt during the last millenium.

  1. An integrated analysis of dry-wet variability in western China for the last 4-5 centuries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qian, Weihong; Lin, Xiang

    2009-09-01

    The dry-wet variability in western China and its spatiotemporal structure during the last 4-5 centuries was examined using 24 climate proxies from sediments, ice cores, historical documents, and tree rings. Spatial patterns and temporal evolutions of dryness and wetness were not only extracted from the proxy data using rotated empirical orthogonal function (REOF) analysis for the last 4 centuries, but also for instrumental data in the last 40 years. The leading five REOF modes indicate that 5 dry-wet variation centers exist in western China. Moreover, long-term variability in dryness and wetness is seen on long (centennial) to short (inter-decadal) timescales. An out-of-phase relationship for the inter-decadal variation was observed between the Hetao-upper Yangtze River region and north Xinjiang, indicating influences on dry-wet variations of the East Asian summer monsoon and the westerly winds over the two regions, respectively. A particularly long dry spell was found in the central Tibetan Plateau in the 19th century. A predominance of wet decades in the last 4 centuries was found in the arid and Hetao regions. Three regional dry-wet series with annual resolution in north Xinjiang, the upper Yellow River valley, and the Hetao area were constructed for analyses of the last 500 years. Dry-wet oscillations with periodicities of 16, 50, and 150 years in north Xinjiang, 50 years in the upper Yellow River valley, and 70-80 years in the Hetao region were identified by wavelet analysis. In general, these periods correspond to large-scale oscillations found in the climate system, are mainly related to ocean-atmosphere interaction.

  2. R Aqr observing campaign

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waagen, Elizabeth O.

    2016-01-01

    Dr. George Wallerstein (University of Washington) has requested AAVSO coverage of the long period/symbiotic variable R Aquarii beginning immediately in support of high resolution spectroscopic observations planned for 2016 January 19 and 21. Several other astronomers, including Drs. Lee Anne Willson (Iowa State University), Ulisse Munari (INAF, Astronomical Observatory of Padua, Italy), and Fred Walter (Stony Brook University) are studying R Aqr closely and additional spectroscopic and other observations are planned for the near future. R Aqr is both a Mira (M) and a symbiotic (ZAND) - it is a close binary system consisting of a hot star and a late-type star (the Mira), both enveloped in nebulosity. As a result, the very interesting light curve shows not only the Mira pulsation but also complex eclipse behavior as the two stars interact. The period of Mira variation is 387.0 days; the eclipse period is 43.6-44 years. The cause of the eclipse is unknown; several theories h! ave been proposed, including a focused accretion stream, a disk or cloud around the secondary, and a triggered mass loss that produces an opaque cloud. Careful investigation of this upcoming event should help to resolve this question. The last eclipse of R Aqr was in 1978. The next eclipse is predicted for 2022, but may be early. The current behavior of R Aqr suggests that the eclipse, which lasts for several years, may either be beginning or its beginning may be imminent. R Aqr was at minimum in early December 2015 at magnitude V=11.4, and is currently at visual magnitude 11.0. During this phase of the approximately 44-year eclipse cycle, at maximum it may be as bright as V 6.0-6.5 but is not expected to become brighter. Beginning immediately, nightly BVRI CCD and DSLR photometry and visual observations are requested. As R Aqr brightens towards maximum and is in range, PEP observations are also requested. Ongoing spectroscopy over the next several years will be interesting to see as the system

  3. Postaccident changes in heath status of the Chornobyl cleanup workers 1986-1987 (period of observation 1988-2012)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buzunov, V.O.; Vojchulene, Yu.S.; Domashevs'ka, T.Je.; Khabarova, T.P.; Kortushyin, G.Yi.

    2015-01-01

    Long-term cohort epidemiological study (period of observation 1988-2012) has been conducted using data of the State Registry of Ukraine of Persons Affected by the Chornobyl Accident. Study cohort - 196,423 males-participants of the Chornobyl recovery operations in 1986-1987. Epidemiological and mathematical- and-statistical methods were used. We have found a dramatic deterioration of the Chornobyl cleanup workers' health due to the growth of wide range of nontumor diseases, especially circulatory, digestive, respiratory, endocrine, genitourinary and nervous system diseases. In postaccident period, disability and mortality have increased significantly due to nontumor diseases. Circulatory diseases make major contribution to the structure of causes of disability and death. When studying the dynamics of nontumor incidence, we have found that in 1988-1992 the highest, throughout postaccident period, rate of mental and behavioral disorders, diseases of the nervous system was mainly due to disorders of the autonomic nervous system. Since 1993-1997, rate of this pathology has significantly reduced and remained stable in subsequent years of observation. Thus, we can assume that in the early postaccident period, stress factor in combination with radiation one had the greatest impact on health of cleanup workers, resulting in the development of other nontumor diseases in the remote postaccident period. The study revealed an evident increase in nontumor incidence, disability and mortality from nontumor diseases among Chornobyl cleanup workers 1986-1987; the highest rate of nontumor incidence was observed 12-21 years after the Chornobyl accident

  4. Observation of self-assembled periodic nano-structures induced by femtosecond laser in both ablation and deposition regimes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Mingzhen; Zhang, Haitao; Her, Tsing-Hua

    2008-02-01

    We observed the spontaneous formation of periodic nano-structures in both femtosecond laser ablation and deposition. The former involved 400-nm femtosecond pulses from a 250-KHz regenerated amplified mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser and periodic nanocracks and the nano-structure are in the form of periodic nanocracks in the substrate, the latter applied an 80-MHz mode-locked Ti:sapphire oscillator with pulse energy less than half nanojoule in a laser-induced chemical vapor deposition configuration and tungsten nanogratings grow heterogeneously on top of the substrates. These two observed periodic nanostructures have opposite orientations respecting to laser polarization: the periodic nanocracks are perpendicular to, whereas the deposited tungsten nanogratings are parallel to laser polarization direction. By translating the substrate respecting to the laser focus, both the periodic nanocrack and tungsten nanograting extend to the whole scanning range. The deposited tungsten nanogratings possess excellent uniformity on both the grating period and tooth length. Both the attributes can be tuned precisely by controlling the laser power and scanning speed. Furthermore, we discovered that the teeth of transverse tungsten nanogratings are self aligned along their axial direction during multiple scanning with appropriate offset between scans. We demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating large-area one-dimensional grating by exploiting such unique property. These distinct phenomena of nanocracks and tungsten nanogratings indicate different responsible mechanisms.

  5. Subarcsecond bright points and quasi-periodic upflows below a quiescent filament observed by IRIS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, T.; Zhang, J.

    2016-05-01

    Context. The new Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) mission provides high-resolution observations of UV spectra and slit-jaw images (SJIs). These data have become available for investigating the dynamic features in the transition region (TR) below the on-disk filaments. Aims: The driver of "counter-streaming" flows along the filament spine is still unknown yet. The magnetic structures and the upflows at the footpoints of the filaments and their relations with the filament mainbody have not been well understood. We study the dynamic evolution at the footpoints of filaments in order to find some clues for solving these questions. Methods: Using UV spectra and SJIs from the IRIS, along with coronal images and magnetograms from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), we present the new features in a quiescent filament channel: subarcsecond bright points (BPs) and quasi-periodic upflows. Results: The BPs in the TR have a spatial scale of about 350-580 km and lifetimes of more than several tens of minutes. They are located at stronger magnetic structures in the filament channel with a magnetic flux of about 1017-1018 Mx. Quasi-periodic brightenings and upflows are observed in the BPs, and the period is about 4-5 min. The BP and the associated jet-like upflow comprise a "tadpole-shaped" structure. The upflows move along bright filament threads, and their directions are almost parallel to the spine of the filament. The upflows initiated from the BPs with opposite polarity magnetic fields have opposite directions. The velocity of the upflows in the plane of sky is about 5-50 km s-1. The emission line of Si IV 1402.77 Å at the locations of upflows exhibits obvious blueshifts of about 5-30 km s-1, and the line profile is broadened with the width of more than 20 km s-1. Conclusions: The BPs seem to be the bases of filament threads, and the upflows are able to convey mass for the dynamic balance of the filament. The "counter-streaming" flows in previous observations

  6. Survival of inlays and partial crowns made of IPS empress after a 10-year observation period and in relation to various treatment parameters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoll, Richard; Cappel, I; Jablonski-Momeni, Anahita; Pieper, K; Stachniss, V

    2007-01-01

    This study evaluated the long-term survival of inlays and partial crowns made of IPS Empress. For this purpose, the patient data of a prospective study were examined in retrospect and statistically evaluated. All of the inlays and partial crowns fabricated of IPS-Empress within the Department of Operative Dentistry at the School of Dental Medicine of Philipps University, Marburg, Germany were systematically recorded in a database between 1991 and 2001. The corresponding patient files were revised at the end of 2001. The information gathered in this way was used to evaluate the survival of the restorations using the method described by Kaplan and Meyer. A total of n = 1624 restorations were fabricated of IPS-Empress within the observation period. During this time, n = 53 failures were recorded. The remaining restorations were observed for a mean period of 18.77 months. The failures were mainly attributed to fractures, endodontic problems and cementation errors. The last failure was established after 82 months. At this stage, a cumulative survival probability of p = 0.81 was registered with a standard error of 0.04. At this time, n = 30 restorations were still being observed. Restorations on vital teeth (n = 1588) showed 46 failures, with a cumulative survival probability of p = 0.82. Restorations performed on non-vital teeth (n = 36) showed seven failures, with a cumulative survival probability of p = 0.53. Highly significant differences were found between the two groups (p < 0.0001) in a log-rank test. No significant difference (p = 0.41) was found between the patients treated by students (n = 909) and those treated by qualified dentists (n = 715). Likewise, no difference (p = 0.13) was established between the restorations seated with a high viscosity cement (n = 295) and those placed with a low viscosity cement (n = 1329).

  7. On the last digits of consecutive primes

    OpenAIRE

    Holt, Fred B.

    2016-01-01

    Recently Oliver and Soundararajan made conjectures based on computational enumerations about the frequency of occurrence of pairs of last digits for consecutive primes. By studying Eratosthenes sieve, we have identified discrete dynamic systems that exactly model the populations of gaps across stages of Eratosthenes sieve. Our models provide some insight into the observed biases in the occurrences of last digits in consecutive primes, and the models suggest that the biases will ultimately be ...

  8. The Last Possible Outposts for Life on Mars.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davila, Alfonso F; Schulze-Makuch, Dirk

    2016-02-01

    The evolution of habitable conditions on Mars is often tied to the existence of aquatic habitats and largely constrained to the first billion years of the planet. Here, we propose an alternate, lasting evolutionary trajectory that assumes the colonization of land habitats before the end of the Hesperian period (ca. 3 billion years ago) at a pace similar to life on Earth. Based on the ecological adaptations to increasing dryness observed in dryland ecosystems on Earth, we reconstruct the most likely sequence of events leading to a late extinction of land communities on Mars. We propose a trend of ecological change with increasing dryness from widespread edaphic communities to localized lithic communities and finally to communities exclusively found in hygroscopic substrates, reflecting the need for organisms to maximize access to atmospheric sources of water. If our thought process is correct, it implies the possibility of life on Mars until relatively recent times, perhaps even the present.

  9. Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation During the Last Glacial Maximum.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lynch-Stieglitz, J.; Adkins, J.F.; Curry, W.B.; Dokken, T.; Hall, I.R.; Herguera, J.C.; Hirschi, J.J.-M.; Ivanova, E.V.; Kissel, C.; Marchal, O.; Marchitto, T.M.; McCave, I.N.; McManus, J.F.; Mulitza, S.; Ninnemann, U.; Peeters, F.J.C.; Yu, E.-F.; Zahn, R.

    2007-01-01

    The circulation of the deep Atlantic Ocean during the height of the last ice age appears to have been quite different from today. We review observations implying that Atlantic meridional overturning circulation during the Last Glacial Maximum was neither extremely sluggish nor an enhanced version of

  10. On Quasi-Periodic Brightness Variations of P Cygni

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kochiashvili, N.; Beradze, S.; Natsvlishvili, R.; Kochiashvili, I.; Vardosanidze, M.; Pannicke, A.

    2018-03-01

    Until recent decades, it was considered that all Luminous Blue Variables are single massive and high luminosity stars. Now for several of them a companion has been found. The opinion exists that P Cygni also has a companion with an orbital period of about seven years. In accordance with this hypothesis, a known powerful eruption occurred near the periastron point. P Cygni, as well as several other well-known Luminous Blue Variable (LBV) stars, is a so-called "Supernova Impostor" because it survived after a powerful outburst. However, there were cases during the last decade when a LBV star survived after a powerful giant eruption, and then after a few years, explode as a supernova. Because the real reason for the great eruption and characteristic light variability of LBV, including P Cygni, is not established yet, any kind of photometric and spectral observational data is very significant. We present the results of analysis of the long-term photometric observations of hypergiant P Cygni. On the basis of these data, different quasi-periodic brightness changes of the star were revealed.

  11. Estimating interevent time distributions from finite observation periods in communication networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kivelä, Mikko; Porter, Mason A.

    2015-11-01

    A diverse variety of processes—including recurrent disease episodes, neuron firing, and communication patterns among humans—can be described using interevent time (IET) distributions. Many such processes are ongoing, although event sequences are only available during a finite observation window. Because the observation time window is more likely to begin or end during long IETs than during short ones, the analysis of such data is susceptible to a bias induced by the finite observation period. In this paper, we illustrate how this length bias is born and how it can be corrected without assuming any particular shape for the IET distribution. To do this, we model event sequences using stationary renewal processes, and we formulate simple heuristics for determining the severity of the bias. To illustrate our results, we focus on the example of empirical communication networks, which are temporal networks that are constructed from communication events. The IET distributions of such systems guide efforts to build models of human behavior, and the variance of IETs is very important for estimating the spreading rate of information in networks of temporal interactions. We analyze several well-known data sets from the literature, and we find that the resulting bias can lead to systematic underestimates of the variance in the IET distributions and that correcting for the bias can lead to qualitatively different results for the tails of the IET distributions.

  12. On the Diurnal Periodicity of Representative Earthquakes in Greece: Comparison of Data from Different Observation Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desherevskii, A. V.; Sidorin, A. Ya.

    2017-12-01

    Due to the initiation of the Hellenic Unified Seismic Network (HUSN) in late 2007, the quality of observation significantly improved by 2011. For example, the representative magnitude level considerably has decreased and the number of annually recorded events has increased. The new observational system highly expanded the possibilities for studying regularities in seismicity. In view of this, the authors revisited their studies of the diurnal periodicity of representative earthquakes in Greece that was revealed earlier in the earthquake catalog before 2011. We use 18 samples of earthquakes of different magnitudes taken from the catalog of Greek earthquakes from 2011 to June 2016 to derive a series of the number of earthquakes for each of them and calculate its average diurnal course. To increase the reliability of the results, we compared the data for two regions. With a high degree of statistical significance, we have obtained that no diurnal periodicity can be found for strongly representative earthquakes. This finding differs from the estimates obtained earlier from an analysis of the catalog of earthquakes at the same area for 1995-2004 and 2005-2010, i.e., before the initiation of the Hellenic Unified Seismic Network. The new results are consistent with the hypothesis of noise discrimination (observational selection) explaining the cause of the diurnal variation of earthquakes with different sensitivity of the seismic network in daytime and nighttime periods.

  13. Fermat's Last Theorem A Theorem at Last!

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 1; Issue 1. Fermat's Last Theorem A Theorem at Last! C S Yogananda. General Article Volume 1 Issue 1 January 1996 pp 71-79. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link: https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/reso/001/01/0071-0079 ...

  14. Radiocarbon clock strikes the glacial period pulse

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Serebryannyj, L.R.

    1976-01-01

    Discussed are some aspects of the theory of radiocarbon dating in application to the study of the history of the Earth. The accumulation and the decay of C 14 and methods for its recording are desribed. Presented is a block diagram of a scintillation counter for recording C 14 . The chronology of the last glaciation of Europe has been determined: the Interglacial period (between 50 and 40 thousand years) a prolonged preglacil period (between 40 and 25 thousand years), the last glaciation (between 25 and 10 thousand years ago)

  15. Clinical outcomes with olanzapine long-acting injection: impact of the 3-hour observation period on patient satisfaction and well-being

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anand E

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Ernie Anand,1 Lovisa Berggren,2 John Landry,3 Ágoston Tóth,4 Holland C Detke5 1Neuroscience Medical Affairs, Eli Lilly & Company Ltd, Windlesham, UK; 2Global Statistical Sciences, Lilly Deutschland GmbH, Bad Homburg, Germany; 3Global Statistical Sciences, Eli Lilly Canada Inc., Toronto, ON, Canada; 4Neuroscience, Lilly Hungary, Budapest, Hungary; 5Psychiatry and Pain Disorders, Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA Background: The objective of the present analysis is to determine the impact of the 3-hour observation period for olanzapine long-acting injection (LAI on patient satisfaction and well-being by comparing data collected before and after its implementation. Methods: This is a post hoc analysis of patients treated with olanzapine LAI in 1 a 6-month fixed-dose randomized controlled trial and/or 2 a 6-year open-label safety study. This analysis was limited to patients with schizophrenia who were treated with olanzapine LAI consistent with the approved indication and dosing recommendations of the European Union Summary of Product Characteristics (N=966. Of the 966 patients, the analysis further focused only on those patients who received both 1 at least one injection before the implementation of the 3-hour observation period and 2 at least one injection after implementation of the 3-hour observation period (N=487. Patient satisfaction was assessed with the three-item Patient Satisfaction with Medication Questionnaire-Modified. Responses were averaged across all postbaseline visits occurring before (ie, without the implementation of the 3-hour observation period and across all postbaseline visits occurring after (ie, with the implementation of the 3-hour observation period. In addition, the rate of postinjection delirium/sedation syndrome events was calculated. Results: There was no meaningful change after implementation of the 3-hour observation period in satisfaction (before: mean [SD] =4.0 [1.02] and

  16. The last 1000 years; Les derniers 1000 ans

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bertrand, C. [Institut Royal Meteorologique de Belgique, Dept. Observations, Bruxelles (Belgium)

    2004-06-01

    A climate model of intermediate complexity has been used to simulate the surface air temperature evolution during the last millennium by considering both natural and anthropogenically-induced climate forcing. Our results indicate that all the investigated forcings are needed to simulate the surface air temperature evolution over this time period. While the combination of solar and volcanic forcing can explain the Little Ice Age and the Medieval warm period, only the greenhouse gas forcing associated with the anthropogenic sulphate forcing and the impact of deforestation give a climate response comparable in magnitude and time to the late 50 years temperature warming. (author)

  17. Early childhood development when second-trimester ultrasound dating disagrees with last menstrual period: a prospective cohort study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grewal Jagteshwar

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background When an ultrasound-based estimate of gestational age (GA is less (greater than an estimate based on a definite last menstrual period, the fetus may grow slower (faster than average. While the association between these discrepancies in GA estimates and adverse perinatal outcomes has been examined extensively, there is scant evidence about long-term effects, such as child neurodevelopment. Methods Using data from a prospective cohort study titled, NICHD Study of Successive Small-for-Gestational Age Births, we examined if GA discrepancies in early second trimester of pregnancy (17 weeks’ gestation are associated with: (1 impaired motor and mental function at 13 months (measured using Bayley Scales of Infant Development (Bayley, and (2 impaired cognitive development at five years (assessed by Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence – Revised Intelligence Quotient (WPPSI-R in the infant. The study population consisted of 572 (30% of the overall sample of 1,945 women who presented for prenatal care in Norway and Sweden between 1986 and 1988. Results Our results showed that GA discrepancies in early second trimester are significantly associated with birthweight. We found no significant relationship, however, with the Bayley development scores at 13 months and with the WPPSI-R IQ measures at five years. Conclusions GA discrepancies at 17 weeks’ gestation are not associated child neurodevelopment. These discrepancies do, however, relate to birthweights, providing a basis for detecting fetal growth patterns early in the second trimester of pregnancy. Our study, however, was unable to evaluate the impact of first-trimester discrepancies on impaired neurodevelopment in the infant.

  18. Local Scale Radiobrightness Modeling During the Intensive Observing Period-4 of the Cold Land Processes Experiment-1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, E.; Tedesco, M.; de Roo, R.; England, A. W.; Gu, H.; Pham, H.; Boprie, D.; Graf, T.; Koike, T.; Armstrong, R.; Brodzik, M.; Hardy, J.; Cline, D.

    2004-12-01

    The NASA Cold Land Processes Field Experiment (CLPX-1) was designed to provide microwave remote sensing observations and ground truth for studies of snow and frozen ground remote sensing, particularly issues related to scaling. CLPX-1 was conducted in 2002 and 2003 in Colorado, USA. One of the goals of the experiment was to test the capabilities of microwave emission models at different scales. Initial forward model validation work has concentrated on the Local-Scale Observation Site (LSOS), a 0.8~ha study site consisting of open meadows separated by trees where the most detailed measurements were made of snow depth and temperature, density, and grain size profiles. Results obtained in the case of the 3rd Intensive Observing Period (IOP3) period (February, 2003, dry snow) suggest that a model based on Dense Medium Radiative Transfer (DMRT) theory is able to model the recorded brightness temperatures using snow parameters derived from field measurements. This paper focuses on the ability of forward DMRT modelling, combined with snowpack measurements, to reproduce the radiobrightness signatures observed by the University of Michigan's Truck-Mounted Radiometer System (TMRS) at 19 and 37~GHz during the 4th IOP (IOP4) in March, 2003. Unlike in IOP3, conditions during IOP4 include both wet and dry periods, providing a valuable test of DMRT model performance. In addition, a comparison will be made for the one day of coincident observations by the University of Tokyo's Ground-Based Microwave Radiometer-7 (GBMR-7) and the TMRS. The plot-scale study in this paper establishes a baseline of DMRT performance for later studies at successively larger scales. And these scaling studies will help guide the choice of future snow retrieval algorithms and the design of future Cold Lands observing systems.

  19. Palynology of the Last Interglacial Complex at Lake Ohrid: palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic inferences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinopoli, Gaia; Masi, Alessia; Regattieri, Eleonora; Wagner, Bernd; Francke, Alexander; Peyron, Odile; Sadori, Laura

    2018-01-01

    In this article, we present new, high-resolution, pollen results obtained from the DEEP site sequence recovered from Lake Ohrid (Albania/FYROM) for the Last Interglacial Complex (LIC), corresponding to Marine Isotope Stage 5 (MIS 5) of the marine isotope stratigraphy. LIC covers the period between 130 and 70 ka and includes the Eemian (Last Interglacial, LI) and the succession of stadial and interstadial phases of the Early Last Glacial. During the LIC, the pollen record shows an alternation of periods characterized by forest and open vegetation, clearly resembling the well-known vegetational succession of other European records. Our results reveal three key phases for the LI: a first period (128-125 ka) with a rapid increase in temperature and precipitation, a central phase (125-118.5 ka) characterized by a slight cooling, and a late phase (118.5-112 ka), with a decline both in temperatures and precipitation. Besides the LI, we identify four more forested periods dominated by mesophilous trees and intercalated by colder and drier steppe phases, during which, however, most arboreal taxa never disappear. During the Early Last Glacial we also identify several abrupt events that can be correlated to the succession of cold events recorded in the Greenland ice core records, associated to a weakening of the North Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. The new high-resolution record indicates that Lake Ohrid is an important site to understand the response of vegetation to fluctuations in regional moisture availability and temperature changes, and thus provides new evidence for the connection between the Mediterranean Region and Northern Hemisphere climate oscillations.

  20. Physicians' attentional performance following a 24-hour observation period: do we need to regulate sleep prior to work?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smyth, P; Maximova, K; Jirsch, J D

    2017-08-01

    The tradition of physicians working while sleep deprived is increasingly criticised. Medical regulatory bodies have restricted resident physician duty-hours, not addressing the greater population of physicians. We aimed to assess factors such as sleep duration prior to a 24-hour observation period on physicians' attention. We studied 70 physicians (mean age 38 years old (SD 10.8 years)): 36 residents and 34 faculty from call rosters at the University of Alberta. Among 70 physicians, 52 (74%) performed overnight call; 18 did not perform overnight call and were recruited to control for the learning effect of repetitive neuropsychological testing. Attentional Network Test (ANT) measured physicians' attention at the beginning and end of the 24-hour observation period. Participants self-reported ideal sleep needs, sleep duration in the 24 hours prior to (ie, baseline) and during the 24-hour observation period (ie, follow-up). Median regression models examined effects on ANT parameters. Sleep deprivation at follow-up was associated with reduced attentional accuracy following the 24-hour observation period, but only for physicians more sleep deprived at baseline. Other components of attention were not associated with sleep deprivation after adjusting for repetitive testing. Age, years since medical school and caffeine use did not impact changes in ANT parameters. Our study suggests that baseline sleep before 24 hours of observation impacts the accuracy of physicians' attentional testing at 24 hours. Further study is required to determine if optimising physician sleep prior to overnight call shifts is a sustainable strategy to mitigate the effects of sleep deprivation. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  1. ENSO-Indian Summer Monsoon Teleconnections During The Last Millennium In The PMIP3 Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karumuri, A.; Tejavath, C. T.; Chakraborty, S.; Ramesh, R.

    2017-12-01

    Using the available model simulations from the PMIP3, we study the mean summer (June-September; JJAS) climate and its variability in India during the Last Millennium (CE 850-1849; LM), with emphasis on the Medieval Warm Period (MWP; CE 1000-1199 as against the CE 950-AD1350 from the proxy-observations) and Little Ice Age (LIA; CE 1550-1749 as against the CE 1500-1850 from proxy observations). Out of the eight available model datasets, we identify seven `realistic' models by validating the corresponding simulated global and Indian mean summer temperatures and mean Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR), and their respective trends, of historical simulations (CMIP5) vintage, with concurrent observations/reanalysis. The models simulate higher (lower) mean summer temperatures in India as well as globally during the MWP (LIA) as compared to the corresponding LM statistics, in confirmation of several proxy data sets. Our Analysis shows a strong negative correlation between the NINO3.4 index and the ISMR and a positive correlation between NINO3.4 and summer temperature over India during the LM, as is observed in the last one-and-half centuries. The magnitude of the simulated ISMR-NINO3.4 index correlations as seen from the available models is found to be higher for the MWP as compared to that for the LIA although they are statistically significant at 0.05 level. The spatial distribution of monsoon-ENSO correlations also shows negative values during the LM just as the current period. Our analysis also shows that the above (below) LM-mean summer temperatures during the MWP (LIA) are associated with relatively higher (lower) number of concurrent El Niños as compared to the La Niñas. Proxy analysis studies by various groups suggest that the rainfall over India during the MWP is higher than that during the LIA. Interestingly, the MWP mean circulation `anomalies' (obtained by comparing the MWP mean circulation with that over the LM period) indicate a westward shift in Walker

  2. Tidally distorted exoplanets: Density corrections for short-period hot-Jupiters based solely on observable parameters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Burton, J. R.; Watson, C. A.; Fitzsimmons, A.; Moulds, V. [Astrophysics Research Centre, Queen' s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Pollacco, D.; Wheatley, P. J. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom); Littlefair, S. P., E-mail: jburton04@qub.ac.uk [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S3 7RH (United Kingdom)

    2014-07-10

    The close proximity of short-period hot-Jupiters to their parent star means they are subject to extreme tidal forces. This has a profound effect on their structure and, as a result, density measurements that assume that the planet is spherical can be incorrect. We have simulated the tidally distorted surface for 34 known short-period hot-Jupiters, assuming surfaces of constant gravitational equipotential for the planet, and the resulting densities have been calculated based only on observed parameters of the exoplanet systems. Comparing these results to the density values, assuming the planets are spherical, shows that there is an appreciable change in the measured density for planets with very short periods (typically less than two days). For one of the shortest-period systems, WASP-19b, we determine a decrease in bulk density of 12% from the spherical case and, for the majority of systems in this study, this value is in the range of 1%-5%. On the other hand, we also find cases where the distortion is negligible (relative to the measurement errors on the planetary parameters) even in the cases of some very short period systems, depending on the mass ratio and planetary radius. For high-density gas planets requiring apparently anomalously large core masses, density corrections due to tidal deformation could become important for the shortest-period systems.

  3. Observed hierarchy of student proficiency with period, frequency, and angular frequency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicholas T. Young

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In the context of a generic harmonic oscillator, we investigated students’ accuracy in determining the period, frequency, and angular frequency from mathematical and graphical representations. In a series of studies including interviews, free response tests, and multiple choice tests developed in an iterative process, we assessed students in both algebra-based and calculus-based, traditionally instructed university-level introductory physics courses. Using the results, we categorized nine skills necessary for proficiency in determining period, frequency, and angular frequency. Overall results reveal that, postinstruction, proficiency is quite low: only about 20%–40% of students mastered most of the nine skills. Next, we used a semiquantitative, intuitive method to investigate the hierarchical structure of the nine skills. We also employed the more formal item tree analysis method to verify this structure and found that the skills form a multilevel, nonlinear hierarchy, with mastery of some skills being prerequisite for mastery in other skills. Finally, we implemented a targeted, 30-min group-work activity to improve proficiency in these skills and found a 1 standard deviation gain in accuracy. Overall, the results suggest that many students currently lack these essential skills, targeted practice may lead to required mastery, and that the observed hierarchical structure in the skills suggests that instruction should especially attend to the skills lower in the hierarchy.

  4. Episodic spontaneous hypothermia: a periodic childhood syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruiz, Cynthia; Gener, Blanca; Garaizar, Carmen; Prats, José M

    2003-04-01

    Episodic spontaneous hypothermia is an infrequent disorder, with unknown pathogenic mechanisms. A systemic cause or underlying brain lesion has not been found for the disease. We report four new patients, 3-9 years old, with episodic hypothermia lower than 35 degrees C, marked facial pallor, and absent shivering. The episodes could last a few hours or four days, and recurred once a week or every 2-3 months. Two patients also demonstrated bradycardia, mild hypertension, and somnolence during the events; in one of them, profuse sweating was also a feature, and all four presented with either headache, a periodic childhood syndrome, or both (recurrent abdominal pain, cyclic vomiting, or vertigo). Three patients reported a family history of migraine. Neurologic examination, endocrine function, and imaging studies were normal. Migraine prophylactic therapy was of moderate efficacy. Spontaneous resolution was observed in one patient. The clinical characteristics of the syndrome allow for its inclusion as a childhood periodic syndrome related to migraine.

  5. Detecting atmospheric normal modes with periods less than 6 h by barometric observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ermolenko, S. I.; Shved, G. M.; Jacobi, Ch.

    2018-04-01

    The theory of atmospheric normal modes (ANMs) predicts the existence of relatively short-period gravity-inertia ANMs. Simultaneous observations of surface air-pressure variations by barometers at distant stations of the Global Geodynamics Project network during an interval of 6 months were used to detect individual gravity-inertia ANMs with periods of ∼2-5 h. Evidence was found for five ANMs with a lifetime of ∼10 days. The data of the stations, which are close in both latitude and longitude, were utilized for deriving the phases of the detected ANMs. The phases revealed wave propagation to the west and increase of zonal wavenumbers with frequency. As all the detected gravity-inertia ANMs are westward propagating, they are suggested to be generated due to the breakdown of migrating solar tides and/or large-scale Rossby waves. The existence of an ANM background will complicate the detection of the translational motions of the Earth's inner core.

  6. The Last Great American Picture Show : New Hollywood Cinema in the 1970s

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    2004-01-01

    In The Last Great American Picture Show wordt de veranderende herwaardering in kaart gebracht voor de Amerikaanse film in de jaren zeventig. Deze periode, vroeger aangeduid als het decennium van de 'lost generation', wordt meer en meer erkend als het eerste 'Nieuwe Hollywood'. In deze periode werd

  7. Comparing modeled and observed changes in mineral dust transport and deposition to Antarctica between the Last Glacial Maximum and current climates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Albani, Samuel [University of Siena, Graduate School in Polar Sciences, Siena (Italy); University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Environmental Sciences, Milano (Italy); Cornell University, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Ithaca, NY (United States); Mahowald, Natalie M. [Cornell University, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Ithaca, NY (United States); Delmonte, Barbara; Maggi, Valter [University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Environmental Sciences, Milano (Italy); Winckler, Gisela [Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Palisades, NY (United States); Columbia University, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, New York, NY (United States)

    2012-05-15

    Mineral dust aerosols represent an active component of the Earth's climate system, by interacting with radiation directly, and by modifying clouds and biogeochemistry. Mineral dust from polar ice cores over the last million years can be used as paleoclimate proxy, and provide unique information about climate variability, as changes in dust deposition at the core sites can be due to changes in sources, transport and/or deposition locally. Here we present results from a study based on climate model simulations using the Community Climate System Model. The focus of this work is to analyze simulated differences in the dust concentration, size distribution and sources in current climate conditions and during the Last Glacial Maximum at specific ice core locations in Antarctica, and compare with available paleodata. Model results suggest that South America is the most important source for dust deposited in Antarctica in current climate, but Australia is also a major contributor and there is spatial variability in the relative importance of the major dust sources. During the Last Glacial Maximum the dominant source in the model was South America, because of the increased activity of glaciogenic dust sources in Southern Patagonia-Tierra del Fuego and the Southernmost Pampas regions, as well as an increase in transport efficiency southward. Dust emitted from the Southern Hemisphere dust source areas usually follow zonal patterns, but southward flow towards Antarctica is located in specific areas characterized by southward displacement of air masses. Observations and model results consistently suggest a spatially variable shift in dust particle sizes. This is due to a combination of relatively reduced en route wet removal favouring a generalized shift towards smaller particles, and on the other hand to an enhanced relative contribution of dry coarse particle deposition in the Last Glacial Maximum. (orig.)

  8. Documentation of Pregnancy Status, Gynaecological History, Date of Last Menstrual Period and Contraception Use in Emergency Surgical Admissions: Time for a Change in Practice?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powell-Bowns, M; Wilson, M S J; Mustafa, A

    2015-12-01

    To determine whether pregnancy status, gynaecological history, date of last menstrual period and contraceptive use are documented in emergency female admissions of reproductive age admitted to general surgery. This is a retrospective study. This study was conducted in the United Kingdom. Females of reproductive age (12-50 years) admitted as an emergency to general surgery with abdominal pain were considered in this study. Retrospective analysis of medical notes of emergency female admissions with abdominal pain between January and September 2012. We recorded whether a pregnancy test result was documented (cycle 1). Results were analysed and a prompt added to the medical clerk-in document. We re-audited (cycle 2) between January and June 2013 looking for improvement. Documented pregnancy status within 24 h of admission and prior to any surgical intervention. 100 case notes were reviewed in stage 1. 30 patients (30 %) had a documented pregnancy status. 32 (32 %), 25 (25 %) and 29 (29 %) had a documented gynaecology history, contraceptive use and date of last menstrual period (LMP), respectively. 24 patients underwent emergency surgery, 6 (25 %) had a documented pregnancy status prior to surgery. Of 50 patients reviewed in stage 2, 37 (75.0 %) had a documented pregnancy status (p contraceptive use (p < 0.0001) documented. 40 patients (80 % had a documented LMP (p < 0.0001). 7 patients required surgery, of whom 6 (85.7 %) had a documented pregnancy test prior to surgery (p = 0.001). All pregnancy tests were negative. A simple prompt in the surgical admission document has significantly improved the documentation of pregnancy status and gynaecological history in our female patients, particularly in those who require surgical intervention. A number of patient safety concerns were addressed locally, but require a coordinated, interdisciplinary discussion and a national guideline. A minimum standard of care, in females of reproductive age, should include mandatory objective

  9. Temporal trend of the snow-related variables in Sierra Nevada in the last years: An analysis combining Earth Observation and hydrological modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez-Luque, Antonio J.; Herrero, Javier; Bonet, Francisco J.; Pérez-Pérez, Ramón

    2016-04-01

    Climate change is causing declines in snow-cover extent and duration in European mountain ranges. This is especially important in Mediterranean mountain ranges where the observed trends towards precipitation and higher temperatures can provoke problems of water scarcity. In this work, we analyzed temporal trends (2000 to 2014) of snow-related variables obtained from satellite and modelling data in Sierra Nevada, a Mediterranean high-mountain range located in Southern Spain, at 37°N. Snow cover indicators (snow-cover duration, snow-cover onset dates and snow-cover melting dates) were obtained by processing images of MOD10A2 MODIS product using an automated workflow. Precipitation data were obtained using WiMMed, a complete and fully distributed hydrological model that is used to map the annual rainfall and snowfall with a resolution of 30x30 m over the whole study area. It uses expert algorithms to interpolate precipitation and temperature at an hourly scale, and simulates partition of precipitation into snowfall with several methods. For each snow-related indicator (snow-covers and snowfall), a trend analysis was applied at the MODIS pixel scale during the study period (2000-2014). We applied Mann-Kendall test and Theil-Sen slope estimation in each of the pixels comprising Sierra Nevada. The trend analysis assesses the intensity, magnitude and degree of statistical significance during the period analysed. The spatial pattern of these trends was explored according to elevation ranges. Finally, we explored the relationship between trends of snow-cover related indicators and precipitation trends. Our results show that snow-cover has undergone significant changes in the last 14 years. 80 % of the pixels covering Sierra Nevada showed a negative trend in the duration of snow-cover. We also observed a delay in the snow-cover onset date (68.03 % pixels showing a positive trend in the snow-cover onset date) and an advance in the melt date (80.72 % of pixels followed a

  10. Measurement of filling factor 5/2 quasiparticle interference with observation of charge e/4 and e/2 period oscillations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willett, R L; Pfeiffer, L N; West, K W

    2009-06-02

    A standing problem in low-dimensional electron systems is the nature of the 5/2 fractional quantum Hall (FQH) state: Its elementary excitations are a focus for both elucidating the state's properties and as candidates in methods to perform topological quantum computation. Interferometric devices may be used to manipulate and measure quantum Hall edge excitations. Here we use a small-area edge state interferometer designed to observe quasiparticle interference effects. Oscillations consistent in detail with the Aharonov-Bohm effect are observed for integer quantum Hall and FQH states (filling factors nu = 2, 5/3, and 7/3) with periods corresponding to their respective charges and magnetic field positions. With these factors as charge calibrations, periodic transmission through the device consistent with quasiparticle charge e/4 is observed at nu = 5/2 and at lowest temperatures. The principal finding of this work is that, in addition to these e/4 oscillations, periodic structures corresponding to e/2 are also observed at 5/2 nu and at lowest temperatures. Properties of the e/4 and e/2 oscillations are examined with the device sensitivity sufficient to observe temperature evolution of the 5/2 quasiparticle interference. In the model of quasiparticle interference, this presence of an effective e/2 period may empirically reflect an e/2 quasiparticle charge or may reflect multiple passes of the e/4 quasiparticle around the interferometer. These results are discussed within a picture of e/4 quasiparticle excitations potentially possessing non-Abelian statistics. These studies demonstrate the capacity to perform interferometry on 5/2 excitations and reveal properties important for understanding this state and its excitations.

  11. Sulphate and chloride aerosols during Holocene and last glacial periods preserved in the Talos Dome Ice Core, a peripheral region of Antarctica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoshinori Iizuka

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Antarctic ice cores preserve the record of past aerosols, an important proxy of past atmospheric chemistry. Here we present the aerosol compositions of sulphate and chloride particles in the Talos Dome (TD ice core from the Holocene and Last Glacial Period. We find that the main salt types of both periods are NaCl, Na2SO4 and CaSO4, indicating that TD ice contains relatively abundant sea salt (NaCl from marine primary particles. By evaluating the molar ratio of NaCl to Na2SO4, we show that about half of the sea salt does not undergo sulphatisation during late Holocene. Compared to in inland Antarctica, the lower sulphatisation rate at TD is probably due to relatively little contact between sea salt and sulphuric acid. This low contact rate can be related to a reduced time of reaction for marine-sourced aerosol before reaching TD and/or to a reduced post-depositional effect from the higher accumulation rate at TD. Many sulphate and chloride salts are adhered to silicate minerals. The ratio of sulphate-adhered mineral to particle mass and the corresponding ratio of chloride-adhered mineral both increase with increasing dust concentration. Also, the TD ice appears to contain Ca(NO32 or CaCO3 particles, thus differing from aerosol compositions in inland Antarctica, and indicating the proximity of peripheral regions to marine aerosols.

  12. The academic trend of Oriental Medicine during the Japanese colonial period as observed through the publication of medical books

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    KIM Nam-il

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available This thesis examines the academical trend of Oriental Medicine in the Japanese colonial period observed through medical books published during the Japanese colonial period.This is a period in which Western Medicine was introduced,and due to the lean-to-one-side policy by the Japanese, Western Medicine became the mainstream medical science while Oriental Medicine was pushed to the outskirts.Even after all this,the academic activity was flourishing during this period compared to any other periods. This article is divided into various chapters each with its own theme in order to understand the academic trend of Oriental Medicine during the Japanese colonial period.Focusing on the publication of medical books, this article is divided and observed according to various themes such as the study of Dong-Eui-Bo-Gam(東醫寶鑑,the study of Bang-Yak-Hap- Pyeun(方藥合編,the study of Sang-Han-Ron(傷寒論,the study of Sa-sang (四象constitutional medicine,the study of Eui-Hak-Ip-Mun (醫學入門,the study about Bu-Yang-Ron(扶陽論,On-Bo-Ron(溫補論,and pediatrics, compromise between Western and Oriental Medicine,the study of experience medicine,the study of acupuncture and moxibustion,and etc.

  13. Early and late hot extremes, and elongation of the warm period over Greece

    Science.gov (United States)

    Founda, Dimitra; Giannakopoulos, Christos; Pierros, Fragiskos

    2017-04-01

    The eastern Mediterranean has been assigned as one of the most responsive areas in climate change, mainly with respect to the occurrence of warmer and drier conditions. In Greece in particular, observations suggest prominent increases in the summer air temperature which in some areas amount to approximately 1 0C/decade since the mid 1970s, while Regional Climate Models simulate further increases in the near and distant future. These changes are coupled with simultaneous increase in the occurrence of hot extremes. In addition to changes in the frequency and intensity of hot extrems, timing of occurrence is also of special interest. Early heat waves in particular, have been found to increase thermal risk in humans. The study explores variations and trends in timing, namely the date of first and last occurrence of hot extremes within the year, and subsequently the hot extremes period (season), defined as the time interval (number of days) between first and last hot extremes occurrence, over Greece. A case study for the area of Athens covering a longer than 100-years period (1897-2015) was conducted first, which will be extended to other Greek areas. Several heat related climatic indices were used, based either on predefined temperature thresholds such as 'tropical days' (daily maximum air temperature, Tmax >30 0C), 'tropical nights' (daily minimum air temperature, Tmin >20 0C), 'hot days' (Tmax >35 0C), or on local climate statistics such as days with Tmax (or Tmin) > 95th percentile. The analysis revealed significant changes in the period of hot extremes and specifically elongation of the period, attributed to early rather than late hot extremes occurrence. An earlier shift of the first tropical day and the first tropical night occurrence by approximately 2 days/decade was found over the study period. An overall elongation of the 'hot days' season by 2.6 days/decade was also observed, which is more prominent since the early 1980s. Over the last three decades, earlier

  14. Strong degradation of palsas and peat plateaus in northern Norway during the last 60 years

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. F. Borge

    2017-01-01

    vegetation, wildlife, hydrology and carbon cycle. Firstly, we have systematically mapped the occurrence of palsas and peat plateaus in the northernmost county of Norway (Finnmark, ∼ 50 000 km2 by manual interpretation of aerial images from 2005 to 2014 at a spatial resolution of 250 m. At this resolution, mires and wetlands with palsas or peat plateaus occur in about 850 km2 of Finnmark, with the actual palsas and peat plateaus underlain by permafrost covering a surface area of approximately 110 km2. Secondly, we have quantified the lateral changes of the extent of palsas and peat plateaus for four study areas located along a NW–SE transect through Finnmark by utilizing repeat aerial imagery from the 1950s to the 2010s. The results of the lateral changes reveal a total decrease of 33–71 % in the areal extent of palsas and peat plateaus during the study period, with the largest lateral change rates observed in the last decade. However, the results indicate that degradation of palsas and peat plateaus in northern Norway has been a consistent process during the second half of the 20th century and possibly even earlier. Significant rates of areal change are observed in all investigated time periods since the 1950s, and thermokarst landforms observed on aerial images from the 1950s suggest that lateral degradation was already an ongoing process at this time. The results of this study show that lateral erosion of palsas and peat plateaus is an important pathway for permafrost degradation in the sporadic permafrost zone in northern Scandinavia. While the environmental factors governing the rate of erosion are not yet fully understood, we note a moderate increase in air temperature, precipitation and snow depth during the last few decades in the region.

  15. Ventilation changes in the western North Pacific since the last glacial period

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. Okazaki

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available We reconstructed the ventilation record of deep water at 2100 m depth in the mid-latitude western North Pacific over the past 25 kyr from radiocarbon measurements of coexisting planktic and benthic foraminiferal shells in sediment with a high sedimentation rate. The 14C data on fragile and robust planktic foraminiferal shells were concordant with each other, ensuring high quality of the reconstructed ventilation record. The radiocarbon activity changes were consistent with the atmospheric record, suggesting that no massive mixing of old carbon from the abyssal reservoir occurred throughout the glacial to deglacial periods.

  16. Long-lasting desynchronization in rat hippocampal slice induced by coordinated reset stimulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tass, P. A.; Barnikol, U. B.; Silchenko, A. N.; Hauptmann, C.; Speckmann, E.-J.

    2009-01-01

    In computational models it has been shown that appropriate stimulation protocols may reshape the connectivity pattern of neural or oscillator networks with synaptic plasticity in a way that the network learns or unlearns strong synchronization. The underlying mechanism is that a network is shifted from one attractor to another, so that long-lasting stimulation effects are caused which persist after the cessation of stimulation. Here we study long-lasting effects of multisite electrical stimulation in a rat hippocampal slice rendered epileptic by magnesium withdrawal. We show that desynchronizing coordinated reset stimulation causes a long-lasting desynchronization between hippocampal neuronal populations together with a widespread decrease in the amplitude of the epileptiform activity. In contrast, periodic stimulation induces a long-lasting increase in both synchronization and amplitude.

  17. X-RAY AND EUV OBSERVATIONS OF SIMULTANEOUS SHORT AND LONG PERIOD OSCILLATIONS IN HOT CORONAL ARCADE LOOPS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, Pankaj; Cho, Kyung-Suk; Nakariakov, Valery M.

    2015-01-01

    We report decaying quasi-periodic intensity oscillations in the X-ray (6–12 keV) and extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) channels (131, 94, 1600, 304 Å) observed by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor and Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), respectively, during a C-class flare. The estimated periods of oscillation and decay time in the X-ray channel (6–12 keV) were about 202 and 154 s, respectively. A similar oscillation period was detected at the footpoint of the arcade loops in the AIA 1600 and 304 Å channels. Simultaneously, AIA hot channels (94 and 131 Å) reveal propagating EUV disturbances bouncing back and forth between the footpoints of the arcade loops. The period of the oscillation and decay time were about 409 and 1121 s, respectively. The characteristic phase speed of the wave is about 560 km s −1 for about 115 Mm of loop length, which is roughly consistent with the sound speed at the temperature about 10–16 MK (480–608 km s −1 ). These EUV oscillations are consistent with the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory/Solar Ultraviolet Measurement of Emitted Radiation Doppler-shift oscillations interpreted as the global standing slow magnetoacoustic wave excited by a flare. The flare occurred at one of the footpoints of the arcade loops, where the magnetic topology was a 3D fan-spine with a null-point. Repetitive reconnection at this footpoint could have caused the periodic acceleration of non-thermal electrons that propagated to the opposite footpoint along the arcade and that are precipitating there, causing the observed 202 s periodicity. Other possible interpretations, e.g., the second harmonics of the slow mode, are also discussed

  18. X-RAY AND EUV OBSERVATIONS OF SIMULTANEOUS SHORT AND LONG PERIOD OSCILLATIONS IN HOT CORONAL ARCADE LOOPS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumar, Pankaj; Cho, Kyung-Suk [Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI), Daejeon, 305-348 (Korea, Republic of); Nakariakov, Valery M., E-mail: pankaj@kasi.re.kr [Centre for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Warwick, CV4 7AL (United Kingdom)

    2015-05-01

    We report decaying quasi-periodic intensity oscillations in the X-ray (6–12 keV) and extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) channels (131, 94, 1600, 304 Å) observed by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor and Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), respectively, during a C-class flare. The estimated periods of oscillation and decay time in the X-ray channel (6–12 keV) were about 202 and 154 s, respectively. A similar oscillation period was detected at the footpoint of the arcade loops in the AIA 1600 and 304 Å channels. Simultaneously, AIA hot channels (94 and 131 Å) reveal propagating EUV disturbances bouncing back and forth between the footpoints of the arcade loops. The period of the oscillation and decay time were about 409 and 1121 s, respectively. The characteristic phase speed of the wave is about 560 km s{sup −1} for about 115 Mm of loop length, which is roughly consistent with the sound speed at the temperature about 10–16 MK (480–608 km s{sup −1}). These EUV oscillations are consistent with the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory/Solar Ultraviolet Measurement of Emitted Radiation Doppler-shift oscillations interpreted as the global standing slow magnetoacoustic wave excited by a flare. The flare occurred at one of the footpoints of the arcade loops, where the magnetic topology was a 3D fan-spine with a null-point. Repetitive reconnection at this footpoint could have caused the periodic acceleration of non-thermal electrons that propagated to the opposite footpoint along the arcade and that are precipitating there, causing the observed 202 s periodicity. Other possible interpretations, e.g., the second harmonics of the slow mode, are also discussed.

  19. Summer temperatures in the Canadian Rockies during the last millennium: a revised record

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Luckman, B.H. [University of Western Ontario, Department of Geography, London, Ontario (Canada); Wilson, R.J.S. [Edinburgh University, School of GeoSciences, Grant Institute, Edinburgh (United Kingdom)

    2005-02-01

    We present a significant update to a millennial summer temperature reconstruction (1073-1983) that was originally published in 1997. Utilising new tree-ring data (predominantly Picea engelmannii), the reconstruction is not only better replicated, but has been extended (950-1994) and is now more regionally representative. Calibration and verification statistics were improved, with the new model explaining 53% of May-August maximum temperature variation compared to the original (39% of April-August mean temperatures). The maximum latewood density data, which are weighted more strongly in the regression model than ringwidth, were processed using regional curve standardisation to capture potential centennial to millennial scale variability. The reconstruction shows warm intervals, comparable to twentieth century values, for the first half of the eleventh century, the late 1300s and early 1400s. The bulk of the record, however, is below the 1901-1980 normals, with prolonged cool periods from 1200 to 1350 and from 1450 to the late 19th century. The most extreme cool period is observed to be in the 1690s. These reconstructed cool periods compare well with known regional records of glacier advances between 1150 and the 1300s, possibly in the early 1500s, early 1700s and 1800s. Evidence is also presented of the influence of solar activity and volcanic events on summer temperature in the Canadian Rockies over the last 1,000 years. Although this reconstruction is regional in scope, it compares well at multi-decadal to centennial scales with Northern Hemisphere temperature proxies and at millennial scales with reconstructions that were also processed to capture longer timescale variability. This coherence suggests that this series is globally important for the assessment of natural temperature variability over the last 1,000 years. (orig.)

  20. Oxygen Isotope Speleothem record of Decadal and Multidecadal Atlantic Oscillations over the last millennium in Southwestern Morocco

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ait Brahim, Yassine; Sha, LiJuan; Sifeddine, Abdelfettah; Cheng, Hai; Bouchaou, Lhoussaine; Da Cruz Junior, Francisco William; Khodri, Myriam; Peerbocus, Nawaaz; Mariller, Alexandre; Apaestegui, James; Guyot, Jean-Loup; Auler, Augusto; Hassane Beraaouz, El

    2016-04-01

    In this work, we present a stable oxygen isotope (δ18O) speleothem record from Ifoulki cave located South-West of Morocco (N 30°42'29'', W 09°19'39'' and 1267 meters above sea level). The age model, based on eighteen U-Th dates, reveals that the record covers the AD 790-1953 period with a data resolution of ~1.7 years. Stable oxygen isotope variations show substantial decadal to multi-decadal swings between dry and humid periods. The Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) is characterized by the longest period with δ18O values above the average, suggestive of pronounced drying possibly as a response to positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) phases and increased volcanic activity during this period. However, at least two short wet phases are recognized during the MCA in Morocco, with peaks centered on the years AD 1040 and AD 1190 and seem to overlap with negative NAO phases as recorded in a recently published NAO reconstruction for the last millennium. During the next centuries, the NAO again depicts predominantly negative values and the δ18O drops below the average during the Little Ice Age (LIA). Furthermore, a striking resemblance is observed between our record and another recently published stalagmite record from the Piste cave in Northeastern Morocco, which is quite remarkable given the different type of tracers (δ18O vs. Mg and Sr) obtained from different environments (Western High Atlas vs. Northeastern Middle Atlas and ~634 km away). Comparison with regional paleorecords from other studies also reveals the replication of many characteristic climate features from the last millennium, first detected in Northern Morocco and the Iberian Peninsula. In particular, the evidence of generally dry conditions during the MCA and wetter conditions in the LIA, which is confirmed by all the paleorecords. These similarities indicate coherent climate variability in Northwest Africa and the Iberian Peninsula and suggest a strong regional control of the NAO during the last

  1. Period variations in pulsating X-ray sources. I. Accretion flow parameters and neutron star structure from timing observations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lamb, F.K.; Pines, D.; Shaham, J.

    1978-01-01

    We show that valuable information about both accretion flows and neutron star structure can be obtained from X-ray timing observations of period variations in pulsating sources. Such variations can result from variations in the accretion flow, or from internal torque variations, associated with oscillations of the fluid core or the unpinning of vortices in the inner crust. We develop a statistical description of torque variations in terms of noise processes, indicate how the applicability of such a description may be tested observationally, and show how it may be used to determine from observation both the properties of accretion flows and the internal structure of neutron stars, including the relative inertial moments of the crust and superfluid neutron core, the crust-core coupling time, and the frequencies of any low-frequency internal collective modes. Particular attention is paid to the physical origin of spin-down episodes; it is shown that usyc episodes may result either from external torque reversals or from internal torque variations.With the aid of the statistical description, the response of the star to torque fluctuations is calculated for three stellar models: (i) a completely rigid star; (ii) a two-component star; and (iii) a two-component star with a finite-frequency internal mode, such as the Tkachenko mode of a rotating neutron superfluid. Our calculations show that fluctuating torques could account for the period the period variations and spin-down episodes observed in Her X-1 and Cen X-3, including the large spin-down event observed in the latter source during 1972 September-October. The torque noise strengths inferred from current timing observations using the simple two-component models are shown to be consistent with those to be expected from fluctuations in accretion flows onto magnetic neutron stars

  2. Aerosol chemical composition at Cabauw, the Netherlands as observed in two intensive periods in May 2008 and March 2009

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mensah, A.A.; Holzinger, R.; Otjes, R.; Trimborn, A.; Mentel, T.F.; Brink, H. ten; Henzing, B.; Kiendler-Scharr, A.

    2012-01-01

    Observations of aerosol chemical composition in Cabauw, the Netherlands, are presented for two intensive measurement periods in May 2008 and March 2009. Sub-micron aerosol chemical composition was measured by an Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) and is compared to observations from aerosol

  3. Observation of a periodic runaway in the reactive Ar/O2 high power impulse magnetron sputtering discharge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seyedmohammad Shayestehaminzadeh

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports the observation of a periodic runaway of plasma to a higher density for the reactive discharge of the target material (Ti with moderate sputter yield. Variable emission of secondary electrons, for the alternating transition of the target from metal mode to oxide mode, is understood to be the main reason for the runaway occurring periodically. Increasing the pulsing frequency can bring the target back to a metal (or suboxide mode, and eliminate the periodic transition of the target. Therefore, a pulsing frequency interval is defined for the reactive Ar/O2 discharge in order to sustain the plasma in a runaway-free mode without exceeding the maximum power that the magnetron can tolerate.

  4. Last Interglacial climate and sea-level evolution from a coupled ice sheet-climate model

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Goelzer, Heiko; Huybrechts, Philippe; Marie-France, Loutre; Fichefet, Thierry

    2016-01-01

    As the most recent warm period in Earth's history with a sea-level stand higher than present, the Last Interglacial (LIG, ∼130 to 115kyrgBP) is often considered a prime example to study the impact of a warmer climate on the two polar ice sheets remaining today. Here we simulate the Last Interglacial

  5. X-ray and optical observations of the ultrashort period dwarf nova SW Ursae Majoris - A likely new DQ Herculis star

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shafter, A. W.; Szkody, P.; Thorstensen, J. R.

    1986-01-01

    Time-resolved X-ray and optical photometric and optical spectroscopic observations of the ultrashort period cataclysmic variable SW UMa are reported. The spectroscopic observations reveal the presence of an s-wave component which is almost in phase with the extreme line wings and presumably the white dwarf. This very unusual phasing in conjunction with the available optical and X-ray data seems to indicate that a region of enhanced emission exists on the opposite side of the disk from the expected location of the hot spot. The photometric observations reveal the presence of a hump in the light curve occurring at an orbital phase which is consistent with the phase at which the region of enhanced line emission is most favorably seen. Changes in the hump amplitude are seen from night to night, and a 15.9 min periodicity is evident in the light curve. The optical and X-ray periodicities suggest that SW UMa is a member of the DQ Her class of cataclysmic variables.

  6. Evidence from the Seychelles of Last Interglacial Sea Level Oscillations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vyverberg, K.; Dutton, A.; Dechnik, B.; Webster, J.; Zwartz, D.

    2014-12-01

    Several studies indicate that sea level oscillated during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e, but the details of these scenarios, including the number of sea level oscillations, are still debated. We lack a detailed understanding of the sensitivity of the large polar ice sheets to changes in temperature that could result in eustatic sea level oscillations. Because the Seychelles are located far from the margins of the Last Glacial Maximum northern hemisphere ice sheets, they have not been subjected to glacial isostatic adjustment, and have been tectonically stable since the Last Interglacial period; therefore, they provide a robust record of eustatic sea level during MIS 5e. All of the outcrops we examined contain unconformities and/or sharp transitions between facies, though the nature of these boundaries varies between sites. In some outcrops we observed a hardground comprising fine-grained, mollusc-rich sediment layer between distinct generations of in situ coralgal framework. In one outcrop, this succession was observed twice, where two generations of reef growth were each capped by a strongly indurated fine-grained, mollusc-rich sediment layer. At the site with the greatest vertical extent of outcrop, there is a marked difference in the taxonomic composition of the coral community above and below an unconformable surface, but the indurated fine-grained, sediment layer observed elsewhere was absent. Most of the other outcrops we studied contained a common succession of facies from in situ reef units overlain by cemented coral rubble. In two dated outcrops, the age of corals above and below the rubble layer are the same age. The hardgrounds and rubble layers may represent ephemeral exposure of the reef units during two drops in sea level. The inference of multiple meter-scale oscillations during the MIS 5e highstand indicates a more dynamic cryosphere than the present interglacial, although the climatic threshold for more volatile polar ice sheets is not yet clear.

  7. POLAND AND UKRAINE IN THE LIGHT OF PARADYSZ'S PERIOD FERTILITY MODEL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Paradysz

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The article reflects research issues, which are currently considered to be of utmost importance in methodology of period fertility analysis. In the cohort analysis we dispose many possibilities to describe human reproduction process. The period analysis is not so reach and we would like to use the same methods in the both one. Many years ago one of us have proposed a decomposition of the period total fertility rate in order to calculate period “theoretical” birth intervals. Combining the two systems demographic analysis (parity progression ration and increment–decrement tables we decompose the “classic” total fertility rate (TFR on the last and non–last children in period analysis.

  8. Aerial Observation; A Bibliography of Periodical Articles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1982-04-01

    99,90, Jan 1944. ’If not an Air OP why not locatinc7," 2CRA, ?0:115-123, Apr 1953. Jackson , I-ian E. "FDC an- the Artillery Air Observer," FM, 34...194, 1886. Thom.pson, Percy N;. "Organization and ’aneuver of Ficld Artillery Observation," .*IL RVW, 25:53-60, Apr 1945. "To See or not to see," JORA

  9. Accumulation patterns around Dome C, East Antarctica, in the last 73 kyr

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavitte, Marie G. P.; Parrenin, Frédéric; Ritz, Catherine; Young, Duncan A.; Van Liefferinge, Brice; Blankenship, Donald D.; Frezzotti, Massimo; Roberts, Jason L.

    2018-04-01

    We reconstruct the pattern of surface accumulation in the region around Dome C, East Antarctica, since the last glacial. We use a set of 18 isochrones spanning all observable depths of the ice column, interpreted from various ice-penetrating radar surveys and a 1-D ice flow model to invert for accumulation rates in the region. The shallowest four isochrones are then used to calculate paleoaccumulation rates between isochrone pairs using a 1-D assumption where horizontal advection is negligible in the time interval of each layer. We observe that the large-scale (100s km) surface accumulation gradient is spatially stable through the last 73 kyr, which reflects current modeled and observed precipitation gradients in the region. We also observe small-scale (10 s km) accumulation variations linked to snow redistribution at the surface, due to changes in its slope and curvature in the prevailing wind direction that remain spatially stationary since the last glacial.

  10. 50 CFR 221.3 - How are time periods computed?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false How are time periods computed? 221.3... Provisions § 221.3 How are time periods computed? (a) General. Time periods are computed as follows: (1) The day of the act or event from which the period begins to run is not included. (2) The last day of the...

  11. [Multiple pregnancies prevalence: its raise on last decade].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrera, Ricardo Jorge Hernández; Torres, Mauro Ochoa; Santos, Roberto Flores; Flores, Raúl Cortés; Sánchez, Gerardo Forsbasch

    2008-09-01

    Multiple pregnancies prevalence has been increasing in last decade, which have also increased the requirements of neonatal intensive care units and all problems related to premature neonate or low birth weight. Prevalence rate of twin (18 to 26 in 1,000 births), and triple pregnancies (0.37 to 1.74 in 1,000 births) have raised too, perhaps due to assisted reproductive techniques. To know incidence of multiple pregnancies at Unidad Medica de Alta Especialidad no. 23, from Institute Mexicano del Seguro Social. Retrospective and descriptive study. We review the files of multiple pregnancies from 1972 to 2006 to estimate its rate and change every five and ten years. We registered 9,055 twin pregnancies during the period, with a rate of 7.1 to 14.4 in 1,000 (63% of increase in the last decade [12.6 in 1,000 births] compared with the previous decade [7.7 in 1,000 births]; p < 0.005). Pregnancies with three or more fetuses were 202, with 191 triplets, 13 with four, three with five, and one with six products (646 newborns). Incidence of multiple pregnancies with four or more products has also increased in last decade: 230 times higher than two decades before. Multiple pregnancies rate has increased in last decade: 63% in twin pregnancies, 217% in triplets, and 230 times more than expected in four or more products pregnancies.

  12. The last universal physicist

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coccia, Eugenio [Gran Sasso National Laboratory, University of Rome ' Tor Vergata' (Italy)]. E-mail coccia@lngs.infn.it

    2005-04-01

    Born in Rome in 1901, Fermi was the last universal physicist - the most extraordinary of his century. He was at home in the workshop, the laboratory and among theoretical physicists. For the theorists he was a great theorist, and for the experimentalists he was a great experimentalist. What made Fermi so special as a physicist was his universality and versatility; what made him so special as a person was his modesty, realism and frugal lifestyle. This book, which describes Fermi's contributions to physics and the US period of his life, originated from a symposium that was held in Chicago in 2001 to commemorate the centenary of his birth. But it is not merely a volume of reminiscences. It combines essays, specially commissioned articles, as well as private material from Fermi's research notebooks, correspondence and speeches. Together the material highlights the breadth of his impact on physics. A classic biographical introduction by Emilio Segre is followed by an article in which Frank Wilczek, who shared the Nobel Prize for Physics last year, puts into perspective Fermi's huge contributions to physics. The list of his achievements is impressive. They include the introduction of Fermi statistics for half-integer-spin particles (1925) - now called fermions - that led to the concept of the 'Fermi surface' in condensed-matter and nuclear physics; the vector-coupling theory for beta-decay (1933), which formulated the proper structure of the weak interaction where the 'Fermi constant' measures the strength of the coupling; and the introduction, with his Rome group, of neutron-induced radioactivity and the study of slow-neutron interactions (1934). As a researcher and a teacher, Fermi inspired two generations and two continents - a man whose charismatic nature attracted many talented scientists and students to Chicago. What emerges from this book is the gratitude of so many extraordinary physicists to their master, who instilled in them

  13. Evolution and modulation of tropical heating from the last glacial maximum through the twenty-first century

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoyos, Carlos D.; Webster, Peter J. [Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Atlanta, GA (United States)

    2012-04-15

    Twentieth century observations show that during the last 50 years the sea-surface temperature (SST) of the tropical oceans has increased by {proportional_to}0.5 C and the area of SST >26.5 and 28 C (arbitrarily referred to as the oceanic warm pool: OWP) by 15 and 50% respectively in association with an increase in green house gas concentrations, with non-understood natural variability or a combination of both. Based on CMIP3 projections the OWP is projected to double during twenty-first century in a moderate CO{sub 2} forcing scenario (IPCC A1B scenario). However, during the observational period the area of positive atmospheric heating (referred to as the dynamic warm pool, DWP), has remained constant. The threshold SST (T{sub H}), which demarks the region of net heating and cooling, has increased from 26.6 C in the 1950s to 27.1 C in the last decade and it is projected to increase to {proportional_to}28.5 C by 2100. Based on climate model simulations, the area of the DWP is projected to remain constant during the twenty-first century. Analysis of the paleoclimate model intercomparison project (PMIP I and II) simulations for the Last Glacial maximum and the Mid-Holocene periods show a very similar behaviour, with a larger OWP in periods of elevated tropical SST, and an almost constant DWP associated with a varying T{sub H}. The constancy of the DWP area, despite shifts in the background SST, is shown to be the result of a near exact matching between increases in the integrated convective heating within the DWP and the integrated radiative cooling outside the DWP as SST changes. Although the area of the DWP remains constant, the total tropical atmospheric heating is a strong function of the SST. For example the net heating has increased by about 10% from 1950 to 2000 and it is projected to increase by a further 20% by 2100. Such changes must be compensated by a more vigorous atmospheric circulation, with growth in convective heating within the warm pool, and an

  14. Abrupt Change in Atmospheric CO2 During the Last Ice Age, Version 1

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — During the last glacial period atmospheric carbon dioxide and temperature in Antarctica varied in a similar fashion on millennial time scales, but previous work...

  15. Behaviour of 7Be air concentration observed during a period of 13 years and comparison with sun activity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cannizzaro, F.; Greco, G.; Raneli, M.; Spitale, M.C.; Tomarchio, E.

    1995-01-01

    The study reported in this work is addressed to review the time variations of the air-borne concentration of cosmogenic 7 Be obtained in the period January 1982-December 1994. Among other things, the observation of a long-term modulation present in the average monthly concentrations led us to perform a comparison with the behaviour in the same period of solar activity owing to its important influence on cosmic rays, from which the 7 Be production originates. (author)

  16. Possible signature of the magnetic fields related to quasi-periodic oscillations observed in microquasars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kološ, Martin; Tursunov, Arman; Stuchlík, Zdeněk

    2017-12-01

    The study of quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) of X-ray flux observed in the stellar-mass black hole binaries can provide a powerful tool for testing of the phenomena occurring in the strong gravity regime. Magnetized versions of the standard geodesic models of QPOs can explain the observationally fixed data from the three microquasars. We perform a successful fitting of the HF QPOs observed for three microquasars, GRS 1915+105, XTE 1550-564 and GRO 1655-40, containing black holes, for magnetized versions of both epicyclic resonance and relativistic precession models and discuss the corresponding constraints of parameters of the model, which are the mass and spin of the black hole and the parameter related to the external magnetic field. The estimated magnetic field intensity strongly depends on the type of objects giving the observed HF QPOs. It can be as small as 10^{-5} G if electron oscillatory motion is relevant, but it can be by many orders higher for protons or ions (0.02-1 G), or even higher for charged dust or such exotic objects as lighting balls, etc. On the other hand, if we know by any means the magnetic field intensity, our model implies strong limit on the character of the oscillating matter, namely its specific charge.

  17. Possible signature of the magnetic fields related to quasi-periodic oscillations observed in microquasars

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kolos, Martin; Tursunov, Arman; Stuchlik, Zdenek [Silesian University in Opava, Institute of Physics and Research Centre of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, Faculty of Philosophy and Science, Opava (Czech Republic)

    2017-12-15

    The study of quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) of X-ray flux observed in the stellar-mass black hole binaries can provide a powerful tool for testing of the phenomena occurring in the strong gravity regime. Magnetized versions of the standard geodesic models of QPOs can explain the observationally fixed data from the three microquasars. We perform a successful fitting of the HF QPOs observed for three microquasars, GRS 1915+105, XTE 1550-564 and GRO 1655-40, containing black holes, for magnetized versions of both epicyclic resonance and relativistic precession models and discuss the corresponding constraints of parameters of the model, which are the mass and spin of the black hole and the parameter related to the external magnetic field. The estimated magnetic field intensity strongly depends on the type of objects giving the observed HF QPOs. It can be as small as 10{sup -5} G if electron oscillatory motion is relevant, but it can be by many orders higher for protons or ions (0.02-1 G), or even higher for charged dust or such exotic objects as lighting balls, etc. On the other hand, if we know by any means the magnetic field intensity, our model implies strong limit on the character of the oscillating matter, namely its specific charge. (orig.)

  18. A glacial record of the last termination in the southern tropical Andes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bromley, G. R.; Schaefer, J. M.; Winckler, G.; Hall, B. L.; Todd, C. E.; Rademaker, K.

    2012-12-01

    The last glacial termination represents the highest-magnitude climate change of the last hundred thousand years. Accurate resolution of events during the termination is vital to our understanding of how - and why - the global climate system transitions from a full glacial to interglacial state, as well as the causes of abrupt climate change during the late-glacial period. Palaeoclimate data from low latitudes, though relatively sparse, are particularly valuable, since the tropical ocean and atmosphere likely play a crucial role in Quaternary climate variability on all timescales. We present a detailed glacier record from the Andes of southern Peru (15°S), resolved with 3He surface-exposure dating and spanning the last glacial maximum and termination. Our dataset reveals that glaciers in this part of the Southern Hemisphere maintained their Late Pleistocene maxima for several millennia and that the onset of the termination may have occurred relatively late. Deglaciation was punctuated by two major advances during the late-glacial period. Following the glacial-interglacial transition, our preliminary chronologic and morphologic data suggest that, in contrast to the Northern Hemisphere, glaciers in the southern tropical Andes have experienced overall shrinkage during the Holocene.

  19. Quasi-periodic recurrence of large earthquakes on the southern San Andreas fault

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scharer, Katherine M.; Biasi, Glenn P.; Weldon, Ray J.; Fumal, Tom E.

    2010-01-01

    It has been 153 yr since the last large earthquake on the southern San Andreas fault (California, United States), but the average interseismic interval is only ~100 yr. If the recurrence of large earthquakes is periodic, rather than random or clustered, the length of this period is notable and would generally increase the risk estimated in probabilistic seismic hazard analyses. Unfortunately, robust characterization of a distribution describing earthquake recurrence on a single fault is limited by the brevity of most earthquake records. Here we use statistical tests on a 3000 yr combined record of 29 ground-rupturing earthquakes from Wrightwood, California. We show that earthquake recurrence there is more regular than expected from a Poisson distribution and is not clustered, leading us to conclude that recurrence is quasi-periodic. The observation of unimodal time dependence is persistent across an observationally based sensitivity analysis that critically examines alternative interpretations of the geologic record. The results support formal forecast efforts that use renewal models to estimate probabilities of future earthquakes on the southern San Andreas fault. Only four intervals (15%) from the record are longer than the present open interval, highlighting the current hazard posed by this fault.

  20. 43 CFR 45.3 - How are time periods computed?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false How are time periods computed? 45.3... IN FERC HYDROPOWER LICENSES General Provisions § 45.3 How are time periods computed? (a) General... run is not included. (2) The last day of the period is included. (i) If that day is a Saturday, Sunday...

  1. Tree Rings Show Recent High Summer-Autumn Precipitation in Northwest Australia Is Unprecedented within the Last Two Centuries.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alison J O'Donnell

    Full Text Available An understanding of past hydroclimatic variability is critical to resolving the significance of recent recorded trends in Australian precipitation and informing climate models. Our aim was to reconstruct past hydroclimatic variability in semi-arid northwest Australia to provide a longer context within which to examine a recent period of unusually high summer-autumn precipitation. We developed a 210-year ring-width chronology from Callitris columellaris, which was highly correlated with summer-autumn (Dec-May precipitation (r = 0.81; 1910-2011; p < 0.0001 and autumn (Mar-May self-calibrating Palmer drought severity index (scPDSI, r = 0.73; 1910-2011; p < 0.0001 across semi-arid northwest Australia. A linear regression model was used to reconstruct precipitation and explained 66% of the variance in observed summer-autumn precipitation. Our reconstruction reveals inter-annual to multi-decadal scale variation in hydroclimate of the region during the last 210 years, typically showing periods of below average precipitation extending from one to three decades and periods of above average precipitation, which were often less than a decade. Our results demonstrate that the last two decades (1995-2012 have been unusually wet (average summer-autumn precipitation of 310 mm compared to the previous two centuries (average summer-autumn precipitation of 229 mm, coinciding with both an anomalously high frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones in northwest Australia and the dominance of the positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode.

  2. Tree Rings Show Recent High Summer-Autumn Precipitation in Northwest Australia Is Unprecedented within the Last Two Centuries

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Donnell, Alison J.; Cook, Edward R.; Palmer, Jonathan G.; Turney, Chris S. M.; Page, Gerald F. M.; Grierson, Pauline F.

    2015-01-01

    An understanding of past hydroclimatic variability is critical to resolving the significance of recent recorded trends in Australian precipitation and informing climate models. Our aim was to reconstruct past hydroclimatic variability in semi-arid northwest Australia to provide a longer context within which to examine a recent period of unusually high summer-autumn precipitation. We developed a 210-year ring-width chronology from Callitris columellaris, which was highly correlated with summer-autumn (Dec–May) precipitation (r = 0.81; 1910–2011; p < 0.0001) and autumn (Mar–May) self-calibrating Palmer drought severity index (scPDSI, r = 0.73; 1910–2011; p < 0.0001) across semi-arid northwest Australia. A linear regression model was used to reconstruct precipitation and explained 66% of the variance in observed summer-autumn precipitation. Our reconstruction reveals inter-annual to multi-decadal scale variation in hydroclimate of the region during the last 210 years, typically showing periods of below average precipitation extending from one to three decades and periods of above average precipitation, which were often less than a decade. Our results demonstrate that the last two decades (1995–2012) have been unusually wet (average summer-autumn precipitation of 310 mm) compared to the previous two centuries (average summer-autumn precipitation of 229 mm), coinciding with both an anomalously high frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones in northwest Australia and the dominance of the positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode. PMID:26039148

  3. Sea-level history and tectonic uplift during the last-interglacial period (LIG): Inferred from the Bab al-Mandab coral reef terraces, southern Red Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Mikhlafi, Ahmed Saif; Edwards, Lawrence R.; Cheng, Hai

    2018-02-01

    Results of U-series dating of late Pleistocene raised coral reef terraces from the Bab al-Mandab area, define two distinct groups: (1) well-preserved aragonitic fossil corals recorded from the Al-Hajaja terrace (Tr3) yield ages for last-interglacial period (LIG); and (2) calcitic fossil corals recovered from Perim Island terrace (Tr1) show varying degrees of U-series open system behavior and yield coral assemblage ages of LIG and older ages. Fossil corals from Tr1 are recrystallized corals, have anomalously high initial δ234U ranged from (152 ± 2‰ to 287 ± 7‰), corresponding to ages of ∼120 ka and ∼406 ka, respectively. Applying age reliability criteria on the current data suggest majority of the ages cannot be considered reliable and all are suspected for open system behavior associated with U loss/addition that significantly affects the 230Th/U ages. The diagenesis shown by these corals occurred probably due to extensive interaction of fossil corals with freshwater during the wet periods prevailed in southern Arabia coeval with the African monsoon, which led to U loss. Post-depositional U loss suggest (230Th/238U) increase, which shift the U-Th ages to unexpectedly higher levels as it is shown here. Measured elevation at the Al-Hajaja terrace (Tr3) is ∼4 ± 2 m above present sea level (apsl) consistent with eustatic sea level changes and indicates that the Bab al-Mandab area is stable at least since the LIG period. The Perim Island terrace (Tr1) is at elevation of 7 ± 2 m apsl; its reef yields diageneticaly-altered corals of multiple ages and cannot be used for sea level reconstructions.

  4. Validity of pre and post-term birth rates based on the date of last menstrual period compared to early obstetric ultrasonography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Nilza Lima Medeiros

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to assess the validity of the last menstrual period (LMP estimate in determining pre and post-term birth rates, in a prenatal cohort from two Brazilian cities, São Luís and Ribeirão Preto. Pregnant women with a single fetus and less than 20 weeks' gestation by obstetric ultrasonography who received prenatal care in 2010 and 2011 were included. The LMP was obtained on two occasions (at 22-25 weeks gestation and after birth. The sensitivity of LMP obtained prenatally to estimate the preterm birth rate was 65.6% in São Luís and 78.7% in Ribeirão Preto and the positive predictive value was 57.3% in São Luís and 73.3% in Ribeirão Preto. LMP errors in identifying preterm birth were lower in the more developed city, Ribeirão Preto. The sensitivity and positive predictive value of LMP for the estimate of the post-term birth rate was very low and tended to overestimate it. LMP can be used with some errors to identify the preterm birth rate when obstetric ultrasonography is not available, but is not suitable for predicting post-term birth.

  5. Chaos to periodicity and periodicity to chaos by periodic perturbations in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Qianshu; Zhu Rui

    2004-01-01

    A three-variable model of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction system subject to external sinusoidal perturbations is investigated by means of frequency spectrum analysis. In the period-1 window of the model, the transitions from periodicity to chaos are observed; in the chaotic window, the transitions from chaos to periodicity are found. The former might be understood by the circle map of two coupled oscillators, and the latter is partly explained by the resonance between the main frequency of the chaos and the frequency of the external periodic perturbations

  6. Regional influence of decadal to multidecadal Atlantic Oscillations during the last two millennia in Morocco, inferred from two high resolution δ18O speleothem records

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ait Brahim, Yassine; Sifeddine, Abdelfettah; Khodri, Myriam; Bouchaou, Lhoussaine; Cruz, Francisco W.; Pérez-Zanón, Núria; Wassenburg, Jasper A.; Cheng, Hai

    2017-04-01

    Climate projections predict substantial increase of extreme heats and drought occurrences during the coming decades in Morocco. It is however not clear what can be attributed to natural climate variability and to anthropogenic forcing, as hydroclimate variations observed in areas such as Morocco are highly influenced by the Atlantic climate modes. Since observational data sets are too short to resolve properly natural modes of variability acting on decadal to multidecadal timescales, high resolution paleoclimate reconstructions are the only alternative to reconstruct climate variability in the remote past. Herein, we present two high resolution and well dated speleothems oxygen isotope (δ18O) records sampled from Chaara and Ifoulki caves (located in Northeastern and Southwestern Morocco respectively) to investigate hydroclimate variations during the last 2000 years. Our results are supported by a monitoring network of δ18O in precipitation from 17 stations in Morocco. The new paleoclimate records are discussed in the light of existing continental and marine paleoclimate proxies in Morocco to identify significant correlations at various lead times with the main reconstructed oceanic and atmospheric variability modes and possible climate teleconnections that have potentially influenced the climate during the last two millennia in Morocco. The results reveal substantial decadal to multidecadal swings between dry and humid periods, consistent with regional paleorecords. Evidence of dry conditions exist during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) period and the Climate Warm Period (CWP) and humid conditions during the Little Ice Age (LIA) period. Statistical analyses suggest that the climate of southwestern Morocco remained under the combined influence of both the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) over the last two millennia. Interestingly, the generally warmer MCA and colder LIA at longer multidecadal timescales probably

  7. Orbital-scale denitrification changes in the Eastern Arabian Sea during the last 800 kyrs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Ji-Eun; Khim, Boo-Keun; Ikehara, Minoru; Lee, Jongmin

    2018-05-04

    Denitrification in the Arabian Sea is closely related to the monsoon-induced upwelling and subsequent phytoplankton production in the surface water. The δ 15 N values of bulk sediments collected at Site U1456 of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 355 reveal the orbital-scale denitrification history in response to the Indian Monsoon. Age reconstruction based on the correlation of planktonic foraminifera (Globigerinoides ruber) δ 18 O values with the LR04 stack together with the shipboard biostratigraphic and paleomagnetic data assigns the study interval to be 1.2 Ma. Comparison of δ 15 N values during the last 800 kyrs between Site U1456 (Eastern Arabian Sea) and Site 722B (Western Arabian Sea) showed that δ 15 N values were high during interglacial periods, indicating intensified denitrification, while the opposite was observed during glacial periods. Taking 6‰ as the empirical threshold of denitrification, the Eastern Arabian Sea has experienced a persistent oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) to maintain strong denitrification whereas the Western Arabian Sea has undergone OMZ breakdown during some glacial periods. The results of this study also suggests that five principal oceanographic conditions were changed in response to the Indian Monsoon following the interglacial and glacial cycles, which controls the degree of denitrification in the Arabian Sea.

  8. Depression in pregnancy and postpartum period.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sood, Mamta; Sood, A K

    2003-01-01

    This prospective study was carried out in a service hospital, with the aim to study the prevalence and incidence of depression in pregnancy and postpartum period. Eighty Four consecutive patients attending the antenatal outpatient in the Obstetrics & Gynaecology department in their last trimester of pregnancy were recruited for the study. They were assessed on Beck Depression Inventory thrice viz. during third trimester of pregnancy, within 3 days of delivery (early postpartum period) & within 4-8 weeks of delivery (late postpartum period).The prevalence of depression was 8.3%, 20% and 12.8% respectively at three ratings. The incidence was 16% and 10% in the early & late postpartum period respectively. Further analysis revealed that depression in pregnancy correlated significantly with depression in early postpartum period, but not with late postpartum period. Depression in early postpartum period correlated with depression in late postpartum period.These findings have implications for early detection and care of women at risk for developing depression.

  9. Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferreiro, J.E.; Arguelles, D.J.; Rams, H. Jr.

    1986-01-01

    A case of thyrotoxic periodic paralysis is reported in a Hispanic man with an unusual recurrence six weeks after radioactive iodine treatment. Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis has now been well characterized in the literature: it occurs primarily in Orientals with an overwhelming male preponderance and a higher association of specific HLA antigens. Clinical manifestations include onset after high carbohydrate ingestion or heavy exertion, with progressive symmetric weakness leading to flaccid paralysis of the extremities and other muscle groups, lasting several hours. If hypokalemia is present, potassium administration may help abort the attack. Although propranolol can be efficacious in preventing further episodes, the only definitive treatment is establishing a euthyroid state. The pathophysiology is still controversial, but reflects altered potassium and calcium dynamics as well as certain morphologic characteristics within the muscle unit itself

  10. Occurrence of blowing snow events at an alpine site over a 10-year period: Observations and modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vionnet, V.; Guyomarc'h, G.; Naaim Bouvet, F.; Martin, E.; Durand, Y.; Bellot, H.; Bel, C.; Puglièse, P.

    2013-05-01

    Blowing snow events control the evolution of the snow pack in mountainous areas and cause inhomogeneous snow distribution. The goal of this study is to identify the main features of blowing snow events at an alpine site and assess the ability of the detailed snowpack model Crocus to reproduce the occurrence of these events in a 1D configuration. We created a database of blowing snow events observed over 10 years at our experimental site. Occurrences of blowing snow events were divided into cases with and without concurrent falling snow. Overall, snow transport is observed during 10.5% of the time in winter and occurs with concurrent falling snow 37.3% of the time. Wind speed and snow age control the frequency of occurrence. Model results illustrate the necessity of taking the wind-dependence of falling snow grain characteristics into account to simulate periods of snow transport and mass fluxes satisfactorily during those periods. The high rate of false alarms produced by the model is investigated in detail for winter 2010/2011 using measurements from snow particle counters.

  11. On the number of observable customers, served during he busy period of GI/GI/infinity queue

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dvurechenskij, A.

    1982-01-01

    It is proved that the number of observable customers, served during the busy period of the GI/GI infinity queue with infinitely many servers has a geometric distribution. The parameter of this distribution is determined, too. It is shown that the normalized distributions converge to the exponential distribution. As a particular result is obtained that the distribution of the number of nonabsorbing streamers in a streamer blob has a geometric distribution

  12. reliable dates for the last 50.000 years

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bard, E.; Menot-Combes, G.; Delaygue, G.

    2004-01-01

    The accuracy of the carbon 14 dating method is dependent on the fluctuations of carbon 14 in the atmosphere over long periods of time. Fossil corals that are dated by both carbon 14 and uranium-thorium methods allows the setting of calibration curves for the carbon 14 method for the last 50.000 years. The uranium-thorium method is based on the measurement of the ratio of 2 isotopes: thorium 230 and uranium 234 that are both present in the decay chain of uranium 238. (A.C.)

  13. ASASSN-16dt and ASASSN-16hg: Promising candidate period bouncers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kimura, Mariko; Isogai, Keisuke; Kato, Taichi; Taguchi, Kenta; Wakamatsu, Yasuyuki; Hambsch, Franz-Josef; Monard, Berto; Myers, Gordon; Dvorak, Shawn; Starr, Peter; Brincat, Stephen M.; de Miguel, Enrique; Ulowetz, Joseph; Itoh, Hiroshi; Stone, Geoff; Nogami, Daisaku

    2018-04-01

    We present optical photometry of superoutbursts that occurred in 2016 of two WZ Sge-type dwarf novae (DNe), ASASSN-16dt and ASASSN-16hg. Their light curves showed a dip in brightness between the first plateau stage with no ordinary superhumps (or early superhumps) and the second plateau stage with ordinary superhumps. We find that the dip is produced by the slow evolution of the 3 : 1 resonance tidal instability and that it would likely be observed in low mass-ratio objects. An estimated mass ratio (q ≡ M2/M1) from the period of developing (stage A) superhumps [0.06420(3) d] was 0.036(2) in ASASSN-16dt. Additionally, its superoutburst has many properties similar to those in other low-q WZ Sge-type DNe: long-lasting stage-A superhumps, small superhump amplitudes, long delay of ordinary-superhump appearances, and a slow decline rate in the plateau stage with superhumps. Its very small mass ratio and observational characteristics suggest that this system is one of the best candidates for a period bouncer—a binary accounting for the missing population of post-period minimum cataclysmic variables. Although it is not clearly verified due to the lack of detection of stage-A superhumps, ASASSN-16hg might be a possible candidate for period bouncers on the basis of the morphology of its light curves and the small superhump amplitudes. Many outburst properties of period bouncer candidates would originate from the small tidal effects of their secondary stars.

  14. Chronic grouped social restriction triggers long-lasting immune system adaptations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Rui; Hou, Gonglin; Song, Liuwei; Zhang, Jianming; Yuan, Ti-Fei

    2017-05-16

    Chronic stress triggers rigorous psychological and physiological changes, including immunological system adaptations. However, the effects of long-term social restriction on human immune system have not been investigated. The present study is to investigate the effect of chronic stress on immune changes in human blood, with the stress stimuli controlled.10 male volunteers were group isolated from the modern society in a 50-meter-square room for 150 days, with enriched nutrition and good living conditions provided. Serum examination of immune system markers demonstrated numerous changes in different aspects of the immune functions. The changes were observed as early as 30 days and could last for another 150 days after the termination of the restriction period (300 days' time point). The results strongly argued for the adaptation of immunological system under chronic social restriction stress in adult human, preceding a clear change in psychological conditions. The changes of these immune system factors could as well act as the serum biomarkers in clinical early-diagnosis of stress-related disorders.

  15. Long-period intensity pulsations in the solar corona during activity cycle 23

    Science.gov (United States)

    Auchère, F.; Bocchialini, K.; Solomon, J.; Tison, E.

    2014-03-01

    We report on the detection (10σ) of 917 events of long-period (3 to 16 h) intensity pulsations in the 19.5 nm passband of the SOHO Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. The data set spans from January 1997 to July 2010, i.e. the entire solar cycle 23 and the beginning of cycle 24. The events can last for up to six days and have relative amplitudes up to 100%. About half of the events (54%) are found to happen in active regions, and 50% of these have been visually associated with coronal loops. The remaining 46% are localized in the quiet Sun. We performed a comprehensive analysis of the possible instrumental artefacts and we conclude that the observed signal is of solar origin. We discuss several scenarios that could explain the main characteristics of the active region events. The long periods and the amplitudes observed rule out any explanation in terms of magnetohydrodynamic waves. Thermal non-equilibrium could produce the right periods, but it fails to explain all the observed properties of coronal loops and the spatial coherence of the events. We propose that moderate temporal variations of the heating term in the energy equation, so as to avoid a thermal non-equilibrium state, could be sufficient to explain those long-period intensity pulsations. The large number of detections suggests that these pulsations are common in active regions. This would imply that the measurement of their properties could provide new constraints on the heating mechanisms of coronal loops. Movies are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

  16. 78 FR 50135 - AIMS Worldwide, Inc., Apollo Capital Group, Inc., CommunitySouth Financial Corp., Last Mile...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-16

    ... SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [File No. 500-1] AIMS Worldwide, Inc., Apollo Capital Group, Inc., CommunitySouth Financial Corp., Last Mile Logistics Group, Inc., Made in America Entertainment... securities of AIMS Worldwide, Inc. because it has not filed any periodic reports since the period ended June...

  17. La histeria en el último período de la enseñanza de J. Lacan The Hysteria In The Last Period Of J. Lacan'S Teaching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabián Schejtman

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available En el presente trabajo desplegamos algunas de las perspectivas que se desprenden de las formulaciones que Jacques Lacan produce sobre la histeria en el último período de su enseñanza, especialmente a partir del examen de esta estructura en función de las fórmulas de la sexuación lacanianas y de la definición topológica de la histeria en tanto armadura (armature del amor al padre.In the present work we deploy some of the perspectives that come off from the formulations that Jacques Lacan makes about the hysteria in the last period of his teaching, especially starting from the exam of this structure in function of the lacanian's formulas of sexuation and from the topological definition of the hysteria as long as frame (armature of father's love.

  18. Transmitter-controlled properties of α-motoneurones causing long-lasting motor discharge to brief excitatory inputs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hounsgaard, J.; Hultborn, H.; Kiehn, O.

    1986-01-01

    Brief sensory inputs to intact conscious subjects commonly trigger complex long-lasting motor responses, in which higher cerebral mechanisms, or even voluntary action, may be integrative parts. However, long-lasting motor discharge following brief afferent stimulation is also observed in reduced ...... flipflops, which are set at one of two levels by short excitatory or inhibitory inputs. However, when the whole motoneuronal pool is considered, many different levels can be maintained by recruitment of new units.......Brief sensory inputs to intact conscious subjects commonly trigger complex long-lasting motor responses, in which higher cerebral mechanisms, or even voluntary action, may be integrative parts. However, long-lasting motor discharge following brief afferent stimulation is also observed in reduced...

  19. Extreme value analysis of meterological parameters observed at Narora during the period 1989-2001

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Varakhedkar, V.K.; Dube, B.; Gurg, R.P.

    2002-08-01

    The design of engineering structures requires an understanding of extreme weather conditions that may occur at the site of interest, which is very essential, so that the structures can be designed to withstand weather stresses. In this report an analysis of extreme values of meteorological parameters observed at Narora for the period 1989- 2001 is described. The parameters considered are maximum and minimum air temperature, minimum relative humidity, maximum wind speed, maximum rainfall in a day and month, and annual rainfall. The extreme value analysis reveals that the variables such as annual maximum air temperature, minimum relative humidity and monthly maximum rainfall obey Fisher -Tippet Type -I extreme value distribution where as annual minimum air temperature, maximum hourly wind speed, daily maximum rainfall and maximum and minimum annual rainfall, obey Fisher -Tippet Type -2 extreme value distribution function. Various distribution function parameters for each variable are determined. Extreme values corresponding to return periods of 50 years and 100 years are worked out. These derived extreme values are particularly useful for arriving at suitable design values to ensure the safety of any civil structure in Narora area with respect to stresses due to weather conditions. (author)

  20. Coralgal reef morphology records punctuated sea-level rise during the last deglaciation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khanna, Pankaj; Droxler, André W; Nittrouer, Jeffrey A; Tunnell, John W; Shirley, Thomas C

    2017-10-19

    Coralgal reefs preserve the signatures of sea-level fluctuations over Earth's history, in particular since the Last Glacial Maximum 20,000 years ago, and are used in this study to indicate that punctuated sea-level rise events are more common than previously observed during the last deglaciation. Recognizing the nature of past sea-level rises (i.e., gradual or stepwise) during deglaciation is critical for informing models that predict future vertical behavior of global oceans. Here we present high-resolution bathymetric and seismic sonar data sets of 10 morphologically similar drowned reefs that grew during the last deglaciation and spread 120 km apart along the south Texas shelf edge. Herein, six commonly observed terrace levels are interpreted to be generated by several punctuated sea-level rise events forcing the reefs to shrink and backstep through time. These systematic and common terraces are interpreted to record punctuated sea-level rise events over timescales of decades to centuries during the last deglaciation, previously recognized only during the late Holocene.

  1. Food transitions in last 50 years and related environmental implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pradhan, P.; Reusser, D. E.; Kropp, J. P.

    2012-04-01

    Food production is an important driver for global change processes such as land use change and green-house-gas emissions. We analyzed a global, long term data set on food consumption per country to identify typical patterns of diets for the last 50 years. From changes in these patterns, we derived food transitions on a global scale. Subsequently we assessed the environmental consequences from green-house-gas (GHG) emission and anthropogenic inputs. More specifically, we applied Self Organizing Maps (SOM) to identify the dietary patterns based on supply of 12 food groups from FAOSTAT dataset for a period 1961-2007. Using the data on energy output/input ratio for crop production and agricultural emission, we estimated fossil energy and GHG emission associated with the diets. We found 16 typical consumption patterns consisting of high, moderate, low and lowest calorie supply with varied food compositions. The high calorie diets are associated with a higher supply of cereals, animal-products, vegetable-oils and sugar-sweeteners featuring a total supply greater than 2800 kcal/cap/day. During the last 50 years, we observed food transitions from lower calories diets to higher calories diets. On the one hand, food transition towards affluent diet, sometime with shortcuts, occurred in developing countries. On the other hand, developed countries increased consumption of fruits and vegetables. Some of the developing countries are also stagnated in the low consumption level during the last 50 years. The high calorie diets also embed higher fossil energy (1800-3500 kcal/cap/day) and are associated with higher GHG emissions (3.7-6.1 kg CO2 eq/cap/day). However, their non-CO2 GHG emission intensities per kilo calorie of food are relatively low. Changes in dietary patterns are a part of the global change processes. Identification of past transitions is way to predict possible future transitions. This in turn supports policy processes and negotiations in the fields of climate

  2. Critical period of memory enhancement during taste avoidance conditioning in Lymnaea stagnalis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takahashi, Tomoyo; Takigami, Satoshi; Sunada, Hiroshi; Lukowiak, Ken; Sakakibara, Manabu

    2013-01-01

    The present study investigated the optimal training procedure leading to long-lasting taste avoidance behavior in Lymnaea. A training procedure comprising 5 repeated pairings of a conditional stimulus (CS, sucrose), with an unconditional stimulus (US, a tactile stimulation to the animal's head), over a 4-day period resulted in an enhanced memory formation than 10 CS-US repeated pairings over a 2-day period or 20 CS-US repeated pairings on a single day. Backward conditioning (US-CS) pairings did not result in conditioning. Thus, this taste avoidance conditioning was CS-US pairing specific. Food avoidance behavior was not observed following training, however, if snails were immediately subjected to a cold-block (4°C for 10 min). It was critical that the cold-block be applied within 10 min to block long-term memory (LTM) formation. Further, exposure to the cold-block 180 min after training also blocked both STM and LTM formation. The effects of the cold-block on subsequent learning and memory formation were also examined. We found no long lasting effects of the cold-block on subsequent memory formation. If protein kinase C was activated before the conditioning paradigm, snails could still acquire STM despite exposure to the cold-block.

  3. Critical period of memory enhancement during taste avoidance conditioning in Lymnaea stagnalis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomoyo Takahashi

    Full Text Available The present study investigated the optimal training procedure leading to long-lasting taste avoidance behavior in Lymnaea. A training procedure comprising 5 repeated pairings of a conditional stimulus (CS, sucrose, with an unconditional stimulus (US, a tactile stimulation to the animal's head, over a 4-day period resulted in an enhanced memory formation than 10 CS-US repeated pairings over a 2-day period or 20 CS-US repeated pairings on a single day. Backward conditioning (US-CS pairings did not result in conditioning. Thus, this taste avoidance conditioning was CS-US pairing specific. Food avoidance behavior was not observed following training, however, if snails were immediately subjected to a cold-block (4°C for 10 min. It was critical that the cold-block be applied within 10 min to block long-term memory (LTM formation. Further, exposure to the cold-block 180 min after training also blocked both STM and LTM formation. The effects of the cold-block on subsequent learning and memory formation were also examined. We found no long lasting effects of the cold-block on subsequent memory formation. If protein kinase C was activated before the conditioning paradigm, snails could still acquire STM despite exposure to the cold-block.

  4. Dearomatized white spirit inhalation exposure causes long-lasting neurophysiological changes in rats

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lund, S. P.; Simonsen, L.; Hass, Ulla

    1996-01-01

    Dearomatized white spirit inhalation exposure causes long-lasting neurophysioloical changes in rats. NEUROTOXICOL TERATOL 18(1), 67-76, 1996. -Exposure for 6 h per day, 5 days per week, during a period of 6 months to the organic solvent dearomatized white spirit (0, 400, and 800 ppm) was studied ...

  5. Iron fertilization of the Subantarctic Ocean during the last ice age

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinez-Garcia, A.

    2015-12-01

    Dust has the potential to modify global climate by influencing the radiative balance of the atmosphere and by supplying iron and other essential limiting micronutrients to the ocean. The scarcity of iron limits marine productivity and carbon uptake in one-quarter of the world ocean where the concentration of major nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) is perennially high. The Southern Ocean is the region where variations in iron availability can have the largest effect on Earth's carbon cycle through its fertilizing effect on marine ecosystems. Paleoceanographic records from the Subantarctic Atlantic have revealed a remarkable correlation between phytoplankton productivity and aeolian iron flux during glacial periods supporting the iron fertilization hypothesis. In addition, a recent study has shown that peak glacial times and millennial cold events were nearly universally associated not only with increases in dust flux and export production, but also with an increase in nutrient consumption (the last indicated by higher foraminifera-bound δ15N) (Martinez-Garcia et al. 2014). This combination of changes is uniquely consistent with ice age iron fertilization of the Subantarctic Atlantic. The strengthening of the biological pump associated with the observed increase in Subantarctic nutrient consumption during the high-dust intervals of the last two ice ages can explain up to ~40 ppm of the CO2 decrease that characterizes the transitions from mid-climate states to full ice age conditions. However, the impact of iron fertilization in other sectors of the Southern Ocean characterized by lower ice age dust fluxes than the Atlantic remains unclear. A series of recently published records from the Subantarctic Pacific indicate that dust deposition and marine export production were three times higher during glacial periods than during interglacials (Lamy et al. 2014). Here we present new measurements of foraminifera-bound nitrogen isotopes in a sediment core located in the

  6. VERY LONG-PERIOD PULSATIONS BEFORE THE ONSET OF SOLAR FLARES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tan, Baolin; Huang, Jing; Tan, Chengming; Zhang, Yin [Key Laboratory of Solar Activity, National Astronomical Observatories of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China); Yu, Zhiqiang, E-mail: bltan@nao.cas.cn [School of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China)

    2016-12-20

    Solar flares are the most powerful explosions occurring in the solar system, which may lead to disastrous space weather events and impact various aspects of our Earth. It remains a big challenge in modern astrophysics to understand the origin of solar flares and predict their onset. Based on the analysis of soft X-ray emission observed by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite , this work reports a new discovery of very long-periodic pulsations occurring in the preflare phase before the onset of solar flares (preflare-VLPs). These pulsations typically have periods of 8–30 min and last for about 1–2 hr. They are possibly generated from LRC oscillations of plasma loops where electric current dominates the physical process during magnetic energy accumulation in the source region. Preflare-VLPs provide essential information for understanding the triggering mechanism and origin of solar flares, and may be a convenient precursory indicator to help us respond to solar explosions and the corresponding disastrous space weather events.

  7. An evaluation of periodicals subscription and related problems at ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In this study, an attempt is made to describe the importance of periodicals among the various sources of information. Brief introduction of the federal polytechnic library and its periodical unit is given. The annual expenditure made in the last six (6) years is mentioned, after ascertaining the variation in the number of ...

  8. Trends on epidemiological, virological, and clinical features among newly diagnosed HIV-1 persons in Northwest Spain over the last 10 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pernas, B; Mena, A; Cañizares, A; Grandal, M; Castro-Iglesias, A; Pértega, S; Pedreira, J D; Poveda, E

    2015-08-01

    To describe temporal trend and characteristics of newly HIV-diagnosed patients in a medical care area in Northwest Spain over the last 10 years. All newly diagnosed patients for HIV-infection from 2004 to 2013 at a reference medical care area in Northwest of Spain were identified. Epidemiological, virological, immunological, and clinical data, as well as HIV genotype and drug resistance information were recorded. A total of 565 newly HIV-diagnosed patients were identified. The number of new cases increased in the last 5 years (66 cases/year). Overall, 53.1% had a median CD4 counts study period was 3.7%, but a decreased to 2.6% was observed in the last 5 years. The most prevalent TDR mutations were: T215 revertants (1.5%), K219QENR (1.2%), for NRTIs; K103N (1.9%), for NNRTIs; L90M (0.3%), for PIs. Overall, 73.2% of patients started antiretroviral treatment and 9.9% of patients died during follow-up. The number of newly HIV diagnosed patients increased since year 2009. There is a high prevalence of late diagnosis (53%) and 33% had an AIDS defining criteria. Interestingly, the most prevalent non-B subtype in our population was F (25.8%). These findings support the need to facilitate the access for HIV testing to reduce the rate of late HIV diagnosis, improve the clinical outcome and prevent HIV transmission. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Summer weather characteristics and periodicity observed over the period 1888-2013 in the region of Belgrade, Serbia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vujović, Dragana; Todorović, Nedeljko; Paskota, Mira

    2018-04-01

    With the goal of finding summer climate patterns in the region of Belgrade (Serbia) over the period 1888-2013, different techniques of multivariate statistical analysis were used in order to analyze the simultaneous changes of a number of climatologic parameters. An increasing trend of the mean daily minimum temperature was detected. In the recent decades (1960-2013), this increase was much more pronounced. The number of days with the daily minimum temperature greater or equal to 20 °C also increased significantly. Precipitation had no statistically significant trend. Spectral analysis showed a repetitive nature of the climatologic parameters which had periods that roughly can be classified into three groups, with the durations of the following: (1) 6 to 7 years, (2) 10 to 18 years, and (3) 21, 31, and 41 years. The temperature variables mainly had one period of repetitiveness of 5 to 7 years. Among other variables, the correlations of regional fluctuations of the temperature and precipitation and atmospheric circulation indices were analyzed. The North Atlantic oscillation index had the same periodicity as that of the precipitation, and it was not correlated to the temperature variables. Atlantic multidecadal oscillation index correlated well to the summer mean daily minimum and summer mean temperatures. The underlying structure of the data was analyzed by principal component analysis, which detected the following four easily interpreted dimensions: More sunshine-Higher temperature, Precipitation, Extreme heats, and Changeable summer.

  10. Climatically-controlled siliceous productivity in the eastern Gulf of Guinea during the last 40 000 yr

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    X. Crosta

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Opal content and diatom assemblages were analysed in core GeoB4905-4 to reconstruct siliceous productivity changes in the eastern Gulf of Guinea during the last 40 000 yr. Opal and total diatom accumulation rates presented low values over the considered period, except during the Last Glacial Maximum and between 15 000 calendar years Before Present (15 cal. ka BP and 5.5 cal. ka BP, the so-called African Humid Period, when accumulation rates of brackish and freshwater diatoms at the core site were highest. Conversely, accumulation rates of windblown diatoms exhibited an opposite pattern with higher values before and after the African Humid Period and greatest values during Heinrich Events, the Younger Dryas and since 5.5 cal. ka BP.

    Our results demonstrate that siliceous productivity in the eastern Gulf of Guinea was directly driven by the nutrient load from local rivers, whose discharges were forced by precipitation changes over western Equatorial Africa and/or modification of the fluvio-deltaic systems forced by sea level changes. Precipitation in this region is controlled by the West African monsoon which is, in turn, partly dependent on the presence and intensity of the Atlantic Cold Tongue (ACT. Our results therefore suggest that the ACT was weakened, warmer trade winds were less vigorous, and cloud convection and precipitation were greater during the AHP though centennial-to-millennial timescale dry events were observed at ∼10 cal. ka BP, ∼8.5 cal. ka BP and ∼6 cal. ka BP. Conversely, the ACT was more intense, trade winds were more vigorous and African climate was more arid during H1, the Younger Dryas and after 5.5 cal. ka BP into the present.

  11. Distributed Fusion Estimation for Multisensor Multirate Systems with Stochastic Observation Multiplicative Noises

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peng Fangfang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper studies the fusion estimation problem of a class of multisensor multirate systems with observation multiplicative noises. The dynamic system is sampled uniformly. Sampling period of each sensor is uniform and the integer multiple of the state update period. Moreover, different sensors have the different sampling rates and observations of sensors are subject to the stochastic uncertainties of multiplicative noises. At first, local filters at the observation sampling points are obtained based on the observations of each sensor. Further, local estimators at the state update points are obtained by predictions of local filters at the observation sampling points. They have the reduced computational cost and a good real-time property. Then, the cross-covariance matrices between any two local estimators are derived at the state update points. At last, using the matrix weighted optimal fusion estimation algorithm in the linear minimum variance sense, the distributed optimal fusion estimator is obtained based on the local estimators and the cross-covariance matrices. An example shows the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

  12. Coordinated observations of electron energy spectra and electrostatic cyclotron waves during diffuse auroras

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fontaine, D.; Perraut, S.; Cornilleau-Wehrlin, N.; Aparicio, B.; Bosqued, J.M.; Rodgers, D.

    1986-01-01

    An auroral precipitation event lasting several hours in the dusk sector on June 2, 1982 is studied in conjunction with three instruments: the EISCAT European Incoherent Scatter radar based in Scandinavia, the GEOS-2 European geostationary spacecraft, and the ARCAD-3 French-Soviet polar spacecraft. Electron energy spectra between about 1 and 10 keV, computed from EISCAT measurements, were in agreement, during a diffuse aurora period, with direct observations onboard ARCAD-3, and also with the plasma sheet component (3-10 keV) measured onboard GEOS-2 and available at large pitch-angles. This last comparison suggested the quasi-isotropy of equatorial electron fluxes. The electrostatic electron cyclotron harmonic waves, also observed onboard GEOS-2, were not found to be intense enough to cause by themselves the strong pitch-angle diffusion of electrons of a few keV

  13. Periodic Density Structures and the Origin of the Slow Solar Wind

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viall-Kepko, Nicholeen M.; Vourlidas, Angelos

    2015-01-01

    The source of the slow solar wind has challenged scientists for years. Periodic density structures (PDSs), observed regularly in the solar wind at 1 AU (Astronomical Unit), can be used to address this challenge. These structures have length scales of hundreds to several thousands of megameters and frequencies of tens to hundreds of minutes. Two lines of evidence indicate that PDSs are formed in the solar corona as part of the slow solar wind release and/or acceleration processes. The first is corresponding changes in compositional data in situ, and the second is PDSs observed in the inner Heliospheric Imaging data on board the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO)/Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation (SECCHI) suite. The periodic nature of these density structures is both a useful identifier as well as an important physical constraint on their origin. In this paper, we present the results of tracking periodic structures identified in the inner Heliospheric Imager in SECCHI back in time through the corresponding outer coronagraph (COR2) images. We demonstrate that the PDSs are formed around or below 2.5 solar radii-the inner edge of the COR2 field of view. We compute the occurrence rates of PDSs in 10 days of COR2 images both as a function of their periodicity and location in the solar corona, and we find that this set of PDSs occurs preferentially with a periodicity of approximately 90 minutes and occurs near streamers. Lastly, we show that their acceleration and expansion through COR2 is self-similar, thus their frequency is constant at distances beyond 2.5 solar radii.

  14. The Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE): Observing Mass Loss on Short-Period Exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egan, Arika; Fleming, Brian; France, Kevin

    2018-06-01

    The Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE) is an NUV spectrograph packaged into a 6U CubeSat, designed to characterize the interaction between exoplanetary atmospheres and their host stars. CUTE will conduct a transit spectroscopy survey, gathering data over multiple transits on more than 12 short-period exoplanets with a range of masses and radii. The instrument will characterize the spectral properties of the transit light curves to atomic and molecular absorption features predicted to exist in the upper atmospheres of these planets, including Mg I, Mg II, Fe II, and OH. The shape and evolution of these spectral light curves will be used to quantify mass loss rates, the stellar drives of that mass loss, and the possible existence of exoplanetary magnetic fiends. This poster presents the science motivation for CUTE, planned observation and data analysis methods, and expected results.

  15. Structured education to improve primary-care management of headache: how long do the benefits last? A follow-up observational study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braschinsky, M; Haldre, S; Kals, M; Arge, M; Saar, B; Niibek, M; Katsarava, Z; Steiner, T J

    2018-03-01

    Our earlier study showed that structured education of general practitioners (GPs) improved their practice in headache management. Here the duration of this effect was assessed. In a follow-up observational study in southern Estonia, subjects were the same six GPs as previously, managing patients presenting with headache as the main complaint. Data reflecting their practice were collected prospectively during a 1-year period commencing 2 years after the educational intervention. The primary outcome measure was referral rate (RR) to neurological services. Comparisons were made with baseline and post-intervention data from the earlier study. In 366 patients consulting during the follow-up period, the RR was 19.9%, lower than at baseline (39.5%; P betterment. A few measures suggest the beginnings of a decline towards baseline levels. This policy-informing evidence for continuing medical education indicates that the educational programme needs repeating every 2-3 years. © 2017 EAN.

  16. Meterwavelength Single-pulse Polarimetric Emission Survey. IV. The Period Dependence of Component Widths of Pulsars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skrzypczak, Anna; Basu, Rahul; Mitra, Dipanjan; Melikidze, George I.; Maciesiak, Krzysztof; Koralewska, Olga; Filothodoros, Alexandros

    2018-02-01

    The core component width in normal pulsars, with periods (P) > 0.1 s, measured at the half-power point at 1 GHz, has a lower boundary line (LBL) that closely follows the P ‑0.5 scaling relation. This result is of fundamental importance for understanding the emission process and requires extended studies over a wider frequency range. In this paper we have carried out a detailed study of the profile component widths of 123 normal pulsars observed in the Meterwavelength Single-pulse Polarimetric Emission Survey at 333 and 618 MHz. The components in the pulse profile were separated into core and conal classes. We found that at both frequencies, the core, as well as the conal component widths versus period, had a LBL that followed the P ‑0.5 relation with a similar lower boundary. The radio emission in normal pulsars has been observationally shown to arise from a narrow range of heights around a few hundred kilometers above the stellar surface. In the past the P ‑0.5 relation has been considered as evidence for emission arising from last open dipolar magnetic field lines. We show that the P ‑0.5 dependence only holds if the trailing and leading half-power points of the component are associated with the last open field line. In such a scenario we do not find any physical motivation that can explain the P ‑0.5 dependence for both core and conal components as evidence for dipolar geometry in normal pulsars. We believe the period dependence is a result of a currently unexplained physical phenomenon.

  17. [Evaluation of the interdependence between homocystein and folic acid levels in patients after kidney transplantation during a 2 year observation period].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janda, Katarzyna; Aksamit, Dariusz; Krzanowski, Marcin; Kuzniewski, Marek; Sułowicz, Władysław

    2013-01-01

    Patients on maintenance dialysis have increased heomocystein (Hcy) serum levels. The aim of the study was to evaluate the interdependence between Hcy and folic acid (FA) levels in renal transplant patients (pts) at various time periods during a two year observation period after kidney transplantation (Ktx). The study included 51 pts (17 F, 34 M) aged 15-62 years (median 38.1) after deceased donors Ktx. Before Ktx, 46 pts were treated with maintenance hemodialysis (HD), while 5 by peritoneal dialysis (PD). The mean observation period equaled 21.2 months (6-24 months); while total observation period was 90 person/years. Hcy level was measured using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). FA level was measured using chemiluminesence method (standard methods) using the Immulite 2000 analyzer. Patients blood was drawn before Ktx and 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21 and 24 months after procedure. An increased Hcy level (>15 micromol/l) - mean 28.5 +/- 17.8 micromol/l (range from 10.2 micromol/l to 116.8 micromol/I) was noted in the blood of 44 pts before Ktx (86.3% of the examined population). In 31 pts after Ktx (60.8% of the examined population), mean Hcy level remained increased above 15 micromol/I (mean Hcy - 19.2 +/- 5.8 micromol/I). A negative correlation was found between the levels of Hcy and FA directly before Ktx (R= -0.28, p15 micromol/l (36.4 ng/ml vs. 62.5 ng/ml). Statistically significant decrease of Hcy concentration was observed after Ktx as compare with values before procedure, however not reached normal values. Significant decrease of FA concentration after Ktx is most likely associated with the discontinuation of FA supplementation, as well as due to the restoration of the erythropoietic line.

  18. Morphological observations on the metanephros in the postnatal opossum, Didelphis virginiana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krause, W J; Cutts, J H; Leeson, C R

    1979-10-01

    The metanephros of the newborn opossum is very immature, consisting only of collecting tubules and a few immature nephrons. Development during the postnatal period can be divided into two distinct phases. The initial phase occurs during the first 60 days of postnatal life and is concerned with nephronogenesis and the differentiation of nephrons that have formed during this period. The second phase lasts through the remainder of the postnatal period and is concerned with further differentiation and growth of established nephrons. During this latter period the tubular portion of the nephron increases in length and the renal corpuscle increases in diameter. Ultrastructural observations suggest that metanephric nephrons are not functional during the first 4 days of postnatal life, while the mesonephros reaches the height of its development during this period: there may be some functional overlap between the mesonephros and metanephros during the latter part of the first week of postnatal life. The pattern of nephron induction and differentiation in the opossum is discussed.

  19. Broiler adaptation to post-hatching period

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maiorka Alex

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available In the latest years more attention has been given to mechanisms for bird adaptation at post-hatching period by management of environmental conditions and formulations of diets offered during this period when digestive, immune, and thermo-regulating systems suffer slight changes. In post-hatching period, digestive system is anatomically complete, but its functionality is still immature in relation to adult birds. The chick immunity depends on maternal antibodies transferred to egg just before laying. In addition, variations within thermal comfort zone might affect initial development of chick. For example, high temperatures may induce hyperthermia with dehydration, while low temperatures may lead to hypothermia responsible by pulmonary hypertension syndrome. In conclusion, productivity might be enhanced when good conditions are offered to chicks during the period from last embryo development to first days after hatching.

  20. Plantar pressure and foot pain in the last trimester of pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karadag-Saygi, Evrim; Unlu-Ozkan, Feyza; Basgul, Alin

    2010-02-01

    Back and foot pain are common complaints during pregnancy. Progression of symptoms is seen especially in the third trimester as the center of gravity (COP) is altered due to weight gain. The aim of the study was to evaluate plantar pressure changes and postural balance differences of pregnant women. Thirty-five last trimester pregnant women with complaints of foot pain were included. The control group consisted of 35 non-pregnant women who were age and body mass index (BMI) matched volunteers. All selected cases were overweight. Foot pain in pregnancy was measured by Visual analogue scale (VAS). Percentages of pressure on forefoot and hindfoot were measured using static pedobarography and peak pressures at forefoot, midfoot and hindfoot were measured using dynamic pedobarography. As a measurement of balance, COP sway length and width were also analyzed. Compared to overweight individuals, pregnant patients had higher forefoot pressure on the right side with standing and walking. Also, significant increases in contact times under the forefoot and longer floor contact times were found. VAS scores were correlated with forefoot contact times during walking. Although the sway length from COP was higher than controls, no significant correlation was found in sway length and weight gain. These data suggest that forefoot pressures increase in the last trimester of pregnancy during standing and walking. There is prominent increased postural sway in anterior-posterior direction in this period. We believe that based on the observed pressure changes, foot pain in pregnancy due to changes in body mass and distribution may be relieved by exercise and shoewear modifications.

  1. Travelling Ionospheric Disturbances Observed During Sudden Stratospheric Warming, Equinox and Solstice Periods with Kharkiv and Millstone Hill Incoherent Scatter Radars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goncharenko, L. P.; Panasenko, S.; Aksonova, K.; Erickson, P. J.; Domnin, I. F.

    2016-12-01

    Travelling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) play a key role in the coupling of different ionospheric regions through momentum an energy transfer. They are thought to be mostly associated with atmospheric gravity waves and are known to strongly affect radio propagation conditions. The incoherent scatter (IS) method enables TIDs detection in such ionospheric parameters as electron density, ion and electron temperatures, and plasma velocity along radar beam, thus providing critical information needed to examine different hypothesis about association of TIDs with their sources. In 2016, several joint measuring campaigns were conducted using Kharkiv (49.6 N, 36.4 E) and Millstone Hill (42.6 N, 288.5 E) IS radars. These campaigns covered the periods of sudden stratospheric warnings (SSW) in February, vernal equinox and summer solstice. For consistency, the data acquired by radars were processed using the same data analysis methods. The results obtained show the TIDs to be detected throughout all observation intervals in February measurements. The differences found in the behavior of TIDs over Kharkiv and Millstone Hill sites may be partially explained by variations in stratospheric wind velocity vectors during SSW period. As for March equinox and June solstice, the prevailing TIDs are observed near solar terminators. Their periods vary mostly in the range of 40 - 80 minutes, relative amplitudes are about 0.05 - 0.3 of the background electron density, and the maximum values are observed at the heights of 200 - 250 km. Systematic long-term observations of wave processes in the ionosphere with multiple IS facilities can reveal interhemispheric variability in TID parameters, give better understanding the mechanisms of TID generation and propagation, and improve regional and global ionospheric models.

  2. Periodical Cicada--Brood V (Pest Alert)

    Science.gov (United States)

    USDA Forest Service

    1999-01-01

    Three separate species of periodical cicadas, Magicicada septendecim (L.), M. cassini (Fisher), and M. septendecula (Alexander and Moore), will appear this spring over large portions of Ohio and West Virginia during the scheduled Brood V emergence. This brood is the largest that occurs in either state and was last seen in 1982. It will also emerge in the southwest...

  3. Remagnetization of lava flows spanning the last geomagnetic reversal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vella, Jérôme; Carlut, Julie; Valet, Jean-Pierre; Goff, Maxime Le; Soler, Vicente; Lopes, Fernando

    2017-08-01

    Large directional changes of remanent magnetization within lava flows that cooled during geomagnetic reversals have been reported in several studies. A geomagnetic scenario implies extremely rapid geomagnetic changes of several degrees per day, thus difficult to reconcile with the rate of the earth's core liquid motions. So far, no complete rock magnetic model provides a clear explanation. We revisited lava flows sandwiched between an underlying reverse and an overlying normal polarity flow marking the last reversal in three distinct volcanic sequences of the La Palma Island (Canary archipelago, Spain) that are characterized by a gradual evolution of the direction of their remanent magnetization from bottom to top. Cleaning efficiency of thermal demagnetization was not improved by very rapid heating and cooling rates as well as by continuous demagnetization using a Triaxe magnetometer. We did not observe partial self-reversals and minor changes in magnetic grain sizes are not related to the within-flow directional changes. Microscopic observations indicate poor exsolution, which suggests post-cooling thermochemical remagnetization processes. This scenario is strongly reinforced by laboratory experiments that show large resistance to thermal demagnetization when thermoremanence was acquired over a long time period. We speculate that in the present situation exsolution was reactivated during in field reheating and yielded formation of new magnetite, yet magnetic domain state rearrangements could also play a role. Initial reheating when the overlying flow took place, albeit moderate (less than 200-300 °C), was enough to produce overlying components with significantly higher unblocking temperatures.

  4. Impacts of peatland and permafrost changes on the terrestrial carbon storage over the last 21 ka

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spahni, Renato; Stocker, Benjamin D.; Joos, Fortunat

    2014-05-01

    Paleoclimate records and global climate-carbon cycle models suggest a net increase in land carbon (C) storage between 300 and 700 Pg C (1 Pg C = 1015 g C) during the transition from the last glacial maximum (LGM), the Holocene up to the preindustrial period. Peat accumulation rate records imply an increase in peatland C of ~600 Pg C over the course of the Holocene. In high northern latitudes mineral and organic soils are subject to permafrost formation, which is believed to have been more extensive during glacial compared to interglacial periods. Soil C in permafrost regions represents the largest inert C pool on land at present. The spatio-temporal evolution, however, of C stocks in soils and vegetation remains poorly quantified and is uncertain. Here, the Land surface Processes and eXchanges (LPX-Bern) Dynamic Global Vegetation Model is applied in transient simulations to explore the evolution of permafrost, peatland and vegetation C over the last 21'000 years. The model is forced with temperature and precipitation output from the Trace-21ka climate simulation, and dynamically simulates the formation and disappearance of peatlands and permafrost soils, vegetation distribution and C stocks. Results indicate that peatlands and permfrost areas existed further south in the LGM, in agreement with available proxy information, and that their associated C was lost during the transition into the Holocene. The simulated loss of inert C is over-compensated by vegetation regrowth. The timing of the C relocation on land is compared to observational evidence from paleoclimate archives and estimates from ocean C inventory changes.

  5. Astrophysical implications of periodicity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muller, R.A.

    1988-01-01

    Two remarkable discoveries of the last decade have profound implications for astrophysics and for geophysics. These are the discovery by Alvarez et al., that certain mass extinctions are caused by the impact on the earth of a large asteroid or comet, and the discovery by Raup and Sepkoski that such extinctions are periodic, with a cycle time of 26 to 30 million years. The validity of both of these discoveries is assumed and the implications are examined. Most of the phenomena described depend not on periodicity, but just on the weaker assumption that the impacts on the earth take place primarily in showers. Proposed explanations for the periodicity include galactic oscillations, the Planet X model, and the possibility of Nemesis, a solar companion star. These hypotheses are critically examined. Results of the search for the solar companion are reported. The Deccan flood basalts of India have been proposed as the impact site for the Cretaceous impact, but this hypotheisis is in contradiction with the conclusion of Courtillot et al., that the magma flow began during a period of normal magnetic field. A possible resolution of this contradiction is proposed

  6. Early life adversity: Lasting consequences for emotional learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harm J. Krugers

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The early postnatal period is a highly sensitive time period for the developing brain, both in humans and rodents. During this time window, exposure to adverse experiences can lastingly impact cognitive and emotional development. In this review, we briefly discuss human and rodent studies investigating how exposure to adverse early life conditions – mainly related to quality of parental care - affects brain activity, brain structure, cognition and emotional responses later in life. We discuss the evidence that early life adversity hampers later hippocampal and prefrontal cortex functions, while increasing amygdala activity, and the sensitivity to stressors and emotional behavior later in life. Exposure to early life stress may thus on the one hand promote behavioral adaptation to potentially threatening conditions later in life –at the cost of contextual memory formation in less threatening situations- but may on the other hand also increase the sensitivity to develop stress-related and anxiety disorders in vulnerable individuals.

  7. The Effects of Acoustic White Noise on the Rat Central Auditory System During the Fetal and Critical Neonatal Periods: A Stereological Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salehi, Mohammad Saied; Namavar, Mohammad Reza; Tamadon, Amin; Bahmani, Raziyeh; Jafarzadeh Shirazi, Mohammad Reza; Khazali, Homayoun; Dargahi, Leila; Pandamooz, Sareh; Mohammad-Rezazadeh, Farzad; Rashidi, Fatemeh Sadat

    2017-01-01

    To evaluate the effects of long-term, moderate level noise exposure during crucial periods of rat infants on stereological parameters of medial geniculate body (MGB) and auditory cortex. Twenty-four male offspring of 12 pregnant rats were divided into four groups: fetal-to-critical period group, which were exposed to noise from the last 10 days of fetal life till postnatal day (PND) 29; fetal period group that exposed to noise during the last 10 days of fetal life; critical period group, exposed to noise from PND 15 till PND 29, and control group. White noise at 90 dB for 2 h per day was used. Variance for variables was performed using Proc GLM followed by mean comparison by Duncan's multiple range test. Numerical density of neurons in MGB of fetal-to-critical period group was lower than control group. Similar results were seen in numerical density of neurons in layers IV and VI of auditory cortex. Furthermore, no significant difference was observed in the volume of auditory cortex among groups, and only MGB volume in fetal-to-critical period group was higher than other groups. Estimated total number of neurons in MGB was not significantly different among groups. It seems necessary to prevent long-term moderate level noise exposure during fetal-to-critical neonatal period.

  8. Bipolar seesaw control on last interglacial sea level.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marino, G; Rohling, E J; Rodríguez-Sanz, L; Grant, K M; Heslop, D; Roberts, A P; Stanford, J D; Yu, J

    2015-06-11

    Our current understanding of ocean-atmosphere-cryosphere interactions at ice-age terminations relies largely on assessments of the most recent (last) glacial-interglacial transition, Termination I (T-I). But the extent to which T-I is representative of previous terminations remains unclear. Testing the consistency of termination processes requires comparison of time series of critical climate parameters with detailed absolute and relative age control. However, such age control has been lacking for even the penultimate glacial termination (T-II), which culminated in a sea-level highstand during the last interglacial period that was several metres above present. Here we show that Heinrich Stadial 11 (HS11), a prominent North Atlantic cold episode, occurred between 135 ± 1 and 130 ± 2 thousand years ago and was linked with rapid sea-level rise during T-II. Our conclusions are based on new and existing data for T-II and the last interglacial that we collate onto a single, radiometrically constrained chronology. The HS11 cold episode punctuated T-II and coincided directly with a major deglacial meltwater pulse, which predominantly entered the North Atlantic Ocean and accounted for about 70 per cent of the glacial-interglacial sea-level rise. We conclude that, possibly in response to stronger insolation and CO2 forcing earlier in T-II, the relationship between climate and ice-volume changes differed fundamentally from that of T-I. In T-I, the major sea-level rise clearly post-dates Heinrich Stadial 1. We also find that HS11 coincided with sustained Antarctic warming, probably through a bipolar seesaw temperature response, and propose that this heat gain at high southern latitudes promoted Antarctic ice-sheet melting that fuelled the last interglacial sea-level peak.

  9. High resolution geochemical proxy record of the last 600yr in a speleothem from the northwest Iberian Peninsula

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iglesias González, Miguel; Pisonero, Jorge; Cheng, Hai; Edwards, R. Lawrence; Stoll, Heather

    2017-04-01

    In meteorology and climatology, the instrumental period is the period where we have measured directly by instrumentation, different meteorological data along the surface which allow us to determinate the evolution of the climate during the last 150 years over the world. At the beginning, the density of this data were very low, so we have to wait until the last 75-100 years to have a good network in most of the parts of the surface. This time period is very small if we want to analyze the relationship between geochemical and instrumental variability in any speleothem. So a very high resolution data is needed to determinate the connection between both of them in the instrumental period, to try to determinate de evolution of climate in the last 600 years. Here we present a high resolution speleothem record from a cave located in the middle of the Cantabrian Mountains without any anthropologic influence and with no CO2 seasonal variability. This 600yr stalagmite, dated with U/Th method with a growth rate from 100 to 200 micrometers/yr calculated with Bchron model, provide us accurate information of the climate conditions near the cave. Trace elements are analyzed at 8 micrometers intervals by Laser Ablation ICP-MS which resolves even monthly resolution during the last 600 years with special attention with Sr, Mg, Al and Si. This data, without seasonal variability and with the presence of a river inside the cave, give us very valuable information about the extreme flood events inside the cave during the whole period, which is related with the precipitations and the snow fusion events outside the cave. We identify more extremely flood events during the Little Ice Age than in the last 100yr. As well, we have trace elements data with spatial resolution of 0.2mm analyzed with ICP-AES which allow us to compare the geochemical variability with both technics. We also analyze stable isotope d13C and d18O with a spatial resolution of 0.2mm, so we are able to identify variations

  10. Spurious Additional Warming Reconstructed From Borehole Temperatures Corrected for the Effect of the Last Glacial Cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Šafanda, Jan

    2018-03-01

    Reconstructions of past ground surface temperature changes from temperature logs conducted in several hundred meter deep boreholes have proved to be a valuable independent source of information on climate variations over the last millennium. The reconstruction techniques have been evolving for more than two decades to extract optimally the climate signal of the last millennium contained in the temperature logs of different length performed in sites with different histories of the Last Glacial Cycle. This paper analyzes the method of the Last Glacial Cycle thermal effect removal from such borehole temperature profiles used by Beltrami et al. (2017, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL071317) in reconstructing the last 500 year history. I show that the reported results of additional warming in this period reconstructed from the corrected borehole data for North America are an artifact generated by the correction.

  11. Comparative study of optical properties of the one-dimensional multilayer Period-Doubling and Thue-Morse quasi-periodic photonic crystals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. Bouazzi

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available The last decades have witnessed the growing interest in the use of photonic crystal as a new material that can be used to control electromagnetic wave. Actually, not only the periodic structures but also the quasi-periodic systems have become significant structures of photonic crystals. This work deals with optical properties of dielectric Thue-Morse multilayer and Period-Doubling multilayer. We use the so-called Transfer Matrix Method (TMM to determine the transmission spectra of the structures. Based on the representation of the transmittance spectra in the visible range a comparative analysis depending on the iteration number, number of layers and incidence angle is presented.

  12. Vegetation, climate and fire-dynamics in East Africa inferred from the Maundi crater pollen record from Mt Kilimanjaro during the last glacial-interglacial cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schüler, Lisa; Hemp, Andreas; Zech, Wolfgang; Behling, Hermann

    2012-04-01

    The pollen, charcoal and sedimentological record from the Maundi crater, located at 2780 m elevation on the south-eastern slope of Mt Kilimanjaro, is one of the longest terrestrial records in equatorial East Africa, giving an interesting insight into the vegetation and climate dynamics back to the early last Glacial period. Our sediment record has a reliable chronology until 42 ka BP. An extrapolation of the age-depth model, as well as matching with other palaeo-records from tropical East Africa, suggest a total age of about 90 ka BP at the bottom of the record. During the last Glacial the distribution as well as the composition of the vegetation belts classified as colline savanna, submontane woodland, montane forest, ericaceous belt, and alpine vegetation changed. The early last Glacial is characterized by high amounts of Poaceae and Asteraceae pollen suggesting a climatically dry but stable phase. Based on the absence of pollen grains in samples deposited around 70 ka BP, we assume the occurrence of distinct drought periods. During the pre-LGM (Last Glacial Maximum) a higher taxa diversity of the ericaceous and montane zone is recorded and suggests a spread of forest and shrub vegetation, thus indicating a more humid period. The taxa diversity increases steadily during the recorded time span. The decent of vegetation zones indicate dry and cold conditions during the LGM and seem to have been detrimental for many taxa, especially those of the forest vegetation; however, the early last Glacial seems to have been markedly drier than the LGM. The reappearance of most of the taxa (most importantly Alchemilla, Araliaceae, Dodonea, Hagenia, Ilex, Myrsine, Moraceae, Piperaceae) during the deglacial and Holocene period suggest a shift into humid conditions. An increase in ferns and the decrease in grasses during the Holocene also indicate increasing humidity. Fire played an important role in controlling the development and elevation of the ericaceous zone and the tree

  13. A Critical Review of the Critical Period Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scovel, Thomas

    2000-01-01

    Discusses how perspectives on the critical period hypothesis (CPH) have shifted over the last 20-20 years, because of the work of applied linguistics and other disciplines. Advises caution into translating CPH research into personal practice or public policy. (Author/VWL)

  14. Wind Magnetic Clouds for the Period 2013 - 2015: Model Fitting, Types, Associated Shock Waves, and Comparisons to Other Periods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lepping, R. P.; Wu, C.-C.; Berdichevsky, D. B.; Szabo, A.

    2018-04-01

    We give the results of parameter fitting of the magnetic clouds (MCs) observed by the Wind spacecraft for the three-year period 2013 to the end of 2015 (called the "Present" period) using the MC model of Lepping, Jones, and Burlaga ( J. Geophys. Res. 95, 11957, 1990). The Present period is almost coincident with the solar maximum of the sunspot number, which has a broad peak starting in about 2012 and extending to almost 2015. There were 49 MCs identified in the Present period. The modeling gives MC quantities such as size, axial attitude, field handedness, axial magnetic-field strength, center time, and closest-approach vector. Derived quantities are also estimated, such as axial magnetic flux, axial current density, and total axial current. Quality estimates are assigned representing excellent, fair/good, and poor. We provide error estimates on the specific fit parameters for the individual MCs, where the poor cases are excluded. Model-fitting results that are based on the Present period are compared to the results of the full Wind mission from 1995 to the end of 2015 (Long-term period), and compared to the results of two other recent studies that encompassed the periods 2007 - 2009 and 2010 - 2012, inclusive. We see that during the Present period, the MCs are, on average, slightly slower, slightly weaker in axial magnetic field (by 8.7%), and larger in diameter (by 6.5%) than those in the Long-term period. However, in most respects, the MCs in the Present period are significantly closer in characteristics to those of the Long-term period than to those of the two recent three-year periods. However, the rate of occurrence of MCs for the Long-term period is 10.3 year^{-1}, whereas this rate for the Present period is 16.3 year^{-1}, similar to that of the period 2010 - 2012. Hence, the MC occurrence rate has increased appreciably in the last six years. MC Type (N-S, S-N, All N, All S, etc.) is assigned to each MC; there is an inordinately large percentage of All S

  15. Last hired, first fired? Black-white unemployment and the business cycle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Couch, Kenneth A; Fairlie, Robert

    2010-02-01

    Studies have tested the claim that blacks are the last hired during periods of economic growth and the first fired in recessions by examining the movement of relative unemployment rates over the business cycle. Any conclusion drawn from this type of analysis must be viewed as tentative because cyclical movements in the underlying transitions into and out of unemployment are not examined. Using Current Population Survey data matched across adjacent months from 1989-2004, this article provides the first detailed examination of labor market transitions for prime-age black and white men to test the last hired, first fired hypothesis. Considerable evidence is presented that blacks are the first fired as the business cycle weakens. However no evidence is found that blacks are the last hired. Instead, blacks appear to be initially hired from the ranks of the unemployed early in the business cycle and later are drawn from nonparticipation. The narrowing of the racial unemployment gap near the peak of the business cycle is driven by a reduction in the rate of job loss for blacks rather than increases in hiring.

  16. Turbulence kinetic energy budget during the afternoon transition - Part 1: Observed surface TKE budget and boundary layer description for 10 intensive observation period days

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nilsson, Erik; Lohou, Fabienne; Lothon, Marie; Pardyjak, Eric; Mahrt, Larry; Darbieu, Clara

    2016-07-01

    The decay of turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) and its budget in the afternoon period from midday until zero-buoyancy flux at the surface is studied in a two-part paper by means of measurements from the Boundary Layer Late Afternoon and Sunset Turbulence (BLLAST) field campaign for 10 intensive observation period days. Here, in Part 1, near-surface measurements from a small tower are used to estimate a TKE budget. The overall boundary layer characteristics and mesoscale situation at the site are also described based upon taller tower measurements, radiosoundings and remote sensing instrumentation. Analysis of the TKE budget during the afternoon transition reveals a variety of different surface layer dynamics in terms of TKE and TKE decay. This is largely attributed to variations in the 8 m wind speed, which is responsible for different amounts of near-surface shear production on different afternoons and variations within some of the afternoon periods. The partitioning of near-surface production into local dissipation and transport in neutral and unstably stratified conditions was investigated. Although variations exist both between and within afternoons, as a rule of thumb, our results suggest that about 50 % of the near-surface production of TKE is compensated for by local dissipation near the surface, leaving about 50 % available for transport. This result indicates that it is important to also consider TKE transport as a factor influencing the near-surface TKE decay rate, which in many earlier studies has mainly been linked with the production terms of TKE by buoyancy and wind shear. We also conclude that the TKE tendency is smaller than the other budget terms, indicating a quasi-stationary evolution of TKE in the afternoon transition. Even though the TKE tendency was observed to be small, a strong correlation to mean buoyancy production of -0.69 was found for the afternoon period. For comparison with previous results, the TKE budget terms are normalized with

  17. Release of Methane from Bering Sea Sediments During the Last Glacial Period

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mea Cook; Lloyd Keigwin

    2007-11-30

    Several lines of evidence suggest that during times of elevated methane flux the sulfate-methane transition zone (SMTZ) was positioned near the sediment-water interface. We studied two cores (from 700 m and 1457 m water depth) from the Umnak Plateau region. Anomalously low d13C and high d18O in benthic and planktonic foraminifera in these cores are the consequence of diagenetic overgrowths of authigenic carbonates. There are multiple layers of authigenic-carbonate-rich sediment in these cores, and the stable isotope compositions of the carbonates are consistent with those formed during anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM). The carbonate-rich layers are associated with biomarkers produced by methane-oxidizing archaea, archaeol and glyceryl dibiphytanyl glyceryl tetraether (GDGT). The d13C of the archaeol and certain GDGTs are isotopically depleted. These carbonate- and AOM-biomarker-rich layers were emplaced in the SMTZ during episodes when there was a high flux of methane or methane-rich fluids upward in the sediment column. The sediment methane in the Umnak Plateau region appears to have been very dynamic during the glacial period, and interacted with the ocean-atmosphere system at millennial time scales. The upper-most carbonate-rich layers are in radiocarbon-dated sediment deposited during interstitials 2 and 3, 28-20 ka, and may be associated with the climate warming during this time.

  18. Rationalization of Comet Halley's periods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belton, Michael J. S.

    1990-01-01

    The sense of long axis orientation of Comet Halley during the Vega 1 encounter must be reversed from that deduced by Sagdeev et al. (1986) in order to harmonize the comet nucleus' Vega/Giotto-observed orientations with periodicities extracted from time-series brightness data. It is also demonstrated that Vega/Giotto observations can be satisfied by either a 2.2- or 3.7-day long-axis free precession period. A novel Fourier algorithm is used to reanalyze five independent data sets; strong evidence is adduced for periods harmonically related to a 7.4-day period. The preferred candidate models for Halley's nuclear rotation are characterized by a long-axis precession period of 3.7 days.

  19. Quasi-16-day period oscillations observed in middle atmospheric ozone and temperature in Antarctica

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Demissie, T.D.; Hibbins, R.E.; Espy, P.J. [Norwegian Univ. of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim (Norway); Birkeland Centre for Space Science, Bergen (Norway); Kleinknecht, N.H.; Straub, C. [Norwegian Univ. of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim (Norway)

    2013-09-01

    Nightly averaged mesospheric temperature derived from the hydroxyl nightglow at Rothera station (67 34' S, 68 08' W) and nightly midnight measurements of ozone mixing ratio obtained from Troll station (72 01' S, 2 32' E) in Antarctica have been used to investigate the presence and vertical profile of the quasi-16-day planetary wave in the stratosphere and mesosphere during the Antarctic winter of 2009. The variations caused by planetary waves on the ozone mixing ratio and temperature are discussed, and spectral and cross-correlation analyses are performed to extract the wave amplitudes and to examine the vertical structure of the wave from 34 to 80 km. The results show that while planetary-wave signatures with periods 3-12 days are strong below the stratopause, the oscillations associated with the 16-day wave are the strongest and present in both the mesosphere and stratosphere. The period of the wave is found to increase below 42 km due to the Doppler shifting by the strong eastward zonal wind. The 16-day oscillation in the temperature is found to be correlated and phase coherent with the corresponding oscillation observed in O{sub 3} volume mixing ratio at all levels, and the wave is found to have vertical phase fronts consistent with a normal mode structure. (orig.)

  20. "Radiative Closure Studies for Clear Skies During the ARM 2003 Aerosol Intensive Observation Period"

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    J. J. Michalsky, G. P. Anderson, J. Barnard, J. Delamere, C. Gueymard, S. Kato, P. Kiedron, A. McComiskey, and P. Ricchiazzi

    2006-04-01

    The Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program sponsored a large intensive observation period (IOP) to study aerosol during the month of May 2003 around the Southern Great Plains (SGP) Climate Research Facility (CRF) in north central Oklahoma. Redundant measurements of aerosol optical properties were made using different techniques at the surface as well as in vertical profile with sensors aboard two aircraft. One of the principal motivations for this experiment was to resolve the disagreement between models and measurements of diffuse horizontal broadband shortwave irradiance at the surface, especially for modest aerosol loading. This paper focuses on using the redundant aerosol and radiation measurements during this IOP to compare direct beam and diffuse horizontal broadband shortwave irradiance measurements and models at the surface for a wide range of aerosol cases that occurred during 30 clear-sky periods on 13 days of May 2003. Models and measurements are compared over a large range of solar-zenith angles. Six different models are used to assess the relative agreement among them and the measurements. Better agreement than previously achieved appears to be the result of better specification of input parameters and better measurements of irradiances than in prior studies. Biases between modeled and measured direct irradiances are less than 1%, and biases between modeled and measured diffuse irradiances are less than 2%.

  1. Reconstructing paleoceanographic conditions in the westernmost Mediterranean during the last 4.000 yr: tracking rapid climate variability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nieto-Moreno, V.; Martínez-Ruiz, F.; Jiménez-Espejo, F. J.; Gallego-Torres, D.; Rodrigo-Gámiz, M.; Sakamoto, T.; Böttcher, M.; García-Orellana, J.; Ortega-Huertas, M.

    2009-04-01

    The westernmost Mediterranean (Alboran Sea basin) is a key location for paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic reconstructions since high sedimentation rates provide ultra high-resolution records at centennial and millennial scales. Here, we present a paleoenvironmental reconstruction for the last 4000 yr, which is based on a multi-proxy approach that includes major and trace element-content fluctuations and mineral composition of marine sediments. The investigated materials correspond to several gravity and box cores recovered in the Alboran Sea basin during different oceanographic cruises (TTR-14 and TTR-17), which have been sampled at very high resolution. Comparative analysis of these cores allows establishing climate oscillations at centennial to millennial scales. Although relatively more attention have been devoted to major climate changes during the last glacial cycle, such as the Last Glacial Maximun, deglaciation and abrupt cooling events (Heinrich and Younger Dryas), the late Holocene has also been punctuated by significant rapid climate variability including polar cooling, aridity and changes in the intensity of the atmospheric circulation. These climate oscillations coincide with significant fluctuations in chemical and mineral composition of marine sediments. Thus, bulk and clay mineralogy, REE composition and Rb/Al, Zr/Al, La/Lu ratios provide information on the sedimentary regime (eolian-fluvial input and source areas), Ba-based proxies on fluctuations in marine productivity and redox sensitive elements on oxygen conditions at time of deposition. A decrease in fluvial-derived elements/minerals (e.g., Rb, detrital mica) takes places during the so-called Late Bronze Age-Iron Age, Dark Age, and Little Ice Age Period. Meanwhile an increase is evidenced during the Medieval Warm Period and the Roman Humid Period. This last trend runs parallel to a decline of element/minerals of typical eolian source (Zr, kaolinite) with the exception of the Roman Humid

  2. Detection and attribution of abrupt climate changes in the last one hundred years

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Wen; Wan Shiquan

    2008-01-01

    Based on physical backgrounds, the four time series of the Guliya (Tibetan plateau) ice core (GIC) δ 18 O, and three natural factors, i.e. the rotation rate of earth, sunspots, and El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) signals, are decomposed into two hierarchies, i.e. more and less than 10-year hierarchies respectively, and then the running t-test is used to reanalyse the data before and after filtering with the purpose of investigating the contribution of natural factors to the abrupt climate changes in the last one hundred years. The results show that the GIC δ 18 O evolved with a quasi-period of 7–9 years, and the abrupt climate changes in the early 1960s and in the period from the end of the 1970s to the beginning of the 1980s resulted from the joint effect of the two hierarchies, in other words, the two interdecadal abrupt changes of climate in the last one hundred years were global. The interannual variations of ENSO and sunspots were the important triggering factors for the abrupt climate changes in the last one hundred years. At the same time, the method of Information Transfer (IT) is employed to estimate the contributions of ENSO signals and sunspots activities to the abrupt climate changes, and it is found that the contribution of the interannual variation of ENSO signals is relatively large

  3. Trends of intervention for paediatric stone disease over the last two decades (2000–2015: A systematic review of literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amelia Pietropaolo

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To ascertain the publication trends of interventions for paediatric kidney stone disease (KSD we conducted a systematic review of literature over the last 16 years. Patients and methods: With a rise of paediatric KSD and related interventions, a systematic review using PubMed was done over the last 16 years for all published papers on ‘Paediatric stone disease intervention – ureteroscopy (URS, shockwave lithotripsy (SWL, percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL, open stone surgery, and laparoscopic stone surgery’. The search was limited to English language articles with a published abstract, whilst case reports, animal and laboratory studies, were excluded. We also analysed the data in two time periods, period-1 (2000–2007 and period-2 (2008–2015. Results: During the last 16-years, 339 papers were published on paediatric stone disease intervention on PubMed. This included papers on URS (95, PCNL (97, SWL (102, open stone surgery (34 and laparoscopic stone surgery (11. During period-1 and period-2 there were 30 and 65 papers on URS, 16 and 81 papers on PCNL, 33 and 60 papers on SWL, nine and 25 papers on open surgery, respectively. When comparing the two periods, there were 92 published papers for all interventions in period-1 and this had risen almost threefold to 247 papers in period-2. Conclusions: Our systematic review shows that intervention for KSD in the paediatric age group has risen over the last 8 years. Whilst URS, SWL, open surgery and laparoscopic surgery have all doubled, PCNL has risen fivefold reflecting an increase in the new minimally invasive PCNL techniques. Keywords: Publication trends, Urolithiasis, Stone, Ureteroscopy, Paediatrics

  4. Biotic and Abiotic factors governing nestling-period length in the ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eric Stodola; David Buehler; Daniel Kim; Kathleen Franzreb; Daniel Linder

    2010-01-01

    In many songbirds, the nesting period for a breeding attempt is extremely short, often lasting only a few weeks. Breeding adults can shorten this period by decreasing the number of eggs laid or reducing the length of the nestling period. Nestling-period length has received little attention in the literature but could have profound effects on annual fecundity, because...

  5. Changing trends in peripartum hysterectomy over the last 4 decades.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Flood, Karen M

    2012-02-01

    OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to identify changing trends in peripartum hysterectomy (PH) in a single large obstetric population over the last 40 years. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study was performed from 1966-2005 of patients who had PH in any of the 3 Dublin obstetric hospitals. Cases were identified, and details were obtained from the combined patient databases of each hospital. RESULTS: There were 872,379 deliveries during the study period, among which 358 women underwent PH (0.4\\/1000 deliveries). In a comparison of the study decades 1966-1975 with 1996-2005, PH decreased from 0.9 per 1000 deliveries to 0.2 of 1000 deliveries. Although the overall cesarean delivery rate has increased from 6-19% during these 2 decades, the percentage of PH that occurs in the setting of a previous cesarean delivery has increased from 27-57% (P < .00001). Indications for PH have changed significantly in this time period, with "uterine rupture" as the indication for PH decreasing from 40.5-9.3% (P < .0001) and placenta accreta as the indication increasing significantly from 5.4-46.5% (P < .00001). CONCLUSION: PH has decreased over the last 4 decades. However, alongside the rising cesarean delivery rate, there has been a marked increase in the incidence of placenta accreta.

  6. Timing of millennial-scale climate change in Antarctica and Greenland during the last glacial period

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blunier, T; Brook, E J

    2001-01-01

    A precise relative chronology for Greenland and West Antarctic paleotemperature is extended to 90,000 years ago, based on correlation of atmospheric methane records from the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 and Byrd ice cores. Over this period, the onset of seven major millennial-scale warmings in A....... This pattern provides further evidence for the operation of a "bipolar see-saw" in air temperatures and an oceanic teleconnection between the hemispheres on millennial time scales....

  7. Evolution of Helicobacter pylori susceptibility to antibiotics during a 10-year period in Lithuania

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kupcinskas, Limas; Rasmussen, Lone; Jonaitis, Laimas

    2013-01-01

    .5 times, the total macrolide consumption remains one of the lowest in Europe. We have not observed any significant changes in the susceptibility of H. pylori to the most widely used antibiotics during the recent 10-year period. The low resistance rate to clarithromycin might be related to the policy......The study evaluated the changes in the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori strains with primary resistance to antibiotics during the last 10 years in Lithuania. H. pylori susceptibilities to antibiotics were tested in 89 patients in 1998, in 81 patients in 2001 and in 90 patients in 2007...

  8. Clinical observations over 20 years period of Bikini victims

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumatori, Toshiyuki

    1976-01-01

    The author outlined the results of medical examinations performed in a period of 20 years on the Japanese fishermen who were exposed at Bikini in 1954. Exposure doses were estimated, and the progress of medical examinations for skin injury, hematological changes, cytogenetic changes, and spermatogenetic disturbance was described. In view of internal exposure, none of the long half-life nuclides was retained in the body. The victims were compared with the victims exposed in Marshall Islands. (Serizawa, K.)

  9. Mammoths inside the Alps during the last glacial period: Radiocarbon constraints from Austria and palaeoenvironmental implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spötl, Christoph; Reimer, Paula J.; Göhlich, Ursula B.

    2018-06-01

    This study examines remains of the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) found inside the Austrian Alps, an area occupied by an extensive ice-stream network during the Last Glacial Maximum. The data demonstrate that these cold steppe-adapted animals locally migrated several tens of kilometers into alpine valleys. Radiocarbon analyses constrain the age of these fossils to the first half of Marine Isotope Stage 3, documenting ice-free conditions in major valleys at that time. We also provide a list of all traceable Austrian sites of Mammuthus primigenius, totaling about 230 localities, compiled through 15 museums and collections in Austria. The vast majority of these findings are from the corridors of the Danube and Mur rivers and their tributaries and the adjacent loess-covered foreland of the Alps, areas that were never ice-covered during Pleistocene glaciations.

  10. Quasi-periodic VLF emissions observed during daytime at a low ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    at a low latitude Indian ground station Jammu. K K Singh1, J .... Figure 4. Typical example of pulsing VLF hiss emission of longer period recorded during daytime at Jammu on 20 ..... Further,. Ward (1983) also paid attention to a certain simi-.

  11. A single social defeat induces short-lasting behavioral sensitization to amphetamine

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Jong, JG; Wasilewski, M; van der Vegt, BJ; Buwalda, B; Koolhaas, Jacob

    2005-01-01

    Repeated, intermittent exposure to psychostimulants or stressors results in long-lasting, progressive sensitization of the behavioral effects of a subsequent amphetamine (AMPH) challenge. Although behavioral sensitization has also been observed following a single drug pretreatment, the sensitizing

  12. [Firework injuries in Denmark in the period 1995/1996 to 2006/2007].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foged, Thomas; Lauritsen, Jens; Ipsen, Tune; Ibsen, Tune

    2007-12-03

    The purpose of this study was to observe the occurrence and character of firework injuries on the two days around New Year in Denmark over the last decade. Since 1995/1996 all Accident and Emergency Departments in Denmark have registered all contacts where fireworks were the cause of injury on 31st December and 1st January. Data comprised hospital, sex, age, type of firework, diagnosis and final treatment. Follow-up and reminder by phone secured a 100% response rate. The total number of injured patients was 4,447. The number of firework injuries on the 31st of December and 1st of January was reduced by half over the 12-year period. Furthermore, the number of firework injuries caused by illegal fireworks in 2006/2007 was only 10% of the number in 1996/1997. Only 8% of injuries on last New Year's Eve were caused by illegal firewoks compared to almost 50% at the beginning of the period. A similar halving is seen in serious injuries. Roughly one quarter sustained injuries to the eyes, one quarter to the head/neck and 38% to hands. Firework injuries are now half of the level in 1996/1997. Injuries caused by illegal fireworks and serious injuries have shown a downward tendency throughout the period. The actual number of severe injuries from illegal fireworks is now only 10% of the level in the mid-1990s. This reduction can be attributed to preventive campaigns, greater knowledge of the risk of fireworks in general as well as legislation. Continued focus on preventive campaigns, control of fireworks for the general public and control of firework distribution to professionals is recommended.

  13. FASTSAT-HSV01 Synergistic Observations of the Magnetospheric Response During Active Periods: MINI-ME, PISA and TTI

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casas, Joseph C.; Collier, Michael R.; Rowland, Douglas E.; Sigwarth, John B.; Boudreaux, Mark E.

    2010-01-01

    Understanding the complex processes within the inner magnetosphere of Earth particularly during storm periods requires coordinated observations of the particle and field environment using both in-situ and remote sensing techniques. In fact in order to gain a better understanding of our Heliophysics and potentially improve our space weather forecasting capabilities, new observation mission approaches and new instrument technologies which can provide both cost effective and robust regular observations of magnetospheric activity and other space weather related phenomenon are necessary. As part of the effort to demonstrate new instrument techniques and achieve necessary coordinated observation missions, NASA's Fast Affordable Science and Technology Satellite Huntsville 01 mission (FASTSAT-HSVOI) scheduled for launch in 2010 will afford a highly synergistic solution which satisfies payload mission opportunities and launch requirements as well as contributing iri the near term to our improved understanding of Heliophysics. NASA's FASTSAT-HSV01 spacecraft on the DoD Space Test Program-S26 (STP-S26) Mission is a multi-payload mission executed by the DoD Space Test Program (STP) at the Space Development and Test Wing (SDTW), Kirtland AFB, NM. and is an example of a responsive and economical breakthrough in providing new possibilities for small space technology-driven and research missions. FASTSAT-HSV is a unique spacecraft platform that can carry multiple small instruments or experiments to low-Earth orbit on a wide range of expendable launch vehicles for a fraction of the cost traditionally required for such missions. The FASTSAT-HSV01 mission allows NASA to mature and transition a technical capability to industry while increasing low-cost access to space for small science and technology (ST) payloads. The FASTSAT-HSV01 payload includes three NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) new technology built instruments that will study the terrestrial space environment and

  14. The protogine zone. Geology and mobility during the last 1.5 Ga

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andreasson, P.G.; Rodhe, A.

    1992-09-01

    This report treats the Protogine Zone (PZ) as the western boundary of the Southeastern Megablock (SEM), and summarizes scientific aspects of different geological and geophysical functions of the zone. A systematic inventory and a technical description of shear zones and faults in the type area of the 'Schistosity Zone' are presented. The report then reviews observed and infrared activity of the zone during the last 1500 million years. This calendar includes at least eight different periods of compression or extension, tilting, uplift, magmatism etc. along the zone, in harmony with the common experience that old zones of weakness in the crust seldom heal. The network of major structures of southern Sweden is described, and the function of the PZ within this network is discussed with particular attention to east-west running lineaments within the SEM, like the Noemmen-Oskarshamn and Hoernebo-Hoegsby fault and shear zones. Future work should inter alia investigate if these two zones are connected with the PZ, and if movements along the PZ can reactivate the zones. A bibliography comprising c. 100 titles is included as an appendix. (au)

  15. Lithostratigraphy and physical properties of lacustrine sediments of the last ca. 150 kyr from Chalco basin, central México

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortega-Guerrero, Beatriz; Lozano-García, Socorro; Herrera-Hernández, Dimitris; Caballero, Margarita; Beramendi-Orosco, Laura; Bernal, Juan Pablo; Torres-Rodríguez, Esperanza; Avendaño-Villeda, Diana

    2017-11-01

    The recognition of past climatic fluctuations in sedimentary sequences in central Mexico is relevant for understanding the forcing mechanisms and responses of climatic system in the northern American tropic. Moreover, in this active volcanic setting the sedimentary record preserves the history of past volcanic activity. Climatic and environmental variability has been documented for the last tenths of thousands of years from the upper lacustrine sediments in Chalco basin. A series of cores drilled down to 122 m depth in this basin offer a long, continuous and high resolution record of past climatic changes of the last ca. 150 kyr in this region. Here we present the detailed lithostratigraphy and some physical properties (magnetic susceptibility and density) of the master sequence. Sedimentary components and their abundance were identified and quantified in smear slides and direct core observations. Age model is based on 13 14C and one 230Th/U dates. Based on their facies association seven lithostratigraphic units were defined, which reflect the main stages of lake Chalco evolution. These phases closely match the marine isotopic stages. The data reveal that at the end of MIS6 Chalco was a relatively deep and stratified freshwater lake. During MIS5 the depositional environment fluctuated between low lake stands to marshy and marginal playa settings with sporadic flooding events, and severe arid periods resulted in aerial exposure of lake sediments. Low lake stands persisted during MIS4 and MIS3, with minor fluctuations towards slightly deeper phases. The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the deglacial period (21-13 kyr) are characterized by intense volcanism. The early and mid-Holocene high calcareous content and alkaline-subsaline lake suggest dry conditions. The fluctuations of lake levels inferred provide the basis for future paleoclimatic works.

  16. Minimum period and the gap in periods of Cataclysmic binaries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paczynski, B.; Sienkiewicz, R.

    1983-01-01

    The 81 minute cutoff to the orbital periods of hydrogen-rich cataclysmic binaries is consistent with evolution of those systems being dominated by angular momentum losses due to gravitational radiation. Unfortunately, many uncertainties, mainly poorly known atmospheric opacities below 2000 K, make is physically impossible to verify the quadrupole formula for gravitational radiation by using the observed cutoff at 81 minutes. The upper boundary of the gap in orbital periods observed at about 3 hours is almost certainly due to enhanced angular momentum losses from cataclysmic binaries which have longer periods. The physical mechanism of those losses is not identified, but a possible importance of stellar winds is pointed out. The lower boundary of the gap may be explained with the oldest cataclysmic binaries, whose periods evolved past the minimum at 81 minutes and reached the value of 2 hours within about 12 x 10 9 years after the binary had formed. Those binaries should have secondary components of only 0.02 solar masses, and their periods could be used to estimate ages of the oldest cataclysmic stars, and presumably the age of Galaxy. An alternative explanation for the gap requires that binaries should be detached while crossing the gap. A possible mechanism for this phenomenon is discussed. It requires the secondary components to be about 0.2 solar masses in the binaries just below the gap

  17. Implications of insecticide resistance for malaria vector control with long-lasting insecticidal nets: a WHO-coordinated, prospective, international, observational cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kleinschmidt, Immo; Bradley, John; Knox, Tessa Bellamy; Mnzava, Abraham Peter; Kafy, Hmooda Toto; Mbogo, Charles; Ismail, Bashir Adam; Bigoga, Jude D; Adechoubou, Alioun; Raghavendra, Kamaraju; Cook, Jackie; Malik, Elfatih M; Nkuni, Zinga José; Macdonald, Michael; Bayoh, Nabie; Ochomo, Eric; Fondjo, Etienne; Awono-Ambene, Herman Parfait; Etang, Josiane; Akogbeto, Martin; Bhatt, Rajendra M; Chourasia, Mehul Kumar; Swain, Dipak K; Kinyari, Teresa; Subramaniam, Krishanthi; Massougbodji, Achille; Okê-Sopoh, Mariam; Ogouyemi-Hounto, Aurore; Kouambeng, Celestin; Abdin, Mujahid Sheikhedin; West, Philippa; Elmardi, Khalid; Cornelie, Sylvie; Corbel, Vincent; Valecha, Neena; Mathenge, Evan; Kamau, Luna; Lines, Jonathan; Donnelly, Martin James

    2018-04-09

    Scale-up of insecticide-based interventions has averted more than 500 million malaria cases since 2000. Increasing insecticide resistance could herald a rebound in disease and mortality. We aimed to investigate whether insecticide resistance was associated with loss of effectiveness of long-lasting insecticidal nets and increased malaria disease burden. This WHO-coordinated, prospective, observational cohort study was done at 279 clusters (villages or groups of villages in which phenotypic resistance was measurable) in Benin, Cameroon, India, Kenya, and Sudan. Pyrethroid long-lasting insecticidal nets were the principal form of malaria vector control in all study areas; in Sudan this approach was supplemented by indoor residual spraying. Cohorts of children from randomly selected households in each cluster were recruited and followed up by community health workers to measure incidence of clinical malaria and prevalence of infection. Mosquitoes were assessed for susceptibility to pyrethroids using the standard WHO bioassay test. Country-specific results were combined using meta-analysis. Between June 2, 2012, and Nov 4, 2016, 40 000 children were enrolled and assessed for clinical incidence during 1·4 million follow-up visits. 80 000 mosquitoes were assessed for insecticide resistance. Long-lasting insecticidal net users had lower infection prevalence (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0·63, 95% CI 0·51-0·78) and disease incidence (adjusted rate ratio [RR] 0·62, 0·41-0·94) than did non-users across a range of resistance levels. We found no evidence of an association between insecticide resistance and infection prevalence (adjusted OR 0·86, 0·70-1·06) or incidence (adjusted RR 0·89, 0·72-1·10). Users of nets, although significantly better protected than non-users, were nevertheless subject to high malaria infection risk (ranging from an average incidence in net users of 0·023, [95% CI 0·016-0·033] per person-year in India, to 0·80 [0·65-0·97] per person

  18. The last Scandinavian ice sheet in northwestern Russia: ice flow patterns and decay dynamics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Demidov, L.; Houmark-Nielsen, Michael; Kjær, Kurt Henrik

    2006-01-01

    in Russia than previously outlined and the time of termination at 18-16 cal. kyr BP was almost 10 kyr delayed compared to the southwestern part of the ice sheet. We argue that the lithology of the ice sheets' substrate, and especially the location of former proglacial lake basins, influenced the dynamics......Advance of the Late Weichselian (Valdaian) Scandinavian Ice Sheet (SIS) in northwestern Russia took place after a period of periglacial conditions. Till of the last SIS, Bobrovo till, overlies glacial deposits from the previous Barents and Kara Sea ice sheets and marine deposits of the Last...

  19. The return period analysis of natural disasters with statistical modeling of bivariate joint probability distribution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ning; Liu, Xueqin; Xie, Wei; Wu, Jidong; Zhang, Peng

    2013-01-01

    New features of natural disasters have been observed over the last several years. The factors that influence the disasters' formation mechanisms, regularity of occurrence and main characteristics have been revealed to be more complicated and diverse in nature than previously thought. As the uncertainty involved increases, the variables need to be examined further. This article discusses the importance and the shortage of multivariate analysis of natural disasters and presents a method to estimate the joint probability of the return periods and perform a risk analysis. Severe dust storms from 1990 to 2008 in Inner Mongolia were used as a case study to test this new methodology, as they are normal and recurring climatic phenomena on Earth. Based on the 79 investigated events and according to the dust storm definition with bivariate, the joint probability distribution of severe dust storms was established using the observed data of maximum wind speed and duration. The joint return periods of severe dust storms were calculated, and the relevant risk was analyzed according to the joint probability. The copula function is able to simulate severe dust storm disasters accurately. The joint return periods generated are closer to those observed in reality than the univariate return periods and thus have more value in severe dust storm disaster mitigation, strategy making, program design, and improvement of risk management. This research may prove useful in risk-based decision making. The exploration of multivariate analysis methods can also lay the foundation for further applications in natural disaster risk analysis. © 2012 Society for Risk Analysis.

  20. Hepatitis A virus strains circulating during 1997-2015 in Campania, a Southern Italy region with periodic outbreaks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costantino, Angela; Coppola, Nicola; Spada, Enea; Bruni, Roberto; Taffon, Stefania; Equestre, Michele; Marcantonio, Cinzia; Sagnelli, Caterina; Dell'Isola, Chiara; Tosone, Grazia; Mascolo, Silvia; Sagnelli, Evangelista; Ciccaglione, Anna Rita

    2017-11-01

    In Italy, the incidence of hepatitis A has progressively declined over the last 30 years, though not homogeneously throughout the country. In Campania, Southern Italy, high annual incidence rates have been reported and several periodic outbreaks have occurred. To investigate the phylogenetic and epidemiologic relationships among HAV strains circulating in Campania over the period 1997-2015, 87 hepatitis A cases were investigated. The most frequent risk factor was the consumption of raw/undercooked shellfish (75/87, 86.2%). During 1997-2002 most viral strains were subtype IA (16/23, 70%); the phylogenetic pattern suggests that the incidence peaks observed in 2000-2001 had likely been caused by multiple strains. During a large 2004 outbreak, almost all viral variants were subtype IB (38/41, 93%); most of them (22/38, 58%) were recognized to be one of two main strains (differing for just a single nucleotide), the remaining sequences were strictly related variants. In 2014/2015, only IA strains were observed; two phylogenetically related but distinct strains were responsible, respectively, for a small cluster in 2014 and an outbreak in 2015. In each outbreak, several strains unrelated to those responsible for most cases were detected in a minority of patients, documenting a background of sporadic cases occurring even in the course of outbreaks; some of them proved to be identical to strains detected 11-14 years previously. Overall, the data suggest that several related and unrelated HAV strains have endemically circulated over the last 15 years in Campania, with some strains gaining epidemic transmission likely because of a local combination of multiple factors, including inadequate waste water purification and dietary habits. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  1. Gravity-Driven Deposits in an Active Margin (Ionian Sea) Over the Last 330,000 Years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Köng, Eléonore; Zaragosi, Sébastien; Schneider, Jean-Luc; Garlan, Thierry; Bachèlery, Patrick; Sabine, Marjolaine; San Pedro, Laurine

    2017-11-01

    In the Ionian Sea, the subduction of the Nubia plate underneath the Eurasia plate leads to an important sediment remobilization on the Calabrian Arc and the Mediterranean Ridge. These events are often associated with earthquakes and tsunamis. In this study, we analyze gravity-driven deposits in order to establish their recurrence time on the Calabrian Arc and the western Mediterranean Ridge. Four gravity cores collected on ridges and slope basins of accretionary prisms record turbidites, megaturbidites, slumping and micro-faults over the last 330,000 years. These turbidites were dated by correlation with a hemipelagic core with a multi-proxy approach: radiometric dating, δ18O, b* colour curve, sapropels and tephrochronology. The origin of the gravity-driven deposits was studied with a sedimentary approach: grain-size, lithology, thin section, geochemistry of volcanic glass. The results suggest three periods of presence/absence of gravity-driven deposits: a first on the western lobe of the Calabrian Arc between 330,000 and 250,000 years, a second between 120,000 years and present day on the eastern lobe of the Calabrian Arc and over the last 60,000 years on the western lobe, and a third on the Mediterranean Ridge over the last 37,000 years. Return times for gravity-driven deposits are around 1,000 years during the most important record periods. The turbidite activity also highlights the presence of volcaniclastic turbidites that seems to be link to the Etna changing morphology over the last 320,000 years.

  2. Period changes of cataclysmic variables below the period gap: V2051 Oph, OY Car and Z Cha

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pilarčík, L.; Wolf, M.; Zasche, P.; Vraštil, J.

    2018-04-01

    We present our results of a long-term monitoring of cataclysmic variable stars (CVs). About 40 new eclipses were measured for the three southern SU UMa-type eclipsing CVs: V2051 Oph, OY Car and Z Cha. Based on the current O - C diagrams we confirmed earlier findings that V2051 Oph and OY Car present cyclic changes of their orbital periods lasting 25 and 29 years, respectively. In case of Z Cha we propose the light-time effect caused probably by a presence of the third component orbiting the eclipsing CV with the period of 43.5 years. The minimal mass of this companion results about 15 MJup.

  3. Small flow rate can supply inwardly migrating shortest-period planets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taylor S.F.

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The number of exoplanets found with periods as short as one day and less was surprising given how fast these planets had been expected to migrate into the star due to the tides raised on the star by planets at such close distances. It has been seen as improbable that we would find planets in such a small final fraction of their lives [1]. The favored solution has been that the tidal dissipation is much weaker than expected, which would mean that the final infall would be a larger fraction of the planets’ life. We find no reason, however, to exclude the explanation that a small number of planets are continuously sent migrating inwards such that these planets indeed are in the last fraction of their lives. Following the observation that the distribution of medium planets disfavors tidal dissipation being significantly weaker than has been found from observations of binary stars [2], we now show that the numbers of planets in such a “flow” of excess planets migrating inwards is low enough that even depletion of the three-day pileup is a plausible source. Then the shortest period occurrence distribution would be shaped by planets continuously being sent into the star, which may explain the depletion of the pileup in the Kepler field relative to the solar neighborhood [3]. Because Kepler observes above the galactic plan, [3] suggested the Kepler field may include an older population of stars. The tidal dissipation strength in stars due to giant planets may be not greatly weaker than it is in binary stars.

  4. The "sticking period" in a maximum bench press.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van den Tillaar, Roland; Ettema, Gertjan

    2010-03-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine muscle activity and three-dimensional kinematics in the ascending phase of a successful one-repetition maximum attempt in bench press for 12 recreational weight-training athletes, with special attention to the sticking period. The sticking period was defined as the first period of deceleration of the upward movement (i.e. from the highest barbell velocity until the first local lowest barbell velocity). All participants showed a sticking period during the upward movement that started about 0.2 s after the initial upward movement, and lasted about 0.9 s. Electromyography revealed that the muscle activity of the prime movers changed significantly from the pre-sticking to the sticking and post-sticking periods. A possible mechanism for the existence of the sticking period is the diminishing potentiation of the contractile elements during the upward movement together with the limited activity of the pectoral and deltoid muscles during this period.

  5. Hydrological and climate changes in southeast Siberia over the last 33 kyr

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katsuta, Nagayoshi; Ikeda, Hisashi; Shibata, Kenji; Saito-Kokubu, Yoko; Murakami, Takuma; Tani, Yukinori; Takano, Masao; Nakamura, Toshio; Tanaka, Atsushi; Naito, Sayuri; Ochiai, Shinya; Shichi, Koji; Kawakami, Shin-ichi; Kawai, Takayoshi

    2018-05-01

    Paleoenvironmental and paleoclimate changes in intracontinental Siberia were reconstructed by continuous, high-resolution records (biogenic silica, U, total organic carbon and N, total S, and grain size) from a sediment core retrieved from the Buguldeika Saddle, Lake Baikal, dating back to the last 33 cal. ka BP. The Holocene climate was wet relative to the last glacial period. The climate became gradually warm and wet from the early to middle Holocene, followed by a shift at ca. 6.5 cal. ka BP toward warm and dry, possibly because of evapotranspiration. This suggests that the climate system transition from the glacial to interglacial state occurred at that time. In the last glacial, the deposition of carbonate mud from the Primorsky Range was associated with Heinrich events (H3 and H1) and the Selenga River inflow during the Last Glacial Maximum was caused by meltwater of mountain glaciers in the Khamar-Daban Range. The anoxic bottom-water during the Allerød-Younger Dryas was probably a result of weakened ventilation associated with reduced Selenga River inflow and microbial decomposition of organic matters originating from moderate input of nutrients from the Primorsky Range. The rapid decline in precipitation during the early Holocene may have been a response to the 8.2 ka cooling event.

  6. Giant boulders and Last Interglacial storm intensity in the North Atlantic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rovere, Alessio; Casella, Elisa; Harris, Daniel L.; Lorscheid, Thomas; Nandasena, Napayalage A. K.; Dyer, Blake; Sandstrom, Michael R.; Stocchi, Paolo; D'Andrea, William J.; Raymo, Maureen E.

    2017-11-01

    As global climate warms and sea level rises, coastal areas will be subject to more frequent extreme flooding and hurricanes. Geologic evidence for extreme coastal storms during past warm periods has the potential to provide fundamental insights into their future intensity. Recent studies argue that during the Last Interglacial (MIS 5e, ˜128–116 ka) tropical and extratropical North Atlantic cyclones may have been more intense than at present, and may have produced waves larger than those observed historically. Such strong swells are inferred to have created a number of geologic features that can be observed today along the coastlines of Bermuda and the Bahamas. In this paper, we investigate the most iconic among these features: massive boulders atop a cliff in North Eleuthera, Bahamas. We combine geologic field surveys, wave models, and boulder transport equations to test the hypothesis that such boulders must have been emplaced by storms of greater-than-historical intensity. By contrast, our results suggest that with the higher relative sea level (RSL) estimated for the Bahamas during MIS 5e, boulders of this size could have been transported by waves generated by storms of historical intensity. Thus, while the megaboulders of Eleuthera cannot be used as geologic proof for past “superstorms,” they do show that with rising sea levels, cliffs and coastal barriers will be subject to significantly greater erosional energy, even without changes in storm intensity.

  7. Giant boulders and Last Interglacial storm intensity in the North Atlantic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rovere, Alessio; Casella, Elisa; Harris, Daniel L; Lorscheid, Thomas; Nandasena, Napayalage A K; Dyer, Blake; Sandstrom, Michael R; Stocchi, Paolo; D'Andrea, William J; Raymo, Maureen E

    2017-11-14

    As global climate warms and sea level rises, coastal areas will be subject to more frequent extreme flooding and hurricanes. Geologic evidence for extreme coastal storms during past warm periods has the potential to provide fundamental insights into their future intensity. Recent studies argue that during the Last Interglacial (MIS 5e, ∼128-116 ka) tropical and extratropical North Atlantic cyclones may have been more intense than at present, and may have produced waves larger than those observed historically. Such strong swells are inferred to have created a number of geologic features that can be observed today along the coastlines of Bermuda and the Bahamas. In this paper, we investigate the most iconic among these features: massive boulders atop a cliff in North Eleuthera, Bahamas. We combine geologic field surveys, wave models, and boulder transport equations to test the hypothesis that such boulders must have been emplaced by storms of greater-than-historical intensity. By contrast, our results suggest that with the higher relative sea level (RSL) estimated for the Bahamas during MIS 5e, boulders of this size could have been transported by waves generated by storms of historical intensity. Thus, while the megaboulders of Eleuthera cannot be used as geologic proof for past "superstorms," they do show that with rising sea levels, cliffs and coastal barriers will be subject to significantly greater erosional energy, even without changes in storm intensity.

  8. Sparsely-Observed Pulsating Red Giants in the AAVSO Observing Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Percy, J. R.

    2018-06-01

    This paper reports on time-series analysis of 156 pulsating red giants (21 SRa, 52 SRb, 33 SR, 50 Lb) in the AAVSO observing program for which there are no more than 150-250 observations in total. Some results were obtained for 68 of these stars: 17 SRa, 14 SRb, 20 SR, and 17 Lb. These results generally include only an average period and amplitude. Many, if not most of the stars are undoubtedly more complex; pulsating red giants are known to have wandering periods, variable amplitudes, and often multiple periods including "long secondary periods" of unknown origin. These results (or lack thereof) raise the question of how the AAVSO should best manage the observation of these and other sparsely-observed pulsating red giants.

  9. On the Upper Limit (Heaviest Element in the Periodic Table of Elements, and the Periodic Table of Anti-Substance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khazan A.

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available On the basis of the method involving equilateral hyperbolas developed by us with ref- erence to the Periodic Table, its Top Limit has been established. It is the last element with atomic mass 411.66 and serial number 155. The great value, according to our calculation, has adjacent hyperbolas whose center is the point (0; 1. With the method, it has been possible to find just one element in the Periodic Table — Rhodium, which does not demand additional calculations involving the definition of the valid axes. Cal- culations towards updating the charge of a nucleus and the quantity of neutrons in end N-Z part of the diagram by means of the serial number 155 are herein executed. The variant of the Periodic Table of Elements with the eighth period is recommended. On the basis of symmetry, with the application of the Hyperbolic Law in the Periodic Table of Elements, the existence of Anti-Substances is herein indirectly proved.

  10. Peruvian sediments as recorders of an evolving hiatus for the last 22 thousand years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erdem, Zeynep; Schönfeld, Joachim; Glock, Nicolaas; Dengler, Marcus; Mosch, Thomas; Sommer, Stefan; Elger, Judith; Eisenhauer, Anton

    2016-04-01

    The Peruvian continental margin is characterized by the presence of one of the strongest and most distinct Oxygen Minimum Zones (OMZs) in today's oceans. Therefore, it has long been in the focus of oceanographic and geological investigations. Observations indicate that OMZs are expanding in relation with currently changing climate. To advance understanding of the temporal evolution of OMZs and climate change, complete paleoceanographic and palaeoclimatological reconstructions are needed. However, the development of paleoenvironmental scenarios for the period since the Last Glacial Maximum at this region was hampered by a ubiquitous hiatus and short-term interruptions of the stratigraphical record. In the present study, we combined the stratigraphical information from 31 sediment cores from the Peruvian margin located between 3 and 18°S and water depths of 90 to 1300 m within and below today's OMZ, in order to determine the extent of the hiatus and assess the responsible mechanisms. A widespread unconformity and related erosional features, omission surfaces and phosphorites, were observed in sediment cores from the area south of 7°S, depicting a prograding feature on the continental slope from south to north during the deglaciation. Combining recent oceanographic and sedimentological observations, it is inferred that, tide-topography interaction and resulting non-linear internal waves (NLIWs) shape the slope by erosion, carry sediments upslope or downslope and leave widespread phosphoritic lag sediments, while the Peru Chile Undercurrent (PCUC) transports the resuspended sediments southward causing non-deposition. This exceptional sedimentary regime makes the Peruvian margin a modern analogue for such environments. Overall, our compilation of downcore records showed that enhanced bottom currents due to tide-topography interaction were progressively evolving and affected a wider area with the onset of the last deglaciation. Elevated tidal amplitudes and variability

  11. Nature of the last contact with a medical doctor before suicide

    OpenAIRE

    Mars, Urša; Pirc, Lara; Mesec Rodi, Petra; Poštuvan, Vita; De Leo, Diego

    2018-01-01

    A relevant number of suicide decedents visit medical doctors (MDs) in a short period before death. This study aimed to learn about MDs’ attitudes towards suicide prevention, their previous education on suicide, the experience with suicide, and eventually the nature of the last visit with a patient that died by suicide. 159 Slovenian MDs participated in an online survey covering previously mentioned topics. More than a third of MDs have never been trained on suicide prevention and reported lac...

  12. Recurrent modulation of galactic cosmic ray electrons and protons: Ulysses COSPIN/KET observations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heber, B.; Blake, J.B.; Paizis, C.; Bothmer, V.; Kunow, H.; Wibberenz, G.; Burger, R.A.; Potgieter, M.S.

    2000-01-01

    Since measurements of space probes in the interplanetary space became available it has been known that associated with the occurrence of recurrent fast and slow solar wind streams, forming Corotating Interaction Regions, recurrent variations in the cosmic ray nuclei flux are observed. As pointed out recently by Jokipii and Kota (2) recurrent modulation for positively and negatively charged particles may be different. In the time interval extending from July 1992 to July 1994, Ulysses on its journey to high heliographic latitudes registered ∼20 stable and long-lasting Corotating Interaction Regions (CIRs). In this work we use data from the Cosmic Ray and Solar Particle Investigation Kiel Electron Telescope (COSPIN/KET) instrument on board Ulysses to study the recurrent variation of 2.5 GV electrons and protons. We find that 1) electrons are indeed periodically modulated, but that 2) the periodicity of ∼29 days is longer than the period of ∼26 days for protons, and that 3) the amplitude is larger than the one observed for protons

  13. IUE observations of long period eclipsing binaries: a study of accretion onto non-degenerate stars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Plavec, M.J.

    1980-01-01

    It has long been thought that β Lyrae is a unique system, by virtue of its UV spectrum and its nature. The author argues that a whole class of interacting long-period binaries exists, similar to β Lyrae. According to IUE observations made in 1978-79 this group comprises: RX Cas, SX Cas, V 367 Cyg, W Cru, β Lyr, and W Ser. AR Pav is a transition case linking them with the symbiotics. The author also suggests that HD 218393 (KX And), HD 72754, and HD 51480 are their non-eclipsing counterparts. The whole group is called the W Serpentis stars. These systems are mass-transfering binaries (case B) in which the mass transfer rate is relatively high, probably on the order 10 -6 to 10 -4 solar masses/year. They display an ultraviolet continuum with a color temperature definitely higher than the one observed in the optical region. Even more characteristical is the presence of strong emission lines of N V, C IV, Si IV, Fe III, Al III, and lower ions of C and Si. The author discusses these phenomena on the assumption that they are due to accretion onto non-degenerate stars. (Auth.)

  14. Expansion and Contraction of the Indo-Pacific Tropical Rain Belt over the Last Three Millennia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denniston, Rhawn F; Ummenhofer, Caroline C; Wanamaker, Alan D; Lachniet, Matthew S; Villarini, Gabriele; Asmerom, Yemane; Polyak, Victor J; Passaro, Kristian J; Cugley, John; Woods, David; Humphreys, William F

    2016-09-29

    The seasonal north-south migration of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) defines the tropical rain belt (TRB), a region of enormous terrestrial and marine biodiversity and home to 40% of people on Earth. The TRB is dynamic and has been shown to shift south as a coherent system during periods of Northern Hemisphere cooling. However, recent studies of Indo-Pacific hydroclimate suggest that during the Little Ice Age (LIA; AD 1400-1850), the TRB in this region contracted rather than being displaced uniformly southward. This behaviour is not well understood, particularly during climatic fluctuations less pronounced than those of the LIA, the largest centennial-scale cool period of the last millennium. Here we show that the Indo-Pacific TRB expanded and contracted numerous times over multi-decadal to centennial scales during the last 3,000 yr. By integrating precisely-dated stalagmite records of tropical hydroclimate from southern China with a newly enhanced stalagmite time series from northern Australia, our study reveals a previously unidentified coherence between the austral and boreal summer monsoon. State-of-the-art climate model simulations of the last millennium suggest these are linked to changes in the structure of the regional manifestation of the atmosphere's meridional circulation.

  15. Expansion and Contraction of the Indo-Pacific Tropical Rain Belt over the Last Three Millennia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denniston, Rhawn F.; Ummenhofer, Caroline C.; Wanamaker, Alan D.; Lachniet, Matthew S.; Villarini, Gabriele; Asmerom, Yemane; Polyak, Victor J.; Passaro, Kristian J.; Cugley, John; Woods, David; Humphreys, William F.

    2016-09-01

    The seasonal north-south migration of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) defines the tropical rain belt (TRB), a region of enormous terrestrial and marine biodiversity and home to 40% of people on Earth. The TRB is dynamic and has been shown to shift south as a coherent system during periods of Northern Hemisphere cooling. However, recent studies of Indo-Pacific hydroclimate suggest that during the Little Ice Age (LIA; AD 1400-1850), the TRB in this region contracted rather than being displaced uniformly southward. This behaviour is not well understood, particularly during climatic fluctuations less pronounced than those of the LIA, the largest centennial-scale cool period of the last millennium. Here we show that the Indo-Pacific TRB expanded and contracted numerous times over multi-decadal to centennial scales during the last 3,000 yr. By integrating precisely-dated stalagmite records of tropical hydroclimate from southern China with a newly enhanced stalagmite time series from northern Australia, our study reveals a previously unidentified coherence between the austral and boreal summer monsoon. State-of-the-art climate model simulations of the last millennium suggest these are linked to changes in the structure of the regional manifestation of the atmosphere’s meridional circulation.

  16. Plant safety margin against frost damages has declined in Switzerland over the last four decades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vitasse, Yann; Schneider, Léonard; Klein, Geoffrey; Rixen, Christian; Rebetez, Martine

    2017-04-01

    Winters and early springs have become warmer over the last decades which has in turn promoted earlier plant development in temperate regions. While temperatures will on average continue to increase in the coming decades due to the rise of greenhouse gases concentration in the atmosphere, there is no consensus about how the occurrence of late spring frosts will change. If the frequency and the severity of late spring frosts remain unchanged in the future or advance less than vegetation onset, vulnerable plant organs (young leaves, flowers or dehardened buds) may be more exposed to frost damage. Here we analyzed long-term series of temperature data during the period 1975-2016 at 50 locations in Switzerland. We used different thresholds of growing degree days (GDD) as a proxy for spring phenology of fruit trees based on long-term series of phenological observations. Finally, we tested whether the time lag between the date when the GDD is reached and the latest occurrence of frost has changed over the study period. Overall we found that the safety margin against potential frost damage to plants has slightly decreased during the study period, irrespective of elevation (from 203 to 2283 m). Our results suggest that the cost for preventing frost damages on fruit trees could increase in the coming decades and the introduction of new varieties of fruit trees adapted to warmer climate should be carefully considered as they generally exhibit earlier spring phenology.

  17. An overview of prescribed fire in Arkansas and Oklahoma over the last 40 years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roger D. Fryar

    2012-01-01

    Over the last 40 years, prescribed fire programs on National Forest lands have grown from relatively insignificant to a major emphasis area of natural resource management. During this same period, social, economic, and cultural values have greatly changed. The public's environmental awareness has likewise grown. How prescribed fire programs in Arkansas and...

  18. Aerosol chemical composition at Cabauw, The Netherlands as observed in two intensive periods in May 2008 and March 2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mensah, A. A.; Holzinger, R.; Otjes, R.; Trimborn, A.; Mentel, Th. F.; ten Brink, H.; Henzing, B.; Kiendler-Scharr, A.

    2012-05-01

    Observations of aerosol chemical composition in Cabauw, the Netherlands, are presented for two intensive measurement periods in May 2008 and March 2009. Sub-micron aerosol chemical composition was measured by an Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) and is compared to observations from aerosol size distribution measurements as well as composition measurements with a Monitor for AeRosol and GAses (MARGA) based instrument and a Thermal-Desorption Proton-Transfer-Reaction Mass-Spectrometer (TD-PTR-MS). An overview of the data is presented and the data quality is discussed. In May 2008 enhanced pollution was observed with organics contributing 40% to the PM1 mass. In contrast the observed average mass loading was lower in March 2009 and a dominance of ammonium nitrate (42%) was observed. The semi-volatile nature of ammonium nitrate is evident in the diurnal cycles with maximum concentrations observed in the morning hours in May 2008 and little diurnal variation observed in March 2009. Size dependent composition data from AMS measurements are presented and show a dominance of organics in the size range below 200 nm. A higher O:C ratio of the organics is observed for May 2008 than for March 2009. Together with the time series of individual tracer ions this shows the dominance of OOA over HOA in May 2008.

  19. Vegetation and climate history during the last millennium derived from Anggertu Lake, Tengger Desert

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duan, F.; An, C.; Zhao, Y.; Wang, W.; Cao, Z.

    2017-12-01

    Studying the climate changes during the last millennium can help us to understand current relationship between human-social activities and natural environment changes, and improve projections of future climate. Pollen assemblages, loss-on-ignition (LOIorg at 550 °C) and grain size data collected from sediment core (AGE15A) from the center of Anggertu lake (eastern Tengger Desert, Inner Mongolia) are presented to reconstruct regional vegetation and climate history during the last millennium. Results show that: 1) desert or desert steppe dominated by Artemisia and Amaranthaceae expanded around this region during the period of 988 1437 A.D., indicating a generally dry climate condition with two short humid periods (1003 1082 A.D. and 1388 1437 A.D). These two wet periods are characterized by relatively high vegetation cover and bio-productivity, reflected by high pollen concentrations and LOIorg. Increase in the steppe or meadow vegetation communities (Poaceae, Cyperaceae) and vegetation cover during the period of 1437 2015 A.D. suggest a wetting trend, as also indicated by gradually finer grain size. The relatively high LOI indicate a high bio-productivity during this interval. And then unstable lacustrine environment was found with frequent fluctuations in pollen concentration and grain size since 1842 A.D.. 2) This study recorded a relatively dry Medieval Warm Period (MWP; 1082 1388 A.D.) and a wet Little Ice Age (LIA; 1437 1842 A.D.), which is generally consistent with climate characteristics in arid central Asia (ACA). 3) Increased Amaranthaceae and high abundance of Poaceae were related to overgrazing and agricultural activities at that time to some extent. Thus vegetation evolution of the lake region was influenced by human activities and climate changes.

  20. [Reimbursed health expenditures during the last year of life, in France, in the year 2008].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ricci, P; Mezzarobba, M; Blotière, P O; Polton, D

    2013-02-01

    To measure the reimbursed health expenditures in the last year of life and the proportion it represents in total reimbursement costs in 2008, to analyse the structure of such expenditures and to identify costs by cause of death. Data were obtained from the French national insurance information system (SNIIRAM). Data from the national hospital discharge database were linked to the outpatient reimbursement database for patients covered by the general health insurance scheme (n=49 million persons). The cost of the last year of life was calculated for the exhaustive population (361,328 deaths in 2008). The supposed cause of death was mainly derived from the primary diagnosis of the last hospital stay during which the patient died. The average reimbursed expenses during the last year of life were estimated at 22,000 € per person in 2008, with 12,500 € accounting for public hospital costs. Reimbursed health expenditures varied according to different medical causes of death: 52,300 € for HIV disease and about 40,000 € for tumors. A negative effect of age on the expenditure during the last year of life was observed. Health care spending increased with shorter time before death, the last month of life corresponding to 28% of reimbursed expenditures during the last year of life. Health care use in the last year of life represented 10.5% of the total health expenditures in 2008. This study found results similar to those observed in the past or in other countries. Our results show in particular that the weight of health expenditures during the last year of life on total health expenditures remains stable over the years. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  1. Long-Period Variability in o Ceti

    Science.gov (United States)

    Templeton, Matthew R.; Karovska, Margarita

    2009-02-01

    We carried out a new and sensitive search for long-period variability in the prototype of the Mira class of long-period pulsating variables, o Ceti (Mira A), the closest and brightest Mira variable. We conducted this search using an unbroken light curve from 1902 to the present, assembled from the visual data archives of five major variable star observing organizations from around the world. We applied several time-series analysis techniques to search for two specific kinds of variability: long secondary periods (LSPs) longer than the dominant pulsation period of ~333 days, and long-term period variation in the dominant pulsation period itself. The data quality is sufficient to detect coherent periodic variations with photometric amplitudes of 0.05 mag or less. We do not find evidence for coherent LSPs in o Ceti to a limit of 0.1 mag, where the amplitude limit is set by intrinsic, stochastic, low-frequency variability of approximately 0.1 mag. We marginally detect a slight modulation of the pulsation period similar in timescale to that observed in the Miras with meandering periods, but with a much lower period amplitude of ±2 days. However, we do find clear evidence of a low-frequency power-law component in the Fourier spectrum of o Ceti's long-term light curve. The amplitude of this stochastic variability is approximately 0.1 mag at a period of 1000 days, and it exhibits a turnover for periods longer than this. This spectrum is similar to the red noise spectra observed in red supergiants.

  2. Rapid climate variability during warm and cold periods in polar regions and Europe

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Masson-Delmotte, V.; Landais, A.; Combourieu-Nebout, N.

    2005-01-01

    Typical rapid climate events punctuating the last glacial period in Greenland, Europe and Antarctica are compared to two rapid events occurring under warmer conditions: (i) Dansgaard-Oeschger event 25, the first abrupt warming occurring during last glacial inception; (ii) 8.2 ka BP event, the only...... rapid cooling recorded during the Holocene in Greenland ice cores and in Ammersee, Germany. The rate of warming during previous warmer interglacial periods is estimated from polar ice cores to 1.5 °C per millennium, without abrupt changes. Climate change expected for the 21st century should however...

  3. Long-lasting injection of solar energetic electrons into the heliosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dresing, N.; Gómez-Herrero, R.; Heber, B.; Klassen, A.; Temmer, M.; Veronig, A.

    2018-05-01

    Context. The main sources of solar energetic particle (SEP) events are solar flares and shocks driven by coronal mass ejections (CMEs). While it is generally accepted that energetic protons can be accelerated by shocks, whether or not these shocks can also efficiently accelerate solar energetic electrons is still debated. In this study we present observations of the extremely widespread SEP event of 26 Dec 2013 To the knowledge of the authors, this is the widest longitudinal SEP distribution ever observed together with unusually long-lasting energetic electron anisotropies at all observer positions. Further striking features of the event are long-lasting SEP intensity increases, two distinct SEP components with the second component mainly consisting of high-energy particles, a complex associated coronal activity including a pronounced signature of a shock in radio type-II observations, and the interaction of two CMEs early in the event. Aims: The observations require a prolonged injection scenario not only for protons but also for electrons. We therefore analyze the data comprehensively to characterize the possible role of the shock for the electron event. Methods: Remote-sensing observations of the complex solar activity are combined with in situ measurements of the particle event. We also apply a graduated cylindrical shell (GCS) model to the coronagraph observations of the two associated CMEs to analyze their interaction. Results: We find that the shock alone is likely not responsible for this extremely wide SEP event. Therefore we propose a scenario of trapped energetic particles inside the CME-CME interaction region which undergo further acceleration due to the shock propagating through this region, stochastic acceleration, or ongoing reconnection processes inside the interaction region. The origin of the second component of the SEP event is likely caused by a sudden opening of the particle trap.

  4. Danube paleohydrology: Hyperspectral and sedimentological high-resultion study of the last glacial Black Sea rythmites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinez Lamas, R.; Debret, M.; Deloffre, J.; Toucanne, S.

    2017-12-01

    The Black Sea has undergone alternating phases of lacustrine and marine environment over geological timescales directly related to its semi-enclosed character and to eustatic sea-level oscillations. During lowstand conditions, as during the last glacial period, the Black Sea was a giant lake disconnected from the global ocean. At that time, Black Sea water-level was controlled by regional climate, and by Eurasian rivers, including the Danube that acted as an outlet of European Ice Sheet and the Alpine ice cap. Thus, the paleo-mouth of the Danube river contains a high quality archive for the study of the paleohydrology of the Danube River and by extension of the European climate changes during the last 30 kyr. For this purpose, we have focused on the GAS-CS01 calypso long-piston core (33.4 m) which was taken during GHASS cruise (Ifremer, 2015) on the upper slope (240 m. depth) at about 25 km east of the Danube Canyon, i.e. in the sediment pile of the Danube paleo-mouth during the last glacial period. Our chronology reveals that core GAS-CS01 extends back to 31 cal kyr BP. The lithology of GAS-CS01 is characterized by clastic rythmites which are presented as a high-resolution Danube runoff proxy. Preliminary results of sedimentological and chronological analysis showed five peaks of terrestrial discharges between ca 31 and 14 ka BP, probably linked to five phases of the enhanced runoff during the studied period. In order to understand the origin and the depositional processes of this laminae, we combined sedimentary analysis (x-ray diffraction, x-ray fluorescence, grain size ...) and hyperspectral images analysis. Hyperspectral imagery is a non-destructive fast method classically used to quantify colour and provides data with high spatial (57-µm pixel size) and spectral (3 nm) resolution. The multi-proxy calibration is essential in order to obtain a high-resolution sedimentological dataset. This information allows us to reconstruct the nature and depositional

  5. Resolving climate change in the period 15-23 ka in Greenland ice cores: A new application of spectral trend analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Jong, M.G.G.; Nio, D.S.; Böhm, A.R.; Seijmonsbergen, H.C.; de Graaff, L.W.S.

    2009-01-01

    Northern Hemisphere climate history through and following the Last Glacial Maximum is recorded in detail in ice cores from Greenland. However, the period between Greenland Interstadials 1 and 2 (15-23 ka), i.e. the period of deglaciation following the last major glaciation, has been difficult to

  6. ANALYZING THE MOUNTAIN TOURISM DEMAND IN ROMANIA OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    TIGU GABRIELA

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Mountain tourism demand fluctuated predominantly downward in the last two decades, as a result of some complex economic, social, and political changes. Tourism demand for the Romanian mountain destinations in the last two decades has been analyzed in quantity and evolution, by processing (also graphically and interpreting the specific tourism indicators (tourist arrivals, tourist structure, tourists’ preference for accommodation, overnight stays, average length of stay, accommodation occupancy rate, also making comparisons with the situation at national level. Mountain tourism demand is an important segment of tourism demand (domestic and international in Romania, with shares between 13.19% (minimum in 1994 and 15.63% (maximum in 2013. The mountain area is ranked second most popular for the Romanian tourists and third place for the foreign tourists. Tourist arrivals in the mountain area recorded the following variations: a period of sharp decline (1994-2002 with a minimum in 2002 (700,000 tourists, a period of growth (2003-2008 with values around 1 million tourists in 2007 and 2008, a decrease of 100,000 tourists corresponding to the economic crisis in 2008-2009, followed by a period (2010-2014 of strong revival with the maximum value of the entire analyzed period (nearly 1,3 million tourists in 2014. The fluctuations of overnight stays were directly proportional to those of arrivals. The increasing demand for mountain destinations resulted from a better promotion of winter sports in recent years, a revival ("fashion" of Romanians’ preferences for winter sports practicing; in parallel, a number of ski areas were arranged or redesigned in many traditional 'white' resorts, and several smaller centers for winter sports emerged or were re-launched. Tourists’ preferences for the mountain accommodation units such as boarding houses, villas and chalets reflected the characteristics of the mountain tourism activities and the corresponding

  7. Chronic sleep restriction induces long-lasting changes in adenosine and noradrenaline receptor density in the rat brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Youngsoo; Elmenhorst, David; Weisshaupt, Angela; Wedekind, Franziska; Kroll, Tina; McCarley, Robert W; Strecker, Robert E; Bauer, Andreas

    2015-10-01

    Although chronic sleep restriction frequently produces long-lasting behavioural and physiological impairments in humans, the underlying neural mechanisms are unknown. Here we used a rat model of chronic sleep restriction to investigate the role of brain adenosine and noradrenaline systems, known to regulate sleep and wakefulness, respectively. The density of adenosine A1 and A2a receptors and β-adrenergic receptors before, during and following 5 days of sleep restriction was assessed with autoradiography. Rats (n = 48) were sleep-deprived for 18 h day(-1) for 5 consecutive days (SR1-SR5), followed by 3 unrestricted recovery sleep days (R1-R3). Brains were collected at the beginning of the light period, which was immediately after the end of sleep deprivation on sleep restriction days. Chronic sleep restriction increased adenosine A1 receptor density significantly in nine of the 13 brain areas analysed with elevations also observed on R3 (+18 to +32%). In contrast, chronic sleep restriction reduced adenosine A2a receptor density significantly in one of the three brain areas analysed (olfactory tubercle which declined 26-31% from SR1 to R1). A decrease in β-adrenergic receptors density was seen in substantia innominata and ventral pallidum which remained reduced on R3, but no changes were found in the anterior cingulate cortex. These data suggest that chronic sleep restriction can induce long-term changes in the brain adenosine and noradrenaline receptors, which may underlie the long-lasting neurocognitive impairments observed in chronic sleep restriction. © 2015 European Sleep Research Society.

  8. Climatic and environmental events over the Last Termination, as recorded in The Netherlands: a review

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoek, W.Z.; Bohncke, S.J.P.

    The Last Termination, or Weichselian Lateglacial (ca 15-10 ka cal. BP), is a time period with rapid changes in climate and environment. The oxygen-isotope records of the Greenland ice-cores are regarded as the most complete climate proxy for the North Atlantic region. In The Netherlands several

  9. Extraterrestial radioastronomical observations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Screiber, R.

    1975-01-01

    The review is an attempt to describe the achievements of extraterrestrial radioastronomy during the last 10 years. Substantial progress, especially in the observations of the solar corona and the interplanetary space is reported. Observations of planets and Galaxy are also mentioned. Some remarks concerning the future experiments are briefly outlined. (author)

  10. Impact of postglacial warming on borehole reconstructions of last millennium temperatures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Rath

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The investigation of observed borehole temperatures has proved to be a valuable tool for the reconstruction of ground surface temperature histories. However, there are still many open questions concerning the significance and accuracy of the reconstructions from these data. In particular, the temperature signal of the warming after the Last Glacial Maximum is still present in borehole temperature profiles. It is shown here that this signal also influences the relatively shallow boreholes used in current paleoclimate inversions to estimate temperature changes in the last centuries by producing errors in the determination of the steady state geothermal gradient. However, the impact on estimates of past temperature changes is weaker. For deeper boreholes, the curvature of the long-term signal is significant. A correction based on simple assumptions about glacial–interglacial temperature changes shows promising results, improving the extraction of millennial scale signals. The same procedure may help when comparing observed borehole temperature profiles with the results from numerical climate models.

  11. Turbulence kinetic energy budget during the afternoon transition – Part 1: Observed surface TKE budget and boundary layer description for 10 intensive observation period days

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Nilsson

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The decay of turbulence kinetic energy (TKE and its budget in the afternoon period from midday until zero-buoyancy flux at the surface is studied in a two-part paper by means of measurements from the Boundary Layer Late Afternoon and Sunset Turbulence (BLLAST field campaign for 10 intensive observation period days. Here, in Part 1, near-surface measurements from a small tower are used to estimate a TKE budget. The overall boundary layer characteristics and mesoscale situation at the site are also described based upon taller tower measurements, radiosoundings and remote sensing instrumentation. Analysis of the TKE budget during the afternoon transition reveals a variety of different surface layer dynamics in terms of TKE and TKE decay. This is largely attributed to variations in the 8 m wind speed, which is responsible for different amounts of near-surface shear production on different afternoons and variations within some of the afternoon periods. The partitioning of near-surface production into local dissipation and transport in neutral and unstably stratified conditions was investigated. Although variations exist both between and within afternoons, as a rule of thumb, our results suggest that about 50 % of the near-surface production of TKE is compensated for by local dissipation near the surface, leaving about 50 % available for transport. This result indicates that it is important to also consider TKE transport as a factor influencing the near-surface TKE decay rate, which in many earlier studies has mainly been linked with the production terms of TKE by buoyancy and wind shear. We also conclude that the TKE tendency is smaller than the other budget terms, indicating a quasi-stationary evolution of TKE in the afternoon transition. Even though the TKE tendency was observed to be small, a strong correlation to mean buoyancy production of −0.69 was found for the afternoon period. For comparison with previous results, the TKE

  12. Higher Incidence of Stroke on the Last Day of the Month in Hungary-a Role for Psychosocial Factors and Financial Insecurity?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Folyovich, András; Biczó, Dávid; Bajnok, Anna; Bessenyei, Dávid; Kis, Ibolya; Gimesi-Országh, Judit; Béres-Molnár, Anna K; Toldi, Gergely

    2016-05-01

    The seasonal cumulation of acute ischemic stroke events is a well-known phenomenon. Critical days are determined by both biological and psychosocial factors. We hypothesized that the financial stability of those with a monthly income living in an economically unpredictable environment rises upon the arrival of their salary and decreases in the preceding days, leading to anxiety and existential insecurity, which may increase the incidence of acute ischemic stroke. We assessed the daily average number of thrombolytic treatments due to acute ischemic stroke in Hungary between December 1, 2005, and November 30, 2013, calculating the ratio of thrombolytic treatments on the last day of the month (irrespectively whether it was the 28th-31st days) to thrombolytic treatments on the other days, and determined 95% confidence intervals. In this period, 7880 thrombolytic treatments were performed nationwide (2.70/day), out of which 1867 occurred on the last day of the month (19.45/day). If the 28th, 29th, or 30th was not the last day of the month, 15.8, 20.6, and 22 times less thrombolytic treatments, respectively, were performed than on the last day of that month. We propose that financial insecurity on the days prior to the receipt of a salary might play a role in the elevation of stroke incidence observed on the last day of the month in Hungary. Further analysis of this phenomenon and its psychosocial effects is needed to adequately allocate healthcare resources and to take preventive measures in the high-risk population. Copyright © 2016 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Climate Trends in the Arctic as Observed from Space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comiso, Josefino C.; Hall, Dorothy K.

    2014-01-01

    The Arctic is a region in transformation. Warming in the region has been amplified, as expected from ice-albedo feedback effects, with the rate of warming observed to be approx. 0.60+/-0.07 C/decade in the Arctic (>64degN) compared to approx. 0.17 C/decade globally during the last three decades. This increase in surface temperature is manifested in all components of the cryosphere. In particular, the sea ice extent has been declining at the rate of approx. 3.8%/decade, whereas the perennial ice (represented by summer ice minimum) is declining at a much greater rate of approx.11.5%/decade. Spring snow cover has also been observed to be declining by -2.12%/decade for the period 1967-2012. The Greenland ice sheet has been losing mass at the rate of approx. 34.0Gt/year (sea level equivalence of 0.09 mm/year) during the period from 1992 to 2011, but for the period 2002-2011, a higher rate of mass loss of approx. 215 Gt/year has been observed. Also, the mass of glaciers worldwide declined at the rate of 226 Gt/year from 1971 to 2009 and 275 Gt/year from 1993 to 2009. Increases in permafrost temperature have also been measured in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere while a thickening of the active layer that overlies permafrost and a thinning of seasonally frozen ground has also been reported. To gain insight into these changes, comparative analysis with trends in clouds, albedo, and the Arctic Oscillation is also presented.

  14. Aerosol chemical composition at Cabauw, The Netherlands as observed in two intensive periods in May 2008 and March 2009

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. A. Mensah

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Observations of aerosol chemical composition in Cabauw, the Netherlands, are presented for two intensive measurement periods in May 2008 and March 2009. Sub-micron aerosol chemical composition was measured by an Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS and is compared to observations from aerosol size distribution measurements as well as composition measurements with a Monitor for AeRosol and GAses (MARGA based instrument and a Thermal-Desorption Proton-Transfer-Reaction Mass-Spectrometer (TD-PTR-MS. An overview of the data is presented and the data quality is discussed. In May 2008 enhanced pollution was observed with organics contributing 40% to the PM1 mass. In contrast the observed average mass loading was lower in March 2009 and a dominance of ammonium nitrate (42% was observed. The semi-volatile nature of ammonium nitrate is evident in the diurnal cycles with maximum concentrations observed in the morning hours in May 2008 and little diurnal variation observed in March 2009. Size dependent composition data from AMS measurements are presented and show a dominance of organics in the size range below 200 nm. A higher O:C ratio of the organics is observed for May 2008 than for March 2009. Together with the time series of individual tracer ions this shows the dominance of OOA over HOA in May 2008.

  15. QUASI-PERIODIC FLUCTUATIONS AND CHROMOSPHERIC EVAPORATION IN A SOLAR FLARE RIBBON OBSERVED BY HINODE /EIS, IRIS , AND RHESSI

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brosius, Jeffrey W.; Inglis, Andrew R. [Catholic University of America at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Solar Physics Laboratory, Code 671, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Daw, Adrian N., E-mail: Jeffrey.W.Brosius@nasa.gov [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Solar Physics Laboratory, Code 671, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

    2016-10-20

    The Hinode /Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) obtained rapid cadence (11.2 s) EUV stare spectra of an M7.3 flare ribbon in AR 12036 on 2014 April 18. Quasi-periodic ( P ≈ 75.6 ± 9.2 s) intensity fluctuations occurred in emission lines of O iv, Mg vi, Mg vii, Si vii, Fe xiv, and Fe xvi during the flare's impulsive rise, and ended when the maximum intensity in Fe xxiii was reached. The profiles of the O iv–Fe xvi lines reveal that they were all redshifted during most of the interval of quasi-periodic intensity fluctuations, while the Fe xxiii profile revealed multiple components including one or two highly blueshifted ones. This indicates that the flare underwent explosive chromospheric evaporation during its impulsive rise. Fluctuations in the relative Doppler velocities were seen, but their amplitudes were too subtle to extract significant quasi-periodicities. RHESSI detected 25–100 keV hard-X-ray sources in the ribbon near the EIS slit's pointing position during the peaks in the EIS intensity fluctuations. The observations are consistent with a series of energy injections into the chromosphere by nonthermal particle beams. Electron densities derived with Fe xiv (4.6 × 10{sup 10} cm{sup −3}) and Mg vii (7.8 × 10{sup 9} cm{sup −3}) average line intensity ratios during the interval of quasi-periodic intensity fluctuations, combined with the radiative loss function of an optically thin plasma, yield radiative cooling times of 32 s at 2.0 × 10{sup 6} K, and 46 s at 6.3 × 10{sup 5} K (about half the quasi-period); assuming Fe xiv's density for Fe xxiii yields a radiative cooling time of 10{sup 3} s (13 times the quasi-period) at 1.4 × 10{sup 7} K.

  16. Observations of red-giant variable stars by Aboriginal Australians

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamacher, Duane W.

    2018-04-01

    Aboriginal Australians carefully observe the properties and positions of stars, including both overt and subtle changes in their brightness, for subsistence and social application. These observations are encoded in oral tradition. I examine two Aboriginal oral traditions from South Australia that describe the periodic changing brightness in three pulsating, red-giant variable stars: Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis), Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri), and Antares (Alpha Scorpii). The Australian Aboriginal accounts stand as the only known descriptions of pulsating variable stars in any Indigenous oral tradition in the world. Researchers examining these oral traditions over the last century, including anthropologists and astronomers, missed the description of these stars as being variable in nature as the ethnographic record contained several misidentifications of stars and celestial objects. Arguably, ethnographers working on Indigenous Knowledge Systems should have academic training in both the natural and social sciences.

  17. Slow light enhancement and limitations in periodic media

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grgic, Jure

    in the vicinity of the band edge. The minimum attainable group velocity will depend on the amount of imperfections. Since imperfections are inherited as part of any periodic structure it is necessary to take them into account when we are interested in slow light applications. Slowly propagating light gives rise......Properties of periodic dielectric media have attracted a big interest in the last two decades due to numerous exciting physical phenomena that cannot occur in homogeneous media. Due to their strong dispersive properties, the speed of light can be significantly slowed down in periodic structures....... When light velocity is much smaller than the speed of light in a vacuum, we describe this phenomena as slow light. In this thesis, we analyze important properties of slow light enhancement and limitations in periodic structures. We analyze quantitatively and qualitatively different technologies...

  18. THE BAFFIN BAY REGION DURING THE LAST INTERGLACIATION: EVIDENCE FROM NORTHWEST GREENLAND

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Funder, Svend Visby

    1989-01-01

    Coastal sections in the Thule area, northwest Greenland, provide a recordof last interglacial glacial and oceanographic events on the northern perimeter of Baffin Bay. The record is dated by a combination of thermoluminescence and 14C dating; local and regional correlation is provided by amino acid...... for the last nterglacial/glacial cycle was attained during Middle Sangamonian times, and a smaller advance took place in the Late Wisconsinan. In beween ice coverage was similar to the present, or smaller. The record provides a link between events in Arctic Canada and northern Greenland, and shows...... analyses of mollusc shells, and periods of penetration by warm subarctic water have been identified by their foraminifera and mollusc faunas. Subarclic water reached the area on three occasions: during the Holocene, and in the Early and Late Sangamonian. Maximum, although restricted, ice coverage...

  19. Periodic safety analyses; Les essais periodiques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gouffon, A; Zermizoglou, R

    1990-12-01

    The IAEA Safety Guide 50-SG-S8 devoted to 'Safety Aspects of Foundations of Nuclear Power Plants' indicates that operator of a NPP should establish a program for inspection of safe operation during construction, start-up and service life of the plant for obtaining data needed for estimating the life time of structures and components. At the same time the program should ensure that the safety margins are appropriate. Periodic safety analysis are an important part of the safety inspection program. Periodic safety reports is a method for testing the whole system or a part of the safety system following the precise criteria. Periodic safety analyses are not meant for qualification of the plant components. Separate analyses are devoted to: start-up, qualification of components and materials, and aging. All these analyses are described in this presentation. The last chapter describes the experience obtained for PWR-900 and PWR-1300 units from 1986-1989.

  20. THREE FUNDAMENTAL PERIODS IN AN 87 YEAR LIGHT CURVE OF THE SYMBIOTIC STAR MWC 560

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leibowitz, Elia M.; Formiggini, Liliana, E-mail: elia@astro.tau.ac.il [The Wise Observatory and the School of Physics and Astronomy, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978 (Israel)

    2015-08-15

    We construct a visual light curve of the symbiotic star MWC covering the last 87 years of its history. The data were assembled from the literature and from the AAVSO data bank. Most of the periodic components of the system brightness variation can be accounted for by the operation of three basic clocks of the periods P1 = 19,000 days, P2 = 1943 days, and P3 = 722 days. These periods can plausibly, and consistently with the observations, be attributed to three physical mechanisms in the system: the working of a solar-like magnetic dynamo cycle in the outer layers of the giant star of the system, the binary orbit cycle, and the sidereal rotation cycle of the giant star. MWC 560 is the seventh symbiotic star with historical light curves that reveal similar basic characteristics of the systems. The light curves of all these stars are well interpreted on the basis of the current understanding of the physical processes that are the major sources of the optical luminosity of these symbiotic systems.

  1. THREE FUNDAMENTAL PERIODS IN AN 87 YEAR LIGHT CURVE OF THE SYMBIOTIC STAR MWC 560

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leibowitz, Elia M.; Formiggini, Liliana

    2015-01-01

    We construct a visual light curve of the symbiotic star MWC covering the last 87 years of its history. The data were assembled from the literature and from the AAVSO data bank. Most of the periodic components of the system brightness variation can be accounted for by the operation of three basic clocks of the periods P1 = 19,000 days, P2 = 1943 days, and P3 = 722 days. These periods can plausibly, and consistently with the observations, be attributed to three physical mechanisms in the system: the working of a solar-like magnetic dynamo cycle in the outer layers of the giant star of the system, the binary orbit cycle, and the sidereal rotation cycle of the giant star. MWC 560 is the seventh symbiotic star with historical light curves that reveal similar basic characteristics of the systems. The light curves of all these stars are well interpreted on the basis of the current understanding of the physical processes that are the major sources of the optical luminosity of these symbiotic systems

  2. Upper Limit in the Periodic Table of Elements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khazan A.

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available The method of rectangular hyperbolas is developed for the first time, by which a means for estimating the upper bound of the Periodic Table is established in calculating that its last element has an atom mass of 411.663243 and an atomic number (the nuclear charge of 155. The formulating law is given.

  3. Experimental observation of chaotic phase synchronization of a periodically pump-modulated multimode microchip Nd:YVO{sub 4} laser

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, Chien-Hui; Kuo, Chie-Tong [Department of Physics, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan, ROC (China); Hsu, Tzu-Fang, E-mail: tfhsu@mail.npue.edu.tw [Department of Applied Physics, National Pingtung University of Education, Pingtung 900, Taiwan, ROC (China); Jan, Hengtai; Han, Shiang-Yi [Department of Physics, National Kaohsiung Normal University, No. 62, Shenjhong Rd., Yanchao District, Kaohsiung City 824, Taiwan, ROC (China); Ho, Ming-Chung, E-mail: t1603@nknucc.nknu.edu.tw [Department of Physics, National Kaohsiung Normal University, No. 62, Shenjhong Rd., Yanchao District, Kaohsiung City 824, Taiwan, ROC (China); Jiang, I-Min [Department of Physics, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan, ROC (China)

    2012-03-12

    In this Letter we demonstrate the experimental observation of chaotic phase synchronization (CPS) in a periodically pump-modulated multimode microchip Nd:YVO{sub 4} laser. PS transition is displayed via the stroboscopic technique. We apply the recurrence probability and correlation probability of recurrence to estimate the degree of PS. The degree of PS is studied taking into account the modulation amplitude and modulation frequency. We also propose an experimental compatible numerical simulation to reflect the fact that the Arnold tongues are experimentally and numerically exhibited in the periodically pump-modulated multimode microchip Nd:YVO{sub 4} laser. -- Highlights: ► We show chaotic phase synchronization in a pump-modulated microchip Nd:YVO{sub 4} laser. ► Phase synchronization (PS) transition is displayed via the stroboscopic technique. ► The degree of PS is studied taking into account the modulation parameters. ► The Arnold tongues are experimentally and numerically exhibited in the laser.

  4. Trends in scientific activity addressing transmissible spongiform encephalopathies: a bibliometric study covering the period 1973–2002

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iribarren-Maestro Isabel

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The purpose of this study is to analyse the trends in scientific research on transmissible spongiform encephalopathies by applying bibliometric tools to the scientific literature published between 1973 and 2002. Methods The data for the study were obtained from Medline database, in order to determine the volume of scientific output in the above period, the countries involved, the type of document and the trends in the subject matters addressed. The period 1973–2002 was divided in three sub-periods. Results We observed a significant growth in scientific production. The percentage of increase is 871.7 from 1973 to 2002. This is more evident since 1991 and particularly in the 1996–2001 period. The countries found to have the highest output were the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, France and Germany. The evolution in the subject matters was almost constant in the three sub-periods in which the study was divided. In the first and second sub-periods, the subject matters of greatest interest were more general, i.e Nervous system or Nervous system diseases, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Scrapie, and Chemicals and Drugs, but in the last sub-period, some changes were observed because the Prion-related matters had the greatest presence. Collaboration among authors is small from 1973 to 1992, but increases notably in the third sub-period, and also the number of authors and clusters formed. Some of the authors, like Gajdusek or Prusiner, appear in the whole period. Conclusion The study reveals a very high increase in scientific production. It is related also with the beginnings of research on bovine spongiform encephalopathy and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, with the establishment of progressive collaboration relationships and a reflection of public health concerns about this problem.

  5. Period Variations for the Cepheid VZ Cyg

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sirorattanakul, Krittanon; Engle, Scott; Pepper, Joshua; Wells, Mark; Laney, Clifton D.; Rodriguez, Joseph E.; Stassun, Keivan G.

    2017-12-01

    The Cepheid Period-Luminosity law is a key rung on the extragalactic distance ladder. However, numerous Cepheids are known to undergo period variations. Monitoring, refining, and understanding these period variations allows us to better determine the parameters of the Cepheids themselves and of the instability strip in which they reside, and to test models of stellar evolution. VZ Cyg, a classical Cepheid pulsating at ˜4.864 days, has been observed for over 100 years. Combining data from literature observations, the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope (KELT) transit survey, and new targeted observations with the Robotically Controlled Telescope (RCT) at Kitt Peak, we find a period change rate of dP/dt = -0.0642 ± 0.0018 s yr-1. However, when only the recent observations are examined, we find a much higher period change rate of dP/dt = -0.0923 ± 0.0110 s yr-1. This higher rate could be due to an apparent long-term (P ≈ 26.5 years) cyclic period variation. The possible interpretations of this single Cepheid’s complex period variations underscore both the need to regularly monitor pulsating variables and the important benefits that photometric surveys such as KELT can have on the field. Further monitoring of this interesting example of Cepheid variability is recommended to confirm and better understand the possible cyclic period variations. Further, Cepheid timing analyses are necessary to fully understand their current behaviors and parameters, as well as their evolutionary histories.

  6. 40 CFR 60.2120 - What happens during periods of startup, shutdown, and malfunction?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 6 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What happens during periods of startup... 1, 2001 Emission Limitations and Operating Limits § 60.2120 What happens during periods of startup... during CISWI unit startups, shutdowns, or malfunctions. (b) Each malfunction must last no longer than 3...

  7. Impacts of climate change on Middle Eastern societies over the last 2700 years: new results from the Gejkar speleothem, Iraq

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flohr, Pascal; Fleitmann, Dominik; Bosomworth, Matt; Cheng, Hai; Sadekov, Aleksey; Matthews, Roger; Matthews, Wendy; Black, Stuart; Edwards, Lawrence

    2016-04-01

    Climatic and environmental changes are often cited as a major factor for past social, economic, and political changes. This is especially relevant in the semi-arid to arid Middle East, where, however, only few precisely dated, high-resolution climate records are available. Here we present new results from an up to annually resolved stalagmite from Gejkar Cave in the Kurdish Regional Government of Iraq region. Based on Uranium-series dating and annual layer counts, the record dates back ~2700 years, and its annual layer thickness and carbon and oxygen isotope profile appear indicative of precipitation and effective moisture. We also assess if observed decadal to multi-decadal shifts in precipitation are synchronous with socio-economic changes as observed in the archaeological and historical record in the wider Middle East over the last 2000 years, such as the largely prosperous Roman and Byzantine periods, the Seljuq invasion, and the decline of the Ottoman Empire.

  8. Multiple flux rope events at the magnetopause observations by TC-1 on 18 March 2004

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. J. Xiao

    2005-11-01

    Full Text Available From 23:10 to 23:50 UT on 18 March 2004, the Double Star TC-1 spacecraft detected eight flux ropes at the outbound crossing of the southern dawnside magnetopause. A notable guide field existed inside all ropes. In the mean time the Cluster spacecraft were staying in the magnetosheath and found that the events occurred under the condition of southward IMF Bz and dominant negative IMF By. There are six ropes that appeared quasi-periodically, with a repeated period being approximately 1-4 min. The last flux rope lasts for a longer time interval with a larger peak in the BN variations; it can thus be referred to as a typical FTE. The 18 March 2004 event is quite similar to the multiple flux rope event observed by Cluster on 26 January 2001 at the northern duskside high-latitude magnetopause. A detailed comparison of these two events is made in the paper. Preliminary studies imply that both of these multiple flux ropes events seem to be produced by component reconnection at the dayside low-latitude magnetopause.

  9. Period-doubling bifurcation cascade observed in a ferromagnetic nanoparticle under the action of a spin-polarized current

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Horley, Paul P., E-mail: paul.horley@cimav.edu.mx [Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados, S.C. (CIMAV), Chihuahua/Monterrey, 120 Avenida Miguel de Cervantes, 31109 Chihuahua (Mexico); Kushnir, Mykola Ya. [Yuri Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, 2 Kotsyubynsky str., 58012 Chernivtsi (Ukraine); Morales-Meza, Mishel [Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados, S.C. (CIMAV), Chihuahua/Monterrey, 120 Avenida Miguel de Cervantes, 31109 Chihuahua (Mexico); Sukhov, Alexander [Institut für Physik, Martin-Luther Universität Halle-Wittenberg, 06120 Halle (Saale) (Germany); Rusyn, Volodymyr [Yuri Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, 2 Kotsyubynsky str., 58012 Chernivtsi (Ukraine)

    2016-04-01

    We report on complex magnetization dynamics in a forced spin valve oscillator subjected to a varying magnetic field and a constant spin-polarized current. The transition from periodic to chaotic magnetic motion was illustrated with bifurcation diagrams and Hausdorff dimension – the methods developed for dissipative self-organizing systems. It was shown that bifurcation cascades can be obtained either by tuning the injected spin-polarized current or by changing the magnitude of applied magnetic field. The order–chaos transition in magnetization dynamics can be also directly observed from the hysteresis curves. The resulting complex oscillations are useful for development of spin-valve devices operating in harmonic and chaotic modes.

  10. Analysis Of First Fall And Last Spring Advection and Radiation-Advection Frosts In Azerbaijan Provinces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noohi, K.; Pedram, M.; Sahraian, F.; Kamali, G. A.

    2007-01-01

    Atmospheric Science and Meteorological Research Center (ASMERC)Dates of first fall and last spring frosts on the basis of minimum shelter temperature equal or less than 0°C were determined for 12 synoptic stations for period 1986-2000 in Azerbaijan region. The advection frost was determined based on using of synoptic maps and studying of meteorological elements in different hours. In this work, we found that series of first fall and last spring advection and radiation-advection frosts are random and normally distributed. This study shows that on the average advection frosts start from 6 to 40 days later than radiation-advection frosts in fall and ends 2 to 25 days earlier in spring. Potential growing season that is interval between last spring and first fall advection frost is found to be from 5 to 65 days longer than the growing season defined by the interval from last spring to first fall occurrences of minimum temperature equal or less than 0°C. Crop protection against radiation frosts can bring about too much benefit. To assess whether practical protection of some special crops against radiation frosts is done or not, the number of radiation frosts before first advection frost in fall and after last advection frost in spring, were determined

  11. The last line effect explained

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beller, M. (Moritz); Zaidman, A. (Andy); Karpov, A. (Andrey); R.A. Zwaan (Rolf)

    2017-01-01

    textabstractMicro-clones are tiny duplicated pieces of code; they typically comprise only few statements or lines. In this paper, we study the “Last Line Effect,” the phenomenon that the last line or statement in a micro-clone is much more likely to contain an error than the previous lines or

  12. Impact of ice sheet meltwater fluxes on the climate evolution at the onset of the Last Interglacial

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Goelzer, Heiko; Huybrechts, Philippe; Loutre, Marie-France; Fichefet, Thierry

    2016-01-01

    Large climate perturbations occurred during the transition between the penultimate glacial period and the Last Interglacial (Termination II), when the ice sheets retreated from their glacial configuration. Here we investigate the impact of ice sheet changes and associated freshwater fluxes on the

  13. Climatology and forest decay - stresses caused by dry periods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Havlik, D.

    1991-01-01

    In the discussion of forest decline in the Eighties, stresses due to dry weather is often named as a secondary cause. The concept of 'climatological dry periods' is introduced in this article and applied to records for the Basel and Aachen regions. The time distribution of dry periods of different length and different water deficiency (40 mm, 60 mm, 100 mm) is analyzed. In the case of the Basel data, the dry periods are related to the 'forest damage caused by draught' recorded for the Basel region since 1930. The results support the theory that increasingly larger and more frequent dry periods with water shortage have contributed significantly to forest damage in the last 15 years. Apart from the 'dry stress' itself, also the enhanced production of photooxidants is a damaging mechanism. (orig.) [de

  14. A transient fully coupled climate-ice-sheet simulation of the last glacial inception

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lofverstrom, M.; Otto-Bliesner, B. L.; Lipscomb, W. H.; Fyke, J. G.; Marshall, S.; Sacks, B.; Brady, E. C.

    2017-12-01

    The last glacial inception occurred around 115 ka, following a relative minimum in the Northern Hemisphere summer insolation. It is believed that small and spatially separated ice caps initially formed in the high elevation regions of northern Canada, Scandinavia, and along the Siberian Arctic coast. These ice caps subsequently migrated down in the valleys where they coalesced and formed the initial seeds of the large coherent ice masses that covered the northern parts of the North American and Eurasian continents over most of the last glacial cycle. Sea level records show that the initial growth period lasted for about 10 kyrs, and the resulting ice sheets may have lowered the global sea level by as much as 30 to 50 meters. Here we examine the transient climate system evolution over the period between 118 and 110 ka, using the fully coupled Community Earth System Model, version 2 (CESM2). This model features a two-way coupled high-resolution (4x4 km) ice-sheet component (Community Ice Sheet model, version 2; CISM2) that simulates ice sheets as an interactive component of the climate system. We impose a transient forcing protocol where the greenhouse gas concentrations and the orbital parameters follow the nominal year in the simulation; the model topography is also dynamically evolving in order to reflect changes in ice elevation throughout the simulation. The analysis focuses on how the climate system evolves over this time interval, with a special focus on glacial inception in the high-latitude continents. Results will highlight how the evolving ice sheets compare to data and previous model based reconstructions.

  15. The last interglacial climate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Rasmus A.; Langen, Peter L.; Vinther, Bo M.

    2017-01-01

    The last interglacial climate was influenced by substantial changes in the annual insolation cycle that led to a warmer climate state with pronounced high northern latitude warming. We analyze the impact of the insolation changes 125,000 years before present using an equilibrium snapshot simulation...... with the EC-Earth coupled climate model at high spatial resolution. Using additional atmosphere-only simulations, we separate the direct impact from the changed insolation from the secondary contribution from changed sea surface conditions. These simulations are forced with a combination of last interglacial...

  16. The last line effect explained

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beller, M.M.; Zaidman, A.E.; Karpov, Andrey; Zwaan, Rolf A.

    Micro-clones are tiny duplicated pieces of code; they typically comprise only few statements or lines. In this paper, we study the “Last Line Effect,” the phenomenon that the last line or statement in a micro-clone is much more likely to contain an error than the previous lines or statements. We do

  17. An Atlantic-Pacific ventilation seesaw across the last deglaciation

    OpenAIRE

    Freeman, E; Skinner, Luke Cameron; Tisserand, A; Dokken, T; Timmermann, A; Menviel, L; Friedrich, T

    2015-01-01

    It has been proposed that the rapid rise of atmospheric CO2across the last deglaciation was driven by the release of carbon from an extremely radiocarbon-depleted abyssal ocean reservoir that was ‘vented’ to the atmosphere primarily via the deep-and intermediate overturning loops in the Southern Ocean. While some radiocarbon observations from the intermediate ocean appear to confirm this hypothesis, others appear to refute it. Here we use radiocarbon measurements in paired benthic-and plankto...

  18. Eesti laste suvi

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    2010-01-01

    Laste suvisest koolivaheajast räägivad Eesti omavalitsuse ametnikud ja sotsiaaltöötajad: Kaasi Almers, Inna Kask, Aasa Saarna, Ülle Rajasalu, Merle Leopard, Aime Koger, Margit Pajo, Pilleriin Aalde, Andres Julle ja Tiiu Kuus

  19. Observed Hierarchy of Student Proficiency with Period, Frequency, and Angular Frequency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, Nicholas T.; Heckler, Andrew F.

    2018-01-01

    In the context of a generic harmonic oscillator, we investigated students' accuracy in determining the period, frequency, and angular frequency from mathematical and graphical representations. In a series of studies including interviews, free response tests, and multiple-choice tests developed in an iterative process, we assessed students in both…

  20. Periodicities in the X-ray Emission from the Solar Corona: SphinX and SOXS Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steślicki, M.; Awasthi, A. K.; Gryciuk, M.; Jain, R.

    The structure and evolution of the solar magnetic field is driven by a magnetohydrodynamic dynamo operating in the solar interior, which induces various solar activities that exhibit periodic variations on different timescales. Therefore, probing the periodic nature of emission originating from the solar corona may provide insights of the convection-zone-photosphere-corona coupling processes. We present the study of the mid-range periodicities, between rotation period (˜27 days) and the Schwabe cycle period (˜11 yr), in the solar soft X-ray emission, based on the data obtained by two instruments: SphinX and SOXS in various energy bands.

  1. Unmanned observatory for auroral physics study on the Antarctic Continent-Multipoint ground-based observations during the IMS period (1976-1978-

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masaru Ayukawa

    1999-07-01

    Full Text Available The International Magnetospheric Study (IMS was carried out for three years from 1976. The Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE participated in this IMS project. The main purpose of the IMS project in JARE was the synthetic observation of polar magnetic substorms. In order to study polar magnetic substorms, a multipoint ground observation network was planned around Syowa, including unmanned stations. In the construction of an unmanned observatory system in Antarctica, there have been difficulties, such as insuffcient information about enviromental conditions, the construction support capability, power supply and others. During the IMS period, the U. S. A., former Soviet Union, Australia and the United Kingdom also started to develop unmanned observation systems. In this report, we describe the development of a JARE unmanned observatory for upper atmosphere physics and also the scientific results.

  2. Extreme values of meteorological parameters observed at Kalpakkam during the period 1968-1999

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balagurunathan, M.R.; Chandresekharan, E.; Rajan, M.P.; Gurg, R.P.

    2001-05-01

    In the design phase of engineering structures, an understanding of extreme weather conditions that may occur at the site of interest is very essential, so that the structures can be designed to withstand climatological stresses during its life time. In this report an analysis of extreme values of meteorological parameters at Kalpakkam for the period 1968-99, which provide an insight into such situations is described. The extreme value analysis reveals that all the variables obey Fisher-Tippet Type-I extreme value distribution function. Parameter values of extreme value analysis functions are presented for the variables studied and the 50- and 100- year return period extreme values are arrived at. Frequency distribution of rainfall parameters is investigated. Time series of annual rainfall data suggests a cycle of 2-3 years period. (author)

  3. Observations of long-period waves in the nearshore waters of central west coast of India during the fall inter-monsoon period

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Amrutha, M.M.; SanilKumar, V.; Jesbin, G.

    variability in both long period waves and short period waves need more detailed study. Acknowledgments The authors acknowledge the Earth System Science Organization, Ministry of Earth Sciences, New Delhi for providing the financial support to conduct part... Geraldton. Proceedings of the 2009 Pacific Coasts and Ports Conference, Wellington, New Zealand. Mehta, A. V., & Krishnamurti, T. N., 1988. Interannual variability of the 30 to 50 day wave motions. Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan, 66...

  4. The SIRTF Legacy Observing Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenhouse, M. A.; Leisawitz, D.; Gehrz, R. D.; Clemens, D. P.; Force, Sirtf Community Task

    1997-12-01

    Legacy Observations and General Observations(GO)are separate categories in which SIRTF observing time will be allocated through peer reviewed community proposals. The Legacy Program will embrace several projects, each headed by a Legacy Principal Investigator. Legacy Observations are distinguished from General Observations by the following three criteria: [1] the project is a large, coherent investigation whose scientific goals can not be met by a number of smaller, uncoordinated projects; [2] the data will be of both general and lasting importance to the broad astronomical community and of immediate utility in motivating and planning follow-on GO investigations with SIRTF; and [3] the data (unprocessed, fully processed, and at intermediate steps in processing) will be placed in a public data base immediately and with no proprietary period. The goals of the SIRTF Legacy program are: [1] enable community use of SIRTF for large coherent survey observations, [2] provide prompt community access to SIRTF survey data, and [3] enable GO program observations based on Legacy program results. A likely attribute (but not a requirement) for Legacy projects is that they may involve hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of hours of observing time. It is anticipated that as much as 6000 hours of telescope time will be allocated through the Legacy program. To meet Legacy program goal [3], allocation of as much as 70% of SIRTF's first year on orbit to Legacy projects may be necessary, and the observing phase of the Legacy program will be completed during the following year. A Legacy call for proposals will be issued 1 year prior to launch or sooner, and will be open to all scientists and science topics. In this poster, we display Legacy program definition and schedule items that will be of interest to those intending to propose under this unique opportunity.

  5. To what extent can global warming events influence scaling properties of climatic fluctuations in glacial periods?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alberti, Tommaso; Lepreti, Fabio; Vecchio, Antonio; Carbone, Vincenzo

    2017-04-01

    The Earth's climate is an extremely unstable complex system consisting of nonlinear and still rather unknown interactions among atmosphere, land surface, ice and oceans. The system is mainly driven by solar irradiance, even if internal components as volcanic eruptions and human activities affect the atmospheric composition thus acting as a driver for climate changes. Since the extreme climate variability is the result of a set of phenomena operating from daily to multi-millennial timescales, with different correlation times, a study of the scaling properties of the system can evidence non-trivial persistent structures, internal or external physical processes. Recently, the scaling properties of the paleoclimate changes have been analyzed by distinguish between interglacial and glacial climates [Shao and Ditlevsen, 2016]. The results show that the last glacial record (20-120 kyr BP) presents some elements of multifractality, while the last interglacial period (0-10 kyr BP), say the Holocene period, seems to be characterized by a mono-fractal structure. This is associated to the absence of Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events in the interglacial climate that could be the cause for the absence of multifractality. This hypothesis is supported by the analysis of the period between 18 and 27 kyr BP, i.e. during the Last Glacial Period, in which a single DO event have been registred. Through the Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) we were able to detect a timescale separation within the Last Glacial Period (20-120 kyr BP) in two main components: a high-frequency component, related to the occurrence of DO events, and a low-frequency one, associated to the cooling/warming phase switch [Alberti et al., 2014]. Here, we investigate the scaling properties of the climate fluctuations within the Last Glacial Period, where abrupt climate changes, characterized by fast increase of temperature usually called Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events, have been particularly pronounced. By using the

  6. Meteorological and dust aerosol conditions over the western Saharan region observed at Fennec Supersite-2 during the intensive observation period in June 2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Todd, M. C.; Allen, C. J. T.; Bart, M.; Bechir, M.; Bentefouet, J.; Brooks, B. J.; Cavazos-Guerra, C.; Clovis, T.; Deyane, S.; Dieh, M.; Engelstaedter, S.; Flamant, C.; Garcia-Carreras, L.; Gandega, A.; Gascoyne, M.; Hobby, M.; Kocha, C.; Lavaysse, C.; Marsham, J. H.; Martins, J. V.; McQuaid, J. B.; Ngamini, J. B.; Parker, D. J.; Podvin, T.; Rocha-Lima, A.; Traore, S.; Wang, Y.; Washington, R.

    2013-08-01

    The climate of the Sahara is relatively poorly observed and understood, leading to errors in forecast model simulations. We describe observations from the Fennec Supersite-2 (SS2) at Zouerate, Mauritania during the June 2011 Fennec Intensive Observation Period. These provide an improved basis for understanding and evaluating processes, models, and remote sensing. Conditions during June 2011 show a marked distinction between: (i) a "Maritime phase" during the early part of the month when the western sector of the Sahara experienced cool northwesterly maritime flow throughout the lower troposphere with shallow daytime boundary layers, very little dust uplift/transport or cloud cover. (ii) A subsequent "heat low" phase which coincided with a marked and rapid westward shift in the Saharan heat low towards its mid-summer climatological position and advection of a deep hot, dusty air layer from the central Sahara (the "Saharan residual layer"). This transition affected the entire western-central Sahara. Dust advected over SS2 was primarily from episodic low-level jet (LLJ)-generated emission in the northeasterly flow around surface troughs. Unlike Fennec SS1, SS2 does not often experience cold pools from moist convection and associated dust emissions. The diurnal evolution at SS2 is strongly influenced by the Atlantic inflow (AI), a northwesterly flow of shallow, cool and moist air propagating overnight from coastal West Africa to reach SS2 in the early hours. The AI cools and moistens the western Saharan and weakens the nocturnal LLJ, limiting its dust-raising potential. We quantify the ventilation and moistening of the western flank of the Sahara by (i) the large-scale flow and (ii) the regular nocturnal AI and LLJ mesoscale processes.

  7. Synchronous observations of long-periodic geomagnetic pulsations on the ATS-6 satellite and on the Earth surface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barfild, Dzh.N.; Bondarenko, N.M.; Buloshnikov, A.M.; Gokhberg, M.B.; Kalisher, A.L.; Mak-Ferron, R.L.; Troitskaya, V.A.

    1977-01-01

    Geomagnetic pulsations of the Pi2 and Pc4 types recorded by the ATS-6 geostationary satellite and by observatories located near the geomagnetic longitude of the space satellite from the 24th of May, 1974 to the 1st of September, 1976 are compared. The periods of the Pi2 pulsations measured by the space satellite and on the Earth practically coincide, dynamic spectra and spectral densities are similar. The amplitude of the Pi2 pulsations recorded in auroral latitudes is several times wider than the amplitude measured by the ATS-6 while in middle latitudes the amplitude is much smaller than on the satellite. The Pc4 pulsations are not practically observed on the Earth for they are probably excited in narrow local areas of the magnitosphere. In order to arrive to the single-valued solution of the problem of the mechanism of the generation and localization of the pulsation source it is necessary to carry out simultaneous observations on the Earth and in the magnitosphere

  8. Stratigraphy and palaeoclimatic significance of Late Quaternary loess-palaeosol sequences of the Last Interglacial-Glacial cycle in central Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muhs, D.R.; Ager, T.A.; Bettis, E. Arthur; McGeehin, J.; Been, J.M.; Beget, J.E.; Pavich, M.J.; Stafford, Thomas W.; Stevens, D.A.S.P.

    2003-01-01

    Loess is one of the most widespread subaerial deposits in Alaska and adjacent Yukon Territory and may have a history that goes back 3 Ma. Based on mineralogy and major and trace element chemistry, central Alaskan loess has a composition that is distinctive from other loess bodies of the world, although it is quartz-dominated. Central Alaskan loess was probably derived from a variety of rock types, including granites, metabasalts and schists. Detailed stratigraphic data and pedologic criteria indicate that, contrary to early studies, many palaeosols are present in central Alaskan loess sections. The buried soils indicate that loess sedimentation was episodic, or at least rates of deposition decreased to the point where pedogenesis could keep ahead of aeolian input. As in China, loess deposition and pedogenesis are likely competing processes and neither stops completely during either phase of the loess/soil formation cycle. Loess deposition in central Alaska took place before, and probably during the last interglacial period, during stadials of the mid-Wisconsin period, during the last glacial period and during the Holocene. An unexpected result of our geochronological studies is that only moderate loess deposition took place during the last glacial period. Our studies lead us to conclude that vegetation plays a key role in loess accumulation in Alaska. Factors favouring loess production are enhanced during glacial periods but factors that favour loess accumulation are diminished during glacial periods. The most important of these is vegetation; boreal forest serves as an effective loess trap, but sparsely distributed herb tundra does not. Thus, thick accumulations of loess should not be expected where tundra vegetation was dominant and this is borne out by modern studies near the treeline in central Alaska. Much of the stratigraphic diversity of North American loess, including that found in the Central Lowlands, the Great Plains, and Alaska is explained by a new

  9. Long-term changes and spatio-temporal variability of the growing season temperature in Europe during the last Millennium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guiot, Joel; Corona, Christophe

    2010-05-01

    A gridded reconstruction of April to September temperature was produced for Europe based on tree-rings, documentaries, pollen and ice cores. The majority of the proxy series have an annual resolution. For a better inference of long-term climate variations, they were completed by number of low resolution data (decadal or more), mostly on pollen and ice-core data. An original spectral analogue method was devised to deal with this heterogeneous dataset, and especially to preserve the long-term variations and the variability of the temperature series. It is the condition is to make pertinent the comparison of the recent climate changes to a broader context of 1400 years. The reconstruction of the April-September temperature was validated with a Jack-knife technique, and it was also compared with other spatially gridded temperature reconstructions, literature data, and glacier advance and retreat curves. We also attempted to relate the spatial distribution of European temperature anomalies to known solar and volcanic forcings. We found that (1) our results are sound back to A.D. 750; (2) conditions during the last decade have exceeded all those known during the last millennium; (3) before the 20th century, cold periods can partly be explained by low solar activity and/or high volcanic activity and that Medieval Warm Period (MWP) is consistent with a high solar activity; (4) during the 20th century, however only anthropogenic forcing can explain the exceptionally high temperature rise; (5) based on an analysis of the distribution of extreme temperatures, the maximum event of the Medieval Period (1.1°C higher than the 1960-1990 reference period) had a return period of more than 1000 years, but this recently fell to less than 26 years; (6) all decades before AD 1350 were warm on average but relatively heterogeneous, while the last decade was homogeneously warmer. These results support the fact that we are facing an unprecedented changing climate in Europe unlike any known

  10. Cluster Observations of Non-Time Continuous Magnetosonic Waves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Simon N.; Demekhov, Andrei G.; Boardsen, Scott A.; Ganushkina, Natalia Y.; Sibeck, David G.; Balikhin, Michael A.

    2016-01-01

    Equatorial magnetosonic waves are normally observed as temporally continuous sets of emissions lasting from minutes to hours. Recent observations, however, have shown that this is not always the case. Using Cluster data, this study identifies two distinct forms of these non temporally continuous use missions. The first, referred to as rising tone emissions, are characterized by the systematic onset of wave activity at increasing proton gyroharmonic frequencies. Sets of harmonic emissions (emission elements)are observed to occur periodically in the region +/- 10 off the geomagnetic equator. The sweep rate of these emissions maximizes at the geomagnetic equator. In addition, the ellipticity and propagation direction also change systematically as Cluster crosses the geomagnetic equator. It is shown that the observed frequency sweep rate is unlikely to result from the sideband instability related to nonlinear trapping of suprathermal protons in the wave field. The second form of emissions is characterized by the simultaneous onset of activity across a range of harmonic frequencies. These waves are observed at irregular intervals. Their occurrence correlates with changes in the spacecraft potential, a measurement that is used as a proxy for electron density. Thus, these waves appear to be trapped within regions of localized enhancement of the electron density.

  11. The first coordinated observations of mid-latitude E-region quasi-periodic radar echoes and lower thermospheric 557.7-nm airglow

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Ogawa

    2005-10-01

    Full Text Available We present the first coordinated observations of quasi-periodic (QP radar echoes from sporadic-E (Es field-aligned irregularities (FAIs, OI 557.7-nm airglow, and neutral winds in a common volume over Shigaraki, Japan (34.9° N, 136.1° E on the night of 5 August 2002 during the SEEK-2 campaign. QP echo altitudes of 90-110 km were lower than usual by 10 km, enabling us to make a detailed comparison among QP echoes, airglow intensity, and neutral wind at around 96 km altitude. Eastward movement of the QP echo regions is consistent with the motions of neutral winds, airglow structures, and FAIs, suggesting that the electrodynamics of Es-layers is fundamentally controlled by the neutral atmospheric dynamics. During the QP echo event, the echo altitudes clearly went up (down in harmony with an airglow enhancement (subsidence that also moved to the east. This fact suggests that the eastward-moving enhanced airglow region included an upward (downward component of neutral winds to raise (lower the altitude of the wind-shear node responsible for the Es formation. The airglow intensity, echo intensity, and Doppler velocity of FAIs at around 96 km altitude fluctuated with periods from 10 min to 1h, indicating that these parameters were modulated with short-period atmospheric disturbances. Some QP echo regions below 100km altitude contained small-scale QP structures in which very strong neutral winds exceeding 100 m/s existed. The results are compared with recent observations, theories, and simulations of QP echoes. Keywords. Ionosphere (Ionosphere-atmosphere interactions; Ionospheric irregularities; Mid-latitude ionosphere

  12. Pertussis may be the cause of prolonged cough in adolescents and adults in the interepidemic period.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pimentel, Analíria Moraes; Baptista, Paulo Neves; Ximenes, Ricardo Arraes de Alencar; Rodrigues, Laura Cunha; Magalhães, Vera; Silva, Andrea Rosane Sousa; Souza, Nadjla Ferreira; Matos, Deize Gomes Cavalcanti de; Pessoa, Ana Kelly Lins

    2015-01-01

    This study was aimed to evaluate the prevalence of pertussis in adolescents and adults with cough lasting more than 14 days and less than 30 days. This is a prospective observational study in interepidemic period of pertusis. Ten public health outpatient clinics in the city of Recife, Brazil, were randomly selected for the study. The study population consisted of individuals aged 10 years and over with cough that had lasted between 14 and 30 days. Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected for culture and PCR in order to identify Bordetella pertussis. We adopted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US (CDC) definition of cases of pertussis. A total of 192 individuals were identified as suspected cases. Their mean age was 40.7 years. Pertussis was confirmed in 10 of the 192 suspected cases, with an estimated prevalence of 5.21% (95% confidence interval 2.03-8.38). All cases met the clinical case definition for pertussis; one suspect had both culture and PCR positive. PCR confirmed 100% of the cases, 7/10 by PCR and 3/10 by epidemiological linkage with a case confirmed by PCR. During an interepidemic period, 1 in 20 cases of prolonged cough had pertussis, suggesting this is an important cause of prolonged cough in adolescents and adults. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda.

  13. Inter-decadal changes in the intensity of the Oxygen Minimum Zone off Concepción, Chile (~ 36° S) over the last century

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srain, B.; Pantoja, S.; Sepúlveda, J.; Lange, C. B.; Muñoz, P.; Summons, R. E.; McKay, J.; Salamanca, M.

    2015-04-01

    We reconstructed oxygenation changes in the Oxygen Minimum Zone of the upwelling ecosystem off Concepción (36° S), Chile, using inorganic and organic proxies in a sediment core covering the last ca. 110 years of sedimentation in this area. Authigenic enrichments of Mo, U and Cd were observed between ca. 1935-1971 CE indicating a prolonged period of more reduced conditions in bottom waters and surface sediments. Significant positive correlations (p oxygen depletion, and increased primary and export production, suggesting that the period with low O2 of ca. 35 years, follows low frequency inter-decadal variation of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, which may have resulted in O2 depletion over the entire continental shelf off Concepción. Taken together with the concurrent increase in sedimentary molecular indicators of anaerobic microbes allow us to suggest that the prokaryote community has been influenced by changes in oxygenation of the water column.

  14. Present day sea level changes: observation and causes; Les variations actuelles du niveau de la mer: observations et causes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lombard, A

    2005-11-15

    Whereas sea level has changed little over the last 2000 years, it has risen at a rate of about 2 mm/year during the 20. century. This unexpected sea level rise has been attributed to the anthropogenic global warming, recorded over several decades. Sea level variations have been measured globally and precisely for about 12 years due to satellite altimeter missions Topex/Poseidon and Jason-1. These observations indicate a global mean sea level rise of about 3 mm/year since 1993, a value significantly larger than observed during previous decades. Recent observations have allowed us to quantify the various climatic factors contributing to observed sea level change: thermal expansion of sea water due to ocean warming, melting of mountain glaciers and ice sheets, and changes in the land water reservoirs. A water budget based on these new observations allows us to partly explain the observed sea level rise. In particular, we show that the thermal expansion explains only 25% of the secular sea level rise as recorded by tide-gauges over the last 50 years, while it contributes about 50% of sea level rise observed over the last decade. Meanwhile, recent studies show that glacier and ice sheet melting could contribute the equivalent of 1 mm/year in sea level rise over the last decade. In addition, the high regional variability of sea level trends revealed by satellite altimetry is mainly due to thermal expansion. There is also an important decadal spatio-temporal variability in the ocean thermal expansion over the last 50 years, which seems to be controlled by natural climate fluctuations. We question for the first time the link between the decadal fluctuations in the ocean thermal expansion and in the land reservoirs, and indeed their climatic contribution to sea level change. Finally a preliminary analysis of GRACE spatial gravimetric observations over the oceans allows us to estimate the seasonal variations in mean sea level due to ocean water mass balance variations

  15. Pricing Strategies in the Remanufacturing Market for the Uncertain Market Size in the Second Period

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liurui Deng

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Our main endeavor is to investigate the effect of the uncertain market size in the second period on the pricing strategies in the remanufacturing market. Observing the previous research, we find that the market size in the second period is always supposed to be certain. However, there is substantial empirical and experimental evidence that the market size in reality deviates from this assumption. In fact, though the market size in the first period is definitized, it is difficult to confirm the change of the market scale in the second period, since this change is affected by all kinds of elements, such as the awareness of environmental protection, some consumers’ psychological factors, and the related governments’ policies. Hence, we pay attention to the case in which the change rate of the market scale in the second period is random variable. We suppose that this rate satisfies uniform distribution on [0,2]. Underlying this assumption, we further provide an insight into the game-playing relationship between original equipment manufacturers (OEMs and remanufacturers. Moreover, we delicately and subtly incorporate the game theory, stochastic analysis, adversarial risk analysis (ARA, and optimization methods into the pricing strategies in the remanufacturing market. Last but not least, considerable efforts and attempts have been made to subtly test the sensitivity of an optimal solution to the different parameters.

  16. Measures of Malaria Burden after Long-Lasting Insecticidal Net Distribution and Indoor Residual Spraying at Three Sites in Uganda: A Prospective Observational Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katureebe, Agaba; Zinszer, Kate; Arinaitwe, Emmanuel; Charland, Katia; Kigozi, Ruth; Kilama, Maxwell; Nankabirwa, Joaniter; Yeka, Adoke; Mawejje, Henry; Mpimbaza, Arthur; Donnelly, Martin J.; Rosenthal, Philip J.; Lindsay, Steve W.; Staedke, Sarah G.; Smith, David L.; Kamya, Moses R.; Dorsey, Grant

    2016-01-01

    Background Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) and indoor residual spraying of insecticide (IRS) are the primary vector control interventions used to prevent malaria in Africa. Although both interventions are effective in some settings, high-quality evidence is rarely available to evaluate their effectiveness following deployment by a national malaria control program. In Uganda, we measured changes in key malaria indicators following universal LLIN distribution in three sites, with the addition of IRS at one of these sites. Methods and Findings Comprehensive malaria surveillance was conducted from October 1, 2011, to March 31, 2016, in three sub-counties with relatively low (Walukuba), moderate (Kihihi), and high transmission (Nagongera). Between 2013 and 2014, universal LLIN distribution campaigns were conducted in all sites, and in December 2014, IRS with the carbamate bendiocarb was initiated in Nagongera. High-quality surveillance evaluated malaria metrics and mosquito exposure before and after interventions through (a) enhanced health-facility-based surveillance to estimate malaria test positivity rate (TPR), expressed as the number testing positive for malaria/number tested for malaria (number of children tested for malaria: Walukuba = 42,833, Kihihi = 28,790, and Nagongera = 38,690); (b) cohort studies to estimate the incidence of malaria, expressed as the number of episodes per person-year [PPY] at risk (number of children observed: Walukuba = 340, Kihihi = 380, and Nagongera = 361); and (c) entomology surveys to estimate household-level human biting rate (HBR), expressed as the number of female Anopheles mosquitoes collected per house-night of collection (number of households observed: Walukuba = 117, Kihihi = 107, and Nagongera = 107). The LLIN distribution campaign substantially increased LLIN coverage levels at the three sites to between 65.0% and 95.5% of households with at least one LLIN. In Walukuba, over the 28-mo post-intervention period

  17. Appraising timing response of paleoenvironmental proxies to the Bond cycle in the western Mediterranean over the last 20 kyr

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigo-Gámiz, Marta; Martínez-Ruiz, Francisca; Rodríguez-Tovar, Francisco J.; Pardo-Igúzquiza, Eulogio; Ortega-Huertas, Miguel

    2018-04-01

    The timing of climate responses to the Bond cycle is investigated in the western Mediterranean. Periodicities had been previously reported in a marine sediment record from this region spanning the last 20 kyr, and registered by diverse paleoenvironmental proxies, in particular those associated with terrigenous input, redox conditions, productivity, sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity. Further cross-spectral analyses on these time series reveal leads-lags in the 1400 year climate cycle. Considering as reference a terrigenous input proxy (the K/Al ratio), all the paleoenvironmental proxies displayed time shifts varying from ca. 700 year to ca. 350 year. SST and salinity variations show a first leaded response with the inflow of cold and less salty Atlantic waters. Followed by a time lead of 525 year, progresively arid conditions with an increase of eolian dust transport to the area, given by the Zr/Al signal, are observed. The intensification of dust transport could have triggered a latest biological response, lead by 350 year, with an increase of productivity, as suggested by the Ba/Al ratio. Lastly changes in the Mediterranean thermohaline circulation, indicated by a selected redox proxy (the U/Th ratio), are observed. These results support that the oceanic response triggered the atmospheric response to the Bond cycle in the western Mediterranean. Changes in the North Atlantic Oscillation mode and in the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone migrations with variations in the monsoon activity or Saharan winds system, are considered as main forcing mechanisms, with a complex relationship of the involved phenomena.

  18. Last millennium northern hemisphere summer temperatures from tree rings: Part I: The long term context

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Wilson, R.; Anchukaitis, K.; Briffa, K. R.; Büntgen, Ulf; Cook, E.; D'Arrigo, R.; Davi, N.; Esper, J.; Frank, D.; Gunnarson, B.; Hegerl, G.; Helama, S.; Klesse, S.; Krusic, P. J.; Linderholm, H. W.; Myglan, V. S.; Osborn, T. J.; Rydval, M.; Schneider, L.; Schurer, A.; Wiles, G.; Zhang, P.; Zorita, E.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 134, FEB (2016), s. 1-18 ISSN 0277-3791 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : high-resolution paleoclimatology * stable carbon isotopes * medieval warm period * past 600 years * blue intensity * volcanic-eruptions * density data * ice-age * dendroclimatic reconstruction * cambium phenology * Tree-rings * Northern hemisphere * Last millennium * Summer temperatures * Reconstruction * CMIP5 models Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 4.797, year: 2016

  19. Deafferentation-Induced Plasticity of Visual Callosal Connections: Predicting Critical Periods and Analyzing Cortical Abnormalities Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaime F. Olavarria

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Callosal connections form elaborate patterns that bear close association with striate and extrastriate visual areas. Although it is known that retinal input is required for normal callosal development, there is little information regarding the period during which the retina is critically needed and whether this period correlates with the same developmental stage across species. Here we review the timing of this critical period, identified in rodents and ferrets by the effects that timed enucleations have on mature callosal connections, and compare it to other developmental milestones in these species. Subsequently, we compare these events to diffusion tensor imaging (DTI measurements of water diffusion anisotropy within developing cerebral cortex. We observed that the relationship between the timing of the critical period and the DTI-characterized developmental trajectory is strikingly similar in rodents and ferrets, which opens the possibility of using cortical DTI trajectories for predicting the critical period in species, such as humans, in which this period likely occurs prenatally. Last, we discuss the potential of utilizing DTI to distinguish normal from abnormal cerebral cortical development, both within the context of aberrant connectivity induced by early retinal deafferentation, and more generally as a potential tool for detecting abnormalities associated with neurodevelopmental disorders.

  20. High energy X-ray observations of CYG X-3 from from OSO-8: Further evidence of a 34.1 day period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolan, J. F.; Crannell, C. J.; Dennis, B. R.; Frost, K. J.; Orwig, L. E.

    1981-01-01

    The X-ray source Cyg X-3 (=4U2030+40) was observed with the high energy X-ray spectrometer on OSO-8 for two weeks in 1975 and in 1976 and for one week in 1977. No change in spectral shape and intensity above 23 keV was observed from year to year. No correlation is observed between the source's intensity and the phase of the 34.1 day period discovered by Molteni, et al. (1980). The pulsed fraction of the 4.8 hour light curve between 23 and 73 keV varies from week to week, however, and the magnitude of the pulsed fraction appears to be correlated with the 34.1 day phase. No immediate explanation of this behavior is apparent in terms of previously proposed models of the source.

  1. Comments on Current Space Systems Observing the Climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisk, L. A.

    2016-07-01

    The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), which was established in 1992, has been effective in specifying the observations needed for climate studies, and advocating that these observations be made. As a result, there are essential climate variables being observed, particularly from space, and these have formed the basis for our ever-improving models of how the Earth system functions and the human impact on it. We cannot conclude, however, that the current observing system in space is adequate. Climate change is accelerating, and we need to ensure that our observations capture, with completeness and with proper resolution and cadence, the most important changes. Perhaps of most significance, we need to use observations from space to guide the mitigation and adaptation strategies on which at last our civilization seems prepared to embark. And we need to use our observations to educate particularly policy makers on the reality of climate change, so that none deny the need to act. COSPAR is determined to play its part in highlighting the need to strengthen the climate observing system and notably its research component. This is being accomplished through events like the present roundtable, through the work of its Scientific Commission A, its Task Group on GEO (where COSPAR is serving as a member of its Program Board), and by promoting among space agencies and policy-makers the recently released scientific roadmap on Integrated Earth System Science for the period 2016-2025.

  2. Beam-induced and cosmic-ray backgrounds observed in the ATLAS detector during the LHC 2012 proton-proton running period

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aad, G.; Abbott, B.; Abdallah, J.; Abdinov, O.; Abeloos, B.; Aben, R.; Abolins, M.; AbouZeid, O.S.; Abraham, N.L.; Abramowicz, H.; Abreu, H.; Abreu, R.; Abulaiti, Y.; Acharya, B.S.; Adamczyk, L.; Adams, D.L.; Adelman, J.

    2016-01-01

    This paper discusses various observations on beam-induced and cosmic-ray backgrounds in the ATLAS detector during the LHC 2012 proton-proton run. Building on published results based on 2011 data, the correlations between background and residual pressure of the beam vacuum are revisited. Ghost charge evolution over 2012 and its role for backgrounds are evaluated. New methods to monitor ghost charge with beam-gas rates are presented and observations of LHC abort gap population by ghost charge are discussed in detail. Fake jets from colliding bunches and from ghost charge are analysed with improved methods, showing that ghost charge in individual radio-frequency buckets of the LHC can be resolved. Some results of two short periods of dedicated cosmic-ray background data-taking are shown; in particular cosmic-ray muon induced fake jet rates are compared to Monte Carlo simulations and to the fake jet rates from beam background. A thorough analysis of a particular LHC fill, where abnormally high background was observed, is presented. Correlations between backgrounds and beam intensity losses in special fills with very high β * are studied.

  3. Investigation of Ionospheric Anomalies related to moderate Romanian earthquakes occurred during last decade using VLF/LF INFREP and GNSS Global Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moldovan, Iren-Adelina; Oikonomou, Christina; Haralambous, Haris; Nastase, Eduard; Emilian Toader, Victorin; Biagi, Pier Francesco; Colella, Roberto; Toma-Danila, Dragos

    2017-04-01

    Ionospheric TEC (Total Electron Content) variations and Low Frequency (LF) signal amplitude data prior to five moderate earthquakes (Mw≥5) occurred in Romania, in Vrancea crustal and subcrustal seismic zones, during the last decade were analyzed using observations from the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and the European INFREP (International Network for Frontier Research on Earthquake Precursors) networks respectively, aiming to detect potential ionospheric anomalies related to these events and describe their characteristics. For this, spectral analysis on TEC data and terminator time method on VLF/LF data were applied. It was found that TEC perturbations appeared few days (1-7) up to few hours before the events lasting around 2-3 hours, with periods 20 and 3-5 minutes which could be associated with the impending earthquakes. In addition, in all three events the sunrise terminator times were delayed approximately 20-40 min few days prior and during the earthquake day. Acknowledgments This work was partially supported by the Partnership in Priority Areas Program - PNII, under MEN-UEFISCDI, DARING Project no. 69/2014 and the Nucleu Program - PN 16-35, Project no. 03 01

  4. [A period in the pediatric hospital of Iwiro, Zaire].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cerny, J; Henriet, Y

    1991-04-01

    Medical students are allowed each year to perform abroad a two months period of instruction called "extra muros" training period in their last year of medical scholarship. Two students have chosen to work in the area of South Kivu (Zaïre) in participating to the health program of the CEMUBAC. Malnutrition and malaria were the most common illnesses they could deal with. They also were able to perceive the difficulties of a large public health program. The present report summarizes their feelings about that medical and personal training. Practical informations about administrative and financial conditions are also detailed.

  5. Global Scale Periodic Responses in Saturn’s Magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Xianzhe; Kivelson, Margaret G.

    2017-10-01

    Despite having an axisymmetric internal magnetic field, Saturn’s magnetosphere exhibits periodic modulations in a variety of properties at periods close to the planetary rotation period. While the source of the periodicity remains unidentified, it is evident from Cassini observations that much of Saturn’s magnetospheric structure and dynamics is dominated by global-scale responses to the driving source of the periodicity. We have developed a global MHD model in which a rotating field-aligned current system is introduced by imposing vortical flows in the high-latitude ionosphere in order to simulate the magnetospheric periodicities. The model has been utilized to quantitatively characterize various periodic responses in the magnetosphere, such as the displacement of the magnetopause and bow shock and flapping of the tail plasma sheet, all of which show quantitative agreement with Cassini observations. One of our model predictions is periodic release of plasmoids in the tail that occurs preferentially in the midnight-to-dawn local time sector during each rotation cycle. Here we present detailed analysis of the periodic responses seen in our simulations focusing on the properties of plasmoids predicted by the model, including their spatial distribution, occurrence frequency, and mass loss rate. We will compare these modeled parameters with published Cassini observations, and discuss their implications for interpreting in-situ measurements.

  6. Desertification, resilience, and re-greening in the African Sahel - a matter of the observation period?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kusserow, Hannelore

    2017-12-01

    Since the turn of the millennium various scientific publications have been discussing a re-greening of the Sahel after the 1980s drought mainly based on coarse-resolution satellite data. However, the author's own field studies suggest that the situation is far more complex and that both paradigms, the encroaching Sahara and the re-greening Sahel, need to be questioned.This paper discusses the concepts of desertification, resilience, and re-greening by addressing four main aspects: (i) the relevance of edaphic factors for a vegetation re-greening, (ii-iii) the importance of the selected observation period in the debate on Sahel greening or browning, and (iv) modifications in the vegetation pattern as possible indicators of ecosystem changes (shift from originally diffuse to contracted vegetation patterns).The data referred to in this paper cover a time period of more than 150 years and include the author's own research results from the early 1980s until today. A special emphasis, apart from fieldwork data and remote sensing data, is laid on the historical documents.The key findings summarised at the end show the following: (i) vegetation recovery predominantly depends on soil types; (ii) when discussing Sahel greening vs. Sahel browning, the majority of research papers only focus on post-drought conditions. Taking pre-drought conditions (before the 1980s) into account, however, is essential to fully understand the situation. Botanical investigations and remote-sensing-based time series clearly show a substantial decline in woody species diversity and cover density compared to pre-drought conditions; (iii) the self-organised patchiness of vegetation is considered to be an important indicator of ecosystem changes.

  7. Critical Period of Weed Control in Aerobic Rice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anwar, M. P.; Juraimi, A. S.; Samedani, B.; Puteh, A.; Man, A.

    2012-01-01

    Critical period of weed control is the foundation of integrated weed management and, hence, can be considered the first step to design weed control strategy. To determine critical period of weed control of aerobic rice, field trials were conducted during 2010/2011 at Universiti Putra Malaysia. A quantitative series of treatments comprising two components, (a) increasing duration of weed interference and (b) increasing length of weed-free period, were imposed. Critical period was determined through Logistic and Gompertz equations. Critical period varied between seasons; in main season, it started earlier and lasted longer, as compared to off-season. The onset of the critical period was found relatively stable between seasons, while the end was more variable. Critical period was determined as 7–49 days after seeding in off-season and 7–53 days in main season to achieve 95% of weed-free yield, and 23–40 days in off-season and 21–43 days in main season to achieve 90% of weed-free yield. Since 5% yield loss level is not practical from economic view point, a 10% yield loss may be considered excellent from economic view point. Therefore, aerobic rice should be kept weed-free during 21–43 days for better yield and higher economic return. PMID:22778701

  8. Increased corticosterone in peripubertal rats leads to long-lasting alterations in social exploration and aggression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vandana eVeenit

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Stress during childhood and adolescence enhances the risk of psychopathology later in life. We have previously shown that subjecting male rats to stress during the peripubertal period induces long-lasting effects on emotion and social behaviors. As corticosterone is increased by stress and known to exert important programming effects, we reasoned that increasing corticosterone might mimic the effects of peripubertal stress. To this end, we injected corticosterone (5 mg/kg on 7 scattered days during the peripuberty period (P28-P30, P34, P36, P40 and P42, following the same experimental schedule as for stress administration in our peripubertal paradigm. We measured play behavior in the homecage and, at adulthood, the corticosterone response to novelty and behavioral responses in tests for anxiety- and depression-like behaviors, aggression and social exploration. As compared to vehicle, corticosterone-treated animals exhibit more aggressive play behavior during adolescence, increased aggressive behavior in a resident-intruder test while reduced juvenile exploration and corticosterone reactivity at adulthood. Whereas the corticosterone treatment mimicked alterations induced by the peripuberty stress protocol in the social domain, it did not reproduce previously observed effects of peripuberty stress on increasing anxiety-like and depression-like behaviors, respectively evaluated in the elevated plus maze and the forced swim tests. Our findings indicate that increasing corticosterone levels during peripuberty might be instrumental to program alterations in the social domain observed following stress, whereas other factors might need to be recruited for the programming of long-term changes in emotionality. Our study opens the possibility that individual differences on the degree of glucocorticoid activation during peripuberty might be central to defining differences in vulnerability to develop psychopathological disorders coursing with alterations in

  9. The period-luminosity relation for Cepheids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brodie, J.P.

    1980-01-01

    Numerical simulations of the empirical determination of the period-luminosity-colour relation for classical Cepheids are presented. In this study the quantitative effects of random errors, reddening, sample size and the presence of both colour and period cut-offs (imposed by the finite extent of the instability strip) on the observational redetermination of the original relation are evaluated. Both random errors in the photometry and correlated errors in the reddening corrections are shown to have systematic effects. Especially sensitive to these errors is the colour coefficient in the period-luminosity-colour relation, where the ratio of the error to the width of the instability strip is the determining factor. With present observations only broad confidence limits can be placed on present knowledge of the intrinsic period-luminosity-colour relation and/or its variations from galaxy to galaxy. (author)

  10. 39 CFR 777.27 - Last resort housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 39 Postal Service 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Last resort housing. 777.27 Section 777.27 Postal... ACQUISITION POLICIES Uniform Relocation Assistance § 777.27 Last resort housing. (a) Basic Determination to Provide Last Resort Housing. A displaced person cannot be required to move from his or her dwelling unless...

  11. THE EVOLUTION OF FISCAL INDICATORS IN THE LAST YEARSIN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kulcsar Edina

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Tax revenues are an important part of budget revenues, and their structure represent the mirror of government's fiscal policy. Also their level and structure reflects the evolution of the economy in general. The evolution of tax revenues has been influenced by the financial crisis of this period. The tax revenue structure in Romania is characterized by relatively high share of indirect taxes revenues in comparison with another European Union states, where the share of revenues from direct, indirect taxes and social contribution is relatively close. Government expenditure is vital for the economy especially if they are focused on productive areas. They are the engine of economic developments and plays an important role in raising the standard of living of population in a state. In the last years, the growth rate of public expenditure was higher than the trend of tax revenues increase. Sizing revenue and public expenditure is essential for achieving the budget balance target and to meet the criterion stipulated in the Stability and Growth Pact. According to the Pact, the budget deficit may not exceed 3% of GDP. This development asymmetric led to increased deficits in the last years. The high level of structural deficit has canceled an initiative to tax relaxation in this recession period. The need for fiscal consolidation has been paramount in the context of chronic deficit and difficulties faced in financing it. The opportune solution to finance the high public deficit and to achieve the objective of financial stability of the economy was contracting of public debt from International Monetary Fund. Other measures to reduce the deficit were the reduction of public expenditure and increasing tax revenues. We propose in this paper to analyze the evolution of fiscal indicators in comparison with the evolution of macroeconomic indicators to capture the reaction of taxpayers and economic environment at measures adopted.

  12. Work injury trends during the last three decades in the construction industry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lander, Flemming; Nielsen, Kent Jacob; Lauritsen, Jens M

    2016-01-01

    were calculated. Employment levels in the construction sector were used as an indicator of fluctuations in the business cycle since 1980. Results: Through the last three decades the overall trend of work-related injuries was unchanged. For some subgroups of injuries, such as major injuries and injuries...... were significantly related to the business cycle, where the risk of injuries was higher during economic booms than during recessions. Further, periods with economic booms are positively related to the rate of minor injuries and injuries due to all other work activities than the use of power tools...

  13. From the Last Interglacial to the Anthropocene: Modelling a Complete Glacial Cycle (PalMod)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brücher, Tim; Latif, Mojib

    2017-04-01

    We will give a short overview and update on the current status of the national climate modelling initiative PalMod (Paleo Modelling, www.palmod.de). PalMod focuses on the understanding of the climate system dynamics and its variability during the last glacial cycle. The initiative is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and its specific topics are: (i) to identify and quantify the relative contributions of the fundamental processes which determined the Earth's climate trajectory and variability during the last glacial cycle, (ii) to simulate with comprehensive Earth System Models (ESMs) the climate from the peak of the last interglacial - the Eemian warm period - up to the present, including the changes in the spectrum of variability, and (iii) to assess possible future climate trajectories beyond this century during the next millennia with sophisticated ESMs tested in such a way. The research is intended to be conducted over a period of 10 years, but with shorter funding cycles. PalMod kicked off in February 2016. The first phase focuses on the last deglaciation (app. the last 23.000 years). From the ESM perspective PalMod pushes forward model development by coupling ESM with dynamical ice sheet models. Computer scientists work on speeding up climate models using different concepts (like parallelisation in time) and one working group is dedicated to perform a comprehensive data synthesis to validate model performance. The envisioned approach is innovative in three respects. First, the consortium aims at simulating a full glacial cycle in transient mode and with comprehensive ESMs which allow full interactions between the physical and biogeochemical components of the Earth system, including ice sheets. Second, we shall address climate variability during the last glacial cycle on a large range of time scales, from interannual to multi-millennial, and attempt to quantify the relative contributions of external forcing and processes

  14. Ketamine produces lasting disruptions in encoding of sensory stimuli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maxwell, Christina R; Ehrlichman, Richard S; Liang, Yuling; Trief, Danielle; Kanes, Stephen J; Karp, Jonathan; Siegel, Steven J

    2006-01-01

    The current study analyzed the acute, chronic, and lasting effects of ketamine administration in four inbred mouse strains (C3H/HeHsd, C57BL/6Hsd, FVB/Hsd, and DBA/2Hsd) to evaluate vulnerability to ketamine as a drug of abuse and as a model of schizophrenia. Serum half-life of ketamine was similar between all strains (approximately 13 min). Also, the ratio of brain-to-serum ketamine levels was 3:1. Examination of multiple phases of auditory processing using auditory-evoked potentials (AEPs) following acute ketamine (0, 5, and 20 mg/kg) treatment revealed C3H/HeHsd mice to be most vulnerable to ketamine-induced alterations in AEPs, whereas FVB/Hsd mice exhibited the least electrophysiological sensitivity to ketamine. Overall, the precortical P1-evoked potential component increased in amplitude and latency, whereas the cortically generated N1 and P2 components decreased in amplitude and latency following acute ketamine across all strains. Brain catecholamine analyses indicated that ketamine decreased hippocampus epinephrine levels in C3H/HeHsd but elevated hippocampus epinephrine levels in FVB/Hsd, suggesting one potential mechanism for AEP vulnerability to ketamine. Based on results of the acute study, the immediate and lasting effects of chronic low-dose ketamine on AEPs were examined among C3H/HeHsd (sensitive) and FVB/Hsd (insensitive) mice. We observed a decrement of the N1 amplitude that persisted at least 1 week after the last exposure to ketamine across both strains. This lasting deficit in information processing occurred in the absence of acute changes among the FVB/Hsd mice. Implications for both ketamine abuse and N-methyl-D-aspartate hypofunction models of schizophrenia are discussed.

  15. Atmospheric metal pollution records in the Kovářská Bog (Czech Republic) as an indicator of anthropogenic activities over the last three millennia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bohdálková, Leona; Bohdálek, Petr; Břízová, Eva; Pacherová, Petra; Kuběna, Aleš Antonín

    2018-08-15

    Three peat cores were extracted from the Kovářská Bog in the central Ore Mountains to study anthropogenic pollution generated by mining and metallurgy. The core profiles were 14 C dated, and concentrations of selected elements were determined by ICP MS and HG-AAS. Principal component analysis indicated that Pb, Cu, As and Ag may be useful elements for the reconstruction of historical atmospheric pollution. Total and anthropogenic accumulation rates (ARs) of Pb, Cu and As estimated for the last ca. 3500years showed similar chronologies, and revealed twelve periods of elevated ARs of Pb, As and Cu related to possible mining and metallurgic activities. In total, four periods of elevated ARs of Pb, Cu and As were detected during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, including a distinct Late Bronze Age pollution event between 1030BCE and 910BCE. The Iron Age included three episodes of increased ARs of Pb and As; the first and the most distinctive episode, recorded between 730 and 440BCE, was simultaneous with the Bylany culture during the Hallstatt Period. The Roman Age was characterized by one pollution event, two events were detected in the Middle Ages, and the last two during the modern period. Enhanced element ARs in the late 12th and 15th centuries clearly documented the onset of two periods of intense mining in the Ore Mountains. Metal ARs culminated in ca. 1600CE, and subsequently decreased after the beginning of the Thirty Years' War. The last boom of mining between 1700CE and 1830CE represented the last period of important metallurgical operations. Late Medieval and modern period metal ARs are in good agreement with written documents. Earlier pollution peaks suggest that local metal production could have a much longer tradition than commonly believed; however, archaeological or written evidence is scarce or lacking. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Charged particle periodicity in the Saturnian magnetosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carbary, J.F.; Krimigis, S.M.

    1982-01-01

    The low energy charged particles (LECP) experiments on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft performed measurements of electrons (approx.22 keV to approx.20 MeV) and ions (approx.28 keV to approx.150 MeV) during the Saturn encounters in 1980 and 1981. Count rate ratios of two of the low energy electron (22 to 35 keV and 183 to 500 keV) and ion (43 to 80 keV and 137 to 215 keV) channels exhibit an approximation 10 hour periodicity in the outer Saturnian magnetosphere beyond the orbit of Titan. Electron ratios vary from approx.50 to approx.300; ion ratios vary from approx.3 to approx.20. Similar but less pronounced periodicities are observed for higher and lower energy electron and ion spectral indices. Three complete cycles were observed during the Voyager 2 outbound portion of the encounter from which were determined an electron ratio period of 10/sup h/21/sup m/ +- 48/sup m/ and an ion ratio period of 9/sup h/49/sup m/ +- 59/sup m/. Using Saturn Kilometric Radiation (SKR) and Saturn Electrostatic Discharge (SED) periods, extrapolation backward from Voyager 2 to Voyager 1 suggests that the periodicities are Saturnian rather than Jovian in nature, and that they persist in phase for time intervals at least as long as 287 days. Ratio minima, or spectral hardenings, occur in the same hemisphere as do auroral brightenings, SKR activity, and spoke enhanement. We interpret the observations as prima facie evidence of an asymmetry in the Saturian magnetic field and the root cause of the observed SKR periodicity

  17. Periodicity in extinction and the problem of catastrophism in the history of life

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sepkoski, J. J. Jr; Sepkoski JJ, J. r. (Principal Investigator)

    1989-01-01

    The hypothesis that extinction events have recurred periodically over the last quarter billion years is greatly strengthened by new data on the stratigraphic ranges of marine animal genera. In the interval from the Permian to Recent, these data encompass some 13,000 generic extinctions, providing a more sensitive indicator of species-level extinctions than previously used familial data. Extinction time series computed from the generic data display nine strong peaks that are nearly uniformly spaced at 26 Ma intervals over the last 270 Ma. Most of these peaks correspond to extinction events recognized in more detailed, if limited, biostratigraphic studies. These new data weaken or negate most arguments against periodicity, which have involved criticisms of the taxonomic data base, sampling intervals, chronometric time scales, and statistical methods used in previous analyses. The criticisms are reviewed in some detail and various new calculations and simulations, including one assessing the effects of paraphyletic taxa, are presented. Although the new data strengthen the case for periodicity, they offer little new insight into the deriving mechanism behind the pattern. However, they do suggest that many of the periodic events may not have been catastrophic, occurring instead over several stratigraphic stages or substages.

  18. Seemingly divergent sea surface temperature proxy records in the central Mediterranean during the last deglaciation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.-A. Sicre

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Sea surface temperatures (SSTs were reconstructed over the last 25 000 yr using alkenone paleothermometry and planktonic foraminifera assemblages from two cores of the central Mediterranean Sea: the MD04-2797 core (Siculo–Tunisian channel and the MD90-917 core (South Adriatic Sea. Comparison of the centennial scale structure of the two temperature signals during the last deglaciation period reveals significant differences in timing and amplitude. We suggest that seasonal changes likely account for seemingly proxy record divergences during abrupt transitions from glacial to interglacial climates and for the apparent short duration of the Younger Dryas (YD depicted by the alkenone time series, a feature that has already been stressed in earlier studies on the Mediterranean deglaciation.

  19. Constellations: A New Paradigm for Earth Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Angelita C.; Volz, Stephen M.; Yuhas, Cheryl L.; Case, Warren F.

    2009-01-01

    The last decade has seen a significant increase in the number and the capabilities of remote sensing satellites launched by the international community. A relatively new approach has been the launching of satellites into heterogeneous constellations. Constellations provide the scientists a capability to acquire science data, not only from specific instruments on a single satellite, but also from instruments on other satellites that fly in the same orbit. Initial results from the A-Train (especially following the CALIPSO/CloudSat launch) attest to the tremendous scientific value of constellation flying. This paper provides a history of the constellations (particularly the A-Train) and how the A-Train mission design was driven by science requirements. The A-Train has presented operational challenges which had not previously been encountered. Operations planning had to address not only how the satellites of each constellation operate safely together, but also how the two constellations fly in the same orbits without interfering with each other when commands are uplinked or data are downlinked to their respective ground stations. This paper discusses the benefits of joining an on-orbit constellation. When compared to a single, large satellite, a constellation infrastructure offers more than just the opportunities for coincidental science observations. For example, constellations reduce risks by distributing observing instruments among numerous satellites; in contrast, a failed launch or a system failure in a single satellite would lead to loss of all observations. Constellations allow for more focused, less complex satellites. Constellations distribute the development, testing, and operations costs among various agencies and organizations for example, the Morning and Afternoon Constellations involve several agencies within the U.S. and in other countries. Lastly, this paper addresses the need to plan for the long-term evolution of a constellation. Agencies need to have

  20. Lidar Observations of Aerosol Disturbances of the Stratosphere over Tomsk (56.5∘N; 85.0∘E in Volcanic Activity Period 2006–2011

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oleg E. Bazhenov

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The lidar measurements (Tomsk: 56.5∘N; 85.0∘E of the optical characteristics of the stratospheric aerosol layer (SAL in the volcanic activity period 2006–2011 are summarized and analyzed. The background SAL state with minimum aerosol content, observed since 1997 under the conditions of long-term volcanically quiet period, was interrupted in October 2006 by series of explosive eruptions of volcanoes of Pacific Ring of Fire: Rabaul (October 2006, New Guinea; Okmok and Kasatochi (July-August 2008, Aleutian Islands; Redoubt (March-April 2009, Alaska; Sarychev Peak (June 2009, Kuril Islands; Grimsvötn (May 2011, Iceland. A short-term and minor disturbance of the lower stratosphere was also observed in April 2010 after eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull. The developed regional empirical model of the vertical distribution of background SAL optical characteristics was used to identify the periods of elevated stratospheric aerosol content after each of the volcanic eruptions. Trends of variations in the total ozone content are also considered.

  1. The Last 2000 Days: Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise. Shakespeare (King Lear).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Elias S

    2017-02-01

    This essay is an exploration of an extended period of the last 2000 days of anticipated mortality from the perspective of an aging gerontologist. The last 2000 days come at the end of what has come to be referred to as the Third Age (Silva, L. R. (2008). [From old age to third age: The historical course of the identities linked to the process of ageing]. História, ciências, saúde-Manguinhos, 15: , 155-168. doi:10.1590/S0104-59702008000100009). Life in the last 2000 days is a period in which the appreciation of finitude comes into new prominence, affecting a variety of elements that command attention-from individuals and from scholars. The significance of the last 2000 days is explored from two perspectives: First, the meaning, if any, of a more than half century career spent in gerontology on the personal experience of being old- how I think about my own old age, and second, an exploration of a variety of considerations that other older persons might be prompted to consider. The last 2000 days will be experienced in relatively good stages of "ability," activity, and potential engagement. This rumination explores the personal meaning of this penultimate life stage, pre-dying. It suggests some systematic consideration of what recognition of these days may mean-perception of time, identity and role, status, risks and vulnerabilities, dealing with disability, winding up/winding down/giving up, legacies, and, of course, death and dying. These issues are personal. There is no set value scale that suggests "successful aging" or "failed aging." © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  2. Viral infection model with periodic lytic immune response

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Kaifa; Wang Wendi; Liu Xianning

    2006-01-01

    Dynamical behavior and bifurcation structure of a viral infection model are studied under the assumption that the lytic immune response is periodic in time. The infection-free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable when the basic reproductive ratio of virus is less than or equal to one. There is a non-constant periodic solution if the basic reproductive ratio of the virus is greater than one. It is found that period doubling bifurcations occur as the amplitude of lytic component is increased. For intermediate birth rates, the period triplication occurs and then period doubling cascades proceed gradually toward chaotic cycles. For large birth rate, the period doubling cascade proceeds gradually toward chaotic cycles without the period triplication, and the inverse period doubling can be observed. These results can be used to explain the oscillation behaviors of virus population, which was observed in chronic HBV or HCV carriers

  3. A Cartel that Lasts for Centuries: The Case of the Eastern Orthodox Church Indulgences

    OpenAIRE

    Axarloglou, Kostas; Cabolis, Christos; Chrissidis, Nikos

    2012-01-01

    In this paper, we present a non-conventional case of collusive behavior and tactics that last for centuries. In particular, we focus on the process through which the Patriarchates of the Eastern Orthodox Church (specifically, those of Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria) distributed indulgences to believers in their jurisdictions during the period between the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries. By employing a wide variety of primary sources such as correspondence among the...

  4. Mediterranean drought fluctuation during the last 500 years based on tree-ring data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nicault, A. [CEREGE, UMR 6635 CNRS/Universite Paul Cezanne, Aix-en-Provence (France); I.N.R.S., Centre ETE, Quebec, QC (Canada); Alleaume, S. [Cemagref, Aix en Provence (Germany); Brewer, S.; Guiot, J. [CEREGE, UMR 6635 CNRS/Universite Paul Cezanne, Aix-en-Provence (France); Carrer, M. [Universita degli Studi di Padova, Dipt. TeSAF - Treeline Ecology Research Unit - Agripolis, Legnaro (Italy); Nola, P. [Universita degli Studi di Pavia, Dipt. Ecologia del Territorio, Pavia (Italy)

    2008-08-15

    characterized by marked dry episodes in the west similar to those observed in the end of the twentieth century. In contrast, the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (Little Ice Age) are characterized by dominant wet periods. In the eastern part of the Mediterranean basin the observed strong drought period of the end of the twentieth century seems to be the strongest of the last 500 years. (orig.)

  5. Terrigeneous material supply to the Peruvian central continental shelf (Pisco 14° S) during the last 1100 yr: paleoclimatic implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briceño Zuluaga, F.; Sifeddine, A.; Caquineau, S.; Cardich, J.; Salvatteci, R.; Gutierrez, D.; Ortlieb, L.; Velazco, F.; Boucher, H.; Machado, C.

    2015-07-01

    In the Eastern Pacific, lithogenic input to the ocean is a response of the atmospheric and ocean system variability and their teleconnections over different timescales. Atmospheric (e.g., wind fields, precipitation), hydrological (e.g., fresh water plumes) and oceanic (e.g., currents) conditions determine the transport mode and the amount of lithogenic material transported from the continent to the continental shelf. Here, we present the grain size distribution of a composite record of two laminated sediment cores retrieved in the Peruvian continental shelf, covering the last ~1100 yr at sub-decadal to centennial time-series resolution. We then discuss the paleo-environmental significance and the climatic mechanisms involved. Four grain size modes were identified. Two are linked to aeolian inputs (M3: 53.0 μm and M4: 90.8 μm on average), the third is interpreted as a marker of sediment discharge (M2: 9.4 μm on average), and the last is without an associated origin (M1: ~3 μm). The coarsest components (M3 and M4) dominated during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) and Current Warm Period (CWP) periods, suggesting that aeolian transport increased as consequence of wind stress intensification. In contrast, M2 displays an opposite behavior, exhibiting an increase in fluvial terrigenous input during the Little Ice Age (LIA), in response to more humid conditions. Comparison with other South American paleoclimate records indicates that the observed changes are driven by interactions between meridional displacement of the Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and of the South Pacific Sub-tropical High (SPSH) at decadal and centennial time scales.

  6. Detecting periodicities with Gaussian processes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicolas Durrande

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available We consider the problem of detecting and quantifying the periodic component of a function given noise-corrupted observations of a limited number of input/output tuples. Our approach is based on Gaussian process regression, which provides a flexible non-parametric framework for modelling periodic data. We introduce a novel decomposition of the covariance function as the sum of periodic and aperiodic kernels. This decomposition allows for the creation of sub-models which capture the periodic nature of the signal and its complement. To quantify the periodicity of the signal, we derive a periodicity ratio which reflects the uncertainty in the fitted sub-models. Although the method can be applied to many kernels, we give a special emphasis to the Matérn family, from the expression of the reproducing kernel Hilbert space inner product to the implementation of the associated periodic kernels in a Gaussian process toolkit. The proposed method is illustrated by considering the detection of periodically expressed genes in the arabidopsis genome.

  7. Mathematical observations on the relation between eclosion periods and the copulation rate of cicadas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saisho, Yasumasa

    2010-04-01

    In many species of cicadas the peak of eclosion of males precedes that of females. In this paper, we construct a stochastic model and consider whether this sexual difference of eclosion periods works against mating or not. We also discuss the relation between the peak period of copulations and the development of population number by using this model.

  8. High-latitude long-period pulsations in the atmospheric electricity according to observations at Schpitzbergen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klejmenova, N.G.; Kozyreva, O.V.; Mikhnovski, S.; Shimanski, A.; Ermolenko, D.Yu.

    1992-01-01

    The spectrum of long-period oscillations in the electric and magnetic fields is investigated for the first time using the data on simultaneous digital recording in the high altitudes at Schpitzbergen. It is established that during both tranquil and perturbed period at any time of the day, spectrum variation in electric and magnetic fields feature a decline discrete nature

  9. Acute effect of different time periods of passive static stretching on the hamstring flexibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cini, Anelize; de Vasconcelos, Gabriela Souza; Lima, Claudia Silveira

    2017-01-01

    Several factors are associated with the presence of chronic low back pain; one of them is the flexibility of the hamstring muscles that influences the posture of the pelvic spine. Investigate the influence of two different time periods of passive static stretching on the flexibility of the hamstring. Forty-six physiotherapy students were divided into two groups performing stretching exercises: 30 s and 60 s duration. The collections consisted of: (1) pre-test: evaluation of the flexibility of the hip and knee, using a manual goniometer by means of the following tests: Straight Leg Raise Test (SLR), Passive Hip Flexion Test (PHFT) and Modified Knee Extension Test (MKET), (2) intervention: stretching with different runtimes, (3) post-test: reappraisal of flexibility, conducted immediately after the intervention. Significant difference was observed intra groups, group that did stretching exercises lasting 30 seconds (G30) (SLR p = 0.000. PHFT p = 0.003 and MKET p = 0.000) and group that did stretching exercises lasting 60 seconds (G60) (SLR p = 0.000. PHFT p = 0.001 and MKET p = 0.002). Comparing the groups, no significant difference was found (SLR p = 0.307; PHFT p = 0.904; MKET p = 0.132). Thus it can be inferred that 30 seconds are sufficient for increased flexibility of young women. Therefore the time-treatment sessions can be optimized. Only the acute effect of stretching was observed; further investigation of the long-term effect is required.

  10. An enigmatic long-lasting gamma-ray burst not accompanied by a bright supernova.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Della Valle, M; Chincarini, G; Panagia, N; Tagliaferri, G; Malesani, D; Testa, V; Fugazza, D; Campana, S; Covino, S; Mangano, V; Antonelli, L A; D'Avanzo, P; Hurley, K; Mirabel, I F; Pellizza, L J; Piranomonte, S; Stella, L

    2006-12-21

    Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are short, intense flashes of soft gamma-rays coming from the distant Universe. Long-duration GRBs (those lasting more than approximately 2 s) are believed to originate from the deaths of massive stars, mainly on the basis of a handful of solid associations between GRBs and supernovae. GRB 060614, one of the closest GRBs discovered, consisted of a 5-s hard spike followed by softer, brighter emission that lasted for approximately 100 s (refs 8, 9). Here we report deep optical observations of GRB 060614 showing no emerging supernova with absolute visual magnitude brighter than M(V) = -13.7. Any supernova associated with GRB 060614 was therefore at least 100 times fainter, at optical wavelengths, than the other supernovae associated with GRBs. This demonstrates that some long-lasting GRBs can either be associated with a very faint supernova or produced by different phenomena.

  11. Climate trends in the Arctic as observed from space.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comiso, Josefino C; Hall, Dorothy K

    2014-05-01

    The Arctic is a region in transformation. Warming in the region has been amplified, as expected from ice-albedo feedback effects, with the rate of warming observed to be ∼0.60 ± 0.07°C/decade in the Arctic (>64°N) compared to ∼0.17°C/decade globally during the last three decades. This increase in surface temperature is manifested in all components of the cryosphere. In particular, the sea ice extent has been declining at the rate of ∼3.8%/decade, whereas the perennial ice (represented by summer ice minimum) is declining at a much greater rate of ∼11.5%/decade. Spring snow cover has also been observed to be declining by -2.12%/decade for the period 1967-2012. The Greenland ice sheet has been losing mass at the rate of ∼34.0 Gt/year (sea level equivalence of 0.09 mm/year) during the period from 1992 to 2011, but for the period 2002-2011, a higher rate of mass loss of ∼215 Gt/year has been observed. Also, the mass of glaciers worldwide declined at the rate of 226 Gt/year from 1971 to 2009 and 275 Gt/year from 1993 to 2009. Increases in permafrost temperature have also been measured in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere while a thickening of the active layer that overlies permafrost and a thinning of seasonally frozen ground has also been reported. To gain insight into these changes, comparative analysis with trends in clouds, albedo, and the Arctic Oscillation is also presented. How to cite this article: WIREs Clim Change 2014, 5:389�409. doi: 10.1002/wcc.277.

  12. Palaeoenvironmental change in tropical Australasia over the last 30,000 years - a synthesis by the OZ-INTIMATE group

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reeves, J.M.; Bostock, H.C.; Ayliffe, L.K.; Barrows, T.T.; De Deckker, P; Devriendt, L.S.; Dunbar, G.B.; Drysdale, R.N.; Fitzsimmons, K.E.; Gagan, M.K.; Griffiths, M.L.; Haberle, S.G.; Jansen, J.D.; Krause, C.; Lewis, S.; McGregor, H.V.; Mooney, S.D.; Moss, P; Nanson, G.C.; Purcell, A; van der Kaars, S.

    2013-01-01

    The tropics are the major source of heat and moisture for the Australasian region. Determining the tropics' response over time to changes in climate forcing mechanisms, such as summer insolation, and the effects of relative sea level on exposed continental shelves during the Last Glacial period, is

  13. Multichannel long period seismic data acquisition system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kolvankar, V.G.; Rao, D.S.

    1990-01-01

    This paper discusses the specifications and performance of an eight channel long period seismic digital data acquisition system, which is developed and installed at Seismic Array Station, Gauribidanur, Karnataka State. The paper describes how these data in an unedited form are recorded on a single track of magnetic tape inter-mittantly, which has resulted in recording of 50 days data on a single tapespool. A time indexing technique which enables quick access to any desired portion of a recorded tape is also discussed. Typical examples of long period seismic event signals recorded by this system are also illustrated. Various advantages, the system provides over the analog multichannel instrumentation tape recording system, operating at Seismic Array Station for th e last two decades, are also discussed. (author). 7 figs

  14. Explore Stochastic Instabilities of Periodic Points by Transition Path Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Yu; Lin, Ling; Zhou, Xiang

    2016-06-01

    We consider the noise-induced transitions from a linearly stable periodic orbit consisting of T periodic points in randomly perturbed discrete logistic map. Traditional large deviation theory and asymptotic analysis at small noise limit cannot distinguish the quantitative difference in noise-induced stochastic instabilities among the T periodic points. To attack this problem, we generalize the transition path theory to the discrete-time continuous-space stochastic process. In our first criterion to quantify the relative instability among T periodic points, we use the distribution of the last passage location related to the transitions from the whole periodic orbit to a prescribed disjoint set. This distribution is related to individual contributions to the transition rate from each periodic points. The second criterion is based on the competency of the transition paths associated with each periodic point. Both criteria utilize the reactive probability current in the transition path theory. Our numerical results for the logistic map reveal the transition mechanism of escaping from the stable periodic orbit and identify which periodic point is more prone to lose stability so as to make successful transitions under random perturbations.

  15. Present day sea level changes: observation and causes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lombard, A.

    2005-11-01

    Whereas sea level has changed little over the last 2000 years, it has risen at a rate of about 2 mm/year during the 20. century. This unexpected sea level rise has been attributed to the anthropogenic global warming, recorded over several decades. Sea level variations have been measured globally and precisely for about 12 years due to satellite altimeter missions Topex/Poseidon and Jason-1. These observations indicate a global mean sea level rise of about 3 mm/year since 1993, a value significantly larger than observed during previous decades. Recent observations have allowed us to quantify the various climatic factors contributing to observed sea level change: thermal expansion of sea water due to ocean warming, melting of mountain glaciers and ice sheets, and changes in the land water reservoirs. A water budget based on these new observations allows us to partly explain the observed sea level rise. In particular, we show that the thermal expansion explains only 25% of the secular sea level rise as recorded by tide-gauges over the last 50 years, while it contributes about 50% of sea level rise observed over the last decade. Meanwhile, recent studies show that glacier and ice sheet melting could contribute the equivalent of 1 mm/year in sea level rise over the last decade. In addition, the high regional variability of sea level trends revealed by satellite altimetry is mainly due to thermal expansion. There is also an important decadal spatio-temporal variability in the ocean thermal expansion over the last 50 years, which seems to be controlled by natural climate fluctuations. We question for the first time the link between the decadal fluctuations in the ocean thermal expansion and in the land reservoirs, and indeed their climatic contribution to sea level change. Finally a preliminary analysis of GRACE spatial gravimetric observations over the oceans allows us to estimate the seasonal variations in mean sea level due to ocean water mass balance variations

  16. Maximum And Minimum Temperature Trends In Mexico For The Last 31 Years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romero-Centeno, R.; Zavala-Hidalgo, J.; Allende Arandia, M. E.; Carrasco-Mijarez, N.; Calderon-Bustamante, O.

    2013-05-01

    Based on high-resolution (1') daily maps of the maximum and minimum temperatures in Mexico, an analysis of the last 31-year trends is performed. The maps were generated using all the available information from more than 5,000 stations of the Mexican Weather Service (Servicio Meteorológico Nacional, SMN) for the period 1979-2009, along with data from the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR). The data processing procedure includes a quality control step, in order to eliminate erroneous daily data, and make use of a high-resolution digital elevation model (from GEBCO), the relationship between air temperature and elevation by means of the average environmental lapse rate, and interpolation algorithms (linear and inverse-distance weighting). Based on the monthly gridded maps for the mentioned period, the maximum and minimum temperature trends calculated by least-squares linear regression and their statistical significance are obtained and discussed.

  17. A critical period of progesterone withdrawal precedes menstruation in macaques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slayden, Ov D; Brenner, Robert M

    2006-01-01

    Macaques are menstruating nonhuman primates that provide important animal models for studies of hormonal regulation in the uterus. In women and macaques the decline of progesterone (P) at the end of the cycle triggers endometrial expression of a variety of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) enzymes that participate in tissue breakdown and menstrual sloughing. To determine the minimal duration of P withdrawal required to induce menses, we assessed the effects of adding P back at various time points after P withdrawal on both frank bleeding patterns and endometrial MMP expression. Artificial menstrual cycles were induced by treating the animals sequentially with implants releasing estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P). To assess bleeding patterns, P implants were removed at the end of a cycle and then added back at 12, 24, 30, 36, 40, 48, 60, or 72 hours (h) after the initial P withdrawal. Observational analysis of frank bleeding patterns showed that P replacement at 12 and 24 h blocked menses, replacement at 36 h reduced menses but replacement after 36 h failed to block menses. These data indicate that in macaques, a critical period of P withdrawal exists and lasts approximately 36 h. In other similarly cycled animals, we withdrew P and then added P back either during (12–24 h) or after (48 h) the critical period, removed the uterus 24 h after P add back and evaluated endometrial MMP expression. Immunocytochemistry showed that replacement of P during the critical period suppressed MMP-1, -2 and -3 expression along with menses, but replacement of P at 48 h, which failed to suppress mense, suppressed MMP-1 and MMP-3 but did not block MMP-2. We concluded that upregulation of MMPs is essential to menses induction, but that after the critical period, menses will occur even if some MMPs are experimentally blocked. PMID:17118170

  18. Quasi-periodic oscillations in accreting magnetic white dwarfs. II. The asset of numerical modelling for interpreting observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Busschaert, C.; Falize, É.; Michaut, C.; Bonnet-Bidaud, J.-M.; Mouchet, M.

    2015-07-01

    Context. Magnetic cataclysmic variables are close binary systems containing a strongly magnetized white dwarf that accretes matter coming from an M-dwarf companion. The high magnetic field strength leads to the formation of an accretion column instead of an accretion disk. High-energy radiation coming from those objects is emitted from the column close to the white dwarf photosphere at the impact region. Its properties depend on the characteristics of the white dwarf and an accurate accretion column model allows the properties of the binary system to be inferred, such as the white dwarf mass, its magnetic field, and the accretion rate. Aims: We study the temporal and spectral behaviour of the accretion region and use the tools we developed to accurately connect the simulation results to the X-ray and optical astronomical observations. Methods: The radiation hydrodynamics code Hades was adapted to simulate this specific accretion phenomena. Classical approaches were used to model the radiative losses of the two main radiative processes: bremsstrahlung and cyclotron. Synthetic light curves and X-ray spectra were extracted from numerical simulations. A fast Fourier analysis was performed on the simulated light curves. The oscillation frequencies and amplitudes in the X-ray and optical domains are studied to compare those numerical results to observational ones. Different dimensional formulae were developed to complete the numerical evaluations. Results: The complete characterization of the emitting region is described for the two main radiative regimes: when only the bremsstrahlung losses and when both cyclotron and bremsstrahlung losses are considered. The effect of the non-linear cooling instability regime on the accretion column behaviour is analysed. Variation in luminosity on short timescales (~1 s quasi-periodic oscillations) is an expected consequence of this specific dynamic. The importance of secondary shock instability on the quasi-periodic oscillation

  19. The period of the magnetic star HD 133 029

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Panov, K.; Schoeneich, W.

    1976-01-01

    The period of 0.741285 days for the light variability of the magnetic star HD 133 029 was obtained from UBV observations. The observations of the effective magnetic field by Babcock show variations with a period of 0.7447 days. A small change of the period and a slow change of the magnitude of this magnetic star seems to be present. (author)

  20. Extreme value analysis of meteorological parameters observed during the period 1994-2001 at Kakrapar Atomic Power Station

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramkumar, S.; Dole, M.L.; Nankar, D.P.; Rajan, M.P.; Gurg, R.P.

    2003-01-01

    In the design of engineering structures, an understanding of extreme weather conditions that may occur at the site of interest is very essential, so that the structures can be designed to withstand such situations. In this report an analysis of extreme values of meteorological parameters observed at Kakrapar Atomic Power Station site for the period 1994 -2001 is described. The parameters considered are maximum and minimum air temperature, maximum wind speed and gust, and maximum rainfall in a month, in a day, in an hour and annual rainfall. The extreme value analysis reveals that annual rainfall, maximum monthly rainfall, minimum air temperature and maximum wind speed at 10 m obey Fisher-Tippet Type -1 distribution whereas maximum daily rainfall, maximum hourly rainfall, maxinlum air temperature and maximum wind speed at 30 m obey Fisher-Tippet Type -2 distribution function. There is no difference in correlation coefficients and fit both extreme value distribution function. Co-efficients of the distribution functions for each variable are established. Extreme values of parameters corresponding to return periods of 50 and 100 years are derived. These derived extreme values are particularly useful for arriving at suitable design basis values to ensure the safety of any civil structure in and around Kakrapar Atomic Power Station site with respect to stresses due to weather conditions. (author)

  1. Astrometric observations of comets and asteroids and subsequent orbital investigations. Semiannual progress report No. 30, 1 May-31 October 1988

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mccroskey, R.E.; Marsden, B.G.

    1988-11-01

    The 155-cm reflector was used for observations of comets and minor planets on 28 nights during April-October. Twenty-two of the observations refer to comets, 62 to numbered minor planets (numbered, that is, by the end of the semester: only nine of them refer to minor planets already numbered at the time of the last report), and the remainer to unnumbered minor planets. Observations were made of four new comets discovered during the semester and a fifth discovered in January. Observations of Wilson (19861), P/Tempel 2 and two other returning short-period comets are also continuing. Among the odd numbered minor planets observed were the earth-approaching objects (1685) Toro and (1980) Tezcatlipoca. The Earth approacher 1980 PA was numbered (3908)

  2. Observations of volcanic earthquakes and tremor at Deception Island - Antarctica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Morales

    1999-06-01

    Full Text Available Deception Island - South Shetlands, Antarctica is site of active volcanism. Since 1988 field surveys have been carried out with the aim of seismic monitoring, and in 1994 a seismic array was set up near the site of the Spanish summer base in order to better constrain the source location and spectral properties of the seismic events related to the volcanic activity. The array was maintained during the Antarctic summer of 1995 and the last field survey was carried out in 1996. Data show the existence of three different groups (or families of seismic events: 1 long period events, with a quasi-monochromatic spectral content (1-3 Hz peak frequency and a duration of more than 50 s, often occurring in small swarms lasting from several minutes to some day; 2 volcanic tremor, with a spectral shape similar to the long period events but with a duration of several minutes (2-10; 3 hybrid events, with a waveform characterised by the presence of a high frequency initial phase, followed by a low frequency phase with characteristics similar to those of the long period events. The high frequency phase of the hybrid events was analysed using polarisation techniques, showing the presence of P waves. This phase is presumably located at short epicentral distances and shallow source depth. All the analysed seismic events show back-azimuths between 120 and 330 degrees from north (corresponding to zones of volcanic activity showing no seismic activity in the middle of the caldera. Particle motion, Fourier spectral and spectrogram analysis show that the low frequency part of the three groups of the seismic signals have similar patterns. Moreover careful observations show that the high frequency phase which characterises the hybrid events is present in the long period and in the tremor events, even with lower signal to noise ratios. This evidence suggests that long period events are events in which the high frequency part is simply difficult to observe, due to a very

  3. Coordinated Cluster/Double Star observations of dayside flux transfer events on 6 April 2004

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jue; Pu, ZuYin; Zhou, XuZhi; Zhang, XianGuo; Dunlop, Malcolm; Fu, SuiYan; Xie, Lun; Zong, QiuGang; Xiao, ChiJie; Wang, XiaoGang; Liu, ZhenXing

    2008-10-01

    With the Double Star Program TC1 in the equatorial orbit and Cluster tetrahedron in the high latitude polar orbit, a conjunct observation of FTEs on the dayside magnetopause (MP) on April 6, 2004 is presented in this study. The FTEs observed by TC1 at low latitudes are characterized to be generated in the subsolar region and the obtained flux tube axes orientate along the predicted low latitude component magnetic reconnection X-line, indicating that these FTEs were more likely to be generated through multiple X-line reconnection or single X-line bursty reconnection. During the same period, Cluster also encountered a series of magnetosheath FTEs with their axes pointing roughly along the interplanetary magnetic field. At last, the global FTE configuration is obtained from observations in different locations, which is in good agreement with the "elbow shape" model.

  4. Response of methane emissions from wetlands to the Last Glacial Maximum and an idealized Dansgaard-Oeschger climate event: insights from two models of different complexity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ringeval, B.; Hopcroft, P.O.; Valdes, P.J.; Ciais, P.; Ramstein, G.; Dolman, A.J.; Kageyama, M.

    2013-01-01

    The role of different sources and sinks of CH4 in changes in atmospheric methane ([CH4]) concentration during the last 100 000 yr is still not fully understood. In particular, the magnitude of the change in wetland CH4 emissions at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) relative to the pre-industrial period

  5. Strong Solar Control of Infrared Aurora on Jupiter: Correlation Since the Last Solar Maximum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kostiuk, T.; Livengood, T. A.; Hewagama, T.

    2009-01-01

    Polar aurorae in Jupiter's atmosphere radiate throughout the electromagnetic spectrum from X ray through mid-infrared (mid-IR, 5 - 20 micron wavelength). Voyager IRIS data and ground-based spectroscopic measurements of Jupiter's northern mid-IR aurora, acquired since 1982, reveal a correlation between auroral brightness and solar activity that has not been observed in Jovian aurora at other wavelengths. Over nearly three solar cycles, Jupiter auroral ethane emission brightness and solar 10.7 cm radio flux and sunspot number are positively correlated with high confidence. Ethane line emission intensity varies over tenfold between low and high solar activity periods. Detailed measurements have been made using the GSFC HIPWAC spectrometer at the NASA IRTF since the last solar maximum, following the mid-IR emission through the declining phase toward solar minimum. An even more convincing correlation with solar activity is evident in these data. Current analyses of these results will be described, including planned measurements on polar ethane line emission scheduled through the rise of the next solar maximum beginning in 2009, with a steep gradient to a maximum in 2012. This work is relevant to the Juno mission and to the development of the Europa Jupiter System Mission. Results of observations at the Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) operated by the University of Hawaii under Cooperative Agreement no. NCC5-538 with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Science Mission Directorate, Planetary Astronomy Program. This work was supported by the NASA Planetary Astronomy Program.

  6. Eesti õpetajate roll laste internetikasutuse sotsiaalses vahendamises

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kadri Soo

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Õpetajatel on oluline roll laste ettevalmistamisel internetimaailmas toimetulekuks. Artiklis analüüsitakse Eesti õpetajate tegevust 9–16aastaste laste internetikasutuse sotsiaalses vahendamises, mille mõõtmiseks kasutati kaheksat tunnust EU Kids Online’i uuringust. Tulemused näitavad, et enamik Eesti õpetajatest on õpilaste internetikasutust sotsiaalselt vahendanud: üksnes 13% lastest ei suutnud meenutada, et nad oleks õpetajatelt kunagi juhiseid või informatsiooni saanud. Peamised erinevused Eesti õpetajate tegevuses ilmnesid keele ja asula suuruse puhul. Uuring lubab väita, et eesti keelt rääkivate ja väikestest asulatest pärit laste õpetajad vahendavad laste internetitegevusi aktiivsemalt ja mitmekülgsemalt ning pakuvad internetiohtude korral rohkem nõuandeid. See, kuidas on õpetajate tegevus ja laste kokkupuude internetiohtudega omavahel seotud, erineb vanuseja keelerühmiti. Internetis kahju kogemine ei ole seotud õpetajatepoolse sotsiaalse vahendamisega.  Summary

  7. Conjugate observations of quasi-periodic emissions by Cluster and DEMETER spacecraft

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Němec, F.; Santolík, Ondřej; Parrot, M.; Pickett, J. S.; Hayosh, Mykhaylo; Cornilleau-Wehrlin, N.

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 118, č. 1 (2013), s. 198-208 ISSN 2169-9380 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP205/10/2279; GA ČR(CZ) GAP209/11/2280 Grant - others:GA ČR(CZ) GPP209/12/P658 Program:GP Institutional support: RVO:68378289 Keywords : quasi-periodic * QP emissions Subject RIV: BL - Plasma and Gas Discharge Physics Impact factor: 3.440, year: 2013 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2012JA018380/abstract

  8. Cocaine Self-Administration Produces Long-Lasting Alterations in Dopamine Transporter Responses to Cocaine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siciliano, Cody A.; Fordahl, Steve C.

    2016-01-01

    Cocaine addiction is a debilitating neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by uncontrolled cocaine intake, which is thought to be driven, at least in part, by cocaine-induced deficits in dopamine system function. A decreased ability of cocaine to elevate dopamine levels has been repeatedly observed as a consequence of cocaine use in humans, and preclinical work has highlighted tolerance to cocaine's effects as a primary determinant in the development of aberrant cocaine taking behaviors. Here we determined that cocaine self-administration in rats produced tolerance to the dopamine transporter-inhibiting effects of cocaine in the nucleus accumbens core, which was normalized following a 14 or 60 d abstinence period; however, although these rats appeared to be similar to controls, a single self-administered infusion of cocaine at the end of abstinence, even after 60 d, fully reinstated tolerance to cocaine's effects. A single cocaine infusion in a naive rat had no effect on cocaine potency, demonstrating that cocaine self-administration leaves the dopamine transporter in a “primed” state, which allows for cocaine-induced plasticity to be reinstated by a subthreshold cocaine exposure. Further, reinstatement of cocaine tolerance was accompanied by decreased cocaine-induced locomotion and escalated cocaine intake despite extended abstinence from cocaine. These data demonstrate that cocaine leaves a long-lasting imprint on the dopamine system that is activated by re-exposure to cocaine. Further, these results provide a potential mechanism for severe cocaine binge episodes, which occur even after sustained abstinence from cocaine, and suggest that treatments aimed at transporter sites may be efficacious in promoting binge termination following relapse. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Tolerance is a DSM-V criterion for substance abuse disorders. Abusers consistently show reduced subjective effects of cocaine concomitant with reduced effects of cocaine at its main site of action

  9. David's Understanding of Functions and Periodicity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerson, Hope

    2008-01-01

    This is a study of David, a senior enrolled in a high school precalculus course. David's understandings of functions and periodicity was explored, through clinical interviews and contextualized through classroom observations. Although David's precalculus class was traditional his understanding of periodic functions was unconventional David engaged…

  10. Erivajadustega laste koolitee toob erilisi takistusi / Anu Mõistlik

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Mõistlik, Anu

    2003-01-01

    Puudega laste vanemate probleemidest oma laste koolitamisel-kasvatamisel. Lisa: Arvamus [Tartu Descartes℗þi Lütseumi direktori Jaan Reinsoni ja Noorteklubi Händikäpp juhatuse esimehe Margit Rosentali seisukohad liikumispuudega laste kooli valiku võimalustest

  11. Long Period Seismological Research Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    1974-10-31

    in central Asia as observed at the high-gain long- period sites. Preliminary results from observations at Chiang Mai (CHG) show that the complexity...Preliminary results from observations at Chiang Mai (CHG) show that the complexity of the surface wave signals from many events in the Tadzhik-Kirgiz...and receivers. A number of Interesting features can be illustrated by examining portions of three selsmograms recorded at Chiang Mai (CHO

  12. Periodical cicadas: A minimal automaton model

    Science.gov (United States)

    de O. Cardozo, Giovano; de A. M. M. Silvestre, Daniel; Colato, Alexandre

    2007-08-01

    The Magicicada spp. life cycles with its prime periods and highly synchronized emergence have defied reasonable scientific explanation since its discovery. During the last decade several models and explanations for this phenomenon appeared in the literature along with a great deal of discussion. Despite this considerable effort, there is no final conclusion about this long standing biological problem. Here, we construct a minimal automaton model without predation/parasitism which reproduces some of these aspects. Our results point towards competition between different strains with limited dispersal threshold as the main factor leading to the emergence of prime numbered life cycles.

  13. The safety and effectiveness profile of eldecalcitol in a prospective, post-marketing observational study in Japanese male patients with osteoporosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kondo, Satoshi; Kakihata, Hiroyuki; Nishida, Yosuke; Furuno, Yuko; Kobayashi, Yumiko; Tabata, Hidehiro; Nomura, Makoto

    2018-03-12

    We conducted a post-marketing observational study to investigate the safety and effectiveness of eldecalcitol for the treatment of osteoporosis in a Japanese clinical setting. The observation period was 12 months for women and 36 months for men. The final results for the female patients have already been published. In this article, the final results for the male patients are reported. A total of 470 male osteoporosis patients were enrolled. The safety analysis set included 431 patients (mean age, 76.8 years; mean ± SD follow-up period, 631.0 ± 450.3 days), and 175 patients continued treatment throughout the 3-year observational period. Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were reported in 28 patients (6.49%); the most common ADRs were hypercalcemia (1.16%) and renal impairment (1.16%). Serious ADRs were reported in 5 patients (1.16%). Mean serum calcium was within the normal range throughout the observation period. The cumulative incidence of new vertebral and nonvertebral fractures at 36 months, estimated by Kaplan-Meier analysis, was 10.23 and 4.06%, respectively. At the last observation, mean lumbar spine bone mineral density was 3.49% higher (P effectiveness of eldecalcitol for the treatment of Japanese male osteoporosis patients was confirmed in clinical practice. Careful monitoring of serum calcium and estimated glomerular filtration rate, both before and during treatment, is necessary to minimize the risk of hypercalcemia and renal impairment while maximizing the effectiveness of eldecalcitol.

  14. Observed ozone exceedances in Italy: statistical analysis and modelling in the period 2002-2015

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falasca, Serena; Curci, Gabriele; Candeloro, Luca; Conte, Annamaria; Ippoliti, Carla

    2017-04-01

    concentrations. On the other hand, high-temperature events have similar duration and higher mean temperature with respect to recent years, pointing out that temperature is not the only driver of high-ozone events. The statistical model confirms a significant impact of the meteorological variables (positive for temperature and pressure, negative for humidity and wind speed) on the probability of ozone events. Significant predictors are also the altitude (negative) and the number of inhabitants (positive). The decreasing observed recent trend is explained by the introduction of the Euro regulations, rather than natural variability. However, we find an inversion of trend for the more recent period under Euro6 (from September 2014), but we cautionary wait a confirmation from additional data at least for the year 2016.

  15. The Last Interglacial recorded in a Remouchamps cave speleothem (Belgium) -Information on seasonal changes and on the chronology of first climate deteriorations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verheyden, Sophie; Genty, Dominique; Blamart, Dominique; Cheng, Hai; Hodel, Florent; Vansteenberghe, Stef; McGavick, Matthew L.; Gillikin, David P.; Quinif, Yves

    2015-04-01

    A ~3m long stalagmite from the Remouchamps and ~15cm long stalagmite from the Han-sur-Lesse caves (Belgium) grew from ~124 to 100ka with growth rates going from 0.8mm/century to 30mm/century. Stable isotope (d18O and d13C) and growth-rate analyses suggest a rather stable climate from 122.0 to 115.8 ka. A clear climate deterioration is observed at ~115.8 ka and lasts until 111.2ka (±0.5ka, 2s), which corresponds well with Greenland Stadial 26. Several short-term but clear changes are observed in the stable isotopic composition at ~121.5, 119.5, 118.4, 117.6 (±0.5ka, 2s)) and are interpreted as climatic events of ~several hundred years long. They correspond with changes in stalagmite diameter and growth rate. Depending on the combination of changes in the d18O, d13C, growth rate and stalagmite diameter, the events are interpreted as corresponding to changes in rainfall amount or temperature. The RSM17 stalagmite exhibits visible seasonal layering during the entire 120-115ka period on which changes in Mg, Sr, Ba en P have been observed. This well pronounced lamination, likely annual as suggested by the U-Th data, demonstrates a strong seasonal character of the climate and/or vegetation activity during this period. We compare these MIS5 seasonality to the present day calcite layering observed in the cave. Both stalagmites, with a growth-rate increase after 125ka globally corresponding to the so-called Eemian optimum, seem to start later than other southern stalagmites from France, Italy or Spain. This observation raises the question of a possible late onset of interglacial conditions in north-west Europe and a progressive S-N advance of warmer conditions between 130 and 125ka through Western Europe.

  16. Beam-induced and cosmic-ray backgrounds observed in the ATLAS detector during the LHC 2012 proton-proton running period

    CERN Document Server

    Aad, Georges; Abdallah, Jalal; Abdinov, Ovsat; Abeloos, Baptiste; Aben, Rosemarie; Abolins, Maris; AbouZeid, Ossama; Abraham, Nicola; Abramowicz, Halina; Abreu, Henso; Abreu, Ricardo; Abulaiti, Yiming; Acharya, Bobby Samir; Adamczyk, Leszek; Adams, David; Adelman, Jahred; Adomeit, Stefanie; Adye, Tim; Affolder, Tony; Agatonovic-Jovin, Tatjana; Agricola, Johannes; Aguilar-Saavedra, Juan Antonio; Ahlen, Steven; Ahmadov, Faig; Aielli, Giulio; Akerstedt, Henrik; Åkesson, Torsten Paul Ake; Akimov, Andrei; Alberghi, Gian Luigi; Albert, Justin; Albrand, Solveig; Alconada Verzini, Maria Josefina; Aleksa, Martin; Aleksandrov, Igor; Alexa, Calin; Alexander, Gideon; Alexopoulos, Theodoros; Alhroob, Muhammad; Aliev, Malik; Alimonti, Gianluca; Alison, John; Alkire, Steven Patrick; Allbrooke, Benedict; Allen, Benjamin William; Allport, Phillip; Aloisio, Alberto; Alonso, Alejandro; Alonso, Francisco; Alpigiani, Cristiano; Alvarez Gonzalez, Barbara; Άlvarez Piqueras, Damián; Alviggi, Mariagrazia; Amadio, Brian Thomas; Amako, Katsuya; Amaral Coutinho, Yara; Amelung, Christoph; Amidei, Dante; Amor Dos Santos, Susana Patricia; Amorim, Antonio; Amoroso, Simone; Amram, Nir; Amundsen, Glenn; Anastopoulos, Christos; Ancu, Lucian Stefan; Andari, Nansi; Andeen, Timothy; Anders, Christoph Falk; Anders, Gabriel; Anders, John Kenneth; Anderson, Kelby; Andreazza, Attilio; Andrei, George Victor; Angelidakis, Stylianos; Angelozzi, Ivan; Anger, Philipp; Angerami, Aaron; Anghinolfi, Francis; Anisenkov, Alexey; Anjos, Nuno; Annovi, Alberto; Antonelli, Mario; Antonov, Alexey; Antos, Jaroslav; Anulli, Fabio; Aoki, Masato; Aperio Bella, Ludovica; Arabidze, Giorgi; Arai, Yasuo; Araque, Juan Pedro; Arce, Ayana; Arduh, Francisco Anuar; Arduini, Gianluigi; Arguin, Jean-Francois; Argyropoulos, Spyridon; Arik, Metin; Armbruster, Aaron James; Armitage, Lewis James; Arnaez, Olivier; Arnold, Hannah; Arratia, Miguel; Arslan, Ozan; Artamonov, Andrei; Artoni, Giacomo; Artz, Sebastian; Asai, Shoji; Asbah, Nedaa; Ashkenazi, Adi; Åsman, Barbro; Asquith, Lily; Assamagan, Ketevi; Astalos, Robert; Atkinson, Markus; Atlay, Naim Bora; Augsten, Kamil; Avolio, Giuseppe; Axen, Bradley; Ayoub, Mohamad Kassem; Azuelos, Georges; Baak, Max; Baas, Alessandra; Baca, Matthew John; Bachacou, Henri; Bachas, Konstantinos; Backes, Moritz; Backhaus, Malte; Bagiacchi, Paolo; Bagnaia, Paolo; Bai, Yu; Baines, John; Baker, Oliver Keith; Baldin, Evgenii; Balek, Petr; Balestri, Thomas; Balli, Fabrice; Balunas, William Keaton; Banas, Elzbieta; Banerjee, Swagato; Bannoura, Arwa A E; Barak, Liron; Barberio, Elisabetta Luigia; Barberis, Dario; Barbero, Marlon; Barillari, Teresa; Barklow, Timothy; Barlow, Nick; Barnes, Sarah Louise; Barnett, Bruce; Barnett, Michael; Barnovska, Zuzana; Baroncelli, Antonio; Barone, Gaetano; Barr, Alan; Barranco Navarro, Laura; Barreiro, Fernando; Barreiro Guimarães da Costa, João; Bartoldus, Rainer; Barton, Adam Edward; Bartos, Pavol; Basalaev, Artem; Bassalat, Ahmed; Basye, Austin; Bates, Richard; Batista, Santiago Juan; Batley, Richard; Battaglia, Marco; Bauce, Matteo; Bauer, Florian; Bawa, Harinder Singh; Beacham, James Baker; Beattie, Michael David; Beau, Tristan; Beauchemin, Pierre-Hugues; Bechtle, Philip; Beck, Hans~Peter; Becker, Kathrin; Becker, Maurice; Beckingham, Matthew; Becot, Cyril; Beddall, Andrew; Beddall, Ayda; Bednyakov, Vadim; Bedognetti, Matteo; Bee, Christopher; Beemster, Lars; Beermann, Thomas; Begel, Michael; Behr, Janna Katharina; Belanger-Champagne, Camille; Bell, Andrew Stuart; Bella, Gideon; Bellagamba, Lorenzo; Bellerive, Alain; Bellomo, Massimiliano; Belotskiy, Konstantin; Beltramello, Olga; Belyaev, Nikita; Benary, Odette; Benchekroun, Driss; Bender, Michael; Bendtz, Katarina; Benekos, Nektarios; Benhammou, Yan; Benhar Noccioli, Eleonora; Benitez, Jose; Benitez Garcia, Jorge-Armando; Benjamin, Douglas; Bensinger, James; Bentvelsen, Stan; Beresford, Lydia; Beretta, Matteo; Berge, David; Bergeaas Kuutmann, Elin; Berger, Nicolas; Berghaus, Frank; Beringer, Jürg; Berlendis, Simon; Bernard, Nathan Rogers; Bernius, Catrin; Bernlochner, Florian Urs; Berry, Tracey; Berta, Peter; Bertella, Claudia; Bertoli, Gabriele; Bertolucci, Federico; Bertram, Iain Alexander; Bertsche, Carolyn; Bertsche, David; Besjes, Geert-Jan; Bessidskaia Bylund, Olga; Bessner, Martin Florian; Besson, Nathalie; Betancourt, Christopher; Bethke, Siegfried; Bevan, Adrian John; Bhimji, Wahid; Bianchi, Riccardo-Maria; Bianchini, Louis; Bianco, Michele; Biebel, Otmar; Biedermann, Dustin; Bielski, Rafal; Biesuz, Nicolo Vladi; Biglietti, Michela; Bilbao De Mendizabal, Javier; Bilokon, Halina; Bindi, Marcello; Binet, Sebastien; Bingul, Ahmet; Bini, Cesare; Biondi, Silvia; Bjergaard, David Martin; Black, Curtis; Black, James; Black, Kevin; Blackburn, Daniel; Blair, Robert; Blanchard, Jean-Baptiste; Blanco, Jacobo Ezequiel; Blazek, Tomas; Bloch, Ingo; Blocker, Craig; Blum, Walter; Blumenschein, Ulrike; Blunier, Sylvain; Bobbink, Gerjan; Bobrovnikov, Victor; Bocchetta, Simona Serena; Bocci, Andrea; Bock, Christopher; Boehler, Michael; Boerner, Daniela; Bogaerts, Joannes Andreas; Bogavac, Danijela; Bogdanchikov, Alexander; Bohm, Christian; Boisvert, Veronique; Bold, Tomasz; Boldea, Venera; Boldyrev, Alexey; Bomben, Marco; Bona, Marcella; Boonekamp, Maarten; Borisov, Anatoly; Borissov, Guennadi; Bortfeldt, Jonathan; Bortoletto, Daniela; Bortolotto, Valerio; Bos, Kors; Boscherini, Davide; Bosman, Martine; Bossio Sola, Jonathan David; Boudreau, Joseph; Bouffard, Julian; Bouhova-Thacker, Evelina Vassileva; Boumediene, Djamel Eddine; Bourdarios, Claire; Boutle, Sarah Kate; Boveia, Antonio; Boyd, James; Boyko, Igor; Bracinik, Juraj; Brandt, Andrew; Brandt, Gerhard; Brandt, Oleg; Bratzler, Uwe; Brau, Benjamin; Brau, James; Braun, Helmut; Breaden Madden, William Dmitri; Brendlinger, Kurt; Brennan, Amelia Jean; Brenner, Lydia; Brenner, Richard; Bressler, Shikma; Bristow, Timothy Michael; Britton, Dave; Britzger, Daniel; Brochu, Frederic; Brock, Ian; Brock, Raymond; Brooijmans, Gustaaf; Brooks, Timothy; Brooks, William; Brosamer, Jacquelyn; Brost, Elizabeth; Broughton, James; Bruce, Roderik; Bruckman de Renstrom, Pawel; Bruncko, Dusan; Bruneliere, Renaud; Bruni, Alessia; Bruni, Graziano; Brunt, Benjamin; Bruschi, Marco; Bruscino, Nello; Bryant, Patrick; Bryngemark, Lene; Buanes, Trygve; Buat, Quentin; Buchholz, Peter; Buckley, Andrew; Budagov, Ioulian; Buehrer, Felix; Bugge, Magnar Kopangen; Bulekov, Oleg; Bullock, Daniel; Burckhart, Helfried; Burdin, Sergey; Burgard, Carsten Daniel; Burghgrave, Blake; Burka, Klaudia; Burke, Stephen; Burmeister, Ingo; Busato, Emmanuel; Büscher, Daniel; Büscher, Volker; Bussey, Peter; Butler, John; Butt, Aatif Imtiaz; Buttar, Craig; Butterworth, Jonathan; Butti, Pierfrancesco; Buttinger, William; Buzatu, Adrian; Buzykaev, Aleksey; Cabrera Urbán, Susana; Caforio, Davide; Cairo, Valentina; Cakir, Orhan; Calace, Noemi; Calafiura, Paolo; Calandri, Alessandro; Calderini, Giovanni; Calfayan, Philippe; Caloba, Luiz; Calvet, David; Calvet, Samuel; Calvet, Thomas Philippe; Camacho Toro, Reina; Camarda, Stefano; Camarri, Paolo; Cameron, David; Caminal Armadans, Roger; Camincher, Clement; Campana, Simone; Campanelli, Mario; Campoverde, Angel; Canale, Vincenzo; Canepa, Anadi; Cano Bret, Marc; Cantero, Josu; Cantrill, Robert; Cao, Tingting; Capeans Garrido, Maria Del Mar; Caprini, Irinel; Caprini, Mihai; Capua, Marcella; Caputo, Regina; Carbone, Ryne Michael; Cardarelli, Roberto; Cardillo, Fabio; Carli, Tancredi; Carlino, Gianpaolo; Carminati, Leonardo; Caron, Sascha; Carquin, Edson; Carrillo-Montoya, German D; Carter, Janet; Carvalho, João; Casadei, Diego; Casado, Maria Pilar; Casolino, Mirkoantonio; Casper, David William; Castaneda-Miranda, Elizabeth; Castelli, Angelantonio; Castillo Gimenez, Victoria; Castro, Nuno Filipe; Catinaccio, Andrea; Catmore, James; Cattai, Ariella; Caudron, Julien; Cavaliere, Viviana; Cavallaro, Emanuele; Cavalli, Donatella; Cavalli-Sforza, Matteo; Cavasinni, Vincenzo; Ceradini, Filippo; Cerda Alberich, Leonor; Cerio, Benjamin; Santiago Cerqueira, Augusto; Cerri, Alessandro; Cerrito, Lucio; Cerutti, Fabio; Cerv, Matevz; Cervelli, Alberto; Cetin, Serkant Ali; Chafaq, Aziz; Chakraborty, Dhiman; Chalupkova, Ina; Chan, Stephen Kam-wah; Chan, Yat Long; Chang, Philip; Chapman, John Derek; Charlton, Dave; Chatterjee, Avishek; Chau, Chav Chhiv; Chavez Barajas, Carlos Alberto; Che, Siinn; Cheatham, Susan; Chegwidden, Andrew; Chekanov, Sergei; Chekulaev, Sergey; Chelkov, Gueorgui; Chelstowska, Magda Anna; Chen, Chunhui; Chen, Hucheng; Chen, Karen; Chen, Shenjian; Chen, Shion; Chen, Xin; Chen, Ye; Cheng, Hok Chuen; Cheng, Huajie; Cheng, Yangyang; Cheplakov, Alexander; Cheremushkina, Evgenia; Cherkaoui El Moursli, Rajaa; Chernyatin, Valeriy; Cheu, Elliott; Chevalier, Laurent; Chiarella, Vitaliano; Chiarelli, Giorgio; Chiodini, Gabriele; Chisholm, Andrew; Chitan, Adrian; Chizhov, Mihail; Choi, Kyungeon; Chomont, Arthur Rene; Chouridou, Sofia; Chow, Bonnie Kar Bo; Christodoulou, Valentinos; Chromek-Burckhart, Doris; Chudoba, Jiri; Chuinard, Annabelle Julia; Chwastowski, Janusz; Chytka, Ladislav; Ciapetti, Guido; Ciftci, Abbas Kenan; Cinca, Diane; Cindro, Vladimir; Cioara, Irina Antonela; Ciocio, Alessandra; Cirotto, Francesco; Citron, Zvi Hirsh; Ciubancan, Mihai; Clark, Allan G; Clark, Brian Lee; Clark, Michael; Clark, Philip James; Clarke, Robert; Clement, Christophe; Coadou, Yann; Cobal, Marina; Coccaro, Andrea; Cochran, James H; Coffey, Laurel; Colasurdo, Luca; Cole, Brian; Cole, Stephen; Colijn, Auke-Pieter; Collot, Johann; Colombo, Tommaso; Compostella, Gabriele; Conde Muiño, Patricia; Coniavitis, Elias; Connell, Simon Henry; Connelly, Ian; Consorti, Valerio; Constantinescu, Serban; Conta, Claudio; Conti, Geraldine; Conventi, Francesco; Cooke, Mark; Cooper, Ben; Cooper-Sarkar, Amanda; Cornelissen, Thijs; Corradi, Massimo; Corriveau, Francois; Corso-Radu, Alina; Cortes-Gonzalez, Arely; Cortiana, Giorgio; Costa, Giuseppe; Costa, María José; Costanzo, Davide; Cottin, Giovanna; Cowan, Glen; Cox, Brian; Cranmer, Kyle; Crawley, Samuel Joseph; Cree, Graham; Crépé-Renaudin, Sabine; Crescioli, Francesco; Cribbs, Wayne Allen; Crispin Ortuzar, Mireia; Cristinziani, Markus; Croft, Vince; Crosetti, Giovanni; Cuhadar Donszelmann, Tulay; Cummings, Jane; Curatolo, Maria; Cúth, Jakub; Cuthbert, Cameron; Czirr, Hendrik; Czodrowski, Patrick; D'Auria, Saverio; D'Onofrio, Monica; Da Cunha Sargedas De Sousa, Mario Jose; Da Via, Cinzia; Dabrowski, Wladyslaw; Dai, Tiesheng; Dale, Orjan; Dallaire, Frederick; Dallapiccola, Carlo; Dam, Mogens; Dandoy, Jeffrey Rogers; Dang, Nguyen Phuong; Daniells, Andrew Christopher; Dann, Nicholas Stuart; Danninger, Matthias; Dano Hoffmann, Maria; Dao, Valerio; Darbo, Giovanni; Darmora, Smita; Dassoulas, James; Dattagupta, Aparajita; Davey, Will; David, Claire; Davidek, Tomas; Davies, Merlin; Davison, Peter; Davygora, Yuriy; Dawe, Edmund; Dawson, Ian; Daya-Ishmukhametova, Rozmin; De, Kaushik; de Asmundis, Riccardo; De Benedetti, Abraham; De Castro, Stefano; De Cecco, Sandro; De Groot, Nicolo; de Jong, Paul; De la Torre, Hector; De Lorenzi, Francesco; De Pedis, Daniele; De Salvo, Alessandro; De Sanctis, Umberto; De Santo, Antonella; De Vivie De Regie, Jean-Baptiste; Dearnaley, William James; Debbe, Ramiro; Debenedetti, Chiara; Dedovich, Dmitri; Deigaard, Ingrid; Del Peso, Jose; Del Prete, Tarcisio; Delgove, David; Deliot, Frederic; Delitzsch, Chris Malena; Deliyergiyev, Maksym; Dell'Acqua, Andrea; Dell'Asta, Lidia; Dell'Orso, Mauro; Della Pietra, Massimo; della Volpe, Domenico; Delmastro, Marco; Delsart, Pierre-Antoine; Deluca, Carolina; DeMarco, David; Demers, Sarah; Demichev, Mikhail; Demilly, Aurelien; Denisov, Sergey; Denysiuk, Denys; Derendarz, Dominik; Derkaoui, Jamal Eddine; Derue, Frederic; Dervan, Paul; Desch, Klaus Kurt; Deterre, Cecile; Dette, Karola; Deviveiros, Pier-Olivier; Dewhurst, Alastair; Dhaliwal, Saminder; Di Ciaccio, Anna; Di Ciaccio, Lucia; Di Clemente, William Kennedy; Di Donato, Camilla; Di Girolamo, Alessandro; Di Girolamo, Beniamino; Di Micco, Biagio; Di Nardo, Roberto; Di Simone, Andrea; Di Sipio, Riccardo; Di Valentino, David; Diaconu, Cristinel; Diamond, Miriam; Dias, Flavia; Diaz, Marco Aurelio; Diehl, Edward; Dietrich, Janet; Diglio, Sara; Dimitrievska, Aleksandra; Dingfelder, Jochen; Dita, Petre; Dita, Sanda; Dittus, Fridolin; Djama, Fares; Djobava, Tamar; Djuvsland, Julia Isabell; Barros do Vale, Maria Aline; Dobos, Daniel; Dobre, Monica; Doglioni, Caterina; Dohmae, Takeshi; Dolejsi, Jiri; Dolezal, Zdenek; Dolgoshein, Boris; Donadelli, Marisilvia; Donati, Simone; Dondero, Paolo; Donini, Julien; Dopke, Jens; Doria, Alessandra; Dova, Maria-Teresa; Doyle, Tony; Drechsler, Eric; Dris, Manolis; Du, Yanyan; Duarte-Campderros, Jorge; Duchovni, Ehud; Duckeck, Guenter; Ducu, Otilia Anamaria; Duda, Dominik; Dudarev, Alexey; Duflot, Laurent; Duguid, Liam; Dührssen, Michael; Dunford, Monica; Duran Yildiz, Hatice; Düren, Michael; Durglishvili, Archil; Duschinger, Dirk; Dutta, Baishali; Dyndal, Mateusz; Eckardt, Christoph; Ecker, Katharina Maria; Edgar, Ryan Christopher; Edson, William; Edwards, Nicholas Charles; Eifert, Till; Eigen, Gerald; Einsweiler, Kevin; Ekelof, Tord; El Kacimi, Mohamed; Ellajosyula, Venugopal; Ellert, Mattias; Elles, Sabine; Ellinghaus, Frank; Elliot, Alison; Ellis, Nicolas; Elmsheuser, Johannes; Elsing, Markus; Emeliyanov, Dmitry; Enari, Yuji; Endner, Oliver Chris; Endo, Masaki; Ennis, Joseph Stanford; Erdmann, Johannes; Ereditato, Antonio; Ernis, Gunar; Ernst, Jesse; Ernst, Michael; Errede, Steven; Ertel, Eugen; Escalier, Marc; Esch, Hendrik; Escobar, Carlos; Esposito, Bellisario; Etienvre, Anne-Isabelle; Etzion, Erez; Evans, Hal; Ezhilov, Alexey; Fabbri, Federica; Fabbri, Laura; Facini, Gabriel; Fakhrutdinov, Rinat; Falciano, Speranza; Falla, Rebecca Jane; Faltova, Jana; Fang, Yaquan; Fanti, Marcello; Farbin, Amir; Farilla, Addolorata; Farina, Christian; Farooque, Trisha; Farrell, Steven; Farrington, Sinead; Farthouat, Philippe; Fassi, Farida; Fassnacht, Patrick; Fassouliotis, Dimitrios; Faucci Giannelli, Michele; Favareto, Andrea; Fawcett, William James; Fayard, Louis; Fedin, Oleg; Fedorko, Wojciech; Feigl, Simon; Feligioni, Lorenzo; Feng, Cunfeng; Feng, Eric; Feng, Haolu; Fenyuk, Alexander; Feremenga, Last; Fernandez Martinez, Patricia; Fernandez Perez, Sonia; Ferrando, James; Ferrari, Arnaud; Ferrari, Pamela; Ferrari, Roberto; Ferreira de Lima, Danilo Enoque; Ferrer, Antonio; Ferrere, Didier; Ferretti, Claudio; Ferretto Parodi, Andrea; Fiedler, Frank; Filipčič, Andrej; Filipuzzi, Marco; Filthaut, Frank; Fincke-Keeler, Margret; Finelli, Kevin Daniel; Fiolhais, Miguel; Fiorini, Luca; Firan, Ana; Fischer, Adam; Fischer, Cora; Fischer, Julia; Fisher, Wade Cameron; Flaschel, Nils; Fleck, Ivor; Fleischmann, Philipp; Fletcher, Gareth Thomas; Fletcher, Gregory; Fletcher, Rob Roy MacGregor; Flick, Tobias; Floderus, Anders; Flores Castillo, Luis; Flowerdew, Michael; Forcolin, Giulio Tiziano; Formica, Andrea; Forti, Alessandra; Foster, Andrew Geoffrey; Fournier, Daniel; Fox, Harald; Fracchia, Silvia; Francavilla, Paolo; Franchini, Matteo; Francis, David; Franconi, Laura; Franklin, Melissa; Frate, Meghan; Fraternali, Marco; Freeborn, David; Fressard-Batraneanu, Silvia; Friedrich, Felix; Froidevaux, Daniel; Frost, James; Fukunaga, Chikara; Fullana Torregrosa, Esteban; Fusayasu, Takahiro; Fuster, Juan; Gabaldon, Carolina; Gabizon, Ofir; Gabrielli, Alessandro; Gabrielli, Andrea; Gach, Grzegorz; Gadatsch, Stefan; Gadomski, Szymon; Gagliardi, Guido; Gagnon, Louis Guillaume; Gagnon, Pauline; Galea, Cristina; Galhardo, Bruno; Gallas, Elizabeth; Gallop, Bruce; Gallus, Petr; Galster, Gorm Aske Gram Krohn; Gan, KK; Gao, Jun; Gao, Yanyan; Gao, Yongsheng; Garay Walls, Francisca; García, Carmen; García Navarro, José Enrique; Garcia-Sciveres, Maurice; Gardner, Robert; Garelli, Nicoletta; Garonne, Vincent; Gascon Bravo, Alberto; Gatti, Claudio; Gaudiello, Andrea; Gaudio, Gabriella; Gaur, Bakul; Gauthier, Lea; Gavrilenko, Igor; Gay, Colin; Gaycken, Goetz; Gazis, Evangelos; Gecse, Zoltan; Gee, Norman; Geich-Gimbel, Christoph; Geisler, Manuel Patrice; Gemme, Claudia; Genest, Marie-Hélène; Geng, Cong; Gentile, Simonetta; George, Simon; Gerbaudo, Davide; Gershon, Avi; Ghasemi, Sara; Ghazlane, Hamid; Ghneimat, Mazuza; Giacobbe, Benedetto; Giagu, Stefano; Giannetti, Paola; Gibbard, Bruce; Gibson, Stephen; Gignac, Matthew; Gilchriese, Murdock; Gillam, Thomas; Gillberg, Dag; Gilles, Geoffrey; Gingrich, Douglas; Giokaris, Nikos; Giordani, MarioPaolo; Giorgi, Filippo Maria; Giorgi, Francesco Michelangelo; Giraud, Pierre-Francois; Giromini, Paolo; Giugni, Danilo; Giuli, Francesco; Giuliani, Claudia; Giulini, Maddalena; Gjelsten, Børge Kile; Gkaitatzis, Stamatios; Gkialas, Ioannis; Gkougkousis, Evangelos Leonidas; Gladilin, Leonid; Glasman, Claudia; Glatzer, Julian; Glaysher, Paul; Glazov, Alexandre; Goblirsch-Kolb, Maximilian; Godlewski, Jan; Goldfarb, Steven; Golling, Tobias; Golubkov, Dmitry; Gomes, Agostinho; Gonçalo, Ricardo; Goncalves Pinto Firmino Da Costa, Joao; Gonella, Laura; Gongadze, Alexi; González de la Hoz, Santiago; Gonzalez Parra, Garoe; Gonzalez-Sevilla, Sergio; Goossens, Luc; Gorbounov, Petr Andreevich; Gordon, Howard; Gorelov, Igor; Gorini, Benedetto; Gorini, Edoardo; Gorišek, Andrej; Gornicki, Edward; Goshaw, Alfred; Gössling, Claus; Gostkin, Mikhail Ivanovitch; Goudet, Christophe Raymond; Goujdami, Driss; Goussiou, Anna; Govender, Nicolin; Gozani, Eitan; Graber, Lars; Grabowska-Bold, Iwona; Gradin, Per Olov Joakim; Grafström, Per; Gramling, Johanna; Gramstad, Eirik; Grancagnolo, Sergio; Gratchev, Vadim; Gray, Heather; Graziani, Enrico; Greenwood, Zeno Dixon; Grefe, Christian; Gregersen, Kristian; Gregor, Ingrid-Maria; Grenier, Philippe; Grevtsov, Kirill; Griffiths, Justin; Grillo, Alexander; Grimm, Kathryn; Grinstein, Sebastian; Gris, Philippe Luc Yves; Grivaz, Jean-Francois; Groh, Sabrina; Grohs, Johannes Philipp; Gross, Eilam; Grosse-Knetter, Joern; Grossi, Giulio Cornelio; Grout, Zara Jane; Guan, Liang; Guan, Wen; Guenther, Jaroslav; Guescini, Francesco; Guest, Daniel; Gueta, Orel; Guido, Elisa; Guillemin, Thibault; Guindon, Stefan; Gul, Umar; Gumpert, Christian; Guo, Jun; Guo, Yicheng; Gupta, Shaun; Gustavino, Giuliano; Gutierrez, Phillip; Gutierrez Ortiz, Nicolas Gilberto; Gutschow, Christian; Guyot, Claude; Gwenlan, Claire; Gwilliam, Carl; Haas, Andy; Haber, Carl; Hadavand, Haleh Khani; Haddad, Nacim; Hadef, Asma; Haefner, Petra; Hageböck, Stephan; Hajduk, Zbigniew; Hakobyan, Hrachya; Haleem, Mahsana; Haley, Joseph; Hall, David; Halladjian, Garabed; Hallewell, Gregory David; Hamacher, Klaus; Hamal, Petr; Hamano, Kenji; Hamilton, Andrew; Hamity, Guillermo Nicolas; Hamnett, Phillip George; Han, Liang; Hanagaki, Kazunori; Hanawa, Keita; Hance, Michael; Haney, Bijan; Hanke, Paul; Hanna, Remie; Hansen, Jørgen Beck; Hansen, Jorn Dines; Hansen, Maike Christina; Hansen, Peter Henrik; Hara, Kazuhiko; Hard, Andrew; Harenberg, Torsten; Hariri, Faten; Harkusha, Siarhei; Harrington, Robert; Harrison, Paul Fraser; Hartjes, Fred; Hasegawa, Makoto; Hasegawa, Yoji; Hasib, A; Hassani, Samira; Haug, Sigve; Hauser, Reiner; Hauswald, Lorenz; Havranek, Miroslav; Hawkes, Christopher; Hawkings, Richard John; Hawkins, Anthony David; Hayden, Daniel; Hays, Chris; Hays, Jonathan Michael; Hayward, Helen; Haywood, Stephen; Head, Simon; Heck, Tobias; Hedberg, Vincent; Heelan, Louise; Heim, Sarah; Heim, Timon; Heinemann, Beate; Heinrich, Jochen Jens; Heinrich, Lukas; Heinz, Christian; Hejbal, Jiri; Helary, Louis; Hellman, Sten; Helsens, Clement; Henderson, James; Henderson, Robert; Heng, Yang; Henkelmann, Steffen; Henriques Correia, Ana Maria; Henrot-Versille, Sophie; Herbert, Geoffrey Henry; Hernández Jiménez, Yesenia; Herten, Gregor; Hertenberger, Ralf; Hervas, Luis; Hesketh, Gavin Grant; Hessey, Nigel; Hetherly, Jeffrey Wayne; Hickling, Robert; Higón-Rodriguez, Emilio; Hill, Ewan; Hill, John; Hiller, Karl Heinz; Hillier, Stephen; Hinchliffe, Ian; Hines, Elizabeth; Hinman, Rachel Reisner; Hirose, Minoru; Hirschbuehl, Dominic; Hobbs, John; Hod, Noam; Hodgkinson, Mark; Hodgson, Paul; Hoecker, Andreas; Hoeferkamp, Martin; Hoenig, Friedrich; Hohlfeld, Marc; Hohn, David; Holmes, Tova Ray; Homann, Michael; Hong, Tae Min; Hooberman, Benjamin Henry; Hopkins, Walter; Horii, Yasuyuki; Horton, Arthur James; Hostachy, Jean-Yves; Hou, Suen; Hoummada, Abdeslam; Howard, Jacob; Howarth, James; Hrabovsky, Miroslav; Hristova, Ivana; Hrivnac, Julius; Hryn'ova, Tetiana; Hrynevich, Aliaksei; Hsu, Catherine; Hsu, Pai-hsien Jennifer; Hsu, Shih-Chieh; Hu, Diedi; Hu, Qipeng; Huang, Yanping; Hubacek, Zdenek; Hubaut, Fabrice; Huegging, Fabian; Huffman, Todd Brian; Hughes, Emlyn; Hughes, Gareth; Huhtinen, Mika; Hülsing, Tobias Alexander; Huseynov, Nazim; Huston, Joey; Huth, John; Iacobucci, Giuseppe; Iakovidis, Georgios; Ibragimov, Iskander; Iconomidou-Fayard, Lydia; Ideal, Emma; Idrissi, Zineb; Iengo, Paolo; Igonkina, Olga; Iizawa, Tomoya; Ikegami, Yoichi; Ikeno, Masahiro; Ilchenko, Iurii; Iliadis, Dimitrios; Ilic, Nikolina; Ince, Tayfun; Introzzi, Gianluca; Ioannou, Pavlos; Iodice, Mauro; Iordanidou, Kalliopi; Ippolito, Valerio; Irles Quiles, Adrian; Isaksson, Charlie; Ishino, Masaya; Ishitsuka, Masaki; Ishmukhametov, Renat; Issever, Cigdem; Istin, Serhat; Ito, Fumiaki; Iturbe Ponce, Julia Mariana; Iuppa, Roberto; Ivarsson, Jenny; Iwanski, Wieslaw; Iwasaki, Hiroyuki; Izen, Joseph; Izzo, Vincenzo; Jabbar, Samina; Jackson, Brett; Jackson, Matthew; Jackson, Paul; Jain, Vivek; Jakobi, Katharina Bianca; Jakobs, Karl; Jakobsen, Sune; Jakoubek, Tomas; Jamin, David Olivier; Jana, Dilip; Jansen, Eric; Jansky, Roland; Janssen, Jens; Janus, Michel; Jarlskog, Göran; Javadov, Namig; Javůrek, Tomáš; Jeanneau, Fabien; Jeanty, Laura; Jejelava, Juansher; Jeng, Geng-yuan; Jennens, David; Jenni, Peter; Jentzsch, Jennifer; Jeske, Carl; Jézéquel, Stéphane; Ji, Haoshuang; Jia, Jiangyong; Jiang, Hai; Jiang, Yi; Jiggins, Stephen; Jimenez Pena, Javier; Jin, Shan; Jinaru, Adam; Jinnouchi, Osamu; Johansson, Per; Johns, Kenneth; Johnson, William Joseph; Jon-And, Kerstin; Jones, Graham; Jones, Roger; Jones, Sarah; Jones, Tim; Jongmanns, Jan; Jorge, Pedro; Jovicevic, Jelena; Ju, Xiangyang; Juste Rozas, Aurelio; Köhler, Markus Konrad; Kaczmarska, Anna; Kado, Marumi; Kagan, Harris; Kagan, Michael; Kahn, Sebastien Jonathan; Kajomovitz, Enrique; Kalderon, Charles William; Kaluza, Adam; Kama, Sami; Kamenshchikov, Andrey; Kanaya, Naoko; Kaneti, Steven; Kantserov, Vadim; Kanzaki, Junichi; Kaplan, Benjamin; Kaplan, Laser Seymour; Kapliy, Anton; Kar, Deepak; Karakostas, Konstantinos; Karamaoun, Andrew; Karastathis, Nikolaos; Kareem, Mohammad Jawad; Karentzos, Efstathios; Karnevskiy, Mikhail; Karpov, Sergey; Karpova, Zoya; Karthik, Krishnaiyengar; Kartvelishvili, Vakhtang; Karyukhin, Andrey; Kasahara, Kota; Kashif, Lashkar; Kass, Richard; Kastanas, Alex; Kataoka, Yousuke; Kato, Chikuma; Katre, Akshay; Katzy, Judith; Kawagoe, Kiyotomo; Kawamoto, Tatsuo; Kawamura, Gen; Kazama, Shingo; Kazanin, Vassili; Keeler, Richard; Kehoe, Robert; Keller, John; Kempster, Jacob Julian; Kentaro, Kawade; Keoshkerian, Houry; Kepka, Oldrich; Kerševan, Borut Paul; Kersten, Susanne; Keyes, Robert; Khalil-zada, Farkhad; Khandanyan, Hovhannes; Khanov, Alexander; Kharlamov, Alexey; Khoo, Teng Jian; Khovanskiy, Valery; Khramov, Evgeniy; Khubua, Jemal; Kido, Shogo; Kim, Hee Yeun; Kim, Shinhong; Kim, Young-Kee; Kimura, Naoki; Kind, Oliver Maria; King, Barry; King, Matthew; King, Samuel Burton; Kirk, Julie; Kiryunin, Andrey; Kishimoto, Tomoe; Kisielewska, Danuta; Kiss, Florian; Kiuchi, Kenji; Kivernyk, Oleh; Kladiva, Eduard; Klein, Matthew Henry; Klein, Max; Klein, Uta; Kleinknecht, Konrad; Klimek, Pawel; Klimentov, Alexei; Klingenberg, Reiner; Klinger, Joel Alexander; Klioutchnikova, Tatiana; Kluge, Eike-Erik; Kluit, Peter; Kluth, Stefan; Knapik, Joanna; Kneringer, Emmerich; Knoops, Edith; Knue, Andrea; Kobayashi, Aine; Kobayashi, Dai; Kobayashi, Tomio; Kobel, Michael; Kocian, Martin; Kodys, Peter; Koffas, Thomas; Koffeman, Els; Kogan, Lucy Anne; Koi, Tatsumi; Kolanoski, Hermann; Kolb, Mathis; Koletsou, Iro; Komar, Aston; Komori, Yuto; Kondo, Takahiko; Kondrashova, Nataliia; Köneke, Karsten; König, Adriaan; Kono, Takanori; Konoplich, Rostislav; Konstantinidis, Nikolaos; Kopeliansky, Revital; Koperny, Stefan; Köpke, Lutz; Kopp, Anna Katharina; Korcyl, Krzysztof; Kordas, Kostantinos; Korn, Andreas; Korol, Aleksandr; Korolkov, Ilya; Korolkova, Elena; Kortner, Oliver; Kortner, Sandra; Kosek, Tomas; Kostyukhin, Vadim; Kotwal, Ashutosh; Kourkoumeli-Charalampidi, Athina; Kourkoumelis, Christine; Kouskoura, Vasiliki; Koutsman, Alex; Kowalewska, Anna Bozena; Kowalewski, Robert Victor; Kowalski, Tadeusz; Kozanecki, Witold; Kozhin, Anatoly; Kramarenko, Viktor; Kramberger, Gregor; Krasnopevtsev, Dimitriy; Krasny, Mieczyslaw Witold; Krasznahorkay, Attila; Kraus, Jana; Kravchenko, Anton; Kretz, Moritz; Kretzschmar, Jan; Kreutzfeldt, Kristof; Krieger, Peter; Krizka, Karol; Kroeninger, Kevin; Kroha, Hubert; Kroll, Joe; Kroseberg, Juergen; Krstic, Jelena; Kruchonak, Uladzimir; Krüger, Hans; Krumnack, Nils; Kruse, Amanda; Kruse, Mark; Kruskal, Michael; Kubota, Takashi; Kucuk, Hilal; Kuday, Sinan; Kuechler, Jan Thomas; Kuehn, Susanne; Kugel, Andreas; Kuger, Fabian; Kuhl, Andrew; Kuhl, Thorsten; Kukhtin, Victor; Kukla, Romain; Kulchitsky, Yuri; Kuleshov, Sergey; Kuna, Marine; Kunigo, Takuto; Kupco, Alexander; Kurashige, Hisaya; Kurochkin, Yurii; Kus, Vlastimil; Kuwertz, Emma Sian; Kuze, Masahiro; Kvita, Jiri; Kwan, Tony; Kyriazopoulos, Dimitrios; La Rosa, Alessandro; La Rosa Navarro, Jose Luis; La Rotonda, Laura; Lacasta, Carlos; Lacava, Francesco; Lacey, James; Lacker, Heiko; Lacour, Didier; Lacuesta, Vicente Ramón; Ladygin, Evgueni; Lafaye, Remi; Laforge, Bertrand; Lagouri, Theodota; Lai, Stanley; Lammers, Sabine; Lampl, Walter; Lançon, Eric; Landgraf, Ulrich; Landon, Murrough; Lang, Valerie Susanne; Lange, J örn Christian; Lankford, Andrew; Lanni, Francesco; Lantzsch, Kerstin; Lanza, Agostino; Laplace, Sandrine; Lapoire, Cecile; Laporte, Jean-Francois; Lari, Tommaso; Lasagni Manghi, Federico; Lassnig, Mario; Laurelli, Paolo; Lavrijsen, Wim; Law, Alexander; Laycock, Paul; Lazovich, Tomo; Lazzaroni, Massimo; Le Dortz, Olivier; Le Guirriec, Emmanuel; Le Menedeu, Eve; Le Quilleuc, Eloi; LeBlanc, Matthew Edgar; LeCompte, Thomas; Ledroit-Guillon, Fabienne Agnes Marie; Lee, Claire Alexandra; Lee, Shih-Chang; Lee, Lawrence; Lefebvre, Guillaume; Lefebvre, Michel; Legger, Federica; Leggett, Charles; Lehan, Allan; Lehmann Miotto, Giovanna; Lei, Xiaowen; Leight, William Axel; Leisos, Antonios; Leister, Andrew Gerard; Leite, Marco Aurelio Lisboa; Leitner, Rupert; Lellouch, Daniel; Lemmer, Boris; Leney, Katharine; Lenz, Tatjana; Lenzi, Bruno; Leone, Robert; Leone, Sandra; Leonidopoulos, Christos; Leontsinis, Stefanos; Lerner, Giuseppe; Leroy, Claude; Lesage, Arthur; Lester, Christopher; Levchenko, Mikhail; Levêque, Jessica; Levin, Daniel; Levinson, Lorne; Levy, Mark; Leyko, Agnieszka; Leyton, Michael; Li, Bing; Li, Haifeng; Li, Ho Ling; Li, Lei; Li, Liang; Li, Qi; Li, Shu; Li, Xingguo; Li, Yichen; Liang, Zhijun; Liao, Hongbo; Liberti, Barbara; Liblong, Aaron; Lichard, Peter; Lie, Ki; Liebal, Jessica; Liebig, Wolfgang; Limbach, Christian; Limosani, Antonio; Lin, Simon; Lin, Tai-Hua; Lindquist, Brian Edward; Lipeles, Elliot; Lipniacka, Anna; Lisovyi, Mykhailo; Liss, Tony; Lissauer, David; Lister, Alison; Litke, Alan; Liu, Bo; Liu, Dong; Liu, Hao; Liu, Hongbin; Liu, Jian; Liu, Jianbei; Liu, Kun; Liu, Lulu; Liu, Miaoyuan; Liu, Minghui; Liu, Yanlin; Liu, Yanwen; Livan, Michele; Lleres, Annick; Llorente Merino, Javier; Lloyd, Stephen; Lo Sterzo, Francesco; Lobodzinska, Ewelina; Loch, Peter; Lockman, William; Loebinger, Fred; Loevschall-Jensen, Ask Emil; Loew, Kevin Michael; Loginov, Andrey; Lohse, Thomas; Lohwasser, Kristin; Lokajicek, Milos; Long, Brian Alexander; Long, Jonathan David; Long, Robin Eamonn; Longo, Luigi; Looper, Kristina Anne; Lopes, Lourenco; Lopez Mateos, David; Lopez Paredes, Brais; Lopez Paz, Ivan; Lopez Solis, Alvaro; Lorenz, Jeanette; Lorenzo Martinez, Narei; Losada, Marta; Lösel, Philipp Jonathan; Lou, XinChou; Lounis, Abdenour; Love, Jeremy; Love, Peter; Lu, Haonan; Lu, Nan; Lubatti, Henry; Luci, Claudio; Lucotte, Arnaud; Luedtke, Christian; Luehring, Frederick; Lukas, Wolfgang; Luminari, Lamberto; Lundberg, Olof; Lund-Jensen, Bengt; Lynn, David; Lysak, Roman; Lytken, Else; Lyubushkin, Vladimir; Ma, Hong; Ma, Lian Liang; Ma, Yanhui; Maccarrone, Giovanni; Macchiolo, Anna; Macdonald, Calum Michael; Maček, Boštjan; Machado Miguens, Joana; Madaffari, Daniele; Madar, Romain; Maddocks, Harvey Jonathan; Mader, Wolfgang; Madsen, Alexander; Maeda, Junpei; Maeland, Steffen; Maeno, Tadashi; Maevskiy, Artem; Magradze, Erekle; Mahlstedt, Joern; Maiani, Camilla; Maidantchik, Carmen; Maier, Andreas Alexander; Maier, Thomas; Maio, Amélia; Majewski, Stephanie; Makida, Yasuhiro; Makovec, Nikola; Malaescu, Bogdan; Malecki, Pawel; Maleev, Victor; Malek, Fairouz; Mallik, Usha; Malon, David; Malone, Caitlin; Maltezos, Stavros; Malyukov, Sergei; Mamuzic, Judita; Mancini, Giada; Mandelli, Beatrice; Mandelli, Luciano; Mandić, Igor; Maneira, José; Manhaes de Andrade Filho, Luciano; Manjarres Ramos, Joany; Mann, Alexander; Mansoulie, Bruno; Mantifel, Rodger; Mantoani, Matteo; Manzoni, Stefano; Mapelli, Livio; Marceca, Gino; March, Luis; Marchiori, Giovanni; Marcisovsky, Michal; Marjanovic, Marija; Marley, Daniel; Marroquim, Fernando; Marsden, Stephen Philip; Marshall, Zach; Marti, Lukas Fritz; Marti-Garcia, Salvador; Martin, Brian Thomas; Martin, Tim; Martin, Victoria Jane; Martin dit Latour, Bertrand; Martinez, Mario; Martin-Haugh, Stewart; Martoiu, Victor Sorin; Martyniuk, Alex; Marx, Marilyn; Marzano, Francesco; Marzin, Antoine; Masetti, Lucia; Mashimo, Tetsuro; Mashinistov, Ruslan; Masik, Jiri; Maslennikov, Alexey; Massa, Ignazio; Massa, Lorenzo; Mastrandrea, Paolo; Mastroberardino, Anna; Masubuchi, Tatsuya; Mättig, Peter; Mattmann, Johannes; Maurer, Julien; Maxfield, Stephen; Maximov, Dmitriy; Mazini, Rachid; Mazza, Simone Michele; Mc Fadden, Neil Christopher; Mc Goldrick, Garrin; Mc Kee, Shawn Patrick; McCarn, Allison; McCarthy, Robert; McCarthy, Tom; McClymont, Laurie; McFarlane, Kenneth; Mcfayden, Josh; Mchedlidze, Gvantsa; McMahon, Steve; McPherson, Robert; Medinnis, Michael; Meehan, Samuel; Mehlhase, Sascha; Mehta, Andrew; Meier, Karlheinz; Meineck, Christian; Meirose, Bernhard; Mellado Garcia, Bruce Rafael; Meloni, Federico; Mengarelli, Alberto; Menke, Sven; Meoni, Evelin; Mercurio, Kevin Michael; Mergelmeyer, Sebastian; Mermod, Philippe; Merola, Leonardo; Meroni, Chiara; Merritt, Frank; Messina, Andrea; Metcalfe, Jessica; Mete, Alaettin Serhan; Meyer, Carsten; Meyer, Christopher; Meyer, Jean-Pierre; Meyer, Jochen; Meyer Zu Theenhausen, Hanno; Middleton, Robin; Miglioranzi, Silvia; Mijović, Liza; Mikenberg, Giora; Mikestikova, Marcela; Mikuž, Marko; Milesi, Marco; Milic, Adriana; Miller, David; Mills, Corrinne; Milov, Alexander; Milstead, David; Minaenko, Andrey; Minami, Yuto; Minashvili, Irakli; Mincer, Allen; Mindur, Bartosz; Mineev, Mikhail; Ming, Yao; Mir, Lluisa-Maria; Mistry, Khilesh; Mitani, Takashi; Mitrevski, Jovan; Mitsou, Vasiliki A; Miucci, Antonio; Miyagawa, Paul; Mjörnmark, Jan-Ulf; Moa, Torbjoern; Mochizuki, Kazuya; Mohapatra, Soumya; Mohr, Wolfgang; Molander, Simon; Moles-Valls, Regina; Monden, Ryutaro; Mondragon, Matthew Craig; Mönig, Klaus; Monk, James; Monnier, Emmanuel; Montalbano, Alyssa; Montejo Berlingen, Javier; Monticelli, Fernando; Monzani, Simone; Moore, Roger; Morange, Nicolas; Moreno, Deywis; Moreno Llácer, María; Morettini, Paolo; Mori, Daniel; Mori, Tatsuya; Morii, Masahiro; Morinaga, Masahiro; Morisbak, Vanja; Moritz, Sebastian; Morley, Anthony Keith; Mornacchi, Giuseppe; Morris, John; Mortensen, Simon Stark; Morvaj, Ljiljana; Mosidze, Maia; Moss, Josh; Motohashi, Kazuki; Mount, Richard; Mountricha, Eleni; Mouraviev, Sergei; Moyse, Edward; Muanza, Steve; Mudd, Richard; Mueller, Felix; Mueller, James; Mueller, Ralph Soeren Peter; Mueller, Thibaut; Muenstermann, Daniel; Mullen, Paul; Mullier, Geoffrey; Munoz Sanchez, Francisca Javiela; Murillo Quijada, Javier Alberto; Murray, Bill; Musheghyan, Haykuhi; Muskinja, Miha; Myagkov, Alexey; Myska, Miroslav; Nachman, Benjamin Philip; Nackenhorst, Olaf; Nadal, Jordi; Nagai, Koichi; Nagai, Ryo; Nagano, Kunihiro; Nagasaka, Yasushi; Nagata, Kazuki; Nagel, Martin; Nagy, Elemer; Nairz, Armin Michael; Nakahama, Yu; Nakamura, Koji; Nakamura, Tomoaki; Nakano, Itsuo; Namasivayam, Harisankar; Naranjo Garcia, Roger Felipe; Narayan, Rohin; Narrias Villar, Daniel Isaac; Naryshkin, Iouri; Naumann, Thomas; Navarro, Gabriela; Nayyar, Ruchika; Neal, Homer; Nechaeva, Polina; Neep, Thomas James; Nef, Pascal Daniel; Negri, Andrea; Negrini, Matteo; Nektarijevic, Snezana; Nellist, Clara; Nelson, Andrew; Nemecek, Stanislav; Nemethy, Peter; Nepomuceno, Andre Asevedo; Nessi, Marzio; Neubauer, Mark; Neumann, Manuel; Neves, Ricardo; Nevski, Pavel; Newman, Paul; Nguyen, Duong Hai; Nickerson, Richard; Nicolaidou, Rosy; Nicquevert, Bertrand; Nielsen, Jason; Nikiforov, Andriy; Nikolaenko, Vladimir; Nikolic-Audit, Irena; Nikolopoulos, Konstantinos; Nilsen, Jon Kerr; Nilsson, Paul; Ninomiya, Yoichi; Nisati, Aleandro; Nisius, Richard; Nobe, Takuya; Nodulman, Lawrence; Nomachi, Masaharu; Nomidis, Ioannis; Nooney, Tamsin; Norberg, Scarlet; Nordberg, Markus; Norjoharuddeen, Nurfikri; Novgorodova, Olga; Nowak, Sebastian; Nozaki, Mitsuaki; Nozka, Libor; Ntekas, Konstantinos; Nurse, Emily; Nuti, Francesco; O'grady, Fionnbarr; O'Neil, Dugan; O'Rourke, Abigail Alexandra; O'Shea, Val; Oakham, Gerald; Oberlack, Horst; Obermann, Theresa; Ocariz, Jose; Ochi, Atsuhiko; Ochoa, Ines; Ochoa-Ricoux, Juan Pedro; Oda, Susumu; Odaka, Shigeru; Ogren, Harold; Oh, Alexander; Oh, Seog; Ohm, Christian; Ohman, Henrik; Oide, Hideyuki; Okawa, Hideki; Okumura, Yasuyuki; Okuyama, Toyonobu; Olariu, Albert; Oleiro Seabra, Luis Filipe; Olivares Pino, Sebastian Andres; Oliveira Damazio, Denis; Olszewski, Andrzej; Olszowska, Jolanta; Onofre, António; Onogi, Kouta; Onyisi, Peter; Oram, Christopher; Oreglia, Mark; Oren, Yona; Orestano, Domizia; Orlando, Nicola; Orr, Robert; Osculati, Bianca; Ospanov, Rustem; Otero y Garzon, Gustavo; Otono, Hidetoshi; Ouchrif, Mohamed; Ould-Saada, Farid; Ouraou, Ahmimed; Oussoren, Koen Pieter; Ouyang, Qun; Ovcharova, Ana; Owen, Mark; Owen, Rhys Edward; Ozcan, Veysi Erkcan; Ozturk, Nurcan; Pachal, Katherine; Pacheco Pages, Andres; Padilla Aranda, Cristobal; Pagáčová, Martina; Pagan Griso, Simone; Paige, Frank; Pais, Preema; Pajchel, Katarina; Palacino, Gabriel; Palestini, Sandro; Palka, Marek; Pallin, Dominique; Palm, Marcus; Palma, Alberto; Panagiotopoulou, Evgenia; Pandini, Carlo Enrico; Panduro Vazquez, William; Pani, Priscilla; Panitkin, Sergey; Pantea, Dan; Paolozzi, Lorenzo; Papadopoulou, Theodora; Papageorgiou, Konstantinos; Paramonov, Alexander; Paredes Hernandez, Daniela; Parker, Adam Jackson; Parker, Michael Andrew; Parker, Kerry Ann; Parodi, Fabrizio; Parsons, John; Parzefall, Ulrich; Pascuzzi, Vincent; Pasqualucci, Enrico; Passaggio, Stefano; Pastore, Fernanda; Pastore, Francesca; Pásztor, Gabriella; Pataraia, Sophio; Patel, Nikhul; Pater, Joleen; Pauly, Thilo; Pearce, James; Pearson, Benjamin; Pedersen, Lars Egholm; Pedersen, Maiken; Pedraza Lopez, Sebastian; Pedro, Rute; Peleganchuk, Sergey; Pelikan, Daniel; Penc, Ondrej; Peng, Cong; Peng, Haiping; Penwell, John; Peralva, Bernardo; Perego, Marta Maria; Perepelitsa, Dennis; Perez Codina, Estel; Perini, Laura; Pernegger, Heinz; Perrella, Sabrina; Peschke, Richard; Peshekhonov, Vladimir; Peters, Krisztian; Peters, Yvonne; Petersen, Brian; Petersen, Troels; Petit, Elisabeth; Petridis, Andreas; Petridou, Chariclia; Petroff, Pierre; Petrolo, Emilio; Petrov, Mariyan; Petrucci, Fabrizio; Pettersson, Nora Emilia; Peyaud, Alan; Pezoa, Raquel; Phillips, Peter William; Piacquadio, Giacinto; Pianori, Elisabetta; Picazio, Attilio; Piccaro, Elisa; Piccinini, Maurizio; Pickering, Mark Andrew; Piegaia, Ricardo; Pilcher, James; Pilkington, Andrew; Pin, Arnaud Willy J; Pina, João Antonio; Pinamonti, Michele; Pinfold, James; Pingel, Almut; Pires, Sylvestre; Pirumov, Hayk; Pitt, Michael; Plazak, Lukas; Pleier, Marc-Andre; Pleskot, Vojtech; Plotnikova, Elena; Plucinski, Pawel; Pluth, Daniel; Poettgen, Ruth; Poggioli, Luc; Pohl, David-leon; Polesello, Giacomo; Poley, Anne-luise; Policicchio, Antonio; Polifka, Richard; Polini, Alessandro; Pollard, Christopher Samuel; Polychronakos, Venetios; Pommès, Kathy; Pontecorvo, Ludovico; Pope, Bernard; Popeneciu, Gabriel Alexandru; Popovic, Dragan; Poppleton, Alan; Pospisil, Stanislav; Potamianos, Karolos; Potrap, Igor; Potter, Christina; Potter, Christopher; Poulard, Gilbert; Poveda, Joaquin; Pozdnyakov, Valery; Pozo Astigarraga, Mikel Eukeni; Pralavorio, Pascal; Pranko, Aliaksandr; Prell, Soeren; Price, Darren; Price, Lawrence; Primavera, Margherita; Prince, Sebastien; Proissl, Manuel; Prokofiev, Kirill; Prokoshin, Fedor; Protopopescu, Serban; Proudfoot, James; Przybycien, Mariusz; Puddu, Daniele; Puldon, David; Purohit, Milind; Puzo, Patrick; Qian, Jianming; Qin, Gang; Qin, Yang; Quadt, Arnulf; Quayle, William; Queitsch-Maitland, Michaela; Quilty, Donnchadha; Raddum, Silje; Radeka, Veljko; Radescu, Voica; Radhakrishnan, Sooraj Krishnan; Radloff, Peter; Rados, Pere; Ragusa, Francesco; Rahal, Ghita; Raine, John Andrew; Rajagopalan, Srinivasan; Rammensee, Michael; Rangel-Smith, Camila; Ratti, Maria Giulia; Rauscher, Felix; Rave, Stefan; Ravenscroft, Thomas; Raymond, Michel; Read, Alexander Lincoln; Readioff, Nathan Peter; Rebuzzi, Daniela; Redelbach, Andreas; Redlinger, George; Reece, Ryan; Reeves, Kendall; Rehnisch, Laura; Reichert, Joseph; Reisin, Hernan; Rembser, Christoph; Ren, Huan; Rescigno, Marco; Resconi, Silvia; Rezanova, Olga; Reznicek, Pavel; Rezvani, Reyhaneh; Richter, Robert; Richter, Stefan; Richter-Was, Elzbieta; Ricken, Oliver; Ridel, Melissa; Rieck, Patrick; Riegel, Christian Johann; Rieger, Julia; Rifki, Othmane; Rijssenbeek, Michael; Rimoldi, Adele; Rinaldi, Lorenzo; Ristić, Branislav; Ritsch, Elmar; Riu, Imma; Rizatdinova, Flera; Rizvi, Eram; Rizzi, Chiara; Robertson, Steven; Robichaud-Veronneau, Andree; Robinson, Dave; Robinson, James; Robson, Aidan; Roda, Chiara; Rodina, Yulia; Rodriguez Perez, Andrea; Rodriguez Rodriguez, Daniel; Roe, Shaun; Rogan, Christopher Sean; Røhne, Ole; Romaniouk, Anatoli; Romano, Marino; Romano Saez, Silvestre Marino; Romero Adam, Elena; Rompotis, Nikolaos; Ronzani, Manfredi; Roos, Lydia; Ros, Eduardo; Rosati, Stefano; Rosbach, Kilian; Rose, Peyton; Rosenthal, Oliver; Rossetti, Valerio; Rossi, Elvira; Rossi, Leonardo Paolo; Rosten, Jonatan; Rosten, Rachel; Rotaru, Marina; Roth, Itamar; Rothberg, Joseph; Rousseau, David; Royon, Christophe; Rozanov, Alexandre; Rozen, Yoram; Ruan, Xifeng; Rubbo, Francesco; Rubinskiy, Igor; Rud, Viacheslav; Rudolph, Matthew Scott; Rühr, Frederik; Ruiz-Martinez, Aranzazu; Rurikova, Zuzana; Rusakovich, Nikolai; Ruschke, Alexander; Russell, Heather; Rutherfoord, John; Ruthmann, Nils; Ryabov, Yury; Rybar, Martin; Rybkin, Grigori; Ryu, Soo; Ryzhov, Andrey; Saavedra, Aldo; Sabato, Gabriele; Sacerdoti, Sabrina; Sadrozinski, Hartmut; Sadykov, Renat; Safai Tehrani, Francesco; Saha, Puja; Sahinsoy, Merve; Saimpert, Matthias; Saito, Tomoyuki; Sakamoto, Hiroshi; Sakurai, Yuki; Salamanna, Giuseppe; Salamon, Andrea; Salazar Loyola, Javier Esteban; Salek, David; Sales De Bruin, Pedro Henrique; Salihagic, Denis; Salnikov, Andrei; Salt, José; Salvatore, Daniela; Salvatore, Pasquale Fabrizio; Salvucci, Antonio; Salzburger, Andreas; Sammel, Dirk; Sampsonidis, Dimitrios; Sanchez, Arturo; Sánchez, Javier; Sanchez Martinez, Victoria; Sandaker, Heidi; Sandbach, Ruth Laura; Sander, Heinz Georg; Sanders, Michiel; Sandhoff, Marisa; Sandoval, Carlos; Sandstroem, Rikard; Sankey, Dave; Sannino, Mario; Sansoni, Andrea; Santoni, Claudio; Santonico, Rinaldo; Santos, Helena; Santoyo Castillo, Itzebelt; Sapp, Kevin; Sapronov, Andrey; Saraiva, João; Sarrazin, Bjorn; Sasaki, Osamu; Sasaki, Yuichi; Sato, Koji; Sauvage, Gilles; Sauvan, Emmanuel; Savage, Graham; Savard, Pierre; Sawyer, Craig; Sawyer, Lee; Saxon, James; Sbarra, Carla; Sbrizzi, Antonio; Scanlon, Tim; Scannicchio, Diana; Scarcella, Mark; Scarfone, Valerio; Schaarschmidt, Jana; Schacht, Peter; Schaefer, Douglas; Schaefer, Ralph; Schaeffer, Jan; Schaepe, Steffen; Schaetzel, Sebastian; Schäfer, Uli; Schaffer, Arthur; Schaile, Dorothee; Schamberger, R Dean; Scharf, Veit; Schegelsky, Valery; Scheirich, Daniel; Schernau, Michael; Schiavi, Carlo; Schillo, Christian; Schioppa, Marco; Schlenker, Stefan; Schmieden, Kristof; Schmitt, Christian; Schmitt, Stefan; Schmitz, Simon; Schneider, Basil; Schnellbach, Yan Jie; Schnoor, Ulrike; Schoeffel, Laurent; Schoening, Andre; Schoenrock, Bradley Daniel; Schopf, Elisabeth; Schorlemmer, Andre Lukas; Schott, Matthias; Schovancova, Jaroslava; Schramm, Steven; Schreyer, Manuel; Schuh, Natascha; Schultens, Martin Johannes; Schultz-Coulon, Hans-Christian; Schulz, Holger; Schumacher, Markus; Schumm, Bruce; Schune, Philippe; Schwanenberger, Christian; Schwartzman, Ariel; Schwarz, Thomas Andrew; Schwegler, Philipp; Schweiger, Hansdieter; Schwemling, Philippe; Schwienhorst, Reinhard; Schwindling, Jerome; Schwindt, Thomas; Sciolla, Gabriella; Scuri, Fabrizio; Scutti, Federico; Searcy, Jacob; Seema, Pienpen; Seidel, Sally; Seiden, Abraham; Seifert, Frank; Seixas, José; Sekhniaidze, Givi; Sekhon, Karishma; Sekula, Stephen; Seliverstov, Dmitry; Semprini-Cesari, Nicola; Serfon, Cedric; Serin, Laurent; Serkin, Leonid; Sessa, Marco; Seuster, Rolf; Severini, Horst; Sfiligoj, Tina; Sforza, Federico; Sfyrla, Anna; Shabalina, Elizaveta; Shaikh, Nabila Wahab; Shan, Lianyou; Shang, Ruo-yu; Shank, James; Shapiro, Marjorie; Shatalov, Pavel; Shaw, Kate; Shaw, Savanna Marie; Shcherbakova, Anna; Shehu, Ciwake Yusufu; Sherwood, Peter; Shi, Liaoshan; Shimizu, Shima; Shimmin, Chase Owen; Shimojima, Makoto; Shiyakova, Mariya; Shmeleva, Alevtina; Shoaleh Saadi, Diane; Shochet, Mel; Shojaii, Seyedruhollah; Shrestha, Suyog; Shulga, Evgeny; Shupe, Michael; Sicho, Petr; Sidebo, Per Edvin; Sidiropoulou, Ourania; Sidorov, Dmitri; Sidoti, Antonio; Siegert, Frank; Sijacki, Djordje; Silva, José; Silverstein, Samuel; Simak, Vladislav; Simard, Olivier; Simic, Ljiljana; Simion, Stefan; Simioni, Eduard; Simmons, Brinick; Simon, Dorian; Simon, Manuel; Sinervo, Pekka; Sinev, Nikolai; Sioli, Maximiliano; Siragusa, Giovanni; Sivoklokov, Serguei; Sjölin, Jörgen; Sjursen, Therese; Skinner, Malcolm Bruce; Skottowe, Hugh Philip; Skubic, Patrick; Slater, Mark; Slavicek, Tomas; Slawinska, Magdalena; Sliwa, Krzysztof; Slovak, Radim; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Smart, Ben; Smestad, Lillian; Smirnov, Sergei; Smirnov, Yury; Smirnova, Lidia; Smirnova, Oxana; Smith, Matthew; Smith, Russell; Smizanska, Maria; Smolek, Karel; Snesarev, Andrei; Snidero, Giacomo; Snyder, Scott; Sobie, Randall; Socher, Felix; Soffer, Abner; Soh, Dart-yin; Sokhrannyi, Grygorii; Solans Sanchez, Carlos; Solar, Michael; Soldatov, Evgeny; Soldevila, Urmila; Solodkov, Alexander; Soloshenko, Alexei; Solovyanov, Oleg; Solovyev, Victor; Sommer, Philip; Son, Hyungsuk; Song, Hong Ye; Sood, Alexander; Sopczak, Andre; Sopko, Vit; Sorin, Veronica; Sosa, David; Sotiropoulou, Calliope Louisa; Soualah, Rachik; Soukharev, Andrey; South, David; Sowden, Benjamin; Spagnolo, Stefania; Spalla, Margherita; Spangenberg, Martin; Spanò, Francesco; Sperlich, Dennis; Spettel, Fabian; Spighi, Roberto; Spigo, Giancarlo; Spiller, Laurence Anthony; Spousta, Martin; St Denis, Richard Dante; Stabile, Alberto; Stahlman, Jonathan; Stamen, Rainer; Stamm, Soren; Stanecka, Ewa; Stanek, Robert; Stanescu, Cristian; Stanescu-Bellu, Madalina; Stanitzki, Marcel Michael; Stapnes, Steinar; Starchenko, Evgeny; Stark, Giordon; Stark, Jan; Staroba, Pavel; Starovoitov, Pavel; Stärz, Steffen; Staszewski, Rafal; Steinberg, Peter; Stelzer, Bernd; Stelzer, Harald Joerg; Stelzer-Chilton, Oliver; Stenzel, Hasko; Stewart, Graeme; Stillings, Jan Andre; Stockton, Mark; Stoebe, Michael; Stoicea, Gabriel; Stolte, Philipp; Stonjek, Stefan; Stradling, Alden; Straessner, Arno; Stramaglia, Maria Elena; Strandberg, Jonas; Strandberg, Sara; Strandlie, Are; Strauss, Michael; Strizenec, Pavol; Ströhmer, Raimund; Strom, David; Stroynowski, Ryszard; Strubig, Antonia; Stucci, Stefania Antonia; Stugu, Bjarne; Styles, Nicholas Adam; Su, Dong; Su, Jun; Subramaniam, Rajivalochan; Suchek, Stanislav; Sugaya, Yorihito; Suk, Michal; Sulin, Vladimir; Sultansoy, Saleh; Sumida, Toshi; Sun, Siyuan; Sun, Xiaohu; Sundermann, Jan Erik; Suruliz, Kerim; Susinno, Giancarlo; Sutton, Mark; Suzuki, Shota; Svatos, Michal; Swiatlowski, Maximilian; Sykora, Ivan; Sykora, Tomas; Ta, Duc; Taccini, Cecilia; Tackmann, Kerstin; Taenzer, Joe; Taffard, Anyes; Tafirout, Reda; Taiblum, Nimrod; Takai, Helio; Takashima, Ryuichi; Takeda, Hiroshi; Takeshita, Tohru; Takubo, Yosuke; Talby, Mossadek; Talyshev, Alexey; Tam, Jason; Tan, Kong Guan; Tanaka, Junichi; Tanaka, Reisaburo; Tanaka, Shuji; Tannenwald, Benjamin Bordy; Tapia Araya, Sebastian; Tapprogge, Stefan; Tarem, Shlomit; Tartarelli, Giuseppe Francesco; Tas, Petr; Tasevsky, Marek; Tashiro, Takuya; Tassi, Enrico; Tavares Delgado, Ademar; Tayalati, Yahya; Taylor, Aaron; Taylor, Geoffrey; Taylor, Pierre Thor Elliot; Taylor, Wendy; Teischinger, Florian Alfred; Teixeira-Dias, Pedro; Temming, Kim Katrin; Temple, Darren; Ten Kate, Herman; Teng, Ping-Kun; Teoh, Jia Jian; Tepel, Fabian-Phillipp; Terada, Susumu; Terashi, Koji; Terron, Juan; Terzo, Stefano; Testa, Marianna; Teuscher, Richard; Theveneaux-Pelzer, Timothée; Thomas, Juergen; Thomas-Wilsker, Joshuha; Thompson, Emily; Thompson, Paul; Thompson, Ray; Thompson, Stan; Thomsen, Lotte Ansgaard; Thomson, Evelyn; Thomson, Mark; Tibbetts, Mark James; Ticse Torres, Royer Edson; Tikhomirov, Vladimir; Tikhonov, Yury; Timoshenko, Sergey; Tipton, Paul; Tisserant, Sylvain; Todome, Kazuki; Todorov, Theodore; Todorova-Nova, Sharka; Tojo, Junji; Tokár, Stanislav; Tokushuku, Katsuo; Tolley, Emma; Tomlinson, Lee; Tomoto, Makoto; Tompkins, Lauren; Toms, Konstantin; Tong, Baojia(Tony); Torrence, Eric; Torres, Heberth; Torró Pastor, Emma; Toth, Jozsef; Touchard, Francois; Tovey, Daniel; Trefzger, Thomas; Tricoli, Alessandro; Trigger, Isabel Marian; Trincaz-Duvoid, Sophie; Tripiana, Martin; Trischuk, William; Trocmé, Benjamin; Trofymov, Artur; Troncon, Clara; Trottier-McDonald, Michel; Trovatelli, Monica; Truong, Loan; Trzebinski, Maciej; Trzupek, Adam; Tseng, Jeffrey; Tsiareshka, Pavel; Tsipolitis, Georgios; Tsirintanis, Nikolaos; Tsiskaridze, Shota; Tsiskaridze, Vakhtang; Tskhadadze, Edisher; Tsui, Ka Ming; Tsukerman, Ilya; Tsulaia, Vakhtang; Tsuno, Soshi; Tsybychev, Dmitri; Tudorache, Alexandra; Tudorache, Valentina; Tuna, Alexander Naip; Tupputi, Salvatore; Turchikhin, Semen; Turecek, Daniel; Turgeman, Daniel; Turra, Ruggero; Turvey, Andrew John; Tuts, Michael; Tyndel, Mike; Ucchielli, Giulia; Ueda, Ikuo; Ueno, Ryuichi; Ughetto, Michael; Ukegawa, Fumihiko; Unal, Guillaume; Undrus, Alexander; Unel, Gokhan; Ungaro, Francesca; Unno, Yoshinobu; Unverdorben, Christopher; Urban, Jozef; Urquijo, Phillip; Urrejola, Pedro; Usai, Giulio; Usanova, Anna; Vacavant, Laurent; Vacek, Vaclav; Vachon, Brigitte; Valderanis, Chrysostomos; Valdes Santurio, Eduardo; Valencic, Nika; Valentinetti, Sara; Valero, Alberto; Valery, Loic; Valkar, Stefan; Vallecorsa, Sofia; Valls Ferrer, Juan Antonio; Van Den Wollenberg, Wouter; Van Der Deijl, Pieter; van der Geer, Rogier; van der Graaf, Harry; van Eldik, Niels; van Gemmeren, Peter; Van Nieuwkoop, Jacobus; van Vulpen, Ivo; van Woerden, Marius Cornelis; Vanadia, Marco; Vandelli, Wainer; Vanguri, Rami; Vaniachine, Alexandre; Vankov, Peter; Vardanyan, Gagik; Vari, Riccardo; Varnes, Erich; Varol, Tulin; Varouchas, Dimitris; Vartapetian, Armen; Varvell, Kevin; Vasquez, Jared Gregory; Vazeille, Francois; Vazquez Schroeder, Tamara; Veatch, Jason; Veloce, Laurelle Maria; Veloso, Filipe; Veneziano, Stefano; Ventura, Andrea; Venturi, Manuela; Venturi, Nicola; Venturini, Alessio; Vercesi, Valerio; Verducci, Monica; Verkerke, Wouter; Vermeulen, Jos; Vest, Anja; Vetterli, Michel; Viazlo, Oleksandr; Vichou, Irene; Vickey, Trevor; Vickey Boeriu, Oana Elena; Viehhauser, Georg; Viel, Simon; Vigani, Luigi; Vigne, Ralph; Villa, Mauro; Villaplana Perez, Miguel; Vilucchi, Elisabetta; Vincter, Manuella; Vinogradov, Vladimir; Vittori, Camilla; Vivarelli, Iacopo; Vlachos, Sotirios; Vlasak, Michal; Vogel, Marcelo; Vokac, Petr; Volpi, Guido; Volpi, Matteo; von der Schmitt, Hans; von Toerne, Eckhard; Vorobel, Vit; Vorobev, Konstantin; Vos, Marcel; Voss, Rudiger; Vossebeld, Joost; Vranjes, Nenad; Vranjes Milosavljevic, Marija; Vrba, Vaclav; Vreeswijk, Marcel; Vuillermet, Raphael; Vukotic, Ilija; Vykydal, Zdenek; Wagner, Peter; Wagner, Wolfgang; Wahlberg, Hernan; Wahrmund, Sebastian; Wakabayashi, Jun; Walder, James; Walker, Rodney; Walkowiak, Wolfgang; Wallangen, Veronica; Wang, Chao; Wang, Chao; Wang, Fuquan; Wang, Haichen; Wang, Hulin; Wang, Jike; Wang, Jin; Wang, Kuhan; Wang, Rui; Wang, Song-Ming; Wang, Tan; Wang, Tingting; Wang, Xiaoxiao; Wanotayaroj, Chaowaroj; Warburton, Andreas; Ward, Patricia; Wardrope, David Robert; Washbrook, Andrew; Watkins, Peter; Watson, Alan; Watson, Ian; Watson, Miriam; Watts, Gordon; Watts, Stephen; Waugh, Ben; Webb, Samuel; Weber, Michele; Weber, Stefan Wolf; Webster, Jordan S; Weidberg, Anthony; Weinert, Benjamin; Weingarten, Jens; Weiser, Christian; Weits, Hartger; Wells, Phillippa; Wenaus, Torre; Wengler, Thorsten; Wenig, Siegfried; Wermes, Norbert; Werner, Matthias; Werner, Per; Wessels, Martin; Wetter, Jeffrey; Whalen, Kathleen; Whallon, Nikola Lazar; Wharton, Andrew Mark; White, Andrew; White, Martin; White, Ryan; White, Sebastian; Whiteson, Daniel; Wickens, Fred; Wiedenmann, Werner; Wielers, Monika; Wienemann, Peter; Wiglesworth, Craig; Wiik-Fuchs, Liv Antje Mari; Wildauer, Andreas; Wilk, Fabian; Wilkens, Henric George; Williams, Hugh; Williams, Sarah; Willis, Christopher; Willocq, Stephane; Wilson, John; Wingerter-Seez, Isabelle; Winklmeier, Frank; Winston, Oliver James; Winter, Benedict Tobias; Wittgen, Matthias; Wittkowski, Josephine; Wollstadt, Simon Jakob; Wolter, Marcin Wladyslaw; Wolters, Helmut; Wosiek, Barbara; Wotschack, Jorg; Woudstra, Martin; Wozniak, Krzysztof; Wu, Mengqing; Wu, Miles; Wu, Sau Lan; Wu, Xin; Wu, Yusheng; Wyatt, Terry Richard; Wynne, Benjamin; Xella, Stefania; Xu, Da; Xu, Lailin; Yabsley, Bruce; Yacoob, Sahal; Yakabe, Ryota; Yamaguchi, Daiki; Yamaguchi, Yohei; Yamamoto, Akira; Yamamoto, Shimpei; Yamanaka, Takashi; Yamauchi, Katsuya; Yamazaki, Yuji; Yan, Zhen; Yang, Haijun; Yang, Hongtao; Yang, Yi; Yang, Zongchang; Yao, Weiming; Yap, Yee Chinn; Yasu, Yoshiji; Yatsenko, Elena; Yau Wong, Kaven Henry; Ye, Jingbo; Ye, Shuwei; Yeletskikh, Ivan; Yen, Andy L; Yildirim, Eda; Yorita, Kohei; Yoshida, Rikutaro; Yoshihara, Keisuke; Young, Charles; Young, Christopher John; Youssef, Saul; Yu, David Ren-Hwa; Yu, Jaehoon; Yu, Jiaming; Yu, Jie; Yuan, Li; Yuen, Stephanie P; Yusuff, Imran; Zabinski, Bartlomiej; Zaidan, Remi; Zaitsev, Alexander; Zakharchuk, Nataliia; Zalieckas, Justas; Zaman, Aungshuman; Zambito, Stefano; Zanello, Lucia; Zanzi, Daniele; Zeitnitz, Christian; Zeman, Martin; Zemla, Andrzej; Zeng, Jian Cong; Zeng, Qi; Zengel, Keith; Zenin, Oleg; Ženiš, Tibor; Zerwas, Dirk; Zhang, Dongliang; Zhang, Fangzhou; Zhang, Guangyi; Zhang, Huijun; Zhang, Jinlong; Zhang, Lei; Zhang, Rui; Zhang, Ruiqi; Zhang, Xueyao; Zhang, Zhiqing; Zhao, Xiandong; Zhao, Yongke; Zhao, Zhengguo; Zhemchugov, Alexey; Zhong, Jiahang; Zhou, Bing; Zhou, Chen; Zhou, Lei; Zhou, Li; Zhou, Mingliang; Zhou, Ning; Zhu, Cheng Guang; Zhu, Hongbo; Zhu, Junjie; Zhu, Yingchun; Zhuang, Xuai; Zhukov, Konstantin; Zibell, Andre; Zieminska, Daria; Zimine, Nikolai; Zimmermann, Christoph; Zimmermann, Stephanie; Zinonos, Zinonas; Zinser, Markus; Ziolkowski, Michael; Živković, Lidija; Zobernig, Georg; Zoccoli, Antonio; zur Nedden, Martin; Zurzolo, Giovanni; Zwalinski, Lukasz

    2016-05-20

    This paper discusses various observations on beam-induced and cosmic-ray backgrounds in the ATLAS detector during the LHC 2012 proton-proton run. Building on published results based on 2011 data, the correlations between background and residual pressure of the beam vacuum are revisited. Ghost charge evolution over 2012 and its role for backgrounds are evaluated. New methods to monitor ghost charge with beam-gas rates are presented and observations of LHC abort gap population by ghost charge are discussed in detail. Fake jets from colliding bunches and from ghost charge are analysed with improved methods, showing that ghost charge in individual radio-frequency buckets of the LHC can be resolved. Some results of two short periods of dedicated cosmic-ray background data-taking are shown; in particular cosmic-ray muon induced fake jet rates are compared to Monte Carlo simulations and to the fake jet rates from beam background. A thorough analysis of a particular LHC fill, where abnormally high background was obse...

  17. Obliquity-controlled soil moisture fluctuations recorded in Saharan dust deposits on Lanzarote (Canary Islands) during the last 180 ka

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Suchodoletz, H.; Oberhänsli, H.; Hambach, U.; Zöller, L.; Fuchs, M.; Faust, D.

    2009-04-01

    On Lanzarote (Canary Islands), dust-borne sediments trapped in valleys dammed by volcanic material were investigated in order to reveal environmental changes during the Late Quaternary. Clay content and frequency dependent magnetic susceptibility are used as proxies of pedogenesis and trace back changes of palaeo-soil moisture during the last 180 ka, showing a pattern of generally enhanced soil moisture during glacials and stadials and more arid conditions during warm periods. These results are compared with proxies from local palaeoclimate studies, showing that there is a positive correlation with proxies of trade wind strength off NW Africa and sea surface temperatures in the NE-Atlantic, and an inverse correlation with the extent of mediterranean vegetation. Possible causes for the observed pattern include a glacial enhancement of precipitation from westerly cyclones, an occasional influence of the African summer monsoon and a relative humidity change triggered by fluctuating air temperatures. Although no clear differentiation between the influences of these factors is possible yet, it is clear that the first and the last one must have dominated during most of the time. These results are the first quasi continuous terrestrial data testifying to environmental changes in the NW African coastal area for the last 180 ka, and complement the abundant data derived from marine cores of the region. The results from this study demonstrate a dominant influence of high latitude dynamics in this area intermediated by North Atlantic sea surface temperatures. This influence is supported by a negative correlation of our proxies with the orbital obliquity cycle, including a time lag of about 10 ka similar to that recorded from North Atlantic sea surface temperatures.

  18. Objective spatiotemporal proxy-model comparisons of the Asian monsoon for the last millennium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anchukaitis, K. J.; Cook, E. R.; Ammann, C. M.; Buckley, B. M.; D'Arrigo, R. D.; Jacoby, G.; Wright, W. E.; Davi, N.; Li, J.

    2008-12-01

    The Asian monsoon system can be studied using a complementary proxy/simulation approach which evaluates climate models using estimates of past precipitation and temperature, and which subsequently applies the best understanding of the physics of the climate system as captured in general circulation models to evaluate the broad-scale dynamics behind regional paleoclimate reconstructions. Here, we use a millennial-length climate field reconstruction of monsoon season summer (JJA) drought, developed from tree- ring proxies, with coupled climate simulations from NCAR CSM1.4 and CCSM3 to evaluate the cause of large- scale persistent droughts over the last one thousand years. Direct comparisons are made between the external forced response within the climate model and the spatiotemporal field reconstruction. In order to identify patterns of drought associated with internal variability in the climate system, we use a model/proxy analog technique which objectively selects epochs in the model that most closely reproduce those observed in the reconstructions. The concomitant ocean-atmosphere dynamics are then interpreted in order to identify and understand the internal climate system forcing of low frequency monsoon variability. We examine specific periods of extensive or intensive regional drought in the 15th, 17th, and 18th centuries, many of which are coincident with major cultural changes in the region.

  19. Rapid global ocean-atmosphere response to Southern Ocean freshening during the last glacial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turney, Chris S M; Jones, Richard T; Phipps, Steven J; Thomas, Zoë; Hogg, Alan; Kershaw, A Peter; Fogwill, Christopher J; Palmer, Jonathan; Bronk Ramsey, Christopher; Adolphi, Florian; Muscheler, Raimund; Hughen, Konrad A; Staff, Richard A; Grosvenor, Mark; Golledge, Nicholas R; Rasmussen, Sune Olander; Hutchinson, David K; Haberle, Simon; Lorrey, Andrew; Boswijk, Gretel; Cooper, Alan

    2017-09-12

    Contrasting Greenland and Antarctic temperatures during the last glacial period (115,000 to 11,650 years ago) are thought to have been driven by imbalances in the rates of formation of North Atlantic and Antarctic Deep Water (the 'bipolar seesaw'). Here we exploit a bidecadally resolved 14 C data set obtained from New Zealand kauri (Agathis australis) to undertake high-precision alignment of key climate data sets spanning iceberg-rafted debris event Heinrich 3 and Greenland Interstadial (GI) 5.1 in the North Atlantic (~30,400 to 28,400 years ago). We observe no divergence between the kauri and Atlantic marine sediment 14 C data sets, implying limited changes in deep water formation. However, a Southern Ocean (Atlantic-sector) iceberg rafted debris event appears to have occurred synchronously with GI-5.1 warming and decreased precipitation over the western equatorial Pacific and Atlantic. An ensemble of transient meltwater simulations shows that Antarctic-sourced salinity anomalies can generate climate changes that are propagated globally via an atmospheric Rossby wave train.A challenge for testing mechanisms of past climate change is the precise correlation of palaeoclimate records. Here, through climate modelling and the alignment of terrestrial, ice and marine 14 C and 10 Be records, the authors show that Southern Ocean freshwater hosing can trigger global change.

  20. Does income inequality have lasting effects on health and trust?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rözer, Jesper Jelle; Volker, Beate

    2016-01-01

    According to the income inequality hypothesis, income inequality is associated with poorer health. One important proposed mechanism for this effect is reduced trust. In this study, we argue that income inequality during a person's formative years (i.e., around age 16) may have lasting consequences for trust and health. Multilevel analyses of data from the combined World Values Survey and European Values Study that were collected between 1981 and 2014 support our prediction and show that income inequality is associated with ill health in young adults, in part because it reduces their social trust. The negative consequences of income inequality remain stable for a substantial period of life but eventually fade away and have no effect after age 36. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. A cooperative control algorithm for camera based observational systems.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Young, Joseph G.

    2012-01-01

    Over the last several years, there has been considerable growth in camera based observation systems for a variety of safety, scientific, and recreational applications. In order to improve the effectiveness of these systems, we frequently desire the ability to increase the number of observed objects, but solving this problem is not as simple as adding more cameras. Quite often, there are economic or physical restrictions that prevent us from adding additional cameras to the system. As a result, we require methods that coordinate the tracking of objects between multiple cameras in an optimal way. In order to accomplish this goal, we present a new cooperative control algorithm for a camera based observational system. Specifically, we present a receding horizon control where we model the underlying optimal control problem as a mixed integer linear program. The benefit of this design is that we can coordinate the actions between each camera while simultaneously respecting its kinematics. In addition, we further improve the quality of our solution by coupling our algorithm with a Kalman filter. Through this integration, we not only add a predictive component to our control, but we use the uncertainty estimates provided by the filter to encourage the system to periodically observe any outliers in the observed area. This combined approach allows us to intelligently observe the entire region of interest in an effective and thorough manner.

  2. Distributional learning has immediate and long-lasting effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Escudero, Paola; Williams, Daniel

    2014-11-01

    Evidence of distributional learning, a statistical learning mechanism centered on relative frequency of exposure to different tokens, has mainly come from short-term learning and therefore does not ostensibly address the development of important learning processes. The present longitudinal study examines both short- and long-term effects of distributional learning of phonetic categories on non-native sound discrimination over a 12-month period. Two groups of listeners were exposed to a two-minute distribution of auditory stimuli in which the most frequently presented tokens either approximated or exaggerated the natural production of the speech sounds, whereas a control group listened to a piece of classical music for the same length of time. Discrimination by listeners in the two distribution groups improved immediately after the short exposure, replicating previous results. Crucially, this improvement was maintained after six and 12 months, demonstrating that distributional learning has long-lasting effects. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. La neurosis obsesiva en el último período de la enseñanza de J. Lacan The obsessional neurosis in the last period of J. Lacan´s teaching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudio Godoy

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available En el presente trabajo desplegamos algunas de las perspectivas que se desprenden de las formulaciones que Jacques Lacan produce sobre la neurosis obsesiva en el último período de su enseñanza, especialmente a partir del examen de esta estructura en función de su relación con el campo de lo escópico y la conciencia en tanto sinthome que sostiene el anudamiento de los registros. A partir de allí se realiza una relectura de diversos aspectos referidos a dicha estructura neurótica señalados por Freud, los post-freudianos y por el mismo Lacan en momentos previos de su enseñanza.Abstract In this work we develop some perspectives about obsessive neuroses in the last period of Jacques Lacan´s teaching, especially the relation between this structure with the look and the conscience as a sinthome, keeping the union among registers. From there we reread different aspects related with this structure, which had been distinguished by Freud, post-freudians and also Lacan in previous moments of his teaching.

  4. Westerly Winds and the Southern Ocean CO2 Sink Since the Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hodgson, D. A.; Saunders, K. M.; Roberts, S. J.; Perren, B.; Butz, C.; Sime, L. C.; Davies, S. J.; Grosjean, M.

    2017-12-01

    The capacity of the Southern Ocean carbon sink is partly controlled by the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds (SHW) and sea ice. These regulate the upwelling of dissolved carbon-rich deep water to Antarctic surface waters, determine the surface area for air-sea gas exchange and therefore modulate the net uptake of atmospheric CO2. Some models have proposed that strengthened SHW will result in a weakening of the Southern Ocean CO2 sink. If these models are correct, then one would expect that reconstructions of changes in SHW intensity on centennial to millennial timescales would show clear links with Antarctic ice core and Southern Ocean marine geological records of atmospheric CO2, temperature and sea ice. Here, we present a 12,300 year reconstruction of past wind strength based on three independent proxies that track the changing inputs of sea salt aerosols and minerogenic particles into lake sediments on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island. The proxies are consistent in showing that periods of high wind intensity corresponded with the increase in CO2 across the late Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition and in the last 7,000 years, suggesting that the winds have contributed to the long term outgassing of CO2 from the ocean during these periods.

  5. Role of observation of live cases done by Japanese experts in the acquisition of ESD skills by a western endoscopist.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Draganov, Peter V; Chang, Myron; Coman, Roxana M; Wagh, Mihir S; An, Qi; Gotoda, Takuji

    2014-04-28

    To evaluate the role of observation of experts performing endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) in the acquisition of ESD skills. This prospective study is documenting the learning curve of one Western endoscopist. The study consisted of three periods. In the first period (pre-observation), the trainee performed ESDs in animal models in his home institution in the United States. The second period (observation) consisted of visit to Japan and observation of live ESD cases done by experts. The observation of cases occurred over a 5-wk period. During the third period (post-observation), the trainee performed ESD in animal models in a similar fashion as in the first period. Three animal models were used: live 40-50 kg Yorkshire pig, explanted pig stomach model, and explanted pig rectum model. The outcomes from the ESDs done in the animal models before and after observation of live human cases (main study intervention) were compared. Statistical analysis of the data included: Fisher's exact test to compare distributions of a categorical variable, Wilcoxon rank sum test to compare distributions of a continuous variable between the two groups (pre-observation and post-observation), and Kruskal-Wallis test to evaluate the impact of lesion location and type of model (ex-vivo vs live pig) on lesion removal time. The trainee performed 38 ESDs in animal model (29 pre-observation/9 post-observation). The removal times post-observation were significantly shorter than those pre-observation (32.7 ± 15.0 min vs 63.5 ± 9.8 min, P < 0.001). To minimize the impact of improving physician skill, the 9 lesions post-observation were compared to the last 9 lesions pre-observation and the removal times remained significantly shorter (32.7 ± 15.0 min vs 61.0 ± 7.4 min, P = 0.0011). Regression analysis showed that ESD observation significantly reduced removal time when controlling for the sequence of lesion removal (P = 0.025). Furthermore, it was also noted a trend towards decrease in

  6. Last Five Years Pakistan Economic Growth Rate GDP And Its Comparison With China India And Bangladesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdul Rehman

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This paper formulates and reviews Pakistans last five years economic growth rate and its comparison with the growth rate of China India and Bangladesh. As growth rate the amount of increment of a specific variable has gained within a specific period of time and context. In fact economic growth rate provides general direction and magnitude of growth for overall economy.

  7. Phebus PF, international major programme in nuclear safety: the last test

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-11-01

    For the last test Phebus P.F. (the fifth one), it is expected a fast degradation of the boron carbon pencils, leading to a fast release of boron and carbon gas species. Among the carbon gas produced, it is expected to a presence of methane susceptible to interact with iodine to form organic species. The conditions of tests should lead to observe a contribution of containment sump to volatile iodine generation. (N.C.)

  8. 10Be and relative paleointensity signals across the last geomagnetic reversal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savranskaia, T.; Valet, J. P.; Bassinot, F. C.; Meynadier, L.; Simon, Q.; Bourles, D. L.; Thouveny, N.; Thevarasan, A.; Villedieu, A.; Choy, S.; Gacem, L.

    2017-12-01

    Two techniques can be used to determine the evolution of the geomagnetic field intensity in the past. The first one relies on records of relative paleointensity (RPI) in sediments. Although they remain relatively sparse detailed records of 10Be production (expressed in terms of 10Be/9Be) provide an alternative approach. However integration of 10Be within the sediment is not better understood than the magnetization process, and therefore paleofield studies should greatly benefit from the integration of both datasets. In order to achieve this goal, it is crucial to compare and analyze the signals over a common time period. We selected five sedimentary cores from the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and focused on the last reversal which is characterized by the largest intensity changes. Since 10Be is homogenized in the atmosphere, the same amount of 10Be should be recorded everywhere. We found different amounts of 10Be at each site during the last reversal which appear roughly correlated with accumulation rate. In contrast the 10Be amplitude is similar at all locations while higher amplitude signals are expected for low deposition rates. Taking advantage of the distribution of tektites layers, the beryllium signals have been deconvolved, but this procedure did not strikingly change the results. Despite atmospheric mixing we wonder whether 10Be production was slightly different at each location in presence of a multipolar transitional field. The comparison between the 10Be and RPI signals reveals large similarities but also puzzling differences. In particular, the relationship between the two signals is not the same during periods of stable polarity as during the transitional interval. A precursor with low intensity is present in several RPI records but not clearly marked on the beryllium records. We also addressed the question of a possible offset between the two signals that would be indicative of a delayed magnetization acquisition. After correlating and

  9. Observations and predictions of EUV emission from classical novae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Starrfield, S.; Truran, J.W.; Sparks, W.M.; Krautter, J.

    1989-01-01

    Theoretical modeling of novae in outburst predicts that they should be active emitters of radiation both in the EUV and soft X-ray wavelengths twice during the outburst. The first time is very early in the outburst when only an all sky survey can detect them. This period lasts only a few hours. They again become bright EUV and soft X-ray emitters late in the outburst when the remnant object becomes very hot and is still luminous. The predictions imply both that a nova can remain very hot for months to years and that the peak temperature at this time strongly depends upon the mass of the white dwarf. It is important to observe novae at these late times because a measurement of both the flux and temperature can provide information about the mass of the white dwarf, the tun-off time scale, and the energy budget of the outburst. We review the existing observations of novae in late stages of their outburst and present some newly obtained data for GQ Mus 1983. We then provide results of new hydrodynamic simulations of novae in outburst and compare the predictions to the observations. 43 refs., 6 figs

  10. Periodic and quasiperiodic revivals in periodically driven interacting quantum systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luitz, David J.; Lazarides, Achilleas; Bar Lev, Yevgeny

    2018-01-01

    Recently it has been shown that interparticle interactions generically destroy dynamical localization in periodically driven systems, resulting in diffusive transport and heating. In this Rapid Communication we rigorously construct a family of interacting driven systems which are dynamically localized and effectively decoupled from the external driving potential. We show that these systems exhibit tunable periodic or quasiperiodic revivals of the many-body wave function and thus of all physical observables. By numerically examining spinless fermions on a one-dimensional lattice we show that the analytically obtained revivals of such systems remain stable for finite systems with open boundary conditions while having a finite lifetime in the presence of static spatial disorder. We find this lifetime to be inversely proportional to the disorder strength.

  11. A comparison by stochastic models between present-day and last-century temperature in Udine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ceschia, M.; Garfagnini, R.; Toppano, E.

    1987-01-01

    In this paper the daily average temperatures recorded in Udine in the years 1868, 1869, 1870, 1871, 1876, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1984 and 1985 (for which an integral set of reliable and comparable-data was at disposal) have been analysed. The main purposes of this work are: look for characteristic periodicities in the series of data, analyse the background erratic component by means of stochastic methods and look for possible differences between the temperature of the last century and those of the present

  12. Why do women stop reproducing before menopause? A life-history approach to age at last birth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Towner, Mary C; Nenko, Ilona; Walton, Savannah E

    2016-04-19

    Evolutionary biologists have long considered menopause to be a fundamental puzzle in understanding human fertility behaviour, as post-menopausal women are no longer physiologically capable of direct reproduction. Menopause typically occurs between 45 and 55 years of age, but across cultures and history, women often stop reproducing many years before menopause. Unlike age at first reproduction or even birth spacing, a woman nearing the end of her reproductive cycle is able to reflect upon the offspring she already has--their numbers and phenotypic qualities, including sexes. This paper reviews demographic data on age at last birth both across and within societies, and also presents a case study of age at last birth in rural Bangladeshi women. In this Bangladeshi sample, age at last birth preceded age at menopause by an average of 11 years, with marked variation around that mean, even during a period of high fertility. Moreover, age at last birth was not strongly related to age at menopause. Our literature review and case study provide evidence that stopping behaviour needs to be more closely examined as an important part of human reproductive strategies and life-history theory. Menopause may be a final marker of permanent reproductive cessation, but it is only one piece of the evolutionary puzzle. © 2016 The Author(s).

  13. Mortality coefficients among personnel of radiochemical plants of open-quotes Mayakclose quotes-Combine for 40-year period of observation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koshurnikova, N.A.; Komleva, N.S.; Baisogolov, G.D.

    1993-01-01

    The results of the epidemiological research, conducted among the personnel of the radiochemical plants of open-quotes Mayakclose quotes. Combine are as follows: during the 40-year-period of observation the mortality rate from all and separate causes, except age, is lower, than the expected one, which is calculated on the basis of the National Statistics. Oncological mortality rate is reliably higher, than the expected one, which is conditioned by the high frequency of lung cancer and leucaemia. Internal α-irradiation plays the leading role in the induction of lung cancer, and the increase of mortality rate from leukemia is closely connected with external γ-irradiation

  14. Application of wavelet analysis in determining the periodicity of global warming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Xiao

    2018-04-01

    In the last two decades of the last century, the global average temperature has risen by 0.48 ° C over 100 years ago. Since then, global warming has become a hot topic. Global warming will have complex and potential impacts on humans and the Earth. However, the negative impacts far outweigh the positive impacts. The most obvious external manifestation of global warming is temperature. Therefore, this study uses wavelet analysis study the characteristics of temperature time series, solve the periodicity of the sequence, find out the trend of temperature change and predict the extent of global warming in the future, so as to take the necessary precautionary measures.

  15. Reconstruction of Oceanographic Changes Based on the Diatom Records of the Central Okhotsk Sea over the last 500000 Years

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei-Lung Wang Liang-Chi Wang

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available This study provides insight into changes in sea ice conditions and the oceanographic environment over the past 500 kyr through analysis of the diatom record. Based on the relative abundance of 13 diatoms species in piston core MD012414, four types of environmental conditions in the central Okhotsk Sea over the last 330 ka BP have been distinguished: (1 open-ocean alternating with seasonal sea-ice cover in Stages 9, 5, and 1; (2 almost open-ocean free of sea-ice cover in Stages 7 and 3; (3 perennial sea-ice cover in Stages 6, 4, and 2; and (4 a warm ice-age dominated by open ocean assemblages in Stage 8. The littoral diatom species, Paralia sulcata, showed a sudden increase from the glacial period to the nterglacial period over the last 330 ka BP, except during Stage 8. Such a result implies that melting sea-ice transported terrigenous materials from the north Okhotsk Sea continental shelves to the central ocean during eglaciation. From Stage 13 to Stage 10, however, cold and warm marine conditions unexpectedly occurred in the late interglacial periods and the glacial periods, respectively. One possible reason for this is a lack of age control points from Stage 13 to Stage 10, and the different sediment accumulation rates between glacial and interglacial periods. This study suggests not only the process by which oceanographic variation of sea ice occurred, but also new significance for Paralia sulcata as an indicator in the diatom record of the Okhotsk Sea.

  16. The effect of housing on dairy cattle behavior during the transition period

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Campler, Magnus Robert Bertil

    2014-01-01

    with freestalls until the day before calving or signs of imminent calving in Denmark (and northern Europe), the aim of this PhD was to investigate the effect of a straw yard housing system during the last 4 weeks of the dry period compared to freestalls on; 1) lying-, feeding- and agonistic behavior before...... during the days before calving. The results show that dry cows housed in straw yards during the last 4 weeks of the dry period have a higher number of transitions between lying and standing compared to freestalls, which suggest that straw yards may facilitate a more flexible lying behavior. The flexible...... lying behavior in straw yards may be facilitated by better traction, the absence of physical limitations in the lying area, or a combination of the two. There was no difference in lying- or feeding time between cows housed in straw yards or freestalls before calving. There was no overall effect...

  17. Terrigenous material supply to the Peruvian central continental shelf (Pisco, 14° S) during the last 1000 years: paleoclimatic implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briceño-Zuluaga, Francisco Javier; Sifeddine, Abdelfettah; Caquineau, Sandrine; Cardich, Jorge; Salvatteci, Renato; Gutierrez, Dimitri; Ortlieb, Luc; Velazco, Federico; Boucher, Hugues; Machado, Carine

    2016-03-01

    In the eastern Pacific, lithogenic input to the ocean responds to variations in the atmospheric and oceanic system and their teleconnections over different timescales. Atmospheric (e.g., wind fields), hydrological (e.g., fresh water plumes) and oceanic (e.g., currents) conditions determine the transport mode and the amount of lithogenic material transported from the continent to the continental shelf. Here, we present the grain size distribution of a composite record of two laminated sediment cores retrieved from the Peruvian continental shelf that record the last ˜ 1000 years at a sub-decadal to centennial time-series resolution. We propose novel grain size indicators of wind intensity and fluvial input that allow reconstructing the oceanic-atmospheric variability modulated by sub-decadal to centennial changes in climatic conditions. Four grain size modes were identified. Two are linked to aeolian inputs (M3: ˜ 54; M4: ˜ 91 µm on average), the third is interpreted as a marker of sediment discharge (M2: ˜ 10 µm on average), and the last is without an associated origin (M1: ˜ 3 µm). The coarsest components (M3 and M4) dominated during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) and the Current Warm Period (CWP) periods, suggesting that aeolian transport increased as a consequence of surface wind stress intensification. In contrast, M2 displays an opposite behavior, exhibiting an increase in fluvial terrigenous input during the Little Ice Age (LIA) in response to more humid conditions associated with El Niño-like conditions. Comparison with other South American paleoclimate records indicates that the observed changes are driven by interactions between meridional displacement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), the South Pacific Subtropical High (SPSH) and Walker circulation at decadal and centennial timescales.

  18. Last Glacial vegetation and climate change in the southern Levant

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miebach, Andrea; Chen, Chunzhu; Litt, Thomas

    2015-04-01

    Reconstructing past climatic and environmental conditions is a key task for understanding the history of modern mankind. The interaction between environmental change and migration processes of the modern Homo sapiens from its source area in Africa into Europe is still poorly understood. The principal corridor of the first human dispersal into Europe and also later migration dynamics crossed the Middle East. Therefore, the southern Levant is a key area to investigate the paleoenvironment during times of human migration. In this sense, the Last Glacial (MIS 4-2) is particularly interesting to investigate for two reasons. Firstly, secondary expansions of the modern Homo sapiens are expected to occur during this period. Secondly, there are ongoing discussions on the environmental conditions causing the prominent lake level high stand of Lake Lisan, the precursor of the Dead Sea. This high stand even culminated in the merging of Lake Lisan and Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). To provide an independent proxy for paleoenvironmental reconstructions in the southern Levant during the Last Glacial, we investigated pollen assemblages of the Dead Sea/Lake Lisan and Lake Kinneret. Located at the Dead Sea Transform, the freshwater Lake Kinneret is nowadays connected via the Jordan with the hypersaline Dead Sea, which occupies Earth's lowest elevation on land. The southern Levant is a transition area of three different vegetation types. Therefore, also small changes in the climate conditions effect the vegetation and can be registered in the pollen assemblage. In contrast to the Holocene, our preliminary results suggest another vegetation pattern during the Last Glacial. The vegetation belt of the fragile Mediterranean biome did no longer exist in the vicinity of Lake Kinneret. Moreover, the vegetation was rather similar in the whole study area. A steppe vegetation with dwarf shrubs, herbs, and grasses predominated. Thermophilous elements like oaks occurred in limited amounts. The

  19. The last interglacial (Eemian climate simulated by LOVECLIM and CCSM3

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. Nikolova

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a detailed analysis of the climate of the last interglacial simulated by two climate models of different complexities, CCSM3 (Community Climate System Model 3 and LOVECLIM (LOch-Vecode-Ecbilt-CLio-agIsm Model. The simulated surface temperature, hydrological cycle, vegetation and ENSO variability during the last interglacial are analyzed through the comparison with the simulated pre-industrial (PI climate. In both models, the last interglacial period is characterized by a significant warming (cooling over almost all the continents during boreal summer (winter leading to a largely increased (reduced seasonal contrast in the Northern (Southern Hemisphere. This is mainly due to the much higher (lower insolation received by the whole Earth in boreal summer (winter during this interglacial. The Arctic is warmer than PI through the whole year, resulting from its much higher summer insolation, its remnant effect in the following fall-winter through the interactions between atmosphere, ocean and sea ice and feedbacks from sea ice and snow cover. Discrepancies exist in the sea-ice formation zones between the two models. Cooling is simulated by CCSM3 in the Greenland and Norwegian seas and near the shelves of Antarctica during DJF but not in LOVECLIM as a result of excessive sea-ice formation. Intensified African monsoon is responsible for the cooling during summer in northern Africa and on the Arabian Peninsula. Over India, the precipitation maximum is found further west, while in Africa the precipitation maximum migrates further north. Trees and grassland expand north in Sahel/Sahara, more clearly seen in LOVECLIM than in CCSM3 results. A mix of forest and grassland occupies continents and expands deep into the high northern latitudes. Desert areas reduce significantly in the Northern Hemisphere, but increase in northern Australia. The interannual SST variability of the tropical Pacific (El-Niño Southern Oscillation of the last

  20. Palaeoenvironments in the Skagerrak-Kattegat basin in the eastern North Sea during the last deglaciation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knudsen, K.L.; Conradsen, Keld; Heier-Nielsen, S.

    1996-01-01

    The study of a c. 18 m thick Late Weichseltan - Early Holocene (isotope stage 2/1) marine succession (original water depth 100-150 m) from the Skagen 3 borehole, northern Denmark, has led to a better understanding of the palaeoenvironmental changes during the last deglaciation. The palaeoenvironm......The study of a c. 18 m thick Late Weichseltan - Early Holocene (isotope stage 2/1) marine succession (original water depth 100-150 m) from the Skagen 3 borehole, northern Denmark, has led to a better understanding of the palaeoenvironmental changes during the last deglaciation......-Holocene transition after the Younger Dryas occurred in two stages. Arctic/subarctic deep-water assemblages persisted continuously at Skagen after the first stage at 10 100 BP, while cold boreal assemblages existed in shallower water environments in the Kattegat-Skagerrak basin during the same period of time...

  1. Planetary perturbations and the origins of short-period comets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quinn, T.; Tremaine, S.; Duncan, M.

    1990-01-01

    To investigate the dynamical plausibility of possible sources for the short-period comets, a representative sample of comet orbits in the field of the sun and the giant planets was integrated, with the aim to determine whether the distribution of orbits from a proposed source that reach observable perihelia (q less than 2.5 AU) matches the observed distribution of short-period orbits. It is found that the majority of the short-period comets, those with orbital period P less than 20 yr (the Jupiter family), cannot arise from isotropic orbits with perihelia near Jupiter's orbit, because the resulting observable comet orbits have the wrong distribution in period, inclination, and argument of perihelion. The simulations also show that Jupiter-family comets cannot arise from isotropic orbits with perihelia in the Uranus-Neptune region. On the other hand, a source of low-inclination Neptune-crossing orbits yields a distribution of observable Jupiter-family comets that is consistent with the data in all respects. These results imply that the Jupiter-family comets arise from a disk source in the outer solar system rather than from the Oort comet cloud. 30 refs

  2. The last glacial cycle: transient simulations with an AOGCM

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smith, Robin S. [University of Reading, NCAS-Climate, Department of Meteorology, Reading (United Kingdom); Gregory, Jonathan [University of Reading, NCAS-Climate, Department of Meteorology, Reading (United Kingdom); Met Office Hadley Centre, Exeter (United Kingdom)

    2012-04-15

    A number of transient climate runs simulating the last 120 kyr have been carried out using FAMOUS, a fast atmosphere-ocean general circulation model (AOGCM). This is the first time such experiments have been done with a full AOGCM, providing a three-dimensional simulation of both atmosphere and ocean over this period. Our simulation thus includes internally generated temporal variability over periods from days to millennia, and physical, detailed representations of important processes such as clouds and precipitation. Although the model is fast, computational restrictions mean that the rate of change of the forcings has been increased by a factor of 10, making each experiment 12 kyr long. Atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs), northern hemisphere ice sheets and variations in solar radiation arising from changes in the Earth's orbit are treated as forcing factors, and are applied either separately or combined in different experiments. The long-term temperature changes on Antarctica match well with reconstructions derived from ice-core data, as does variability on timescales longer than 10 kyr. Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) cooling on Greenland is reasonably well simulated, although our simulations, which lack ice-sheet meltwater forcing, do not reproduce the abrupt, millennial scale climate shifts seen in northern hemisphere climate proxies or their slower southern hemisphere counterparts. The spatial pattern of sea surface cooling at the LGM matches proxy reconstructions reasonably well. There is significant anti-correlated variability in the strengths of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) on timescales greater than 10 kyr in our experiments. We find that GHG forcing weakens the AMOC and strengthens the ACC, whilst the presence of northern hemisphere ice-sheets strengthens the AMOC and weakens the ACC. The structure of the AMOC at the LGM is found to be sensitive to the details of the ice

  3. The Last Big Bang

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McGuire, Austin D. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Meade, Roger Allen [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2016-09-13

    As one of the very few people in the world to give the “go/no go” decision to detonate a nuclear device, Austin “Mac” McGuire holds a very special place in the history of both the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the world. As Commander of Joint Task Force Unit 8.1.1, on Christmas Island in the spring and summer of 1962, Mac directed the Los Alamos data collection efforts for twelve of the last atmospheric nuclear detonations conducted by the United States. Since data collection was at the heart of nuclear weapon testing, it fell to Mac to make the ultimate decision to detonate each test device. He calls his experience THE LAST BIG BANG, since these tests, part of Operation Dominic, were characterized by the dramatic displays of the heat, light, and sounds unique to atmospheric nuclear detonations – never, perhaps, to be witnessed again.

  4. The narrow endemic Norwegian peat moss Sphagnum troendelagicum originated before the last glacial maximum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stenøien, H K; Shaw, A J; Stengrundet, K; Flatberg, K I

    2011-02-01

    It is commonly found that individual hybrid, polyploid species originate recurrently and that many polyploid species originated relatively recently. It has been previously hypothesized that the extremely rare allopolyploid peat moss Sphagnum troendelagicum has originated multiple times, possibly after the last glacial maximum in Scandinavia. This conclusion was based on low linkage disequilibrium in anonymous genetic markers within natural populations, in which sexual reproduction has never been observed. Here we employ microsatellite markers and chloroplast DNA (cpDNA)-encoded trnG sequence data to test hypotheses concerning the origin and evolution of this species. We find that S. tenellum is the maternal progenitor and S. balticum is the paternal progenitor of S. troendelagicum. Using various Bayesian approaches, we estimate that S. troendelagicum originated before the Holocene but not before c. 80,000 years ago (median expected time since speciation 40 000 years before present). The observed lack of complete linkage disequilibrium in the genome of this species suggests cryptic sexual reproduction and recombination. Several lines of evidence suggest multiple origins for S. troendelagicum, but a single origin is supported by approximate Bayesian computation analyses. We hypothesize that S. troendelagicum originated in a peat-dominated refugium before last glacial maximum, and subsequently immigrated to central Norway by means of spore flow during the last thousands of years.

  5. The narrow endemic Norwegian peat moss Sphagnum troendelagicum originated before the last glacial maximum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stenøien, H K; Shaw, A J; Stengrundet, K; Flatberg, K I

    2011-01-01

    It is commonly found that individual hybrid, polyploid species originate recurrently and that many polyploid species originated relatively recently. It has been previously hypothesized that the extremely rare allopolyploid peat moss Sphagnum troendelagicum has originated multiple times, possibly after the last glacial maximum in Scandinavia. This conclusion was based on low linkage disequilibrium in anonymous genetic markers within natural populations, in which sexual reproduction has never been observed. Here we employ microsatellite markers and chloroplast DNA (cpDNA)-encoded trnG sequence data to test hypotheses concerning the origin and evolution of this species. We find that S. tenellum is the maternal progenitor and S. balticum is the paternal progenitor of S. troendelagicum. Using various Bayesian approaches, we estimate that S. troendelagicum originated before the Holocene but not before c. 80 000 years ago (median expected time since speciation 40 000 years before present). The observed lack of complete linkage disequilibrium in the genome of this species suggests cryptic sexual reproduction and recombination. Several lines of evidence suggest multiple origins for S. troendelagicum, but a single origin is supported by approximate Bayesian computation analyses. We hypothesize that S. troendelagicum originated in a peat-dominated refugium before last glacial maximum, and subsequently immigrated to central Norway by means of spore flow during the last thousands of years. PMID:20717162

  6. Alzheimer's Disease in the Danish Malnutrition Period 1999-2007

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sparre-Sørensen, Maja; Kristensen, Gustav David Westergaard

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Several studies published over the last few years have shown that malnutrition is a risk factor for developing and worsening Alzheimer's disease (AD) and that a balanced diet can delay the onset of the disease. During the period from January 1999 to January 2007, a statistically...... significant increase in the number of deaths related to malnutrition was found among the elderly in Denmark. Many more may have been suffering from malnutrition, but not to such a degree that it led to their deaths. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to examine whether or not the effect of the malnutrition...... from AD associated with the period when the general nutritional state among the elderly in Denmark worsened (from 1999 to 2007). CONCLUSION: The study concludes that the malnutrition period resulted in an excess death rate from Alzheimer's disease. All in all, a total of 345 extra lives were lost...

  7. Glaciation and Hydrologic Variability in Tropical South America During the Last 400,000 Years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fritz, S. C.; Baker, P. A.; Seltzer, G. O.; Ekdahl, E. J.; Ballantyne, A.

    2005-12-01

    The expansion and contraction of northern continental ice sheets is a fundamental characteristic of the Quaternary. However, the extent of tropical glaciation is poorly constrained, particularly for periods prior to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Similarly, the magnitude and timing of hydrologic variation in tropical South America is not clearly defined over multiple glacial cycles. Thus, the relative roles of global temperature change and insolation control of the South American Summer Monsoon (SASM) are unclear. We have reconstructed the timing of glaciation and precipitation variability in the tropical Andes of South America from drill cores from Lake Titicaca, Bolivia/Peru. The longest core (site LT01-2B, 235 m water depth) is 136 m and consists of four major silt-dominated units with high magnetic susceptibility, low organic carbon concentration, and no carbonate, which are indicative of extensive glacial activity in the cordillera surrounding the lake. These units alternate with laminated low-susceptibility units, with high carbonate and organic carbon concentrations, which reflect times when detrital input from the watershed was low and lake-level was lowered to below the outlet threshold, driving carbonate precipitation. Thus, the stratigraphy suggests that the core spans four major periods of glaciation and the subsequent interstadials. Core chronology is based on radiocarbon in the uppermost 25m, U-series dates on aragonite laminae, and tuning of the calcium carbonate stratigraphy in the lowermost sediments to the Vostok CO2 record. High-resolution (ca. 100 yr) sampling of sediments spanning the last glacial stage shows distinct millennial-scale variability from 20 - 65 kyr BP. This variability is evident in the periodic deposition of turbidites, which are characterized by low biogenic silica concentrations, elevated benthic diatom abundances, heavy carbon isotopic values, high C/N ratios, and an increase in mean grain size - a composite signal

  8. Orbital periods of recurrent novae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schaefer, B.E.

    1990-01-01

    The class of recurrent novae (RN) with thermonuclear runaways contains only three systems (T Pyx, U Sco, and V394 CrA), for which no orbital periods are known. This paper presents a series of photometric observations where the orbital periods for all three systems are discovered. T Pyx is found to have sinusoidal modulation with an amplitude of 0.08 mag and a period of 2.3783 h (with a possible alias of 2.6403 h). U Sco is found to be an eclipsing system with an eclipse amplitude of roughly 1.5 mag and an orbital period of 1.2344 days. V394 CrA is found to have sinusoidal modulation with an amplitude of 0.5 mag and a period of 0.7577 days. Thus two out of three RN with thermonuclear runaways (or five out of six for all RN) have evolved companions. 16 refs

  9. Ionic composition of submicron particles (PM1.0) during the long-lasting haze period in January 2013 in Wuhan, central China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Hairong; Gong, Wei; Wang, Zuwu; Zhang, Fan; Wang, Xinming; Lv, Xiaopu; Liu, Jia; Fu, Xiaoxin; Zhang, Gan

    2014-04-01

    In January 2013, a long-lasting severe haze episode occurred in Northern and Central China; at its maximum, it covered a land area of approximately 1.4 million km(2). In Wuhan, the largest city in Central China, this event was the most severe haze episode in the 21st century. Aerosol samples of submicron particles (PM1.0) were collected during the long-lasting haze episode at an urban site and a suburban site in Wuhan to investigate the ion characteristics of PM1.0 in this area. The mass concentrations of PM1.0 and its water-soluble inorganic ions (WSIIs) were almost at the same levels at two sites, which indicates that PM1.0 pollution occurs on a regional scale in Wuhan. WSIIs (Na(+), NH4(+), K(+), Mg(2+), Ca(2+), Cl(-), NO3(-) and SO4(2-)) were the dominant chemical species and constituted up to 48.4% and 47.4% of PM1.0 at WD and TH, respectively. The concentrations of PM1.0 and WSIIs on haze days were approximately two times higher than on normal days. The ion balance calculations indicate that the particles were more acidic on haze days than on normal days. The results of the back trajectory analysis imply that the high concentrations of PM1.0 and its water-soluble inorganic ions may be caused by stagnant weather conditions in Wuhan. Copyright © 2014 The Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Meta-historical Foundations of the Periodization of the World Musical Culture History

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Opanasiuk

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The periodization of the history of the world music is carried out on the basis of definition of regularity of the procedural being of cultures, their imaginative type and chronotopus in the area of the last (conditionally 5000-year meta-period. On the meta-cultural level there are: symbolic (ancient cultures, classical (Antique culture, romantic-semantic, generally – romantic (Byzantine culture, intentionally-semantic / intentionally-romantic, generally – intentional (European culture musical art with appropriate principles of modeling of the culturally – artistic phenomenon.

  11. Time trends for prostate cancer mortality in Brazil and its geographic regions: An age-period-cohort analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braga, Sonia Faria Mendes; de Souza, Mirian Carvalho; Cherchiglia, Mariangela Leal

    2017-10-01

    In the 1980s, an increase in mortality rates for prostate cancer was observed in North America and developed European countries. In the 1990s, however, mortality rates decreased for these countries, an outcome related to early detection of the disease. Conversely, an upward trend in mortality rates was observed in Brazil. This study describe the trends in mortality for prostate cancer in Brazil and geographic regions (North, Northeast, South, Southeast, and Central-West) between 1980 until 2014 and analyze the influence of age, period, and cohort effects on mortality rates. This time-series study used data from the Mortality Information System (SIM) and population data from Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The effects on mortality rates were examined using age-period-cohort (APC) models. Crude and standardized mortality rates showed an upward trend for Brazil and its regions more than 2-fold the last 30 years. Age effects showed an increased risk of death in all regions. Period effects showed a higher risk of death in the finals periods for the North and Northeast. Cohort effects showed risk of death was higher for younger than older generations in Brazil and regions, mainly Northeast (RR Adjusted =3.12, 95% CI 1.29-1.41; RR Adjusted =0.28, 95% CI 0.26-0.30, respectively). The increase in prostate cancer mortality rates in Brazil and its regions was mainly due to population aging. The differences in mortality rates and APC effects between regions are related to demographic differences and access of health services across the country. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Data assimilation of a ten-day period during June 1993 over the Southern Great Plains Site using a nested mesoscale model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dudhia, J.; Guo, Y.R. [National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)

    1996-04-01

    A goal of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program has been to obtain a complete representation of physical processes on the scale of a general circulation model (GCM) grid box in order to better parameterize radiative processes in these models. Since an observational network of practical size cannot be used alone to characterize the Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site`s 3D structure and time development, data assimilation using the enhanced observations together with a mesoscale model is used to give a full 4D analysis at high resolution. The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)/Penn State Mesoscale Model (MM5) has been applied over a ten-day continuous period in a triple-nested mode with grid sizes of 60, 20 and 6.67 in. The outer domain covers the United States` 48 contiguous states; the innermost is a 480-km square centered on Lamont, Oklahoma. A simulation has been run with data assimilation using the Mesoscale Analysis and Prediction System (MAPS) 60-km analyses from the Forecast Systems Laboratory (FSL) of the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The nested domains take boundary conditions from and feed back continually to their parent meshes (i.e., they are two-way interactive). As reported last year, this provided a simulation of the basic features of mesoscale events over the CART site during the period 16-26 June 1993 when an Intensive Observation Period (IOP) was under way.

  13. On the Origin of Quasi-Periodic Temperature Variations in Kun-1 Well (Kunashir Island)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demezhko, D. Yu.; Yurkov, A. K.

    2017-12-01

    The results of temperature monitoring in the 300-m kun-1 well (Kunashir Island) in 2011-2015 are considered. Quasi-periodic temperature variations with an amplitude of up to 0.3°C and a variation period of 14-26 h were added from November 2011 to the previously observed temperature variations caused by tidal deformations, free thermal convection, and deformation processes associated with the preparation and occurrence of tectonic earthquakes. Five cycles of such variations lasting from 2 to 6 months have been recorded. Each cycle was initiated by an earthquake with magnitude M > 2.5log( R), where R is the epicentral distance (km). According to their characteristics, the variations are unique and have not been described previously. Assumptions have been made about the possible connection of the registered variations with the inertial currents of the ocean or with hydrothermal processes in the Earth's subsurface. The phenomenon discovered requires further study not only as an object of fundamental science, but also as a feature of an earlier unknown type of geodynamic activity that can be a significant threat to the regional population.

  14. Norepinephrine induces pathway-specific long-lasting potentiation and depression in the hippocampal dentate gyrus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dahl, D; Sarvey, J M

    1989-01-01

    The study presented here indicates that norepinephrine (NE) selectively induces long-lasting modifications of synaptically mediated responses in the dentate gyrus of the rat hippocampal slice. A low concentration of NE (1.0 microM; in the presence of 50 microM phentolamine, an alpha-adrenergic antagonist) or a 1.0 microM concentration of the specific beta-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol induced long-lasting pathway-specific alterations of granule cell electrophysiological responses. Excitatory postsynaptic potentials and population spikes evoked by stimulation of the medial perforant pathway (PP) were potentiated for more than 45 min. In contrast, responses to lateral PP stimulation were depressed for the same period. Both potentiation and depression were blocked by the beta-adrenergic antagonist propranolol (1.0 microM). These results indicate that NE can act differentially on projections to the dentate gyrus arising in the entorhinal cortex. Such selective persistent modifications of cortical circuits may be involved in processes in the mammalian brain underlying attention, learning, and memory. PMID:2734319

  15. Centennial-scale variations in diatom productivity off Peru over the last 3000 years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleury, Sophie; Crosta, Xavier; Schneider, Ralph; Blanz, Thomas; Ther, Olivier; Martinez, Philippe; Kim, Jung-Hyun

    2016-04-01

    The Peruvian coastal upwelling is one of the most productive systems in the global ocean, with important impacts on the carbon cycle. Primary productivity there displays strong variations at the inter-annual to decadal timescales. However, down-core investigations rarely reach sufficient temporal resolution to assess the response of productivity to climatic variations at these timescales beyond the instrumental and historical periods. We here analyzed diatom assemblages, sea-surface temperatures, nitrogen and organic carbon contents on a laminated sediment core from the Peruvian continental shelf to trace variations in regional productivity over the last 3000 years. Our record provides evidence for different climatic and oceanic conditions with more humid and less productive conditions older than 2500 Cal years BP and drier and more productive conditions younger than 2500 Cal years BP. The last 2500 years also present much stronger centennial-scale variability with the occurrence of six intervals with higher total diatom abundances and stronger percentages in upwelling-related diatom species, representative of intensified productivity, congruent to lower percentages in benthic diatoms, indicative of reduced rainfall. These six periods were synchronous to intervals of enhanced Walker circulation, suggesting a strong imprint of the Pacific zonal circulation on productivity variations off Peru. Our record also demonstrates that SSTs did not vary in phase with productivity, arguing against the idea of regional SSTs controlled by the upwelling intensity, but were rather in agreement to SST records off southern Chile, suggesting that Peruvian SSTs variations were largely controlled by oceanic currents at southern high latitudes.

  16. Overweight and obesity in Mexican children and adolescents during the last 25 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernández-Cordero, S; Cuevas-Nasu, L; Morán-Ruán, M C; Méndez-Gómez Humarán, I; Ávila-Arcos, M A; Rivera-Dommarco, J A

    2017-03-13

    The objective of the study was to provide current estimates of the prevalence and trends of overweight and obesity (OW+OB) in Mexican children and adolescents. Body mass index objectively measured was analyzed for 37 147 children and adolescents aged 0-19 years obtained in 2012 as part of the National Health and Nutrition Survey (ENSANUT-2012), a nationally representative sample of the Mexican population. In addition, data from previous National Nutrition Surveys obtained in 1988, 1999 and 2006 were compared with analyze trends over a 24-year period (1988-2012) for children children. World Health Organization Child Growth Standard was used to define OW+OB. In 2012, 33.5% of children overweight or were overweight (OW); 32% and 36.9% of girls and boys 5-11 years of age were OW+OB, respectively, and 35.8% and 34.1% of female and male adolescents were OW+OB, respectively. Statistically significant trends were documented for all age groups during the study period. Overall change in the combined prevalence in preschool children was 6.3±1.0 percentage points (pp; Pchildren and adolescents in the lowest quintile of the household living condition index. Prevalence of OW+OB among children and adolescents increased significantly during the last 13-24 years. The rate of increase has declined in the last 6 years in all age groups. Changes in prevalence of OW+OB presented here suggest that, in Mexico, the burden of obesity is shifting toward the groups with lower socioeconomic level.

  17. Observation of auroral fading before breakup

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pellinen, R.J.; Heikkila, W.J.

    1978-02-01

    We have obtained detailed observations of the onset of auroral breakup using a variety of instruments with time resolution of some tens of seconds. Rapid sequences of all-sky photographs, and fast meridian scans by photometers, show that breakup is usually preceded by moderate brightening, followed by fading of the auroral brightness lasting one or two minutes, before the actual breakup itself. At the time of the fading there is a brief darkening of the poleward sky. Often the breakup is preceded by one or more rapid intensifications, each one preceded by local fading. Pseudo-breakups may also occur without the development of a major event. A bonafide breakup may begin on the fading arc, on an adjacent arc, or in an entirely new region nearby. This optical activity is closely correlated with the development of auroral radar echoes, suggesting that variations in the ionospheric and magnetospheric electric and magnetic fields are responsible for the observed auroral variations. Data from the IMS magnetometer network provide some indication of a correlated response by the local auroral and ionospheric current, although this could be partly due to changes in conductivity. Riometer recordings show a slow decrease in ionsperic radio wave absorption over a period of about ten minutes prior to breakup, with the largest decrease essentially to quiet-time values in the region of auroral fading and subsequent breakup. The implications of these observations regarding the trigger mechanism for the expansion phase of a magnetospheric substorm are discussed. (author)

  18. Northern Hemisphere moisture variability during the Last Glacial period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asmerom, Y.; Polyak, V. J.; Lachniet, M. S.

    2013-12-01

    It was previously shown that large oxygen isotope variability related to changing moisture sources in the southwestern United States (SW) match the Greenland ice core temperature record. The variations were attributed to changes in the ratio of winter to summer precipitation delivered to the SW, with lighter winter δ18O values compared to summer monsoon rainfall, due to meridonial shifts in the position of the polar jet stream, which directs winter storm tracks. Cold stadial δ18O excursions are associated with strongly negative values, while interstadials have higher than average δ18O values. Although these data documented moisture source variability to the SW, the question of effective moisture variability remains unanswered. Here we present new high-resolution δ18O and δ13C isotopic data from a precisely dated speleothem, FS-AH1, from Fort Stanton Cave, New Mexico USA. The sample grew continuously between 47.6 and 11.1 kyr. The new chronology is more precise than previous work due to high sample growth rate, new gains in efficiency provided by our upgraded Neptune MC-ICPMS and new more precise determinations of the half-lives of 230Th and 234U. The FS-AH1 δ18O and the Greenland δ18O data (on the GICC05 time scale) show a remarkable match, both with respect to stadials/interstadial amplitudes and variability, and in the overall long-term trend. Our interpretation of the δ18O data remains the same, an indicator of moisture source variability. The δ18O and δ13C isotopic data show no correlation (R2 effective moisture in the soil zone overlying the cave, with low δ13C attributed to high soil productivity, high effective moisture, and wet conditions. The stadial and interstadial events are expressed mutely, if at all, in the δ13C data, while the secular variation follows the change in Northern Hemisphere summer insolation (insolation), similar to other Northern Hemisphere data, such as the strength of the East Asian summer monsoon as recorded in the Hulu speleothem, although the match to the East Asian monsoon is inverse. The much diminished expression of stadials and interstadials and secular variations in the effective moisture proxy data that match insolation seem to be hemispherical in scale. In humid settings, such as east Asia monsoon regions, warm temperatures lead to northward shift of the ITCZ and increase in the strength of the Asian monsoon, while in the desert SW any increase in the strength in the North American monsoon is counterbalanced by decrease in winter moisture due to the northward shift of the polar jet stream and more importantly, the onset of more evaporative conditions. In contrast to the large and rapid shifts seen in the Greenland ice core data and the apparent shift in position in air masses, as indicated by our δ18O data, large-scale changes in moisture regimes in the Northern Hemisphere seem to be driven by changes in insolation. Locations that are sensitive to small changes in atmospheric pressure and/or sea surface temperature gradients may be the exception.

  19. Recent observational evidence on W Ursae Majoris stars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rovithis-Livaniou, H.; Rovithis, P.

    1982-01-01

    During the last four years (1978-1981), some close binaries of W Ursae Majoris type have been observed from the National Observatory of Athens. In all cases a two-beam, multi-mode, nebular-stellar photometer has been used, attached to the 48-inch Cassegrain reflector at the Kryonerion Station. The observed systems are: 44i Boo, VW Cep, AB And, BV Dra, BW Dra, U Peg, V508 Oph. Especially VW Cep and 44i Boo, are very interesting objects; in addition to the light curves that have already been published (Rovithis and Rovithis-Livaniou, 1980-1981), other observations were obtained during the last year and are now at computational stage. The observations of these two systems will be continued during the next years. (Auth.)

  20. Time trend and age-period-cohort effect on kidney cancer mortality in Europe, 1981–2000

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    López-Abente Gonzalo

    2006-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The incorporation of diagnostic and therapeutic improvements, as well as the different smoking patterns, may have had an influence on the observed variability in renal cancer mortality across Europe. This study examined time trends in kidney cancer mortality in fourteen European countries during the last two decades of the 20th century. Methods Kidney cancer deaths and population estimates for each country during the period 1981–2000 were drawn from the World Health Organization Mortality Database. Age- and period-adjusted mortality rates, as well as annual percentage changes in age-adjusted mortality rates, were calculated for each country and geographical region. Log-linear Poisson models were also fitted to study the effect of age, death period, and birth cohort on kidney cancer mortality rates within each country. Results For men, the overall standardized kidney cancer mortality rates in the eastern, western, and northern European countries were 20, 25, and 53% higher than those for the southern European countries, respectively. However, age-adjusted mortality rates showed a significant annual decrease of -0.7% in the north of Europe, a moderate rise of 0.7% in the west, and substantial increases of 1.4% in the south and 2.0% in the east. This trend was similar among women, but with lower mortality rates. Age-period-cohort models showed three different birth-cohort patterns for both men and women: a decrease in mortality trend for those generations born after 1920 in the Nordic countries, a similar but lagged decline for cohorts born after 1930 in western and southern European countries, and a continuous increase throughout all birth cohorts in eastern Europe. Similar but more heterogeneous regional patterns were observed for period effects. Conclusion Kidney cancer mortality trends in Europe showed a clear north-south pattern, with high rates on a downward trend in the north, intermediate rates on a more marked rising

  1. Trends in ischemic heart disease mortality in Korea, 1985-2009: an age-period-cohort analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Hye Ah; Park, Hyesook

    2012-09-01

    Economic growth and development of medical technology help to improve the average life expectancy, but the western diet and rapid conversions to poor lifestyles lead an increasing risk of major chronic diseases. Coronary heart disease mortality in Korea has been on the increase, while showing a steady decline in the other industrialized countries. An age-period-cohort analysis can help understand the trends in mortality and predict the near future. We analyzed the time trends of ischemic heart disease mortality, which is on the increase, from 1985 to 2009 using an age-period-cohort model to characterize the effects of ischemic heart disease on changes in the mortality rate over time. All three effects on total ischemic heart disease mortality were statistically significant. Regarding the period effect, the mortality rate was decreased slightly in 2000 to 2004, after it had continuously increased since the late 1980s that trend was similar in both sexes. The expected age effect was noticeable, starting from the mid-60's. In addition, the age effect in women was more remarkable than that in men. Women born from the early 1900s to 1925 observed an increase in ischemic heart mortality. That cohort effect showed significance only in women. The future cohort effect might have a lasting impact on the risk of ischemic heart disease in women with the increasing elderly population, and a national prevention policy is need to establish management of high risk by considering the age-period-cohort effect.

  2. Observed temporal evolution of global mean age of stratospheric air for the 2002 to 2010 period

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. P. Stiller

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available An extensive observational data set, consisting of more than 106 SF6 vertical profiles from MIPAS measurements distributed over the whole globe has been condensed into monthly zonal means of mean age of air for the period September 2002 to January 2010, binned at 10° latitude and 1–2 km altitude. The data were analysed with respect to their temporal variation by fitting a regression model consisting of a constant and a linear increase term, 2 proxies for the QBO variation, sinusoidal terms for the seasonal and semi-annual variation and overtones for the correction of the shapes to the observed data set. The impact of subsidence of mesospheric SF6-depleted air and in-mixing into non-polar latitudes on mid-latitudinal absolute age of air and its linear increase was assessed and found to be small.

    The linear increase of mean age of stratospheric air was found to be positive and partly larger than the trend derived by Engel et al. (2009 for most of the Northern mid-latitudes, the middle stratosphere in the tropics, and parts of the Southern mid-latitudes, as well as for the Southern polar upper stratosphere. Multi-year decrease of age of air was found for the lowermost and the upper stratospheric tropics, for parts of Southern mid-latitudes, and for the Northern polar regions. Analysis of the amplitudes and phases of the seasonal variation shed light on the coupling of stratospheric regions to each other. In particular, the Northern mid-latitude stratosphere is well coupled to the tropics, while the Northern lowermost mid-latitudinal stratosphere is decoupled, confirming the separation of the shallow branch of the Brewer-Dobson circulation from the deep branch. We suggest an overall increased tropical upwelling, together with weakening of mixing barriers, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, as a hypothetical model to explain the observed pattern of linear multi-year increase/decrease, and amplitudes

  3. Study on Climatic Variation and Its Effect on Vegetable Type Soybean Genotypes at Khumaltar, Lalitpur in the Last Ten Years

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Santosh Raj Tripathi

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Soybean (Glycine max L. Merril is widely grown in the mid hills as intercrop with maize or in paddy bunds, while it is gaining popularity as sole crop in terai and inner terai. Mean temperature at Khumaltar during soybean growing period was mostly fluctuating; but we observed an increasing trend in temperature. Amount of rainfall was not changed dramatically but number of rainy days was decreased during study period. Rainfall during germination time increase soil moisture which also increase germination and found higher early stand. Days from sowing to 50% flowering and 90% maturity were short in the case of higher minimum temperature and low rainfall. Among the genotypes, AGS-377, AGS-378, AGS-379 and Tarkari Bhattmas-1 were more sensitive. However, seed yield decreased in the case of higher temperatures and low rainfall. Cool night temperatures and high moisture increased disease incidence in soybean which, eventually reduced yield. In last three years, plant suffered from moisture stress during early vegetative stage and high moisture during late vegetative stage which reduced seed yield and seed weight. In conclusion, we found that genotypes like AGS- 360, Sathiya and Tarkari Bhatmas-1 are very sensitive to climatic variation.

  4. Last crystals for the CMS chandelier

    CERN Multimedia

    2008-01-01

    In March, the last crystals for CMS’s electromagnetic calorimeter arrived from Russia and China. Like dedicated jewellers crafting an immense chandelier, the CMS ECAL collaborators are working extremely hard to install all the crystals before the start-up of the LHC. One of the last CMS end-cap crystals, complete with identification bar code. Lead tungstate crystals mounted onto one section of the CMS ECAL end caps. Nearly 10 years after the first production crystal arrived at CERN in September 1998, the very last shipment has arrived. These final crystals will be used to complete the end-caps of the electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL) at CMS. All in all, there are more than 75,000 crystals in the ECAL. The huge quantity of CMS lead tungstate crystals used in the ECAL corresponds to the highest volume ever produced for a single experiment. The excellent quality of the crystals, both in ter...

  5. Last-position elimination-based learning automata.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Junqi; Wang, Cheng; Zhou, MengChu

    2014-12-01

    An update scheme of the state probability vector of actions is critical for learning automata (LA). The most popular is the pursuit scheme that pursues the estimated optimal action and penalizes others. This paper proposes a reverse philosophy that leads to last-position elimination-based learning automata (LELA). The action graded last in terms of the estimated performance is penalized by decreasing its state probability and is eliminated when its state probability becomes zero. All active actions, that is, actions with nonzero state probability, equally share the penalized state probability from the last-position action at each iteration. The proposed LELA is characterized by the relaxed convergence condition for the optimal action, the accelerated step size of the state probability update scheme for the estimated optimal action, and the enriched sampling for the estimated nonoptimal actions. The proof of the ϵ-optimal property for the proposed algorithm is presented. Last-position elimination is a widespread philosophy in the real world and has proved to be also helpful for the update scheme of the learning automaton via the simulations of well-known benchmark environments. In the simulations, two versions of the LELA, using different selection strategies of the last action, are compared with the classical pursuit algorithms Discretized Pursuit Reward-Inaction (DP(RI)) and Discretized Generalized Pursuit Algorithm (DGPA). Simulation results show that the proposed schemes achieve significantly faster convergence and higher accuracy than the classical ones. Specifically, the proposed schemes reduce the interval to find the best parameter for a specific environment in the classical pursuit algorithms. Thus, they can have their parameter tuning easier to perform and can save much more time when applied to a practical case. Furthermore, the convergence curves and the corresponding variance coefficient curves of the contenders are illustrated to characterize their

  6. Conductive Hearing Loss Has Long-Lasting Structural and Molecular Effects on Presynaptic and Postsynaptic Structures of Auditory Nerve Synapses in the Cochlear Nucleus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clarkson, Cheryl; Antunes, Flora M; Rubio, Maria E

    2016-09-28

    Sound deprivation by conductive hearing loss increases hearing thresholds, but little is known about the response of the auditory brainstem during and after conductive hearing loss. Here, we show in young adult rats that 10 d of monaural conductive hearing loss (i.e., earplugging) leads to hearing deficits that persist after sound levels are restored. Hearing thresholds in response to clicks and frequencies higher than 8 kHz remain increased after a 10 d recovery period. Neural output from the cochlear nucleus measured at 10 dB above threshold is reduced and followed by an overcompensation at the level of the lateral lemniscus. We assessed whether structural and molecular substrates at auditory nerve (endbulb of Held) synapses in the cochlear nucleus could explain these long-lasting changes in hearing processing. During earplugging, vGluT1 expression in the presynaptic terminal decreased and synaptic vesicles were smaller. Together, there was an increase in postsynaptic density (PSD) thickness and an upregulation of GluA3 AMPA receptor subunits on bushy cells. After earplug removal and a 10 d recovery period, the density of synaptic vesicles increased, vesicles were also larger, and the PSD of endbulb synapses was larger and thicker. The upregulation of the GluA3 AMPAR subunit observed during earplugging was maintained after the recovery period. This suggests that GluA3 plays a role in plasticity in the cochlear nucleus. Our study demonstrates that sound deprivation has long-lasting alterations on structural and molecular presynaptic and postsynaptic components at the level of the first auditory nerve synapse in the auditory brainstem. Despite being the second most prevalent form of hearing loss, conductive hearing loss and its effects on central synapses have received relatively little attention. Here, we show that 10 d of monaural conductive hearing loss leads to an increase in hearing thresholds, to an increased central gain upstream of the cochlear nucleus at

  7. Last tango in mid-air for CMS

    CERN Multimedia

    2008-01-01

    TheYE-1 end-cap is the last CMS component to wave goodbye to the green grass of Cessy and plunge into the depths of the CMS cavern, bringing to an end a procession of spectacular descents lasting 15 months. See the video at the end of the article!

  8. Short-Period Surface Wave Based Seismic Event Relocation

    Science.gov (United States)

    White-Gaynor, A.; Cleveland, M.; Nyblade, A.; Kintner, J. A.; Homman, K.; Ammon, C. J.

    2017-12-01

    Accurate and precise seismic event locations are essential for a broad range of geophysical investigations. Superior location accuracy generally requires calibration with ground truth information, but superb relative location precision is often achievable independently. In explosion seismology, low-yield explosion monitoring relies on near-source observations, which results in a limited number of observations that challenges our ability to estimate any locations. Incorporating more distant observations means relying on data with lower signal-to-noise ratios. For small, shallow events, the short-period (roughly 1/2 to 8 s period) fundamental-mode and higher-mode Rayleigh waves (including Rg) are often the most stable and visible portion of the waveform at local distances. Cleveland and Ammon [2013] have shown that teleseismic surface waves are valuable observations for constructing precise, relative event relocations. We extend the teleseismic surface wave relocation method, and apply them to near-source distances using Rg observations from the Bighorn Arche Seismic Experiment (BASE) and the Earth Scope USArray Transportable Array (TA) seismic stations. Specifically, we present relocation results using short-period fundamental- and higher-mode Rayleigh waves (Rg) in a double-difference relative event relocation for 45 delay-fired mine blasts and 21 borehole chemical explosions. Our preliminary efforts are to explore the sensitivity of the short-period surface waves to local geologic structure, source depth, explosion magnitude (yield), and explosion characteristics (single-shot vs. distributed source, etc.). Our results show that Rg and the first few higher-mode Rayleigh wave observations can be used to constrain the relative locations of shallow low-yield events.

  9. Remote Cloud Sensing Intensive Observation Period (RCS-IOP) millimeter-wave radar calibration and data intercomparison

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sekelsky, S.M.; Firda, J.M.; McIntosh, R.E. [Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA (United States)] [and others

    1996-04-01

    During April 1994, the University of Massachusetts (UMass) and the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) fielded two millimeter-wave atmospheric radars in the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Remote Cloud Sensing Intensive Operation Period (RCS-IOP) experiment. The UMass Cloud Profiling Radar System (CPRS) operates simultaneously at 33.12 GHz and 94.92 GHz through a single antenna. The Penn State radar operates at 93.95 GHz and has separate transmitting and receiving antennas. The two systems were separated by approximately 75 meters and simultaneously observed a variety of cloud types at verticle incidence over the course of the experiment. This abstract presents some initial results from our calibration efforts. An absolute calibration of the UMass radar was made from radar measurements of a trihedral corner reflector, which has a known radar cross-section. A relative calibration of between the Penn State and UMass radars is made from the statistical comparison of zenith pointing measurements of low altitude liquid clouds. Attenuation is removed with the aid of radiosonde data, and the difference in the calibration between the UMass and Penn State radars is determined by comparing the ratio of 94-GHz and 95-GHz reflectivity values to a model that accounts for parallax effects of the two antennas used in the Penn State system.

  10. The last LHC dipole magnet is lowered

    CERN Multimedia

    Claudia Marcelloni

    2007-01-01

    A ceremony is held as the last of 1746 superconducting magnets is lowered into the 27-km circumference tunnel that houses the LHC. The LHC project leader, Lyn Evans, changes a banner reading ‘first magnet for the LHC’ to ‘last magnet for the LHC’ in his native Welsh.

  11. An Examination of the Quality of Wind Observations with Smartphones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hintz, Kasper; Vedel, Henrik; Muñoz-Gomez, Juan; Woetmann, Niels

    2017-04-01

    Over the last years, the number of devices connected to the internet has increased significantly making it possible for internal and external sensors to communicate via the internet, opening up many possibilities for additional data for use in the atmospheric sciences. Vaavud has manufactured small anemometer devices which can measure wind speed and wind direction when connected to a smartphone. This work examines the quality of such crowdsourced Handheld Wind Observations (HWO). In order to examine the quality of the HWO, multiple idealised measurement sessions were performed at different sites in different atmospheric conditions. In these sessions, a high-precision ultrasonic anemometer was installed to work as a reference measurement. The HWO are extrapolated to 10 m in order to compare these to the reference observations. This allows us to examine the effect of stability correction in the surface layer and the quality of height extrapolated HWO. The height extrapolation is done using the logarithmic wind profile law with and without stability correction. Furthermore, this study examines the optimal ways of using traditional observations and numerical models to validate HWO. In order to do so, a series of numerical reanalysis have been run for a period of 5 months to quantise the effect of including crowdsourced HWO in a traditional observation dataset.

  12. Mid-Term Quasi-Periodicities and Solar Cycle Variation of the White-Light Corona from 18.5 Years (1996.0 - 2014.5) of LASCO Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barlyaeva, T.; Lamy, P.; Llebaria, A.

    2015-07-01

    We report on the analysis of the temporal evolution of the solar corona based on 18.5 years (1996.0 - 2014.5) of white-light observations with the SOHO/LASCO-C2 coronagraph. This evolution is quantified by generating spatially integrated values of the K-corona radiance, first globally, then in latitudinal sectors. The analysis considers time series of monthly values and 13-month running means of the radiance as well as several indices and proxies of solar activity. We study correlation, wavelet time-frequency spectra, and cross-coherence and phase spectra between these quantities. Our results give a detailed insight on how the corona responds to solar activity over timescales ranging from mid-term quasi-periodicities (also known as quasi-biennial oscillations or QBOs) to the long-term 11 year solar cycle. The amplitude of the variation between successive solar maxima and minima (modulation factor) very much depends upon the strength of the cycle and upon the heliographic latitude. An asymmetry is observed during the ascending phase of Solar Cycle 24, prominently in the royal and polar sectors, with north leading. Most prominent QBOs are a quasi-annual period during the maximum phase of Solar Cycle 23 and a shorter period, seven to eight months, in the ascending and maximum phases of Solar Cycle 24. They share the same properties as the solar QBOs: variable periodicity, intermittency, asymmetric development in the northern and southern solar hemispheres, and largest amplitudes during the maximum phase of solar cycles. The strongest correlation of the temporal variations of the coronal radiance - and consequently the coronal electron density - is found with the total magnetic flux. Considering that the morphology of the solar corona is also directly controlled by the topology of the magnetic field, this correlation reinforces the view that they are intimately connected, including their variability at all timescales.

  13. Turing patterns in parabolic systems of conservation laws and numerically observed stability of periodic waves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barker, Blake; Jung, Soyeun; Zumbrun, Kevin

    2018-03-01

    Turing patterns on unbounded domains have been widely studied in systems of reaction-diffusion equations. However, up to now, they have not been studied for systems of conservation laws. Here, we (i) derive conditions for Turing instability in conservation laws and (ii) use these conditions to find families of periodic solutions bifurcating from uniform states, numerically continuing these families into the large-amplitude regime. For the examples studied, numerical stability analysis suggests that stable periodic waves can emerge either from supercritical Turing bifurcations or, via secondary bifurcation as amplitude is increased, from subcritical Turing bifurcations. This answers in the affirmative a question of Oh-Zumbrun whether stable periodic solutions of conservation laws can occur. Determination of a full small-amplitude stability diagram - specifically, determination of rigorous Eckhaus-type stability conditions - remains an interesting open problem.

  14. NERIS workshop. Lasting contaminations and land development. After Fukushima: the possibility of a lasting radioactive contamination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2011-11-01

    The document contains the contributions proposed during a workshop and the content of discussions after these contributions. For the first day, case studies are thus reported and commented: land contamination in Japan after the Fukushima accident, the CENTRACO plant accident, medium and long term stakes within the context of a lasting contamination by pesticides (the case of chlordecone pollution in the French West Indies), the complex and multiple actor challenges in the case of long duration radiological contamination for land agriculture, a lasting contamination in urban environment (the case of Metaleurop). The second session addressed the conditions and means for preparedness of local actors to a lasting radioactive contamination: the Norwegian approach, how to take the post-accidental perspective into account in the local safeguard plans, the PRIME project (research project on radio-ecological sensitivity indices and multi-criteria methods applied to the environment of an industrial territory), the pilot radiation protection project of the Montbeliard district, the OPAL project (to provide the local information commissions with post-accidental zoning information on the different French nuclear sites)

  15. Epidemiological characteristics of children born with Down syndrome in western Herzegovina in the period of the last twenty years (1994-2013).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumanović-Glamuzina, Darinka; Zovko, Ana; Letica, Ivona; Jerković-Raguž, Marjana; Mustapić, Antonija; Božić, Tomica; Vukojević, Mladenka

    2014-12-01

    Children with Down syndrome (DS) are an everyday casuistry of pediatric clinical medicine. The prevalence of DS is dependent on socio-demographic and cultural conditions of a community. Antenatal screening is not carried out mainly due to religious views, and the prevalence of DS in our region is really considered a "natural phenomenon". The aim of the study was to analyze some epidemiological characteristics of infants with Down syndrome in the western region of Herzegovina in the period between year 1994-2013. We performed a retrospective analysis of hospital records of children who were supervised and treated at Children's Hospital through the twenty-year period. In this period there were 44,100 liveborn infants. Down syndrome was detected in 78 children (54 male and 24 female). The prevalence is estimated at 1.8/1,000 of live births. Aborted fetuses and stillbirths were not analyzed. 37 (47%) of the parent couples were over 35 years of age. Out of that 65 cytogenetic analysis, a regular type of trisomy 21 was found in 94% of cases, and the translocation in 6%. From major malformations (MM) heart failure was more often present (47%), then the anomaly of the gastrointestinal and genitourinary systems. Ten children (12%) died, most often in the early period of infancy due to complications of the cardiovascular system. The prevalence of DS throughout these two decades has been uniform in the region of western Herzegovina. Improvement in perinatal care in recent years caused higher survival and a better quality of life for the children with DS and thus their families. DS is less a desirable family tragedy, and increasingly a tolerable family fate.

  16. Intermittent long-wavelength red light increases the period of daily locomotor activity in mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hughes Amanda M

    2005-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background We observed that a dim, red light-emitting diode (LED triggered by activity increased the circadian periods of lab mice compared to constant darkness. It is known that the circadian period of rats increases when vigorous wheel-running triggers full-spectrum lighting; however, spectral sensitivity of photoreceptors in mice suggests little or no response to red light. Thus, we decided to test the following hypotheses: dim red light illumination triggered by activity (LEDfb increases the circadian period of mice compared to constant dark (DD; covering the LED prevents the effect on period; and DBA2/J mice have a different response to LEDfb than C57BL6/J mice. Methods The irradiance spectra of the LEDs were determined by spectrophotometer. Locomotor activity of C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice was monitored by passive-infrared sensors and circadian period was calculated from the last 10 days under each light condition. For constant dark (DD, LEDs were switched off. For LED feedback (LEDfb, the red LED came on when the mouse was active and switched off seconds after activity stopped. For taped LED the red LED was switched on but covered with black tape. Single and multifactorial ANOVAs and post-hoc t-tests were done. Results The circadian period of mice was longer under LEDfb than under DD. Blocking the light eliminated the effect. There was no difference in period change in response to LEDfb between C57BL/6 and DBA/2 mice. Conclusion An increase in mouse circadian period due to dim far-red light (1 lux at 652 nm exposure was unexpected. Since blocking the light stopped the response, sound from the sensor's electronics was not the impetus of the response. The results suggest that red light as background illumination should be avoided, and indicator diodes on passive infrared motion sensors should be switched off.

  17. Observational and Dynamical Wave Climatologies. VOS vs Satellite Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grigorieva, Victoria; Badulin, Sergei; Chernyshova, Anna

    2013-04-01

    The understanding physics of wind-driven waves is crucially important for fundamental science and practical applications. This is why experimental efforts are targeted at both getting reliable information on sea state and elaborating effective tools of the sea wave forecasting. The global Visual Wave Observations and satellite data from the GLOBWAVE project of the European Space Agency are analyzed in the context of these two viewpoints. Within the first "observational" aspect we re-analyze conventional climatologies of all basic wave parameters for the last decades [5]. An alternative "dynamical" climatology is introduced as a tool of prediction of dynamical features of sea waves on global scales. The features of wave dynamics are studied in terms of one-parametric dependencies of wave heights on wave periods following the theoretical concept of self-similar wind-driven seas [3, 1, 4] and recently proposed approach to analysis of Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) data [2]. Traditional "observational" climatologies based on VOS and satellite data collections demonstrate extremely consistent pictures for significant wave heights and dominant periods. On the other hand, collocated satellite and VOS data show significant differences in wave heights, wind speeds and, especially, in wave periods. Uncertainties of visual wave observations can explain these differences only partially. We see the key reason of this inconsistency in the methods of satellite data processing which are based on formal application of data interpolation methods rather than on up-to-date physics of wind-driven waves. The problem is considered within the alternative climatology approach where dynamical criteria of wave height-to-period linkage are used for retrieving wave periods and constructing physically consistent dynamical climatology. The key dynamical parameter - exponent R of one-parametric dependence Hs ~ TR shows dramatically less pronounced latitudinal dependence as compared to observed Hs

  18. The analysis of Last Interglacial (MIS 5e) relative sea-level indicators: Reconstructing sea-level in a warmer world

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rovere, A.; Raymo, M.E.; Vacchi, M.; Lorscheid, T; Stocchi, P.; Gómez-Pujolf, L.; Harris, D.L.; Casella, E.; O'Leary, M.J.; Hearty, P.J.

    2016-01-01

    The Last Interglacial (MIS 5e, 128–116 ka) is among the most studied past periods in Earth's history. The climate at that time was warmer than today, primarily due to different orbital conditions, with smaller ice sheets and higher sea-level. Field evidence for MIS 5e sea-level was reported from

  19. Bifurcations of a periodically forced microbial continuous culture model with restrained growth rate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Jingli; Yuan, Qigang

    2017-08-01

    A three dimensional microbial continuous culture model with a restrained microbial growth rate is studied in this paper. Two types of dilution rates are considered to investigate the dynamic behaviors of the model. For the unforced system, fold bifurcation and Hopf bifurcation are detected, and numerical simulations reveal that the system undergoes degenerate Hopf bifurcation. When the system is periodically forced, bifurcation diagrams for periodic solutions of period-one and period-two are given by researching the Poincaré map, corresponding to different bifurcation cases in the unforced system. Stable and unstable quasiperiodic solutions are obtained by Neimark-Sacker bifurcation with different parameter values. Periodic solutions of various periods can occur or disappear and even change their stability, when the Poincaré map of the forced system undergoes Neimark-Sacker bifurcation, flip bifurcation, and fold bifurcation. Chaotic attractors generated by a cascade of period doublings and some phase portraits are given at last.

  20. Performance of honey bee colonies under a long-lasting dietary exposure to sublethal concentrations of the neonicotinoid insecticide thiacloprid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siede, Reinhold; Faust, Lena; Meixner, Marina D; Maus, Christian; Grünewald, Bernd; Büchler, Ralph

    2017-07-01

    Substantial honey bee colony losses have occurred periodically in the last decades. The drivers for these losses are not fully understood. The influence of pests and pathogens are beyond dispute, but in addition, chronic exposure to sublethal concentrations of pesticides has been suggested to affect the performance of honey bee colonies. This study aims to elucidate the potential effects of a chronic exposure to sublethal concentrations (one realistic worst-case concentration) of the neonicotinoid thiacloprid to honey bee colonies in a three year replicated colony feeding study. Thiacloprid did not significantly affect the colony strength. No differences between treatment and control were observed for the mortality of bees, the infestation with the parasitic mite Varroa destructor and the infection levels of viruses. No colony losses occurred during the overwintering seasons. Furthermore, thiacloprid did not influence the constitutive expression of the immunity-related hymenoptaecin gene. However, upregulation of hymenoptaecin expression as a response to bacterial challenge was less pronounced in exposed bees than in control bees. Under field conditions, bee colonies are not adversely affected by a long-lasting exposure to sublethal concentrations of thiacloprid. No indications were found that field-realistic and higher doses exerted a biologically significant effect on colony performance. © 2017 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

  1. Reconstruction of precipitation variability in the Strait of Yucatan associated with latitudinal shifts in the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone since the Last Glacial Maximum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Staines-Urías, Francisca; Seidenkrantz, Marit-Solveig; Fischel, Andrea; Kuijpers, Antoon

    2017-04-01

    The elemental composition of sediments from gravity core HOLOVAR11-03 provides a ca. 40 ka record of past climate variability in the Strait of Yucatan, between the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, a region where precipitation variability is determined by the seasonal position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Within this region, sea level pressure decreases and rainfall increases as the ITCZ moves north of the equator in response to increased solar insolation in the Northern Hemisphere during boreal summer. In contrast, as the ITCZ retracts southward towards the equator during boreal winter, rainfall diminishes and the regional sea level pressure gradient strengthens. On interannual, multidecadal and millennial timescales, fluctuations in the average latitudinal position of the ITCZ in response to insolation forcing modulate the intensity and duration of the seasonal regimens, determining average regional precipitation and, ultimately, the elemental composition of the marine sedimentary record. Regionally, higher titanium and iron content in marine sediments reflect greater terrigenous input from inland runoff, indicating greater precipitation, hence a more northerly position of the ITCZ. Correspondingly, Ti and Fe concentration data were used to reconstruct regional rainfall variability since the Last Glacial Maxima (LGM ˜24 cal ka BP). HOLOVAR11-03 age model (based on 4 AMS 14C dates obtained from multi-specific samples of planktic foraminifera) shows stable sedimentation rates in the area throughout the cored period. Nonetheless, higher terrestrial mineral input is observed since the LGM and all through the last glacial termination (24 to 12 cal ka BP), indicating a period of increased precipitation. In contrast, lower Ti and Fe values are typical for the period between 12 and 8 cal ka BP, indicating reduced precipitation. A positive trend characterizes the following interval, showing a return to wetter conditions lasting until 5 cal ka BP

  2. Isotopes and the Electron Configuration of the Blocks in the Periodic Table of Elements, upto the Last Element No.155

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khazan A.

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available This is a theoretical study, which first manifests which connexion exists between iso- topes and the electron blocks, and how the electron blocks are located in the version of the Periodic Table of Elements which ends with element No.155.

  3. Isotopes and the Electron Configuration of the Blocks in the Periodic Table of Elements, upto the Last Element No.155

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khazan A.

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available This is a theoretical study, which first manifests which connexion exists between isotopes and the electron blocks, and how the electron blocks are located in the version of the Periodic Table of Elements which ends with element No.155.

  4. Tavakoolide õpetajate suhtumine kõigi laste koosõpetamisse ja nende oskused erivajadustega laste õpetamisel tavaklassis / Ene Mägi, Aina Haljaste

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Mägi, Ene, 1939-

    2001-01-01

    1998/99. õa. Eesti tavakoolides töötavate õpetajate seas läbi viidud küsitlusest: milline on õpetajate suhtumine kõigi laste koosõpetamisse ning missugused on õpetajate oskused ja vajadused erivajadustega laste õpetamisel tavaklassis

  5. ENSO activity during the last climate cycle using Individual Foraminifera Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leduc, G.; Vidal, L.; Thirumalai, K.

    2017-12-01

    The El Niño / Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the principal mode of interannual climate variability and affects key climate parameters such as low-latitude rainfall variability. Recent climate modeling experiments tend to suggest an increase in the frequency of both El Niño and La Niña events in the future, but these results remain model-dependent and require to be validated by paleodata-model comparisons. Fossil corals indicate that the ENSO variance during the 20th century is particularly high as compared to other time periods of the Holocene. Beyond the Holocene, however, little is known on past ENSO changes, which makes difficult to test paleoclimate model simulations that are used to study the ENSO sensitivity to various types of forcings. We have expanded an Individual Foraminifera Analysis (IFA) dataset using the thermocline-dwelling N. dutertrei on a marine core collected in the Panama Basin (Leduc et al., 2009), that has proven to be a skillful way to reconstruct the ENSO (Thirumalai et al., 2013). Our new IFA dataset comprehensively covers the Holocene, allowing to verify how the IFA method compares with ENSO reconstructions using corals. The dataset then extends back in time to Marine Isotope Stage 6 (MIS), with a special focus the last deglaciation and Termination II (MIS5/6) time windows, as well as key time periods to tests the sensitivity of ENSO to ice volume and orbital parameters. The new dataset confirms variable ENSO activity during the Holocene and weaker activity during LGM than during the Holocene, as a recent isotope-enabled climate model simulations of the LGM suggests (Zhu et al., 2017). Such pattern is reproduced for the Termination II. Leduc, G., L. Vidal, O. Cartapanis, and E. Bard (2009), Modes of eastern equatorial Pacific thermocline variability: Implications for ENSO dynamics over the last glacial period, Paleoceanography, 24, PA3202, doi:10.1029/2008PA001701. Thirumalai, K., J. W. Partin, C. S. Jackson, and T. M. Quinn (2013

  6. Climate history of the Tibetan Plateau for the last 1500 years as inferred from stable carbon isotopes in three-rings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Helle, G.; Schleser, G.H.; Braeuning, A.

    2002-01-01

    For the south-eastern part of Tibet, i.e. Qamdo, a carbon isotope chronology from spruce and juniper trees, covering the last 400 and 1600 years, respectively, has been developed. Juniper tree-rings were sampled in pentad blocks, whereas the spruce chronology is annually resolved in order enable appropriate calibration of isotope data with the short instrumental temperature record available. The chronology shows a number of different climatic phases which have their analogues in Europe and North America. A short warm phase between 1200 and 1300AD appears to correspond to the Mediaeval Warm Period and a larger cool phase from about 1450 to 1600AD appears to correspond to the Little Ice Age with a short recurring episode around 1850. The current results suggest that the observed events may have occurred over the entire Northern Hemisphere, though they do not seem to have been contemporaneous with Europe and North America. (author)

  7. Slow-light dynamics in nonlinear periodic waveguides couplers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sukhorukov, A.A.; Ha, S.; Powell, D.A.

    2009-01-01

    We predict pulse switching and reshaping through nonlinear mixing of two slow-light states with different phase velocities in the same frequency range, and report on the first experimental observation of slow-light tunneling between coupled periodic waveguides.......We predict pulse switching and reshaping through nonlinear mixing of two slow-light states with different phase velocities in the same frequency range, and report on the first experimental observation of slow-light tunneling between coupled periodic waveguides....

  8. Latitudinal variations in intermediate depth ventilation and biological production over northeastern Pacific Oxygen Minimum Zones during the last 60 ka

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cartapanis, Olivier; Tachikawa, Kazuyo; Bard, Edouard

    2012-10-01

    Mechanisms affecting past variability in the Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific (ETNP) are poorly known. We analyzed core MD02-2524, obtained from the Nicaragua Margin in the present ETNP OMZ for major and minor elements (titanium (Ti), brome (Br), silicon (Si), potassium (K), and calcium (Ca)) using an X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) core scanner, and redox-sensitive trace elements (uranium (U), molybdenum (Mo), and nickel (Ni)) determined by ICP-MS. The U and Mo content was higher during the deglaciation than during the Holocene and the last glacial maximum, whereas enrichment was not observed for Ni, an element closely associated with organic matter. High-resolution XRF scanning indicated that the Ca-based carbonate content had millennial-scale variability inversely correlated with Br-based organic matter and Si/K-based opal content during the last glacial period. The available data suggest no clear regional trend in biological productivity during the last deglaciation, but significant local variability in the coastal eastern equatorial Pacific. The trace element enrichment and the lack of a concomitant increase in biogenic phases indicated that an enhanced ETNP OMZ, at least between 15°N and 12°N at a water depth of 500-900 m, was principally caused by a reduced oxygen supply driven by oceanic circulation to the Nicaragua Basin during the deglaciation. The observed patterns can be interpreted as the distinct changes in the oxygenation state of northern and southern water masses at intermediate depths. We also found evidence for a decoupling between local productivity and pore water oxygenation for several millennial-scale events during Marine Isotopic Stage 3, indicating that remote oxygen consumption and/or oceanic ventilation impacted OMZ intensity. Multi-millennial scale variations of the productivity at Papagayo upwelling cell displayed an opposite trend from productivity at the Costa Rica Dome, in relation with the latitudinal shift

  9. Stable isotope record in annually laminated lake sediments from Lake Żabińskie (NE Poland) for the last millennium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabryś, Alicja; Piotrowska, Natalia; Tylmann, Wojciech; Bonk, Alicja; Filipiak, Janusz; Wacnik, Agnieszka; Hernandez-Almeida, Ivan; Grosjean, Martin

    2015-04-01

    Stable isotope record of carbon (13C) and oxygen (18O) has been analysed from an annually laminated sediment from Lake Zabinskie (Mazurian Lakeland, NE Poland) with high resolution (1-3 yrs). The sediment layers which were formed in each year during the last millennium contain information about environmental changes in the past. The calcite layers are formed in lake sediment in warm months of the year, therefore the reconstruction of summer climate variables in the past is potentially possible. The investigation of correlation between isotope dataset and instrumental climate data for years 1897-2008 AD confirmed that theory. The record of temperature, precipitation and SPEI (Standardised Precipitation Evaporation Index) coefficient, which is a combination of both temperature and precipitation, was tested. The strongest linear correlations were found for most samples for June, July, August (JJA) months but in some cases the correlation coefficient was stronger when also May was taken into account. For the whole 120-yrs series the correlation between δ18O and average JJA temperature is 0.007, average JJA precipitation is 0.16 and average JJA SPEI is 0.20. Analyzing the results for 1897-2008 we can distinguish period 1960-2008 with relevantly stronger correlations: R(temperature) = 0.19, R(precipitation) = 0.20 and R(SPEI) = 0.45. This period is connected with cessation of human activity close to Lake Zabinskie. Reconstruction of climate variables for the last millennium was made using transfer function obtained for calibration period (1897-2008). Reconstructions showed that known climate extremes like Medieval Warm Period, Little Ice Age with Sporer (1420-1570), Maunder (1645-1715) and Dalton (1790-1820) Minimum was recorded in sediment from Lake Zabinskie. The presented study is a part of the project "Climate of northern Poland during the last 1000 years: Constraining the future with the past (CLIMPOL)", funded within Polish-Swiss Research Programme. http://www.climpol.ug.edu.pl

  10. Effect of Different Storage Period on Lactic Acid Bacterias from Goji Yogurt and Goji Yogurt with Honey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ancuta M. Rotar

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Lactic acid bacterias (LAB: Streptococcus thermophilus-ST, Lactobacillus bulgaricus-LB are well known in the food technology area for their ability to produce lactic acid (LA from carbohydrates throught fermentation. In case of goji yogurt the interaction between the two species of LAB has influence on the fermentation period and LA quantity. LAB’s are widely used in the food industry because their growth in the dairy products lowers the carbohydrate content, they can also drop the pH values under 4.0, values were common pathogens are inhibited, and because of all these properties they are capable to prolong the shelf life. The present study aims to observe the evolution of LAB’s – ST and LB, from goji yogurt (7% (A and goji yogurt (7% with honey (B during the shelf life in corelation with other physico-chemical properties such as sugar content, fat content and dry matter. The samples for the evaluation were taken in the first day of storage, at the middle of storage period and in the last day of storage.

  11. Integration of ice-core, marine and terrestrial records for the Australian Last Glacial Maximum and Termination: a contribution from the OZ INTIMATE group

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turney, C. S. M.; Haberle, S.; Fink, D.; Kershaw, A. P.; Barbetti, M.; Barrows, T. T.; Black, M.; Cohen, T. J.; Corrège, T.; Hesse, P. P.; Hua, Q.; Johnston, R.; Morgan, V.; Moss, P.; Nanson, G.; van Ommen, T.; Rule, S.; Williams, N. J.; Zhao, J.-X.; D'Costa, D.; Feng, Y.-X.; Gagan, M.; Mooney, S.; Xia, Q.

    2006-10-01

    The degree to which Southern Hemisphere climatic changes during the end of the last glacial period and early Holocene (30-8 ka) were influenced or initiated by events occurring in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere is a complex issue. There is conflicting evidence for the degree of hemispheric teleconnection and an unresolved debate as to the principle forcing mechanism(s). The available hypotheses are difficult to test robustly, however, because the few detailed palaeoclimatic records in the Southern Hemisphere are widely dispersed and lack duplication. Here we present climatic and environmental reconstructions from across Australia, a key region of the Southern Hemisphere because of the range of environments it covers and the potentially important role regional atmospheric and oceanic controls play in global climate change. We identify a general scheme of events for the end of the last glacial period and early Holocene but a detailed reconstruction proved problematic. Significant progress in climate quantification and geochronological control is now urgently required to robustly investigate change through this period. Copyright

  12. Observations of the Perseids 2012 using SPOSH cameras

    Science.gov (United States)

    Margonis, A.; Flohrer, J.; Christou, A.; Elgner, S.; Oberst, J.

    2012-09-01

    The Perseids are one of the most prominent annual meteor showers occurring every summer when the stream of dust particles, originating from Halley-type comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, intersects the orbital path of the Earth. The dense core of this stream passes Earth's orbit on the 12th of August producing the maximum number of meteors. The Technical University of Berlin (TUB) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) organize observing campaigns every summer monitoring the Perseids activity. The observations are carried out using the Smart Panoramic Optical Sensor Head (SPOSH) camera system [0]. The SPOSH camera has been developed by DLR and Jena-Optronik GmbH under an ESA/ESTEC contract and it is designed to image faint, short-lived phenomena on dark planetary hemispheres. The camera features a highly sensitive backilluminated 1024x1024 CCD chip and a high dynamic range of 14 bits. The custom-made fish-eye lens offers a 120°x120° field-of-view (168° over the diagonal). Figure 1: A meteor captured by the SPOSH cameras simultaneously during the last 2011 observing campaign in Greece. The horizon including surrounding mountains can be seen in the image corners as a result of the large FOV of the camera. The observations will be made on the Greek Peloponnese peninsula monitoring the post-peak activity of the Perseids during a one-week period around the August New Moon (14th to 21st). Two SPOSH cameras will be deployed in two remote sites in high altitudes for the triangulation of meteor trajectories captured at both stations simultaneously. The observations during this time interval will give us the possibility to study the poorly-observed postmaximum branch of the Perseid stream and compare the results with datasets from previous campaigns which covered different periods of this long-lived meteor shower. The acquired data will be processed using dedicated software for meteor data reduction developed at TUB and DLR. Assuming a successful campaign, statistics, trajectories

  13. Evolution of periodicity in periodical cicadas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ito, Hiromu; Kakishima, Satoshi; Uehara, Takashi; Morita, Satoru; Koyama, Takuya; Sota, Teiji; Cooley, John R; Yoshimura, Jin

    2015-09-14

    Periodical cicadas (Magicicada spp.) in the USA are famous for their unique prime-numbered life cycles of 13 and 17 years and their nearly perfectly synchronized mass emergences. Because almost all known species of cicada are non-periodical, periodicity is assumed to be a derived state. A leading hypothesis for the evolution of periodicity in Magicicada implicates the decline in average temperature during glacial periods. During the evolution of periodicity, the determinant of maturation in ancestral cicadas is hypothesized to have switched from size dependence to time (period) dependence. The selection for the prime-numbered cycles should have taken place only after the fixation of periodicity. Here, we build an individual-based model of cicadas under conditions of climatic cooling to explore the fixation of periodicity. In our model, under cold environments, extremely long juvenile stages lead to extremely low adult densities, limiting mating opportunities and favouring the evolution of synchronized emergence. Our results indicate that these changes, which were triggered by glacial cooling, could have led to the fixation of periodicity in the non-periodical ancestors.

  14. Sedimentary organic matter variations in the Chukchi Borderland over the last 155 kyr

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rella, S. F.; Uchida, M.

    2011-03-01

    Knowledge on past variability of sedimentary organic carbon in the Arctic Ocean is important to assess natural carbon cycling and transport processes related to global climate changes. However, the late Pleistocene oceanographic history of the Arctic is still poorly understood. In the present study we show sedimentary records of total organic carbon (TOC), C/N and CaCO3 from a piston core recovered from the northern Northwind Ridge in the far western Arctic Ocean, a region potentially sensitively responding to past variability in surface current regimes and sedimentary processes such as coastal erosion. An age model based on correlation of our CaCO3 record with the benthic δ18O stack, supplemented by lithological constraints, suggests that the piston core records paleoenvironmental changes of the last 155 kyr. According to this age model, TOC and C/N show orbital-scale increases and decreases that can be respectively correlated to the waxing and waning of large ice sheets dominating the Eurasian Arctic, suggesting advection of fine suspended matter derived from glacial erosion to the Northwind Ridge by eastward flowing intermediate water and/or surface water and sea ice during cold episodes of the last two glacial-interglacial cycles. At millennial scales, increases in TOC and C/N appear to correlate to a suite of Dansgaard-Oeschger Stadials between 120 and 40 ka before present (BP) and thus seem to respond to abrupt northern hemispheric temperature changes. Between 65 and 40 ka BP, closures and openings of the Bering Strait could have additionally influenced TOC and C/N variability. CaCO3 content tends to anti-correlate with TOC and C/N on both orbital and millennial time scales, which we interpret as enhanced sediment advection from the carbonate-rich Canadian Arctic via an extended Beaufort Gyre during warm periods of the last two glacial-interglacial cycles and increased terrestrial organic carbon advection from the Siberian Arctic during cold periods when the

  15. Lunar radionuclide records of average solar-cosmic-ray fluxes over the last ten million years

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reedy, R.C.

    1980-01-01

    Because changes in solar activity can modify the fluxes of cosmic-ray particles in the solar system, the nature of the galactic and solar cosmic rays and their interactions with matter are described and used to study the ancient sun. The use of cosmogenic nuclides in meteorites and lunar samples as detectors of past cosmic-ray variations are discussed. Meteorite records of the history of the galactic cosmic rays are reviewed. The fluxes of solar protons over various time periods as determined from lunar radionuclide data are presented and examined. The intensities of solar protons emitted during 1954 to 1964 (11-year solar cycle number 19) were much larger than those for 1965 to 1975 (solar cycle 20). Average solar-proton fluxes determined for the last one to ten million years from lunar 26 Al and 53 Mn data show little variation and are similar to the fluxes for recent solar cycles. Lunar activities of 14 C (and preliminary results for 81 Kr) indicate that the average fluxes of solar protons over the last 10 4 (and 10 5 ) years are several times larger than those for the last 10 6 to 10 7 years; however, cross-section measurements and other work are needed to confirm these flux variations

  16. Statistical significant changes in ground thermal conditions of alpine Austria during the last decade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kellerer-Pirklbauer, Andreas

    2016-04-01

    Longer data series (e.g. >10 a) of ground temperatures in alpine regions are helpful to improve the understanding regarding the effects of present climate change on distribution and thermal characteristics of seasonal frost- and permafrost-affected areas. Beginning in 2004 - and more intensively since 2006 - a permafrost and seasonal frost monitoring network was established in Central and Eastern Austria by the University of Graz. This network consists of c.60 ground temperature (surface and near-surface) monitoring sites which are located at 1922-3002 m a.s.l., at latitude 46°55'-47°22'N and at longitude 12°44'-14°41'E. These data allow conclusions about general ground thermal conditions, potential permafrost occurrence, trend during the observation period, and regional pattern of changes. Calculations and analyses of several different temperature-related parameters were accomplished. At an annual scale a region-wide statistical significant warming during the observation period was revealed by e.g. an increase in mean annual temperature values (mean, maximum) or the significant lowering of the surface frost number (F+). At a seasonal scale no significant trend of any temperature-related parameter was in most cases revealed for spring (MAM) and autumn (SON). Winter (DJF) shows only a weak warming. In contrast, the summer (JJA) season reveals in general a significant warming as confirmed by several different temperature-related parameters such as e.g. mean seasonal temperature, number of thawing degree days, number of freezing degree days, or days without night frost. On a monthly basis August shows the statistically most robust and strongest warming of all months, although regional differences occur. Despite the fact that the general ground temperature warming during the last decade is confirmed by the field data in the study region, complications in trend analyses arise by temperature anomalies (e.g. warm winter 2006/07) or substantial variations in the winter

  17. Can oscillating physics explain an apparently periodic universe?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hill, C.T.; Steinhardt, P.J.; Turner, M.S.; Chicago Univ., IL; Fermi National Accelerator Lab., Batavia, IL

    1990-01-01

    Recently, Broadhurst et al. have reported an apparent periodicity in a north-south pencil-beam red-shift survey of galaxies. We consider whether the periodicity may be an illusion caused by the oscillations of physical constants. Should the periodicity be disproven by subsequent observations, the same analysis can be used to derive new, stringent limits on the variations of physical constants. (orig.)

  18. Operating a wide-area high-availability collaborative remote observing system for classically-scheduled observations at the W. M. Keck Observatory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kibrick, Robert I.; Wirth, Gregory D.; Allen, Steven L.; Deich, William T. S.; Goodrich, Robert W.; Lanclos, Kyle; Lyke, James E.

    2011-03-01

    For over a decade, the W. M. Keck Observatory's two 10-meter telescopes have been operated remotely from its Waimea headquarters. Over the last 9 years, WMKO remote observing has expanded to allow observing teams at dedicated sites located across California to observe via the Internet either in collaboration with colleagues in Waimea or entirely from California; this capability was extended to Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia in 2010 and to Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut in early 2011. All Keck facility science instruments are currently supported. Observers distributed between as many as four sites can collaborate in the interactive operation of each instrument by means of shared VNC desktops and multipoint video and/or telephone conferencing. Automated routers at primary remote observing sites ensure continued connectivity during Internet outages. Each Keck remote observing facility is similarly equipped and configured so observers have the same operating environment. This architecture provides observers the flexibility to conduct observations from the location best suited to their needs and to adapt to last-minute changes. It also enhances the ability of off-site technical staff to provide remote support.

  19. Atmospheric multidecadal variations in the North Atlantic realm: proxy data, observations, and atmospheric circulation model studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Grosfeld

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available We investigate the spatial and temporal characteristics of multidecadal climate variability in the North Atlantic realm, using observational data, proxy data and model results. The dominant pattern of multidecadal variability of SST depicts a monopolar structure in the North Atlantic during the instrumental period with cold (warm phases during 1900–1925 and 1970–1990 (1870–1890 and 1940–1960. Two atmospheric general circulation models of different complexity forced with global SST over the last century show SLP anomaly patterns from the warm and cold phases of the North Atlantic similar to the corresponding observed patterns. The analysis of a sediment core from Cariaco Basin, a coral record from the northern Red Sea, and a long-term sea level pressure (SLP reconstruction reveals that the multidecadal mode of the atmospheric circulation characterizes climate variability also in the pre-industrial era. The analyses of SLP reconstruction and proxy data depict a persistent atmospheric mode at least over the last 300 years, where SLP shows a dipolar structure in response to monopolar North Atlantic SST, in a similar way as the models' responses do. The combined analysis of observational and proxy data with model experiments provides an understanding of multidecadal climate modes during the late Holocene. The related patterns are useful for the interpretation of proxy data in the North Atlantic realm.

  20. Pulsation properties of Mira long period variables

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cahn, J.H.

    1980-01-01

    A matter of great interest to variable star students concerns the mode of pulsation of Mira long period variables. In this report we first give observational evidence for the pulsation constant Q. We then compare the observations with calculations. Next, we review two interesting groups of papers dealing with hydrodynamic properties of long period variables. In the first, a fully dynamic nonlinear calculation maps out the Mira instability domain. In the second, special attention is paid to shock propagation beyond the photosphere which in large measure accounts for the complex spectra from this region. (orig./WL)

  1. Long-lasting increase in axonal excitability after epidurally applied DC.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jankowska, Elzbieta; Kaczmarek, Dominik; Bolzoni, Francesco; Hammar, Ingela

    2017-08-01

    Effects of direct current (DC) on nerve fibers have primarily been investigated during or just after DC application. However, locally applied cathodal DC was recently demonstrated to increase the excitability of intraspinal preterminal axonal branches for >1 h. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate whether DC evokes a similarly long-lasting increase in the excitability of myelinated axons within the dorsal columns. The excitability of dorsal column fibers stimulated epidurally was monitored by recording compound action potentials in peripheral nerves in acute experiments in deeply anesthetized rats. The results show that 1 ) cathodal polarization (0.8-1.0 µA) results in a severalfold increase in the number of epidurally activated fibers and 2 ) the increase in the excitability appears within seconds, 3 ) lasts for >1 h, and 4 ) is activity independent, as it does not require fiber stimulation during the polarization. These features demonstrate an unexplored form of plasticity of myelinated fibers and indicate the conditions under which it develops. They also suggest that therapeutic effects of epidural stimulation may be significantly enhanced if it is combined with DC polarization. In particular, by using DC to increase the number of fibers activated by low-intensity epidural stimuli, the low clinical tolerance to higher stimulus intensities might be overcome. The activity independence of long-lasting DC effects would also allow the use of only brief periods of DC polarization preceding epidural stimulation to increase the effect. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The study indicates a new form of plasticity of myelinated fibers. The differences in time course of DC-evoked increases in the excitability of myelinated nerve fibers in the dorsal columns and in preterminal axonal branches suggest that distinct mechanisms are involved in them. The results show that combining epidural stimulation and transspinal DC polarization may dramatically improve their outcome and

  2. Trouble Don't Last

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearsall, Shelley

    2004-01-01

    Even as a child, Pearsall questioned social injustice and prejudice. In her own community in Ohio and, as she grew, all over the world, she saw social inequities she could neither understand nor accept. Her novel "Trouble Don't Last," takes place during the era of the Underground Railroad. The chapter included here pulls us in…

  3. Observations of hybrid seismic events at Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat: July 1995 to September 1996

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, R.A.; Miller, A.D.; Lynch, L.; Power, J.

    1998-01-01

    Swarms of small repetitive events with similar waveforms and magnitudes are often observed during the emplacement of lava domes. Over 300 000 such events were recorded in association with the emplacement of the lava dome at Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat, from August 1995 through August 1996. These events originated Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat, from August 1995 through August 1996. These events originated <2-3 km deep. They exhibited energy ranging over approximately 1.5-4.5 Hz and were broader band than typical long-period events. We term the events `hybrid' between long-period and volcano-tectonic. The events were more impulsive and broader band prior to, compared with during and after, periods of inferred increased magma flux rate. Individual swarms contained up to 10,000 events often exhibiting very similar magnitudes and waveforms throughout the swarm. Swarms lasted hours to weeks, during which inter-event intervals generally increased, then decreased, often several times. Long-duration swarms began about every two months starting in late September 1995. We speculate that the events were produced as the magma column degassed into adjacent cracks.

  4. Working hours in a period of low economic growth

    OpenAIRE

    Walterskirchen, Ewald

    2016-01-01

    Collectively agreed reductions of working hours phased out in Europe in the 1990s. During the last two decades, working time became more flexible and heterogeneous. Working hours of full-time employees in the EU hardly changed. The strong increase in part-time work was the outstanding phenomenon. Today, one third of female employees and almost ten percent of male employees work part-time. In a period of slow growth, productivity gains will be squeezed by subdued investment and low capacity ut...

  5. Response of methane emissions from wetlands to the Last Glacial Maximum and an idealized Dansgaard–Oeschger climate event: insights from two models of different complexity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Ringeval

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The role of different sources and sinks of CH4 in changes in atmospheric methane ([CH4] concentration during the last 100 000 yr is still not fully understood. In particular, the magnitude of the change in wetland CH4 emissions at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM relative to the pre-industrial period (PI, as well as during abrupt climatic warming or Dansgaard–Oeschger (D–O events of the last glacial period, is largely unconstrained. In the present study, we aim to understand the uncertainties related to the parameterization of the wetland CH4 emission models relevant to these time periods by using two wetland models of different complexity (SDGVM and ORCHIDEE. These models have been forced by identical climate fields from low-resolution coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation model (FAMOUS simulations of these time periods. Both emission models simulate a large decrease in emissions during LGM in comparison to PI consistent with ice core observations and previous modelling studies. The global reduction is much larger in ORCHIDEE than in SDGVM (respectively −67 and −46%, and whilst the differences can be partially explained by different model sensitivities to temperature, the major reason for spatial differences between the models is the inclusion of freezing of soil water in ORCHIDEE and the resultant impact on methanogenesis substrate availability in boreal regions. Besides, a sensitivity test performed with ORCHIDEE in which the methanogenesis substrate sensitivity to the precipitations is modified to be more realistic gives a LGM reduction of −36%. The range of the global LGM decrease is still prone to uncertainty, and here we underline its sensitivity to different process parameterizations. Over the course of an idealized D–O warming, the magnitude of the change in wetland CH4 emissions simulated by the two models at global scale is very similar at around 15 Tg yr−1, but this is only around 25% of the ice-core measured

  6. Quasi-periodic Pulsations in the Most Powerful Solar Flare of Cycle 24

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolotkov, Dmitrii Y.; Pugh, Chloe E.; Broomhall, Anne-Marie; Nakariakov, Valery M.

    2018-05-01

    Quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) are common in solar flares and are now regularly observed in stellar flares. We present the detection of two different types of QPP signals in the thermal emission light curves of the X9.3-class solar flare SOL2017-09-06T12:02, which is the most powerful flare of Cycle 24. The period of the shorter-period QPP drifts from about 12 to 25 s during the flare. The observed properties of this QPP are consistent with a sausage oscillation of a plasma loop in the flaring active region. The period of the longer-period QPP is about 4 to 5 minutes. Its properties are compatible with standing slow magnetoacoustic oscillations, which are often detected in coronal loops. For both QPP signals, other mechanisms such as repetitive reconnection cannot be ruled out, however. The studied solar flare has an energy in the realm of observed stellar flares, and the fact that there is evidence of a short-period QPP signal typical of solar flares along with a long-period QPP signal more typical of stellar flares suggests that the different ranges of QPP periods typically observed in solar and stellar flares is likely due to observational constraints, and that similar physical processes may be occurring in solar and stellar flares.

  7. Dos fases en el uso del nudo borromeo en el último período de la obra de Jacques Lacan Two phases in the use of the borromean know in the last period of the work of Jacques Lacan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabián Schejtman

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available En el presente trabajo, resultado de una de las líneas de investigación exploradas en el Proyecto UBACyT P022 (2008-2010, aislamos dos fases en el uso que Jacques Lacan hace del nudo borromeo en el último período de su obra y exploramos algunas de las consecuencias clínicas de dicho distingo.In this paper, the result of one of the lines of research explored in the project UBACyT P022 (2008-2010, we isolated two phases in Jacques Lacan's use of the borromean knot in the last period of his work, and explore some of the clinical consequences of that distinction.

  8. Drought trends in the Iberian Peninsula over the last 112 years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gouveia, Célia M.; Ramos, Patrícia; Russo, Ana; Trigo, Ricardo M.

    2015-04-01

    The Iberian Peninsula is often affected by drought events with strong influences in ecosystems and the related social and economic impacts (Gouveia et al. 2012, Trigo et al., 2013). In the last decades the severity of droughts in Iberia have increased due to the higher atmospheric evaporative demand (Vicente-Serrano et al., 2014). The need for a deeper knowledge of drought frequency, duration and intensity over the Iberian Peninsula during the last 112 years is reinforced by the findings showing that the period of 1970-2010 over the Mediterranean region was considered drier when compared with 1901-1970. Together with the increasing dryness, the projections point for an increase of drought conditions during the twenty-first century (Hoerling et al., 2012) will tend to exacerbate these problems. The evolution of drought in the Iberian Peninsula was analyzed, using the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), for the period 1901-2012, and the sub-periods 1901-1937, 1938-1974 and 1975-2012. We have used SPI and SPEI for the time scale of 12 months, as obtained from CRU TS3.21 database between 1901 and 2012, using a spatial resolution of 0.5°. The drought indices were analyzed in order to identify significant trends during the entire period and sub-periods. Trends in annual precipitation and PET were also performed. Drought's duration, magnitude and time spanned between drought events were computed. SPI and SPEI significant trends show areas with opposite signals in the period 1901-2012, following precipitation patterns. Precipitation trends are significant and positive in the Northwestern region of the IP, and significant and negative in the Southern areas. SPEI identified dryer conditions and an increase in the area affected by droughts, which is in agreement with the increase in PET on the majority of the territory. The same spatial differences were identified in the drought duration, magnitude and

  9. Fermi's Paradox - The Last Challenge For Copernicanism?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ćirković, M. M.

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available We review Fermi's paradox (or the "Great Silence" problem, not only arguably the oldest and crucial problem for the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence (SETI, but also a conundrum of profound scientific, philosophical and cultural importance. By a simple analysis of observation selection effects, the correct resolution of Fermi's paradox is certain to tell us something about the future of humanity. Already more than three quarters of century old puzzle -- and a quarter of century since the last major review paper in the field by G. David Brin -- has generated many ingenious discussions and hypotheses. We analyze the often tacit methodological assumptions built in various answers to this puzzle and attempt a new classification of the numerous solutions proposed in an already huge literatureon the subject. Finally, we consider the ramifications of variousclasses of hypotheses for the practical SETI projects. Somewhatparadoxically, it seems that the class of (neocatastrophichypotheses gives, on the balance, the strongest justification tooptimism regarding our current and near-future SETI efforts.

  10. A first look at the ACER-SST dataset: Mapping the spatio-temporal variability of sea-surface temperatures in the last Glacial and the Holocene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rehfeld, Kira; Laepple, Thomas; Bassinot, Franck; Daniau, Anne-Laure; Desprat, Stéphanie; Kim, Jung-Hyun; Fernanda Sánchez-Goñi, Maria; Harrison, Sandy

    2016-04-01

    Climate in the last Glacial was characterized by abrupt and large-scale changes around cold Heinrich-Events and warm Dansgaard-Oeschger excursions in the Northern high latitudes. The global repercussions of these periods of rapid dynamics are, to date, unconstrained. Here, we present a first statistical analysis of the global multi-proxy ACER (Abrupt Climate Changes and Environmental Responses) sea surface temperature dataset, spanning the last 80 thousand years, to investigate the spatial footprints of glacial climate dynamics. In a first step we evaluate the spatial and temporal variability throughout the Glacial period, and contrast them with that during the Holocene. In a second step we investigate to which extent a temporal synchroneity of extreme events during the Glacial is detectable in the proxy records, and analyze the reversibility of Glacial dynamics.

  11. The last piece of the ring

    CERN Multimedia

    2008-01-01

    In a sequel to the recent success at CMS, the last section of the LHC beam vacuum system was installed in ATLAS on Monday 16 June. The place where experiment and accelerator meet, the completion of the last part of the continuous 27 km beampipe signals how near the LHC is to the circulation of its first beam. Watch the video! The last section of the LHC beampipe being installed in ATLAS.Although a seemingly simple piece of technology in comparison with the complexity of the detectors, the beampipe is a carefully designed and essential part of both the experiments and the LHC. The section of beam pipe that completed the LHC ring on Monday 16 June is about 20 metres from the centre of ATLAS, very close to where the first magnets of the LHC are located. Unlike the central ATLAS beampipe, which is made of beryllium, the final section is made of stainless steel. An aluminium cone surrounds the stainless steel tube with the super slim...

  12. TRACEing Last Glacial Period (25-80 ka b2k) tephra horizons within North Atlantic marine cores and exploring links to the Greenland ice-cores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbott, P. M.; Davies, S. M.; Griggs, A. J.; Bourne, A. J.; Cook, E.; Pearce, N. J. G.; Austin, W. E. N.; Chapman, M.; Hall, I. R.; Purcell, C. S.; Scourse, J. D.; Rasmussen, T. L.

    2015-12-01

    Tephrochronology is a powerful technique for the correlation and synchronisation of disparate palaeoclimatic records from different depositional environments and has considerable potential for testing climatic phasing. For example, the relative timing of atmospheric and marine changes caused by the abrupt climatic events that punctuated the last glacial period within the North Atlantic region. Here we report on efforts to establish a framework of tephra horizons within North Atlantic marine sequences that can correlate these records and if traced in the Greenland ice-cores can act as isochronous tie-lines. Investigations have been conducted on a network of marine cores from a number of sites across the North Atlantic. Tephra horizons have been identified using cryptotephra extraction techniques more commonly applied to the study of terrestrial sequences. There are two main challenges with assessing cryptotephras in the glacial North Atlantic; i) determining the transportation processes and ii) assessing the influence of secondary reworking processes and the stratigraphic integrity of the isochrons. These processes and their influence are investigated for each cryptotephra using shard size variations, major element heterogeneity and co-variance of IRD input for some cores. Numerous Icelandic cryptophras have been successfully identified in the marine records and we will discuss the integration of a number of these with an isochronous nature into a marine tephra framework and how potential correlations to the Greenland ice-core tephra framework are determined. Spatial patterns in the nature of tephra records that are emerging from the core network will be highlighted to outline some of the key areas that could be explored in the future. In addition, the synchronisation of multiple North Atlantic records to the Greenland ice-cores using the North Atlantic Ash Zone II to test the synchroneity of an abrupt cooling in the North Atlantic will be discussed.

  13. University Reactor Sharing Program. Period covered: September 1, 1981-August 31, 1982

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hajek, B.K.; Myser, R.D.; Miller, D.W.

    1982-12-01

    During the period from September 1, 1981 to August 31, 1982, the Ohio State University Nuclear Reactor Laboratory participated in the Reactor Sharing Program by providing services to eight colleges and universities. A laboratory on Neutron Activation Analysis was developed for students in the program. A summary of services provided and a copy of the laboratory procedure are attached. Services provided in the last funded period were in three major areas. These were neutron activation analysis, nuclear engineering labs, and introductions to nuclear research. One group also performed radiation surveys and produced isotopes for calibration of their own analytical equipment

  14. Solving the riddle of interglacial temperatures over the last 1.5 million years with a future IPICS "Oldest Ice" ice core

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischer, Hubertus

    2014-05-01

    The sequence of the last 8 glacial cycles is characterized by irregular 100,000 year cycles in temperature and sea level. In contrast, the time period between 1.5-1.2 million years ago is characterized by more regular cycles with an obliquity periodicity of 41,000 years. Based on a deconvolution of deep ocean temperature and ice volume contributions to benthic δ18O (Elderfield et al., Science, 2012), it is suggested that glacial sea level became progressively lower over the last 1.5 Myr, while glacial deep ocean temperatures were very similar. At the same time many interglacials prior to the Mid Brunhes event showed significantly cooler deep ocean temperatures than the Holocene, while at the same time interglacial ice volume remained essentially the same. In contrast, interglacial sea surface temperatures in the tropics changed little (Herbert et al., Science,2010) and proxy reconstructions of atmospheric CO2 using δ11B in planktic foraminifera (Hönisch et al., Science, 2009) suggest that prior to 900,000 yr before present interglacial CO2 levels did not differ substantially from those over the last 450,000 years. Accordingly, the conundrum arises how interglacials can differ in deep ocean temperature without any obvious change in ice volume or greenhouse gas forcing and what caused the change in cyclicity of glacial interglacial cycles over the Mid Pleistocene Transition. Probably the most important contribution to solve this riddle is the recovery of a 1.5 Myr old ice core from Antarctica, which among others would provide an unambiguous, high-resolution record of the greenhouse gas history over this time period. Accordingly, the international ice core community, as represented by the International Partnership for Ice Core Science (IPICS), has identified such an 'Oldest Ice' ice core as one of the most important scientific targets for the future (http://www.pages.unibe.ch/ipics/white-papers). However, finding stratigraphically undisturbed ice, which covers this

  15. New Silver Plated Coins of the Golden Horde Period Discovered in the Kurgan Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maslyuzhenko Denis N.

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The article considers the issue of the existence of monetary circulation in the southern part of Western Siberia in the Golden Horde period. In order to address the issue, the authors introduced into scientific discourse the numismatic material discovered in the Kurgan region by local residents in 2010–2016. It consisted of dangas which represented the primary means of payment in the Juchid state. A conclusion was made concerning the pulsating activity of monetary circulation in the region during the period in question. The first peak of activity occurred during the rule of Uzbek and Janibek. It was accounted for by the political and economic stability in the Horde during the reign of the leaders. The second peak took place in the second half of 14th century, which was determined on the basis of coins minted by khan Muhammad who reigned in the period of the Mamai Horde, discovered in the region. According to the authors, it was due to the preservation of economic relations which did not terminate as a result of the Great Troubles. The latest coins in the studied compilation were issues during the reign of Ulugh Muhammad and Dawlat Berdi. It should be noted that the dang minted by the last of the aforesaid khans was punctured. The authors suggest that this coin became an element of a pendant, which reflects the demonetization process observed as early as in 15th century.

  16. Plasma and field observations of a compressional Pc 5 wave event

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baumjohann, W.; Sckopke, N.; LaBelle, J.; Klecker, B.; Luehr, H.; Glassmeier, K.H.

    1987-01-01

    On October 24, 1984, the AMPTE/IRM satellite, on its inbound orbit in the 1,300 LT sector, observed a strong compressional Pc 5 event lasting for about an hour. The use of data from the full complement of detectors aboard the spacecraft allowed for detailed measurements of field and particle oscillations, with the latter covering energies from a few electron volts up to tens of keV (electrons) or even 1 MeV (protons). Both energetic proton and electron fluxes were anticorrelated with the compressional magnetic field oscillations, indicating that the event belongs to the class of in-phase events. But the energetic proton data also exhibited a new feature: Flux minima and maxima at low energies were observed somewhat later than those at higher energies. The magnetic and plasma pressure oscillations satisfy the pressure balance equation for the drift mirror mode much better than that for drift compressional Alfven waves. However, the classical criterion for the onset of the mirror instability is not satisfied. The low-energy particles showed clear signatures of gradient convection due to the wave electric field with the protons additionally undergoing gyration acceleration. The period of the pulsation decreased while the satellite was moving inward, in agreement with the individual L shell resonance model. But in contrast to earlier observations the periods of the compressional and transverse oscillations differed significantly (by ∼ 25%). The authors interpret this as Doppler shift due to spacecraft motion since in the present event the transverse oscillations did not have the purely radial (poloidal) polarization common to other published cases

  17. Die Last mit der Lust

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lutz Sauerteig

    2004-03-01

    Full Text Available Robert Jütte legt mit Lust ohne Last eine umfassende, allgemeinverständliche und spannend zu lesende Geschichte der Empfängnisverhütung von der Antike bis in die unmittelbare Gegenwart vor.

  18. Period Changes of 23 Field RR Lyrae Stars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soo-Chang Rey

    1994-12-01

    Full Text Available The secular period behavior of 23 field RR Lyrae stars is studied in order to determine if the observed period changes could be attributed, at least in the mean, to stellar evolution. The sample of stars is subdivided into two Oosterhoff groups based on the metallicity and period-shift. Despite the small sample size, we found a distinct bias toward positive period changes in the group variables. The period changes of the group variables in globular clusters. This provides yet another support for the Lee, Demarque, and Zinn(1990 evolutionary models of RR Lyrae stars and their explanation of the Sandage period-shift effect.

  19. The Sensitivity of Income Polarization - Time, length of accounting periods, equivalence scales, and income definitions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Azhar, Hussain

    This study looks at polarization and its components’ sensitivity to assumptions about equivalence scales, income definition, ethical income distribution parameters, and the income accounting period. A representative sample of Danish individual incomes from 1984 to 2002 is utilised. Results show...... that polarization has increased over time, regardless of the applied measure, when the last part of the period is compared to the first part of the period. Primary causes being increased inequality (alienation) and faster income growth among high incomes relative to those in the middle of the distribution....... Increasing the accounting period confirms the reduction in inequality found for shorter periods, but polarization is virtually unchanged, because income group identification increases. Applying different equivalence scales does not change polarization ranking for different years, but identification ranks...

  20. Wave propagation in one-dimensional solid-fluid quasi-periodic and aperiodic phononic crystals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen Ali, E-mail: alchen@bjtu.edu.cn [Institute of Engineering Mechanics, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044 (China); Wang Yuesheng [Institute of Engineering Mechanics, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044 (China); Zhang Chuanzeng [Department of Civil Engineering, University of Siegen, D-57068 Siegen (Germany)

    2012-02-01

    The propagation of the elastic waves in one-dimensional (1D) solid-fluid quasi-periodic phononic crystals is studied by employing the concept of the localization factor, which is calculated by the transfer matrix method. The solid-fluid interaction effect at the interfaces between the solid and the fluid components is considered. For comparison, the periodic systems and aperiodic Thue-Morse sequence are also analyzed in this paper. The splitting phenomenon of the pass bands and bandgaps are discussed for these 1D solid-fluid systems. At last the influences of the material impedance ratios on the band structures of the 1D solid-fluid quasi-periodic phononic crystals arranged as Fibonacci sequence are discussed.

  1. Indications of pediatric tracheostomy over the last 30 years: Has anything changed?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gergin, Ozgul; Adil, Eelam A; Kawai, Kosuke; Watters, Karen; Moritz, Ethan; Rahbar, Reza

    2016-08-01

    Recent reports have shown that the indications for pediatric tracheostomy have evolved over time. To review the indications for pediatric tracheostomy over the last 30 years. Retrospective chart review. Tertiary referral children's hospital. Patients who underwent tracheostomy. Surgical tracheostomy placement. Medical records for patients who underwent surgical tracheostomy over the 30-year study period (1984-2014) were reviewed. Patient characteristics including age, gender, birth-weight, gestational age and death were collected and compared with the primary indication for tracheostomy using bivariable analysis. Five hundred and one patients met inclusion criteria. The most common primary indications for tracheostomy were cardiopulmonary disease (34%) and neurological impairment (32%), followed by airway obstruction (19%), craniofacial (11%), and traumatic injury (4%). Over the last five years (2010-14) cardiopulmonary disease became the most common indication for tracheostomy. and The indications for pediatric tracheostomy have evolved over the past 30 years. Infectious causes of airway obstruction and tracheostomy have almost disappeared. Tracheostomy is now most commonly performed in very premature patients with cardiopulmonary or neurological impairment who require prolonged ventilator support. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Does developmental hypothyroidism produce lasting effects ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    The subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus (DO) of the adult hippocampus generates new neurons throughout life. Thyroid hormones (TH) are essential for brain development, but impaired neurogenesis with adult hypothyroidism has also been reported. We investigated the role of milder degrees of TH disruption on adult neurogenesis following hypothyroidism induced during development, in adulthood, or both. Pregnant dams were administered the TH synthesis inhibitor, propylthiouracil (PTU, 0 or 3ppm in drinking water) from gestational day 6 and pups were weaned to control water on postnatal day (PN)2 I. On PN6O, offspring from control or PTU dams were either re-exposed to PTU (3ppm) for I month or maintained on control. Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU 50 mg/kg, ip, twice daily) was administered to all animals on the last 5 days of the re-exposure period, and animals sacrificed 28 d later. Animals were perfused intracardially, the brains were removed, embedded in a MultiBrain (NSA) array and freeze sectioned. Every 8th section throughout the hippocampus was stained with an antibody against BrdU to mark actively dividing cells. The volume of the DO and the number of BrdUpositive cells were assessed from images captured on a Nikon microscope (200X) and Nikon Elements software. Preliminary findings indicate that developmental exposure to PTU produced a persistent reduction in the volume of the adult DO. BrdU cell counts were reduced similarly in all P11J-exposed groups. These data

  3. Neural Consequences of Chronic Short Sleep: Reversible or Lasting?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhengqing Zhao

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Approximately one-third of adolescents and adults in developed countries regularly experience insufficient sleep across the school and/or work week interspersed with weekend catch up sleep. This common practice of weekend recovery sleep reduces subjective sleepiness, yet recent studies demonstrate that one weekend of recovery sleep may not be sufficient in all persons to fully reverse all neurobehavioral impairments observed with chronic sleep loss, particularly vigilance. Moreover, recent studies in animal models demonstrate persistent injury to and loss of specific neuron types in response to chronic short sleep (CSS with lasting effects on sleep/wake patterns. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of the effects of chronic sleep disruption on neurobehavioral performance and injury to neurons, astrocytes, microglia, and oligodendrocytes and discuss what is known and what is not yet established for reversibility of neural injury. Recent neurobehavioral findings in humans are integrated with animal model research examining long-term consequences of sleep loss on neurobehavioral performance, brain development, neurogenesis, neurodegeneration, and connectivity. While it is now clear that recovery of vigilance following short sleep requires longer than one weekend, less is known of the impact of CSS on cognitive function, mood, and brain health long term. From work performed in animal models, CSS in the young adult and short-term sleep loss in critical developmental windows can have lasting detrimental effects on neurobehavioral performance.

  4. Observational methodology in sport sciences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Teresa Anguera

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper reviews the conceptual framework, the key literature and the methods (observation tools, such as category systems and field formats, and coding software, etc. that should be followed when conducting research from the perspective of observational methodology. The observational designs used by the authors’ research group over the last twenty years are discussed, and the procedures for analysing data and assessing their quality are described. Mention is also made of the latest methodological trends in this field, such as the use of mixed methods.

  5. Study for elevator cage position during the braking period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ungureanu, M.; Crăciun, I.; Bănică, M.; Dăscălescu, A.

    2016-08-01

    An important problem in order to study an elevator cage position for its braking period is to establish a correlation between the studies in the fields of mechanics and electric. The classical approaches to establish the elevator kinematic parameters are position, velocity and acceleration, but the last studies performed in order to determine the positioning performed by introducing supplementary another parameter - the jerk- which is derived with respect to time of acceleration. Thus we get a precise method for cage motion control for third-order trajectory planning.

  6. The three lost millennia of the last deglaciation (Alfred Wegener Medal Lecture)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bard, Edouard

    2013-04-01

    collected in river mouths, and of sea-level rise as recorded in corals from Tahiti and Barbados. Various isotopic proxies of deep-sea ventilation have been used to identify variations during the H1 sub-phases of the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC), indicating that ocean heat transport was involved in the observed climate fluctuations. The various records documenting different climate parameters at many locations over the Earth can also be used in meaningful comparison with numerical model simulations performed in a transient mode. Collectively, these works allow to estimate the phase relationships between the causes (insolation and the greenhouse effect) and the often abrupt responses of the various components of the climate system, such as the atmosphere, oceans and ice sheets. Although these studies concern a naturally-occurring global warming that took place over a long time period, useful parallels will be drawn with the evolution of modern climate. In fact, the phase relationships between forcings (such as greenhouse gases and solar input) and changes in regional and global temperatures are also at the heart of modern global climate change. As for early deglaciation, the ocean can modulate warming regionally, thereby delaying, or even temporarily masking, long-term changes. Climate changes over the last century have been smaller in magnitude than those of the last deglaciation. Fortunately for us, there has been no recent collapse of gigantic ice masses such as the Laurentian and Fennoscandian ice sheets. However, most climate models show a 20 to 40% reduction of the MOC during the 21st century. Even if this change exerts only a minor influence on the projected magnitude of global warming, such a slowdown in ocean circulation change is generally sufficient to reduce the simulated warming over the North Atlantic with a resulting impact on adjacent continents, including Europe.

  7. Day-to-day thermosphere parameter variation as deduced from Millstone Hill incoherent scatter radar observations during March 16-22, 1990 magnetic storm period

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. V. Mikhailov

    1997-11-01

    Full Text Available A self-consistent method for day-time F2-region modelling was applied to the analysis of Millstone Hill incoherent scatter observations during the storm period of March 16-22, 1990. The method allows us to calculate in a self-consistent way neutral composition, temperature and meridional wind as well as the ionized species height distribution. Theoretically calculated Ne(h profiles fit the observed daytime ones with great accuracy in the whole range of heights above 150 km for both quiet and disturbed days. The overall increase in Tex by 270 K from March 16 to March 22 reflects the increase of solar activity level during the period in question. A 30% decrease in [O] and a two-fold increase in [N2] are calculated for the disturbed day of March 22 relative to quiet time prestorm conditions. Only a small reaction to the first geomagnetic disturbance on March 18 and the initial phase of the second storm on March 20 was found in [O] and [N2] variations. The meridional neutral wind inferred from plasma vertical drift clearly demonstrates the dependence on the geomagnetic activity level being more equatorward on disturbed days. Small positive F2-layer storm effects on March 18 and 20 are totally attributed to the decrease in the northward neutral wind but not to changes in neutral composition. A moderate (by a factor of 1.5 O/N2 ratio decrease relative to the MSIS-83 model prediction is required to describe the observed NmF2 decrease on the most disturbed day of March 22, but virtually no change of this ratio is needed for March 21.

  8. Being an only or last-born child increases later risk of obesity.

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    Line K Haugaard

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Studies have suggested that number of siblings and birth order is associated with obesity. However, studies combining these exposures are needed. This study aimed at investigating obesity in children and young adults in regard to different combinations of family size and birth order. METHODS: Two cohorts selected from the general population were investigated: The Copenhagen School Health Records Register (CSHRR and a Draft Board (DB sample with measured heights and weights in childhood (age 13 years and young adulthood (age 19 years, respectively. Information on birth order, number of siblings, and relevant covariates were available on 29 327 children, as well as on 323 obese young men and 575 randomly selected controls of young men representing approximately 58 000. The relation between number of siblings and birth order, respectively, and having a Body Mass Index (BMI z-score above or equal to the 95(th percentile in childhood or having a BMI of at least 31.00 kg/m(2 in young adulthood was analysed using logistic regression analyses adjusted for relevant confounders. RESULTS: Only children had significantly higher odds of obesity both in childhood and in young adulthood compared with children with siblings, odds ratio (OR =1.44 (95% Confidence Interval (CI: 1.26-1.66 and OR=1.76 (95% CI: 1.18-2.61, respectively. No association between first-born status and obesity was found. The OR of last-born children being obese was also significantly increased in childhood, e.g. OR=1.93 (95% CI: 1.09-3.43 of obesity if last-born in a family of four children. This was not found in young adulthood. Additionally, higher spacing to previous sibling (average 1872 vs. 1303 days; p=0.026 in four children families was observed in obese last-born compared to non-obese last-born children. CONCLUSION: Being an only or last-born child is associated with obesity. These associations may provide leads to targeted prevention of obesity in children.

  9. Water vapour inter-comparison effort in the framework of the hydrological cycle in the mediterranean experiment - special observation period (hymex-sop1)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Summa, Donato; Di Girolamo, Paolo; Flamant, Cyrille; De Rosa, Benedetto; Cacciani, Marco; Stelitano, Dario

    2018-04-01

    Accurate measurements of the vertical profiles of water vapour are of paramount importance for most key areas of atmospheric sciences. A comprehensive inter-comparison between different remote sensing and in-situ sensors has been carried out in the frame work of the first Special Observing Period of the Hydrological cycle in the Mediterranean Experiment for the purpose of obtaining accurate error estimates for these sensors. The inter-comparison involves a ground-based Raman lidar (BASIL), an airborne DIAL (LEANDRE2), a microwave radiometer, radiosondes and aircraft in-situ sensors.

  10. Shortwave forcing and feedbacks in Last Glacial Maximum and Mid-Holocene PMIP3 simulations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braconnot, Pascale; Kageyama, Masa

    2015-11-13

    Simulations of the climates of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), 21 000 years ago, and of the Mid-Holocene (MH), 6000 years ago, allow an analysis of climate feedbacks in climate states that are radically different from today. The analyses of cloud and surface albedo feedbacks show that the shortwave cloud feedback is a major driver of differences between model results. Similar behaviours appear when comparing the LGM and MH simulated changes, highlighting the fingerprint of model physics. Even though the different feedbacks show similarities between the different climate periods, the fact that their relative strength differs from one climate to the other prevents a direct comparison of past and future climate sensitivity. The land-surface feedback also shows large disparities among models even though they all produce positive sea-ice and snow feedbacks. Models have very different sensitivities when considering the vegetation feedback. This feedback has a regional pattern that differs significantly between models and depends on their level of complexity and model biases. Analyses of the MH climate in two versions of the IPSL model provide further indication on the possibilities to assess the role of model biases and model physics on simulated climate changes using past climates for which observations can be used to assess the model results. © 2015 The Author(s).

  11. Variability and changes in selected climate elements in Madrid and Alicante in the period 2000-2014

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cielecka Katarzyna

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to compare climatic conditions between the interior of the Iberian Peninsula and the southeastern coast of Spain. The article analyzes selected elements of climate over the last 15 years (2000-2014. Synoptic data from airport meteorological stations in Madrid Barajas and Alicante Elche were used. Attention was focused on annual air temperature, relative humidity and precipitation. The mean climatic conditions over the period 2000-2014 were compared with those over the 1961-1990 period which is recommended by WMO as climate normal and with data for the 1971-2000 coming from ‘Climate Atlas’ of Spanish meteorologists group AEMET. Two of climate elements discussed were characterized by significant changes. The annual air temperature was higher by about 0.2°C in Alicante and 0.9°C in Madrid in the period 2000-2014 compared to the 1961-1990. The current winters were colder than in years 1961-1990 at both stations. Gradual decrease in annual precipitation totals was observed at both stations. In 1961-1990 the annual average precipitation in Madrid amounted to 414 mm, while in Alicante it was 356 mm. However, in the recent years of 2000-2014 these totals were lower compared to 1961-1990 reaching 364.1 mm in the central part of Spain and 245.7 mm on the south-western coast.

  12. [Evaluation of immunosuppressive treatment on homocystein levels in patients after kidney transplantation during a 2 year observation period].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aksamit, Dariusz; Janda, Katarzyna; Kuźniewski, Marek; Krzanowski, Marcin; Ignacak, Ewa; Betkowska-Prokop, Alina; Chowaniec, Eve; Sułowicz, Wladysław

    2012-01-01

    The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of the type of prescribed immunosuppression: cyclosporine A (CsA) vs. tacrolimus (Tac) on remote homocystein levels in patients (pts) after kidney transplantation (Ktx). The study included 51 pts (17 F, 34 M) aged 15 to 62 years (mean 38.1) after cadaver Ktx. The mean observation period equaled 21.2 months (6 -24); while total observation period was 90 personlyears. Before Ktx, 46 pts were treated with maintenance hemodialysis (HD), while 5 by peritoneal dialysis (PD). After Ktx, patients had immunosuppression prescribed according to the following schemes: prednisone (P) + CsA + azathioprine (AZA) - 12 pts; P + CsA + mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) -26 pts; P + Tac + MMF - 11 pts; and P + Tac + AZA - 2 pts. Hcy level was measured using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Serum creatinine level was measured by standard method using the Hitachi 917 analyzer. Creatinine clearance was calculated based on the Cockcroft-Gault formula. Patient's blood was drawn before Ktx and 3, 6, 9, 12,15, 18, 21 and 24 months post procedure. Delayed graft function (DGF) after Ktx was diagnosed in 29 pts (56.9%) and this group required from 4 to 28 HD sessions (mean 14 sessions). Hcy level did not significantly differ between pts requiring (29 pts) and not requiring (22 pts) HD treatment after Ktx. It was also noted that the number of performed HD sessions did not significantly correlate with Hcy levels 24 months after Ktx (R =0.04, p=0.81). No relationship was found (non-parametric Spearman test) between the drop in Hcy level 3 months after Ktx as compare with value before Ktx and ischemia time (R=0.09, p=0.49), number of compatible HLA A and B (R=0.07, p=0.63), and DR antigens (R=0.09, p=0.51). Decrease in Hcy level (before Ktx and 24 months after Ktx) did not significantly correlate with the above parameters, respectively: R=-0.14, p=0.40; R=0.06, p=0.73; R=0.12, p=0.45; R=0.11, p=0.50. Decrease in Hcy level (before Ktx and 3

  13. SPECKLE OBSERVATIONS OF BINARY STARS WITH THE WIYN TELESCOPE. VII. MEASURES DURING 2008-2009

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horch, Elliott P.; Bahi, Lizzie Anne P.; Gaulin, Joseph R.; Howell, Steve B.; Sherry, William H.; Baena Gallé, Roberto; Van Altena, William F.

    2012-01-01

    Five hundred thirty-one speckle measures of binary stars are reported. These data were taken mainly during the period 2008 June through 2009 October at the WIYN 3.5 m Telescope at Kitt Peak and represent the last data set of single-filter speckle observations taken in the WIYN speckle program prior to the use of the current two-channel speckle camera. The astrometric and photometric precision of these observations is consistent with previous papers in this series: we obtain a typical linear measurement uncertainty of approximately 2.5 mas, and the magnitude differences reported have typical uncertainties in the range of 0.1-0.14 mag. In combination with measures already in the literature, the data presented here permit the revision of the orbit of A 1634AB (= HIP 76041) and the first determination of visual orbital elements for HDS 1895 (= HIP 65982).

  14. Assessing spatial patterns of extreme droughts associated to return periods from observed dataset: Case study of Segura River Basin (Spain)

    Science.gov (United States)

    García Galiano, Sandra G.; Diego Giraldo Osorio, Juan

    2013-04-01

    In basins of South-eastern Spain, such as the Segura River Basin (SRB), a strong decrease in runoff from the end of the 1970s has been observed. In the SRB, due to intensive reforestation aimed at halting desertification and erosion, added to climate variability and change, the default assumption of stationarity in water resources systems cannot be guaranteed. Therefore there is an important need for improvement in the ability of monitoring and predicting the impacts associated with the change of hydrologic regime. It is thus necessary to apply non-stationary probabilistic models, which are able to reproduce probability density functions whose parameters vary with time. From a high-resolution daily gridded rainfall dataset of more than 50 years (1950-2007 time period), the spatial distribution of lengths of maximum dry spells for several thresholds are assessed, applying GAMLSS (Generalized Additive Models for Location Scale and Shape) models at grid site. Results reveal an intensification of extreme drought events in some headbasins of the SRB important for water supply. The identification of spatial patterns of drought hazards at basin scale, associated to return periods, contribute to designing strategies of drought contingency preparedness and recovery operations, which are the leading edge of adaptation strategies.

  15. WARC: The First and the Last

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    T. Cesky

    1992-05-01

    Full Text Available WARC-92 was the last of its kind. The "Last Big WARC". The process was very difficult and some refer to the conference as consensus by exhaustion, clearly demonstrating one of the reasons for restructuring the ITU. CEPT (Conference europeenne des Administrations des postes et des telecommunications countries entered this Conference with their ECPs - European Common Proposals - extending thus the potential for frequency harmonization within Europe. The CEPT preparation for, and participation in, WARC-92 was the most effective yet and built on lessons learned at a number of previous WARC's. This WARC was the first Conference where CEPT was present with its new expanded membership. European countries therefore had to be constantly on the guard to avoid giving the impression that CEPT was an inflexible political block with 32 potential votes. Lastly, the Soviet Union together with its satellites was, for the first time, no longer in evidence, although the Russian Federation was generally supported by other countries from within the new Commonwealth of Independent States. The objective of this article is to point out principal WARC decisions from European point of view.

  16. Improvement of the Management of Infants, Children and Adults with a Molecular Diagnosis of Enterovirus Meningitis during Two Observational Study Periods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Archimbaud, Christine; Ouchchane, Lemlih; Mirand, Audrey; Chambon, Martine; Demeocq, François; Labbé, André; Laurichesse, Henri; Schmidt, Jeannot; Clavelou, Pierre; Aumaître, Olivier; Regagnon, Christel; Bailly, Jean-Luc; Henquell, Cécile; Peigue-Lafeuille, Hélène

    2013-01-01

    Enteroviruses (EVs) are a major cause of aseptic meningitis, and RNA detection using molecular assay is the gold standard diagnostic test. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of an EV positive diagnosis on the clinical management of patients admitted for meningitis over the course of two observational study periods (2005 and 2008–09) in the same clinical departments. We further investigated in multivariate analysis various factors possibly associated with hospital length of stay (LOS) in all age groups (infants, children, and adults). The results showed an overall improvement in the management of patients (n = 142) between the study periods, resulting in a significantly shorter hospital LOS for adults and children, and a shorter duration of antibiotic use for adults and infants. In multivariate analysis, we observed that the time from molecular test results to discharge of patients and the median duration of antibiotic treatment were associated with an increase in LOS in all age groups. In addition, among adults, the turnaround time of the molecular assay was significantly correlated with LOS. The use of CT scan in children and hospital admission outside the peak of EV prevalence in infants tended to increase LOS. In conclusion, the shorter length of stay of patients with meningitis in this study was due to various factors including the rapidity of the EV molecular test (particularly in adults), greater physician responsiveness after a positive result (in adults and children), and greater experience on the part of physicians in handling EV meningitis, as evidenced by the shorter duration of antibiotic use in adults and infants. PMID:23874676

  17. Improvement of the management of infants, children and adults with a molecular diagnosis of Enterovirus meningitis during two observational study periods.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christine Archimbaud

    Full Text Available Enteroviruses (EVs are a major cause of aseptic meningitis, and RNA detection using molecular assay is the gold standard diagnostic test. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of an EV positive diagnosis on the clinical management of patients admitted for meningitis over the course of two observational study periods (2005 and 2008-09 in the same clinical departments. We further investigated in multivariate analysis various factors possibly associated with hospital length of stay (LOS in all age groups (infants, children, and adults. The results showed an overall improvement in the management of patients (n = 142 between the study periods, resulting in a significantly shorter hospital LOS for adults and children, and a shorter duration of antibiotic use for adults and infants. In multivariate analysis, we observed that the time from molecular test results to discharge of patients and the median duration of antibiotic treatment were associated with an increase in LOS in all age groups. In addition, among adults, the turnaround time of the molecular assay was significantly correlated with LOS. The use of CT scan in children and hospital admission outside the peak of EV prevalence in infants tended to increase LOS. In conclusion, the shorter length of stay of patients with meningitis in this study was due to various factors including the rapidity of the EV molecular test (particularly in adults, greater physician responsiveness after a positive result (in adults and children, and greater experience on the part of physicians in handling EV meningitis, as evidenced by the shorter duration of antibiotic use in adults and infants.

  18. Improved nonparametric inference for multiple correlated periodic sequences

    KAUST Repository

    Sun, Ying

    2013-08-26

    This paper proposes a cross-validation method for estimating the period as well as the values of multiple correlated periodic sequences when data are observed at evenly spaced time points. The period of interest is estimated conditional on the other correlated sequences. An alternative method for period estimation based on Akaike\\'s information criterion is also discussed. The improvement of the period estimation performance is investigated both theoretically and by simulation. We apply the multivariate cross-validation method to the temperature data obtained from multiple ice cores, investigating the periodicity of the El Niño effect. Our methodology is also illustrated by estimating patients\\' cardiac cycle from different physiological signals, including arterial blood pressure, electrocardiography, and fingertip plethysmograph.

  19. Halogen species record Antarctic sea ice extent over glacial–interglacial periods

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    A. Spolaor

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Sea ice is an integral part of the earth's climate system because it affects planetary albedo, sea-surface salinity, and the atmosphere–ocean exchange of reactive gases and aerosols. Bromine and iodine chemistry is active at polar sea ice margins with the occurrence of bromine explosions and the biological production of organoiodine from sea ice algae. Satellite measurements demonstrate that concentrations of bromine oxide (BrO and iodine oxide (IO decrease over sea ice toward the Antarctic interior. Here we present speciation measurements of bromine and iodine in the TALDICE (TALos Dome Ice CorE ice core (159°11' E, 72°49' S; 2315 m a.s.l. spanning the last 215 ky. The Talos Dome ice core is located 250 km inland and is sensitive to marine air masses intruding onto the Antarctic Plateau. Talos Dome bromide (Br− is positively correlated with temperature and negatively correlated with sodium (Na. Based on the Br−/Na seawater ratio, bromide is depleted in the ice during glacial periods and enriched during interglacial periods. Total iodine, consisting of iodide (I− and iodate (IO3−, peaks during glacials with lower values during interglacial periods. Although IO3− is considered the most stable iodine species in the atmosphere it was only observed in the TALDICE record during glacial maxima. Sea ice dynamics are arguably the primary driver of halogen fluxes over glacial–interglacial timescales, by altering the distance between the sea ice edge and the Antarctic plateau and by altering the surface area of sea ice available to algal colonization. Based on our results we propose the use of both halogens for examining Antarctic variability of past sea ice extent.

  20. Caroline Furness and the Evolution of Visual Variable Star Observing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larsen, Kristine

    2017-01-01

    An Introduction to the Study of Variable Stars by Dr. Caroline Ellen Furness (1869-1936), Director of the Vassar College Observatory, was published in October 2015. Issued in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of Vassar College, the work was meant to fill a void in the literature, namely as both an introduction to the topic of variable stars as well as a manual explaining how they should be observed and the resulting data analyzed. It was judged to be one of the hundred best books written by an American woman in the last hundred years at the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago. The book covers the relevant history of and background on types of variable stars, star charts, catalogs, and the magnitude scale, then describes observing techniques, including visual, photographic, and photoelectric photometry. The work finishes with a discussion of light curves and patterns of variability, with a special emphasis on eclipsing binaries and long period variables. Furness’s work is therefore a valuable snapshot of the state of astronomical knowledge, technology, and observing techniques from a century ago. Furness’s book and its reception in the scientific community are analyzed, and parallels with (and departures from) the current advice given by the AAVSO to beginning variable star observers today are highlighted.