Religion, group threat and sacred values

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Hammad Sheikh

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Sacred or protected values have important influences on decision making, particularly in the context of intergroup disputes. Thus far, we know little about the process of a value becoming sacred or why one person may be more likely than another to hold a sacred value. We present evidence that participation in religious ritual and perceived threat to the group lead people to be more likely to consider preferences as protected or sacred values. Specifically, three studies carried out with Americans and Palestinians show: (a that the more people participate in religious ritual the more likely they are to report a preference to be a sacred value (Studies 1--3; (b that people claim more sacred values when they are reminded of religious ritual (Study 2; and (c that the effect of religious ritual on the likelihood of holding a sacred value is amplified by the perception of high threat to the in-group (Study 3. We discuss implications of these findings for understanding intergroup conflicts, and suggest avenues for future research into the emergence and spread of sacred values.

A Preliminary Assessment of Ethiopian Sacred Grove Status at the Landscape and Ecosystem Scales.

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Alemaheyu Wassie Eshete

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The northern Ethiopian landscape is dotted with small patches of church forests that are religious centers for the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church (EOTC. These sacred groves are what remain of the once vast tropical Afromontane dry forest. Herein we review the landscape pattern of sacred groves in the Amhara region of Ethiopia, and their local scale nutrient status at two sites, Zahara and Debresena. A total of 1,488 sacred groves were inventoried within the study area, yielding an overall density of one sacred grove for every twenty square kilometers. Sacred groves averaged a little over five hectares and were separated from one another by more than two kilometers. At the local scale we found that soil carbon and nitrogen stocks have decreased significantly between the forest interior and the clearing indicating decreased soil fertility. Together our data indicate that these sacred groves are vulnerable to loss because of their small average size, isolation from seed sources, and decreasing soil status.

The Sacred in Mircea Eliade

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Lucas Risoto de Mesa

2014-08-01

Full Text Available This paper is an exposition of the main concepts of Mircea Eliade and how they articulate between them. Firstly, we will talk about his most important concept: the sacred. Secondly, we will talk about the foundation of the world that allow the foundation of the sacred by the primitive man. Thirdly, we will deal with the concept of repetition defined as the sacred in time. Then, we will have to speak about the two big conceptions of time: the cyclical conception and the linear conception. Last, we will speak about the forgetfulness of the sacred in modern society

Geographical Assessment of Sacred Groves in Bolpur Sub-division ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Dr Osondu

area). Methodology. A total 41 different Sacred Groves in Bolpur sub- division area were randomly ... as breeding sites for some animals and recreational facilities. Groves of Bolpur ..... Cockroach(Periplaneta anericane),Black bee. Reptiles.

Contribution to Research of Mathematical Properties of Pre-Christian Slavic Sacred Landscape Structures

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Andjelko Djermek

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Considerable amount of interpreted data indicates that the ancient Slavs positioned their sacred sites in a way which refers to characteristic Sun angles. The article addresses the question whether distances among such sites are based on a common unit of length. In particular, this article tackles that question applying the mathematical formalism on the following two assumptions: (i the absolute value of a distance between sacred sites was significant to the pre-Christian Slavic priests, along with the angles between lines connecting pairs of sites; (ii the distances were prevalently measured utilising the projections of isosceles right triangle on the horizontal plane, with the exceptions of flat grounds for which the distances were measured by walk. That assumption follows from the frequent occurrence of ratio 1:√2 in the analysed sacred sites. Based on the two stated assumptions the attempts are done to find the best possible length modules by using the probability distribution method of arithmetic sequences. The main property of length modules which are the least probable to appear by mere chance is that they account for as many as possible of distances from the analysed set of distances. The stated method is applied on numerous sacred systems described in literature. The result is that several common modules are extracted. The modules are subsequently correlated with the modules extracted in my recent article using the novel method which extracts the optimal common sub-module. Value of the length module thereby obtained is 30,9 m. It has 60 sub-units 0,515 m long (a cubit and 100 sub-units 0,309 m long (a foot. Multiples of 100 or 365 sub-units, respectively, are regularly encountered in the analysed set of sacred sites in the form of sub-harmonics of the observed distances. One may argue that results of the analysis of the distances contributed to the fact that the ancient Slavs were giving a lot of attention to a solar calendar and

The sacred geography of Kapila: the Kapilasrama of Sidhpur

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Knut A. Jacobsen

2003-01-01

Full Text Available To most scholars of Hinduism, the sage Kapila is a person associated only with ancient India and known mainly as the mythical founder of the Sāmkhya system of religious thought. This is the Kapila whose teaching is known through Yuktidīpikā, the Sāmkhyakārikā by Isvarakrsna and other Sāmkhya texts and the tradition of technical commentaries on them. In India this Kapila belongs to a scholarly tradition preserved mainly by pandits with a knowledge of Sanskrit and, for the last hundred years, also by professors in the Indian university system. In this article, the symbolic significance of one of the most important pilgrimage centres connected with Kapila, Sidhpur in Gujarat, is explored. The close connection between the sacred narratives and the rituals performed at the pilgrimage centre is a significant feature of the sacred places devoted to Kapila. At every place of pilgrimage to Kapila there are narratives about him which account for the sacredness of the place. These narratives belong to the geography of Hindu India as much as to the mythology of the Hindu tradition. The life history of Kapila is engraved in a sacred landscape. The place where Kapila was born, the place where he gave the sacred knowledge of ultimate reality to his mother, the different places where he performed tapas, the place where he killed the sons of King Sagara are all part of India's imagined landscape. The promise of the Kapila pilgrimage sites is that these places have power in themselves to remove moral impurity and grant moksa to the pilgrims. The sacred narratives of Kapila function to make this promise trustworthy.

THE BIOLOGICAL VALUES AND CONSERVATION STATUS OF SACRED GROVES IN THE BALASORE WILDLIFE DIVISION, ODISHA: A CASE STUDY

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Raj Kishore MOHANTA; Bhupendra Singh ADHIKARI; Hemanta Kumar SAHU; Kedar Kumar SWAIN

2012-01-01

On a global scale, the existing Sacred Groves (SGs) are based on ancestral worship and focus on the conservation of forest patches. Sacred groves are distributed over a wide ecosystem and help in the conservation of rare and endemic species. Well preserved sites are store houses of biological, ecological, medicinal, ethno-cultural and religious values. We documented the state of 13 Sacred Groves in Balasore, Odisha during March 2011. For a detailed investigation, sample areas were set, for th...

The price of your soul: neural evidence for the non-utilitarian representation of sacred values.

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Berns, Gregory S; Bell, Emily; Capra, C Monica; Prietula, Michael J; Moore, Sara; Anderson, Brittany; Ginges, Jeremy; Atran, Scott

2012-03-05

Sacred values, such as those associated with religious or ethnic identity, underlie many important individual and group decisions in life, and individuals typically resist attempts to trade off their sacred values in exchange for material benefits. Deontological theory suggests that sacred values are processed based on rights and wrongs irrespective of outcomes, while utilitarian theory suggests that they are processed based on costs and benefits of potential outcomes, but which mode of processing an individual naturally uses is unknown. The study of decisions over sacred values is difficult because outcomes cannot typically be realized in a laboratory, and hence little is known about the neural representation and processing of sacred values. We used an experimental paradigm that used integrity as a proxy for sacredness and which paid real money to induce individuals to sell their personal values. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we found that values that people refused to sell (sacred values) were associated with increased activity in the left temporoparietal junction and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, regions previously associated with semantic rule retrieval. This suggests that sacred values affect behaviour through the retrieval and processing of deontic rules and not through a utilitarian evaluation of costs and benefits.

Biodiversity Conservation and the Sacred Forests of Emohua, Rivers ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

These sacred sites are regarded as the temples of god by the local people due to their beliefs, but technically the forests are centres of biodiversity. In recent times, anthropogenic interference activities expose the forest to threat and challenges which make the development and adoption of conservation strategies inevitable.

Sacred values and conflict over Iran's nuclear program

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Morteza Dehghani

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Conflict over Iran's nuclear program, which involves a US-led policy to impose sanctions on Iran, is perceived by each side as a preeminent challenge to its own national security and global peace. Yet, there is little scientific study or understanding of how material incentives and disincentives, such as economic sanctions, psychologically affect the targeted population and potentially influence behaviour. Here we explore the Iranian nuclear program within a paradigm concerned with sacred values. We integrate experiments within a survey of 1997 Iranians. We find that a relatively small but politically significant portion of the Iranian population believes that acquiring nuclear energy has become a sacred value, in the sense that proposed economic incentives and disincentives result in a ``backfire effect'' in which offers of material rewards or punishment lead to increased anger and greater disapproval. This pattern was specific to nuclear energy and did not hold for acquiring nuclear weapons. The present study is the first demonstration of the backfire effect for material disincentives as well as incentives, and on an issue whose apparent sacred nature is recent rather than longstanding.

The Ontological Concept of Sacred and Profane in Islam (analytic study

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Abdulnaser Sultan Mohsen

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The term ‘sacred’ in the study of religions appeared at the beginning of the last century; Western scholars studied primitive religions in the world and combined it with the term of ‘profane’ in an ambivalent or a deterministic relationship. This study is questing the concepts of sacred and profane through Islamic prospective of ontology, in which it confirms that the dualism of sacred and profane is involved in the spirit existence, not in the natural or material as the Western thought alleges. It is through Muslim scholars’ study of spirit and existence, and linguistic study of sacred and profane that has clarified that the existence has sacredness as much as granted by spirit. Much is also the achievement of perfect existence, or retrieval of pure spirit and not retrieval of the origin of creation according to Christian thought. Otherwise, the existence became profane when it has been disintegrated by obstruction of spirit functions, or losing of the spirit totally. Therefore, the concept of sacred in Islam is the perfect existence by spirit; conversely, the profane is isintegration of spirit.

The dialogue between sacred, symbol and ritual to Mircea Eliade’s thinking

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Stelian Manolache

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Consequently implementing a vision that was mostly phenomenological and hermeneutical on the object and of the religious doctrine and content, Mircea Eliade had a remarkable contribution of originality and profoundness to the study of the problems related to sacred and profane and symbol and ritual. For the Romanian researcher, at the core of the dialectic game between sacred and profane, there is the behaviour of the religious man, opposed to the natural man, searching for divinity in an instinctive/ programmatic manner, trying to overcome his earthly condition by entering the inaccessible world of the sacred. Due to the more than obvious contemporaneity importance of the preoccupations and behaviour of homo religious, in post-modernity, starting from the dialogue between science and religion, we consider that there is the necessity and opportuness in a secularised and desacralized world to dedicate a study, 110 years later from the birth of the eminent professor, to the manner the Romanian eminent researcher Mircea Eliade saw and explained the sacred, the symbol and the ritual.

Birds of sacred groves of northern Kerala, India

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K. M. Jyothi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Sacred groves are patches of vegetation preserved due to  religious or cultural tradition.  They are protected through spiritual beliefs.  Sacred groves provide an excellent abode to the biodiversity of the region where they are located.   Scientific exploration of fauna from sacred groves of India is few and far between.  The present study was conducted to explore the bird diversity and abundance in 15 selected sacred groves of northern Kerala, eight from Kannur District and seven from Kasargod District each.  A total of 111 bird species were observed belonging to 49 families and 16 orders.  The sacred groves of northern Kerala support many of the ‘forest-birds’ such as the Grey Junglefowl Gallus sonneratii, Asian Fairy-bluebird Irena puella, Tickell’s Blue-flycatcher Cyornis tickelliae, Malabar Trogon Harpactes fasciatus, Heart-spotted Woodpecker Hemicircus canente, Malabar Whistling-Thrush Myophonus horsfieldii, Little Spiderhunter Arachnothera longirostra, etc.  The sacred groves of northern Kerala also support two endemic bird species of the Western Ghats, such as the Malabar Grey Hornbill Ocyceros griseus and Rufous Babbler Turdoides subrufa. Five species of raptors and four owl species were reported from the sacred groves of north Kerala during the present study.  The breeding of the White-bellied Sea-Eagle has been reported at Edayilakadu Kavu, a sacred grove in Kasargod District.  The sacred groves of northern Kerala also supported 17 species of long distant migratory birds.  Thazhe Kavu, recorded the Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus, a Near-Threatened bird according to IUCN. 

Fannish tattooing and sacred identity

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Bethan Jones

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Pleasure is an important motivation for fans to adopt texts. Fannish tattoos function to demonstrate affective investments in a text; they are also a performance of fandom and an example of sacred fan identity. Like engaging in cosplay or wearing clothing that features logos, fannish tattoos mark people as fans of a text. Furthermore, the more obscure the logo or fannish reference, the more performative the tattoo. Fannish tattoos help to construct a sacred fan identity. The sacred experience (as theorized by Émile Durkheim and his concept of the totem is imbued with meaning through choices that set it aside from the mundane. Within the context of fannish tattoos, fan affect gains similar significance.

Sacred places in global big cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Greve, Anni

the relation between the sacred and the profane, and about the role of the sacred in modern societies. The question is if the development of modern societies has implied the gradual abolishment of religious beliefs, rituals and rites, or has it on the contrary implied the installment of new forms of religious...... beliefs and sacred places, which are cultivated through regular rituals and rites, just as some traditional societies have cultivated for instance totemism. This paper will take its point of departure in Durkheim’s study of The Elementary Forms of Religious Life from 1912. Then it will turn......The question of sacred places in modern societies involves an analytical perspective, which is not very prevalent in sociology, namely the anthropological or even better: the ethnological perspective. With this theme we have entered a veritable dispute, or controversy, in sociology about...

Sacred Sky and Cyberspace

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Clynes, F.

2011-06-01

The concept of the sacred world beyond the stars found expression in the works of Plato, into Gnosticism and was incorporated into Christianity where medieval images of the cosmos pictured the heavenly domain as beyond the stars. Today cyberspace literature abounds with descriptions of a transmundane space, a great Beyond. This talk looks at current views of cyberspace and asks if they are a re-packaging of the age-old concept of a sacred sky in a secular and technological format?

Sacred or Neural?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Runehov, Anne Leona Cesarine

Are religious spiritual experiences merely the product of the human nervous system? Anne L.C. Runehov investigates the potential of contemporary neuroscience to explain religious experiences. Following the footsteps of Michael Persinger, Andrew Newberg and Eugene d'Aquili she defines...... the terminological bounderies of "religious experiences" and explores the relevant criteria for the proper evaluation of scientific research, with a particular focus on the validity of reductionist models. Runehov's theis is that the perspectives looked at do not necessarily exclude each other but can be merged....... The question "sacred or neural?" becomes a statement "sacred and neural". The synergies thus produced provide manifold opportunities for interdisciplinary dialogue and research....

Sacred space and the healing journey.

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Alt, Paul L

2017-07-01

Sacred space and spirituality have long been used to heal the mind, body, and spirit. This article illuminates the origins of sacred space and its role as a healing environment from the first human construct, the burial mound, to the 5th Century BCE Greek healing city of Epidaurus. It then examines the role of spirituality as one of the necessary human institutions for a healthy society, according to the Italian philosopher Giambattista Vico. The conclusion then surveys three contemporary healing environments' architecture, the Department of Veteran Affairs Healing Environment Design Guideline (VAHEDG), and how these sacred spaces mend individual and community ailments.

Sacred Space and Sublime Sacramental Piety

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Petersen, Nils Holger

2012-01-01

Analyses and Discussions of Mozart's Sacramental Litanies K. 125 and K. 243 in relation to the notions of the Sacred and the Sublime.......Analyses and Discussions of Mozart's Sacramental Litanies K. 125 and K. 243 in relation to the notions of the Sacred and the Sublime....

The changing landscape of sacred groves in Kerala (India): A critical view on the role of religion in nature conservation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Notermans, C.D.; Nugteren, A.; Sunny, S.

2016-01-01

Sacred groves are an age-old and world-wide phenomenon, traditionally consisting of forest zones, protected by people based on their spiritual relationship with the deities or ancestral spirits believed to reside there. India alone counts nearly 50,000 sacred groves, with 2000 in Kerala where they

Teaching about Religion in History Classes: Sacred and Secular History.

Science.gov (United States)

Abrahamson, Brant; Smith, Fred

In teaching about religion there is the fundamental distinction between secular history, which is restricted to natural cause and effect relationships, and sacred histories, which assume that a spirit world exists and that human/divine interaction has taken place. In the United States, the academically approved way of dealing with these…

Religious and sacred imperatives in human conflict.

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Atran, Scott; Ginges, Jeremy

2012-05-18

Religion, in promoting outlandish beliefs and costly rituals, increases ingroup trust but also may increase mistrust and conflict with outgroups. Moralizing gods emerged over the last few millennia, enabling large-scale cooperation, and sociopolitical conquest even without war. Whether for cooperation or conflict, sacred values, like devotion to God or a collective cause, signal group identity and operate as moral imperatives that inspire nonrational exertions independent of likely outcomes. In conflict situations, otherwise mundane sociopolitical preferences may become sacred values, acquiring immunity to material incentives. Sacred values sustain intractable conflicts that defy "business-like" negotiation, but also provide surprising opportunities for resolution.

The Truth of Sacred Scripture

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Tomasz Jelonek

2006-09-01

Full Text Available Article presents the history of contradiction between science and the Bible and how it was solved in Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum of the II Vatican Council. Since biblical truth was given to us “for the sake of our salvation,” and not in order to teach us natural science or history for their own sake, Sacred Scripture cannot be fairly judged to be in error when it sometimes presents historical or scientific truth in a less complete, less detailed, more popular, or more imprecise (i.e. merely approximate fashion than would be acceptable in modern texts dedicated formally to those disciplines.

Why Sacred Lands Are Not Indivisible: The Cognitive Foundations of Sacralising Land

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Richard Sosis

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Numerous political analysts have argued that conflicts over sacred land are intractable. These scholars maintain that sacred lands are psychologically perceived as indivisible, or alternatively, in the sociological tradition, their indivisibility is a social fact. Moreover, religious beliefs are viewed as stagnant and resistant to change. Consequently, resolving such conflicts is fraught with difficulty, and even if a truce could be imposed, it would be unstable and violence would eventually erupt. A cognitive and evolutionary account offers a less pessimistic view. Individuals do not conceive of sacred lands in the same way that they conceive of sacred space, such as cemeteries or houses of worship, or sacred objects, such as holy water or prayer beads. Unlike sacred space and objects, whose boundaries are clearly defined, conceptions of sacred land are typically abstract and may bear little resemblance to the contested physical land. While abstract notions of sacred land are indivisible and must remain intact, the physical land is not indivisible, and therefore there is often greater room for negotiation of sacred lands than is generally appreciated.

THE BIOLOGICAL VALUES AND CONSERVATION STATUS OF SACRED GROVES IN THE BALASORE WILDLIFE DIVISION, ODISHA: A CASE STUDY

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Raj Kishore MOHANTA

2012-09-01

Full Text Available On a global scale, the existing Sacred Groves (SGs are based on ancestral worship and focus on the conservation of forest patches. Sacred groves are distributed over a wide ecosystem and help in the conservation of rare and endemic species. Well preserved sites are store houses of biological, ecological, medicinal, ethno-cultural and religious values. We documented the state of 13 Sacred Groves in Balasore, Odisha during March 2011. For a detailed investigation, sample areas were set, for the assessment of floral and faunal diversity, ethno-cultural values and management status. A total of 58 floral species and 13 faunal species were recorded. In Balasore, Sacred Groves are small in size and can act as starting points for any long term conservation plan of biodiversity. The communities have kept their faith and traditions linked to these mini nuclei of rich biodiversity in the landscape. Therefore, any conservation program can begin from local communities, by taking them into consideration as trustworthy awareness building factors.

Religious and Sacred Poetry

OpenAIRE

2014-01-01

Czasopismo poświęcone poezji religijnej i sakralnej, edukacji, religii, kulturze i wychowaniu. The Periodical is dedicated to religious poetry and sacred poetry, education, religion, culture and upbringing.

Violence and the Sacred in Georges Bataille's Philosophy

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A. ZYGMONT

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The article considers the concepts of violence and the sacred in the work of the French philosopher Georges Bataille. The author traces back the transformations of the concept of violence throughout the thinker’s carrier, namely in his early literary and philosophical experiences of the late 20s — early 30s, his reports for the College of Sociology (1937–1939 and his «systematic» postwar writings (1945–1962. The author also puts forward the hypothesis of the connection between the concept violence and the concept the sacred and demonstrates that it is most thoroughly represented in the last period of his work, although it may have been noted before. Diachronic consideration of the formation of these concepts allows the author to trace their correlation from the more or less random links mediated by artistic images and the other notions (sacrifi ce, for example to their explicit identification with each other and the systematic development in relation to such concepts as nature, life, being, intimacy, the animal state, expenditure, sacrifice, war and eroticism

The sacred, the secular, and the profane

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tsinovoi, Alexei

2017-01-01

types of power relations, which can provide a basis for critical re-formulation of the concepts of securitisation and desecuritisation. The article illustrates the analytical purchase of these ideal types through an analysis of the politics of Israel’s natural gas discoveries. Due to neoliberal reforms......In security studies, the dichotomy between ‘security’ and ‘regular’ politics has been effectively challenged in recent years, both theoretically and empirically. To address this challenge, the article develops Giorgio Agamben’s concepts of the sacred, the profane and the secular into three ideal...

Sacred Space in Community settlement of Kudus Kulon, Central Java, Indonesia

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Budi Sardjono, Agung; Rochma Harani, Arnis

2017-12-01

The sacred space becomes an important part of the spatial layout of Javanese society, as well as in most houses of the archipelago. This space is related to religious activities, highly respected and usually located in the main place. Kudus Kulon community is a part of Javanese culture in the northern coastal area of Java. Known as a devout Muslim society, sacred space in Kudus Kulon community house becomes an important thing to understand the culture of living in society. The research was conducted by looking at the religious activities of the community and how the space of activity is realized. The research was conducted by qualitative research method. In the Kudus Kulon community, sacred spaces are available in the house itself, in the community grup of houses, and around Kudus Kulon area. In every house, the sacred space can be found in Gedongan and extends to Dalem. In the community group of houses, the sacred space can be found in the neighbourhood praying area, while In Kudus Kulon area, it can be found in Mosque complex and Tower tomb. Physically sacred space is realized by raising the floor height of the space around it. In architectural view, the sacred space is seen on the elevation of the roof or roof angle. Spatially the sacred space occupies a central position and visually represented by a vertical orientation.

Sacred Way (Greek World)

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Williamson, Christina

2015-01-01

Sacred ways were roads that led to major sanctuaries, typically those located at a distance from the urban center, and were the vehicles for the processions involved in civic festivals at these shrines.

Psychoanalysis: the sacred and the profane.

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Frosch, Allan

2014-06-01

Colleagues from a variety of perspectives have written about the propensity to enshrine psychoanalytic theory. The meaning of the word "enshrine" is to cherish as sacred an idea or philosophy and protect it from change. In other words, the way we view psychoanalysis, our theories of mind and technique, become holy writ and we have divided the world of theory into the sacred and the profane. This is the kiss of death for theory, which must constantly evolve and change, but comforting for the analyst who believes he is on the side of the right, the sacred. In this paper I will discuss how our propensity to enshrine theory has had a debilitating effect on the development of psychoanalysis and, in particular, as a treatment for the most vulnerable people who seek our help. I also address the idea that movement away from enshrined positions allows us to construct different versions of reality. In this context, the notion of "action at a distance" is presented along with the attendant idea of psychoanalytic entanglement.

Socio- cultural importance of sacred forests conservation in south ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Sacred forests have been an important part of many African traditional societies for decades. This is an example of in-situ biodiversity conservation, which has supported various ecosystem functions. This study highlighted various approaches used by communities to enhance the socio- cultural importance of sacred forest ...

Technical Limitations in Merging Secular and Sacred Functions in Monumental Churches

Science.gov (United States)

Piatkowska, Ksenia

2017-10-01

The abandonment of churches and their adaptation for secular purposes is a current subject in Europe and worldwide. Most cases involve objects that were desacralized and then rebuilt as a whole object for alternative functions. Thus far, the merging of secular and sacred functions in one monumental Catholic church has not raised any issues. The paper describes the case of St. Catherine’s Church in Gdansk, Poland, where sacred function exists parallel to the new secular function being implemented. The study is based on the authentic, professional experience of the author. It describes the technical limitations arising from the need to ensure destinies for the optimal conditions of both sacred and secular function, while avoiding undesirable interference between them. The author further identifies architectural solutions most relevant to current requirements for protection of sacred zones in the church, for preservation of the monument, and for optimal function of a modern science museum. Significant design issues include: the inviolability of the sacred zone, preservation of the historical value of the monument, proper operation of new secular zones in compliance with contemporary standards of safety, performance of the assumed mission and profitability. The research indicates specific areas where the highest probability of collision exists between the sacred and profane and where technical problems are likely to occur.

Contribution of sacred forests to biodiversity conservation: case of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Phytosociological relevés were done in 25 circular plots of 18 m radius. Based on the species red list of Benin, threatened species found in Adjahouto and Lokozoun sacred forests were identified. Moreover, socio-economic survey of local residents allowed highlighting the factors that could impede the contribution of sacred ...

Sri Dalada Maligawa - 3D-Scanning and Documentation of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic at Kandy, Sri Lanka

Science.gov (United States)

Rahrig, M.; Luib, A.

2017-08-01

Sri Dalada Maligawa - the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic - is one of the most important pilgrim sites in Buddhist culture. It is the main part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Sacred City of Kandy. Since the end of the 17th century the temple has been keeping the sacred tooth of the Buddha. Until now an accurate documentation of the temple with all its rich decorations is missing. The Temple is built in an area vulnerable to environmental factors like earthquakes or monsoon rains and was the target of terrorist attacks. To help preserving this important cultural heritage a research project was carried out. Main part of the project was a 3D-documentation of the entire temple by using Terrestrial-Laser-Scanning (TLS) and the creating of CAD-Plans. In addition to the documentation of the architecture several details were taken in high resolution by Structured-Light-Scanning (SLS). All data will be part of the digital archive of the temple and were used as a base for a general site monitoring, especially to observe cracks. Next to the mere documentation a transfer of knowledge was another aim of the project. In future most of the analysis of the scan data can be done by local specialists.

The Development of the Virtual Learning Media of the Sacred Object Artwork

Science.gov (United States)

Nuanmeesri, Sumitra; Jamornmongkolpilai, Saran

2018-01-01

This research aimed to develop the virtual learning media of the sacred object artwork by applying the concept of the virtual technology in order to publicize knowledge on the cultural wisdom of the sacred object artwork. It was done by designing and developing the virtual learning media of the sacred object artwork for the virtual presentation.…

Assessment of traditional ecological knowledge and beliefs in the utilisation of important plant species: The case of Buhanga sacred forest, Rwanda

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Runyambo Irakiza

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Traditional ecological knowledge is an integrated part of the African people and indeed the Rwandese for cultural purpose. Buhanga sacred forest is a relict forest of tremendous ecological importance to Rwandan society located in Musanze District. The aim of this study was to assess the traditional ecological knowledge and belief in the utilisation of some important plant species for the conservation of Buhanga sacred forest. Ecological information about ethnomedicinal and traditional practices were collected following structured questionnaire through interview involving eight traditional healers and three focus group discussions. Data were collected from the natural habitats, home gardens, farmlands and roadsides of Buhanga sacred forest. A total of 45 botanical taxa belonging to 28 families were reported to be used by the local community. Species such as Brillantaisia cicatricosa and Senna septemtrionalis were the popular species cited by traditional healers to treat human and animal diseases and ailments, respectively. The results of the study indicated that because of the cultural norms and values associated with the sacred forest, this has led to non-exploitation. The study presents key sites and plant species in which their use and belief can lead to their conservation. However, not only is it imperative to conserve traditional local knowledge for biocultural conservation motives but there is also need to train traditional healers on how to domesticate indigenous species as conservation measure because some species have become susceptible to extinction. Conservation implications: Highlighting indigenous species investigated in this research will provide a powerful tool for ensuring biodiversity conservation through community participation in a country of high population density in Africa. Some plant species that provided satisfactory Local Health Traditions among communities surrounding Buhanga can contribute as good material for further

Sacred and profane view of Christmas in advertising

OpenAIRE

Mădălina MORARU (BUGA)

2013-01-01

This article investigates the way seasonal advertising campaigns convey the paradoxical relationship between sacred and profane views of Christmas. The following research reveals the differences between commercialized and religious Christmas celebrations by analyzing the advertisements running on the Romanian market between November 15th and December 25th, 2012. The present study focuses on the following topics: the values promoted by both local and international brands, the sacred mindset ve...

Experiencing and Teaching Pilgrimage in a Sacred Spaces Course

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Thomas J. Sienkewicz

2018-03-01

Full Text Available As part of an integrated studies curriculum at the author’s college, all juniors must take a Reflections course in which students consider personal values and analyze familiar and unfamiliar systems of thought and belief, in order to explore their own and others’ ideas about the ultimate meaning and purposes of life. “Sacred Places Past and Present”, is a course designed to fulfil this requirement. This course focuses on a number of important religious sites in the ancient Mediterranean and in the modern world, including the Parthenon, Olympia, Delphi, Stonehenge, and Muir Woods. These places are compared and contrasted in terms of what makes them sacred. Two pilgrimage experiences are part of this course: the hajj to Mecca and the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. In the past, the unit on the Camino focused on Emilio Estevez’s 2010 film “The Way”; however, during the summer of 2016, the author walked the Camino de Santiago. As a result, the course was substantially revised to reflect the author’s own personal experiences as a pilgrim. In particular, Paulo Coelho’s The Pilgrimage was incorporated into the course and students were given an opportunity to participate in a one-day pilgrimage walk in western Illinois.

Monasteries and tourism: interpreting sacred landscape through gastronomy

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Silvia Aulet

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This article analyses the role of monasteries as a sacred space and how their relationship with tourism depicts a landscape of 'good taste'. Monasteries are examples of both tangible and intangible heritage, and are highly symbolic built spaces that have often become the guardians of tradition. They are strongly embedded within a local cultural landscape, which has determined their historical evolution. Monasteries used to be self-sufficient communities that relied on the resources available in their local environment, e.g. they produced their own wine, which was essential for the celebration of the Eucharist; or they preserved food from their own produce. Gastronomy in monasteries can be a tool to improve tourists' visitor experience, in so far as it respects the values that these sacred spaces represent. This article explores the literature on monasteries as sacred spaces; the relationship between their tangible and intangible heritage attributes; and how monasteries and their heritage are linked to tourism. This is illustrated through examples from Spain.

The supernatural characters and powers of sacred trees in the Holy Land.

Science.gov (United States)

Dafni, Amots

2007-02-25

This article surveys the beliefs concerning the supernatural characteristics and powers of sacred trees in Israel; it is based on a field study as well as a survey of the literature and includes 118 interviews with Muslims and Druze. Both the Muslims and Druze in this study attribute supernatural dimensions to sacred trees which are directly related to ancient, deep-rooted pagan traditions. The Muslims attribute similar divine powers to sacred trees as they do to the graves of their saints; the graves and the trees are both considered to be the abode of the soul of a saint which is the source of their miraculous powers. Any violation of a sacred tree would be strictly punished while leaving the opportunity for atonement and forgiveness. The Druze, who believe in the transmigration of souls, have similar traditions concerning sacred trees but with a different religious background. In polytheistic religions the sacred grove/forest is a centre of the community's official worship; any violation of the trees is regarded as a threat to the well being of the community. Punishments may thus be collective. In the monotheistic world (including Christianity, Islam and Druze) the pagan worship of trees was converted into the worship/adoration of saints/prophets; it is not a part of the official religion but rather a personal act and the punishments are exerted only on the violating individual.

What Marketing Strategy for Sacred Geometry Discoveries to Make Archaeotourism Work?

OpenAIRE

Mulaj, Isa

2015-01-01

Archaeotourism can take place in two main forms: i) on site or locations of discoveries; and ii) assembling the discoveries into museums or exhibitions. Given that the first option in Kosovo has not proven viable, a marketing strategy went on to be explored for the latter in broad terms by taking into account Bronze Age artifacts with engravings from the sacred geometry discovered by the Author of this paper during 2013-14, which were the work of ancient Illyrians. Yet, the results suggest a ...

Landscape Archaeology and Sacred Space in the Eastern Mediterranean: A Glimpse from Cyprus

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Giorgos Papantoniou

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This article aims to raise issues for discussion about the change in the use and concept of sacred landscapes, which were originally constructed in the era of the Cypriot kings (the basileis, but then continued to function in a new imperial environment, that of the rule of the Ptolemaic strategos and later of the Roman proconsul and the various Christian bishops. Our archaeological survey project in the Xeros river valley, titled ‘Settled and Sacred Landscapes of Cyprus’, reveals that these new politico-economic structures were also supported by the construction of symbolically charged sacred landscapes. Thus, while outlining the long history of the island as manifested from the diachronic study of Cypriot sacred landscapes, we identify three pivotal phases: first, the consolidation of the Cypriot polities and the establishment of a ‘full’ sacred landscape; second, the transition from segmented to unitary administration under the Ptolemaic and Roman imperial rule and the consolidation of a more ‘unified sacred landscape’; and finally, the establishment of a number of Christian bishoprics on the island and the movement back to a ‘full’ sacred landscape. Moving beyond the discipline of Cypriot archaeology, this contribution aims to serve as a paradigm for the implications that the employment of the ‘sacred landscapes’ concept may have when addressing issues of socio-political and socio-economic transformations. While it is very difficult to define or capture the concept of landscape in a pre-modern world, it offers a useful means by which to assess changing local conditions. We have also attempted to situate the term in archaeological thought, in order to allow the concept to become a more powerful investigative tool for approaching the past.

The Untidy Playground: An Irish Congolese Case Study in Sonic Encounters with the Sacred Stranger

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Helen Phelan

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This paper explores the proposal that music, and particularly singing, has unique properties that render it amenable to encounters with “the other” or the sacred stranger. Drawing on the deconstructionist works of Kristeva and Derrida, as well as the postmodern hermeneutics of Kearney and Caputo, it explores current debate concerning the nature of “the sacred” in contemporary life and the erosion of the theistic/atheistic divide, while proposing a deepening of the debate through the inclusion of the performative. As philosophical and theological discourses embrace this aporia, it does so against the backdrop of unprecedented human migration. The concomitant cultural and social disruption throws up new questions around the nature and experience of religion, spirituality and the sacred. This paper explores these questions in the context of a Congolese choir called Elikya, which was established by a group of asylum seekers in Limerick city, Ireland, in 2001. In tracking the musical life of this choir over the last decade and a half, including two musical recordings and numerous liturgical, religious and secular performances, it suggests that the sonic world of the choir both performs and transcends these descriptors. Using a three-fold model of context, content and intent, the paper concludes that musical experiences such as those created by Elikya erode any easy divisions between the religious and the secular or the liturgical and the non-liturgical and provide sonic opportunities to encounter the sacred stranger in the untidy playground of creative chaos.

Quarrels over Sacred Space. The Tlajomulco Doctrina in the Late-Colonial Period

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José Refugio de la Torre Curiel

2004-04-01

Full Text Available This article  explores how historical  actors who interact in a sacred space create, confront and rebuild it in several ways. The author chose to study the Tlajomulco doctrina in the  late colonial period in order to analyze some changes undergone during the secularization of a Franciscan doctrine. He also studies the institutional dimension of the doctrine in order to understand how the Guadalajara diocese  and  the Franciscan province of Jalisco related to this particular sacred  space. The  analysis of quarrels over property and authority over the doctrine enables the author to discuss what this sacred  space meant to ministers and  parishioners  and  to conclude that each form of interaction with a sacred  space represents a particular way of understanding society and, more specifically, religiosity.

“Native Skywatchers - Earth Sky Mirroring, Kapemni Pairs - Ojibwe and D(L)akota Sacred Star Sites “

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Annette S.; Gawboy, Carl; Rock, Jim; Wilson, William; Tibbetts, Jeff; O'Rourke, Charleen

2015-08-01

Late in February, deep in the heart of the northern hemisphere winter, Ojibwe people know to look to the east a few hours after sunset and offer tobacco to Mizhi Bizhiw -Curly Tail, the Great Spirit Cat in the night sky. There are many beautiful and layered teachings about Mizhi Bizhiw - Curly Tail relating to the coming of spring, respect for the water, sugar bush camp, but most important; knowing the stars meant survival.Painted high on the granite rock cliffs above the glacial waters in red ochre is the Mizhi Bizhiw - Curly Tail constellation. Along with the Ojibwe lion are two neighboring seasonal constellations: Mooz (Pegasus) and Biboonkionini -Wintermaker (Orion+). On Lake Hegman in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area located near Ely, Minnesota, a sacred reflection, an earth-sky mirroring is illustrated. It is here that tangible and intangible star knowledge meet.In D(L)akota star knowledge one of the most important teachings is kapemni. Wrapped up in this one word are layers of meaning that can be thought of as ‘As it is above; it is below.’ Imagine two tipis stacked vertically. The top triangle is inverted so that the pair meets at the apex. It is understood that the top realm represents the sky above, the stars or the spirit world. The bottom tipi represents the Earth, the material or the physical world.On Summer Solstice each year the Sun can be found in the Mato Tipila - Bear’s Lodge D(L)akota constellation (Gemini). The day when this astronomical alignment happens is known as the ‘Wacipi - Sundance Ceremony in the Stars’. At this time traditionally D(L)akota people would meet at Mato Tipila Paha - Grey Horn Butte (Devil’s Tower) in northeast Wyoming and participate in the earthly Wacipi - Sun Dance ceremony. This is a beautiful example of a kapemni pair or an earth-sky mirroring.Presented here are just two examples of sacred star sites found in our region: Minnesota, North & South Dakota, US. These are examples of cultural heritage that is

Profaning the Sacred in Leadership Studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sliwa, Martyna; Spoelstra, Sverre; Meier Sørensen, Bent

2013-01-01

of the novel, we discuss how it contributes to profaning particular notions of sacrifice and the sacred in leadership thinking. In the novel, self-sacrifice does not function as a way of establishing a leadership position, but as a way to avoid the dangers associated with leadership, and possibly redeem humans......The leadership literature is full of stories of heroic self-sacrifice. Sacrificial leadership behaviour, some scholars conclude, is to be recommended. In this article we follow Keith Grint's conceptualization of leadership as necessarily pertaining to the sacred, but-drawing on Giorgio Agamben......'s notion of profanation-we highlight the need for organization scholars to profane the sacralizations embedded in leadership thinking. One example of this, which guides us throughout the article, is the novel A Wild Sheep Chase, by the Japanese author Haruki Murakami. By means of a thematic reading...

The Buddhist Stupa Site of Bharhut, and its Sacred and Secular Geographies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hawkes, Jason D.

2008-01-01

site from all points of view. An inter-disciplinary methodology was formulated with 3 distinct foci of enquiry. First, shifting attention away from a traditional preoccupation with the stupa monument, the wider archaeological context of the site of Bharhut has been comprehensively examined. Second...... generated a considerable amount of new material that has greatly improved the understanding of this important site. Examination of the site has established the extent, nature and life-span of Bharhut. Examination of the wider region has resulted in the discovery of 311 new sites. The spatial analysis...... of these and other known sites in the surrounding area has enabled the construction of the first historical outline of the wider Bharhut region, identifying the main socio-political and economic processes that occurred throughout the life-span of the site of Bharhut. Consideration of the evidence of the site...

Ficus religiosa L. (English: Peepal tree or sacred fig; Hindi: Pippal ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Ficus religiosa L. (English: Peepal tree or sacred fig; Hindi: Pippal) of Moraceae is a large deciduous tree that grows wild as well as cultivated. The picture shows the tree with fresh flush of leaves. The tree is planted chiefly near the temples by Hindus and Buddhists who regard it as sacred. The characteristic heart-shaped ...

Creating common ground

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verschuuren, Bas

2017-01-01

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

Are Brands Postmodern Relics? Taking a Closer Look at New Sacred Objects

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Stéphane DUFOUR

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Ever since the Church lost its monopoly on the sacred, no longer able to solely determine its form or contents, the social sphere has gradually taken over this value, applying it to new human and social objects. As a result, the modes of expression of the sacred have multiplied, along with the subjective and intimate experiences of modern individualism. Among the vast number of potential manifestations of this value, to which almost everything now seems to aspire, this paper will concentrate on commercial brands as vectors of meaning, with the hypothesis that some of them seek to position themselves, in postmodern society, as new figures of the sacred. This area of study is close to that of the sociologist Adam Arvidsson, when he describes brands as religious objects. If brands are less interested in selling products than in creating an affective experience, Arvidsson assimilates them to modern relics. However, this paper goes beyond metaphors, to examine the rhetorical strategies (discourse, rituals, representations, imagery through which brands construct meaning around sacred objects. Situated between a branch of marketing which concentrates on sacralising commercial products, and a theory popular in the English-speaking world, which has illustrated how the media work to sacralise products and brands, this paper uses a communicational approach to analyse the construction of meaning, by brands looking to make themselves (appear sacred.

Darwin's Sacred Cause

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjærgaard, Peter C.

2009-01-01

As we are being flooded by Darwin lollipops, t-shirts, quills and stamps it is becoming increasingly difficult to be heard or seen in the commercialised celebration in 2009. Some are in the business for the science, but a lot are in it for profit. Accordingly, the Darwin industry has left the hands...... of scholarly specialists and been appropriated by money makers. One could not help thinking about this as, in the autumn of 2008, the publisher began hyping Darwin's Sacred Cause as ‘one of the major contributions to the worldwide Darwin anniversary celebrations in 2009' Udgivelsesdato: February...

Water and Gender in Recreating Family Life with Maa Ganga: The Confluence of Nature and Culture in a North Indian River Pilgrimage

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Catrien Notermans

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This article studies the meaning of water and gender in the North Indian pilgrimage to the sacred river Ganges. It joins the recent criticism in anthropology concerning the nature/culture divide and aims to transcend that divide by focusing on water, not apart from but as part of social life. Assuming that water’s sociality is gendered, the authors look at how both the river water—itself as a landscape material—and the pilgrims’ engagements with that water are gendered. Starting from the central question: How do men’s and women’s ritual engagements with the sacred female river water (mutually construct social life? The article investigates men’s and women’s ritual use of water at different sites. It focuses on more than the central pilgrimage shrine and links the sacred river site to people’s homes to know how the moving river water, collected by pilgrims at the shrine, is used in water rituals back home. Trying to counterbalance the male and scriptural bias which is prominent in the literature on Ganges’ pilgrimage sites, the pilgrimage is studied from the perspective of lived religion that takes people’s embodied practices and sensory experiences of nature into account as well as people’s everyday life. By showing how men’s and women’s rituals differ and complement each other, it argues that men’s rituals at the pilgrimage site and women’s rituals at home serve the recreation of the family in a paired way. The argument is built on longitudinal and multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork at the Ganges river shrine in Haridwar (Uttarakhand and pilgrims’ residence in Udaipur (Rajasthan.

Phytosociological studies of the sacred grove of Kanyakumari district, Tamilnadu, India

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S. Sukumaran

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Sacred groves are forest patches conserved by the local people through religious and cultural practices. These groves are important reservoirs of biodiversity, preserving indigenous plant species and serving as asylum of Rare, Endangered and Threatened (RET species. The present study was carried out in Muppuram coastal sacred grove of Kanyakumari district to reveal the plant diversity, structure and regeneration pattern of trees using quadrate method. About 102 plant species were recorded from the total area (0.2 ha of the grove studied. The vegetation of the grove clearly indicates tropical dry evergreen forest. Malvaceae was the dominant family. Young plant species were dominating than older ones (> 160 cm. To avoid the rapid environmental degradation of the sacred grove, conserving the groves is urgent and it is necessary to conduct more researches on this grove as well as other groves of the district.

Sacred values in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: resistance to social influence, temporal discounting, and exit strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheikh, Hammad; Ginges, Jeremy; Atran, Scott

2013-09-01

Conflicts over sacred values may be particularly difficult to resolve. Because sacred values are nonfungible with material values, standard attempts to negotiate, such as offering material incentives to compromise, often backfire, increasing moral outrage and support for violent action. We present studies with Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza demonstrating three other ways sacred values may make conflict more intractable, focusing on what we call devoted actors, people who regard issues central to the Israel-Palestine conflict as sacred values. We show that devoted actors (1) were less amenable to social influence, (2) perceived conflict-related events in the past as well as expected events in the future to be temporally closer, and (3) were blind to individual opportunities to escape the conflict. These results suggest that sacred values may affect decision making in a number of ways, which, when combined, contribute to common defense and continuation of conflict. © 2013 New York Academy of Sciences.

Rituals, ceremonies and customs related to sacred trees with a special reference to the Middle East

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Dafni Amots

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Tree worship is very common worldwide. This field study surveys the ceremonies and customs related to sacred trees in present-day Israel; it includes the results of interviews with 98 informants in thirty-one Arab, Bedouin, and Druze villages in the Galilee. The main results are: 1. Sacred trees were treated as another kind of sacred entity with all their metaphysical as well as physical manifestations. 2. There is not even one ceremony or custom that is peculiar only to a sacred tree and is not performed in other sacred places (such as a saint's grave or a mosque. 3. Few customs, such as: quarrel settling (= Sulkha, leaving objects to absorb the divine blessing and leaving objects for charity seem to be characteristic of this region, only. 4. In modern times, sacred trees were never recorded, in Israel, as centres for official religious ceremonies including sacrifices, nor as places for the performing of rites of passage. 5. There is some variation among the different ethnic groups: Kissing trees and worshipping them is more common among the Druze although carrying out burials under the tree, leaving water and rain-making ceremonies under them have not been recorded in this group. Passing judgments under the tree is more typical of the Bedouin in which the sacred trees were commonly used as a public social centre. Most of the customs surveyed here are known from other parts of the world. The differences between Muslims and Druze are related to the latter's belief in the transmigration of souls.

Rituals and Sacred Space of Pandharpur, India

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sand, Erik

2011-01-01

yearly pilgrimage in the bright half of Ashadha (June-July), at which processions from all over Maharashtra join in Pandharpur is one of the most spectacular religious events in the region. Until comparatively recent the knowledge of the history and concept of Pandharpur as a sacred town has been......The small town Pandharpur, situated about two hundred kilometres south east of Pune, is one of the most popular sacred places in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is dedicated to the god Vithoba who is considered to be an incarnation of Vishnu in the form of Krishna. Pandharpur and Vithoba plays...... a very important role in the religious life of the so-called Varakari Sampradaya which goes back to at least the time of Jnadeva or Jnaneshvara in the second half of the 13th century. In fact the religious life of the town is to a great extent dominated by the presence of this Sampradaya, and the great...

Caractéristiques végétales, typologie et fonctions des bois sacrés au ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Les bois sacrés assurent aux populations, plusieurs fonctions: écologique, cultuelle, socio-culturelle, magique et mixte. Parmi les bois sacrés, seuls ceux qui suscitent la crainte à l'endroit de la population sont intégralement protégés. Mots clés: Bois sacré, enquête ethnobotanique, caractéristiques végétales, fonctions, ...

'They Never Dance': The Choreography of Le Sacre du Printemps, 1913

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Hanna Järvinen

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In this text, I discuss Vaslav Nijinsky's choreography of Le Sacre du Printemps (henceforth Sacre as it appears in the light of primary source materials from 1913. By focusing on the unique challenges Nijinsky posed to his dancers in terms of movement style and composition, I contest many of the frequently-heard claims made about this work, particularly its danced component, and argue that Nijinsky's choreographic ideas challenged both dancers and critics by questioning the ontological qualities of (art dance in contemporary discourse.

The Sacred or the Profane: The Challenge of Modern Dance in Religious Educational Settings

Science.gov (United States)

Clement, Karen

2008-01-01

The article addresses the utilization of modern dance compositional approaches in the development of sacred dance works. A brief history of sacred dance in the Western Church is traced as a foundation for students' stereotypical approaches to dance and religion. Also examined is the 20th Century modern dance choreographers' practice of…

Genome of the long-living sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.).

Science.gov (United States)

Ming, Ray; VanBuren, Robert; Liu, Yanling; Yang, Mei; Han, Yuepeng; Li, Lei-Ting; Zhang, Qiong; Kim, Min-Jeong; Schatz, Michael C; Campbell, Michael; Li, Jingping; Bowers, John E; Tang, Haibao; Lyons, Eric; Ferguson, Ann A; Narzisi, Giuseppe; Nelson, David R; Blaby-Haas, Crysten E; Gschwend, Andrea R; Jiao, Yuannian; Der, Joshua P; Zeng, Fanchang; Han, Jennifer; Min, Xiang Jia; Hudson, Karen A; Singh, Ratnesh; Grennan, Aleel K; Karpowicz, Steven J; Watling, Jennifer R; Ito, Kikukatsu; Robinson, Sharon A; Hudson, Matthew E; Yu, Qingyi; Mockler, Todd C; Carroll, Andrew; Zheng, Yun; Sunkar, Ramanjulu; Jia, Ruizong; Chen, Nancy; Arro, Jie; Wai, Ching Man; Wafula, Eric; Spence, Ashley; Han, Yanni; Xu, Liming; Zhang, Jisen; Peery, Rhiannon; Haus, Miranda J; Xiong, Wenwei; Walsh, James A; Wu, Jun; Wang, Ming-Li; Zhu, Yun J; Paull, Robert E; Britt, Anne B; Du, Chunguang; Downie, Stephen R; Schuler, Mary A; Michael, Todd P; Long, Steve P; Ort, Donald R; Schopf, J William; Gang, David R; Jiang, Ning; Yandell, Mark; dePamphilis, Claude W; Merchant, Sabeeha S; Paterson, Andrew H; Buchanan, Bob B; Li, Shaohua; Shen-Miller, Jane

2013-05-10

Sacred lotus is a basal eudicot with agricultural, medicinal, cultural and religious importance. It was domesticated in Asia about 7,000 years ago, and cultivated for its rhizomes and seeds as a food crop. It is particularly noted for its 1,300-year seed longevity and exceptional water repellency, known as the lotus effect. The latter property is due to the nanoscopic closely packed protuberances of its self-cleaning leaf surface, which have been adapted for the manufacture of a self-cleaning industrial paint, Lotusan. The genome of the China Antique variety of the sacred lotus was sequenced with Illumina and 454 technologies, at respective depths of 101× and 5.2×. The final assembly has a contig N50 of 38.8 kbp and a scaffold N50 of 3.4 Mbp, and covers 86.5% of the estimated 929 Mbp total genome size. The genome notably lacks the paleo-triplication observed in other eudicots, but reveals a lineage-specific duplication. The genome has evidence of slow evolution, with a 30% slower nucleotide mutation rate than observed in grape. Comparisons of the available sequenced genomes suggest a minimum gene set for vascular plants of 4,223 genes. Strikingly, the sacred lotus has 16 COG2132 multi-copper oxidase family proteins with root-specific expression; these are involved in root meristem phosphate starvation, reflecting adaptation to limited nutrient availability in an aquatic environment. The slow nucleotide substitution rate makes the sacred lotus a better resource than the current standard, grape, for reconstructing the pan-eudicot genome, and should therefore accelerate comparative analysis between eudicots and monocots.

Sacred Cows That Should Be Put to Pasture.

Science.gov (United States)

Artley, A. Sterl

This paper examines some of the problems associated with unquestioned teaching practices and theories ("sacred cows") in the field of reading. Topics discussed include phonics, pronunciation, oral reading, teacher accountability and behavioral objectives, individualized reading, and the open classroom. (KS)

Plant wealth of a sacred grove: Mallur Gutta, Telangana state, India

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Suthari S

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Sateesh Suthari,1 Ramesh Kandagalta,2 Ajmeera Ragan,2 Vatsavaya S Raju,2 1Department of Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, 2Plant Systematics Laboratory, Department of Botany, Kakatiya University, Warangal, India Abstract: The Mallur Gutta (Hill of Warangal district in Telangana state, India, reputed as a habitat for medicinal plants, was inventoried from 2009 to 2015 for its plant wealth through the traditional knowledge of the local people. The Hindu temples of Lord Sri Laxminarasimha Swamy and Lord Hanuman, and the ethnic worship of mahua trees indicated it was a sacred grove which was selected as a Medicinal Plants Conservation Area. The exploration of Mallur Gutta resulted in the enumeration and documentation of plant wealth representing 470 species of 318 genera pertaining to 95 families of vascular plants. The importance of the grove as the residence for many rare or medicinal species in the state of Telangana is documented. The plant diversity is analyzed in terms of growth and life forms which indicate the prevailing microclimate, ecological opportunities and the species richness. The ecological services rendered by the Mallur Gutta forest ecosystem are documented to study how the great majority of the species are used by the ethnic and nonethnic people, and also the pilgrims who visit the shrine for its serenity. The study also identified two major threats to the conservation of hill ecosystem and the archeological site: 1 biotic pressure (the ever-increasing pilgrims, grazing by cattle, goat and sheep, the development activities taken up for the pilgrims, nondegradable litter thrown, collection of medicinal plants and widening of the pathway to the Chintamani perennial stream – the trampling and alien plant invasions of the marsh sustaining the stream; and 2 the potential for fire spreading from burning the litter. The study suggests the need to initiate remedial measures toward ecosystem

Desert Mazâr: Sacred Sites in Western China (Essay to Accompany Photo Essay

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Rahilä Dawut

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Despite its reputation as one of the most inhospitable areas in the world, the Tarim Basin has been home to thriving agricultural and mercantile communities since the early centuries of the Common Era, when oasis cities were linked in a lucrative network of Eurasian trade. Today, the Tarim is home to China’s Uyghurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim community whose ancestral ties to the region date back to at least the ninth century CE. For them, the Taklamakan is sacred land, enveloping the political and religious heroes of a storied past who are buried in countless mausoleums (in Uyghur: mazâr that dot the desert landscape. It is the power believed to emanate from these shrines that New York–based photographer Lisa Ross has captured so vividly in her images over the course of several journeys to China’s west.

The man, the machine and the sacred: when the virtual reality reenchants the world

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Olivier NANNIPIERI

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The rationality associated with the technical progress were able to let believe that the world became disillusioned. Now, far from disillusioning the world, certain technical devices reveal the sacred dimension inherent to any human activity. Indeed, paradoxically, we shall show that the human-machine interaction producing virtual environments is an experience of the sacred.

The Characteristics and Social Function of the Tujia People’s Tima Sacred Songs

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Chen Qian

2016-01-01

Sacrificial songs possess a mysteri-ous cultural identity and have been widely popular in Chinese folklore; at the same time it has been difficult to identify and record them all. Therefore, in the cultural history of the Han Chinese people, folkloristic sacrificial songs ( including ‘calling-soul-back lyrics’ or certain incantations closely re-lated to the sacrificial songs) rarely have been re-corded and/or successfully handed on to our day and age. In times past however, the sacrificial po-etry chanted by ethnic priests/shamans in various rituals and ceremonies was respected, protected, and widespread among the various people. Among all sacrificial music belonging to various ethnic groups in China, the music of the Tujia people is quite unique. The traditional worship culture of the Tujia has been very rich, elaborate, and mysterious. Due to intense cultural beliefs, the sacrificial mu-sic of the Tujia had become quite colorful. This u-nique musical style and rhyme reflects the Tujia people’ s unique historic and artistic charm, cus-toms, and connotations. The ancestors of the Tujia first lived in the isolated Wuling Mountains. Due to their limited productivity level, they weren’ t a-ble to interpret most natural and social phenome-na; instead they viewed these phenomena accord-ing to their personal animistic beliefs. In recent years, however, scholars have conducted a lot of research on the Tujia religious beliefs, including their sacrificial customs and music. In this con-text, the tima shenge ( tima sacred songs ) have enjoyed meticulous scholarly research from the per-spectives of both cultural philosophy and communi-cation. This article tries to explore the origin and mysterious musical features of the tima sacred songs, in order to better understand their socio-cultural function:this in turn could allow for a bet-ter protection and promotion of these songs. Tima sacred songs are the most ancient and o-riginal type of the Tujia songs. Tima is a

AHP 21: Sacred Dairies, Dairymen, and Buffaloes of the Nilgiri Mountains in South India

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Anthony R. Walker

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Approximately 1,500 Toda people inhabit the Nilgiri Mountains in south India. Arguably the most remarkable characteristic of Toda culture is the sacred nature of the husbandry of herds of long-horned mountain water buffaloes. No other community in India has so single-mindedly focused its ritual attention on one particular animal species. Every important task associated with the buffalo herds – milking, milk-processing, giving salt, naming, seasonal migrations, burning pastures, introducing new equipment into the dairies, etc. – has been embellished with ritual. Todas make a clear-cut distinction between temple and domestic buffaloes. Ordinary men (but not women herd the latter, whose milk and milk-products (buttermilk, butter, and clarified butter, but not flesh (since the community espouses vegetarianism may be consumed, bartered, or sold without restriction. Males who are responsible for herding temple buffaloes conduct their daily lives in a manner preserving greater ritual purity than ordinary men. Moreover, they are not just dairymen, but also the community's priests. They must guard the ritual purity of the dairies they serve, and all that is in them, for these are the Todas' temples – sacred places, infused with divinity.

An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used in sacred groves of Kumaon Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Harsh; Husain, Tariq; Agnihotri, Priyanka; Pande, P C; Khatoon, Sayyada

2014-05-28

International organizations recognize the importance of sacred groves and place them into the context of sustainable development and also emphasize to conserve biodiversity through protection of sacred groves and sties. The significance of medicinal plants from Himalayan region is well known to the world. Therefore, present study was conducted in identified sacred groves of Kumaon Himalaya to investigate and document the utilization of medicinal plants by various local communities and tribal people. The study was conducted during 2008-2011 in four seasons of the year. Information was collected from 70 locals from different sacred groves by using free listing interviews with randomly selected informants and semi-structured questionnaires; plant specimens were collected, identified and deposited at the CSIR-NBRI herbarium (LWG), Lucknow, India. Seven sacred groves viz., Dhwaj, Haat Kali, Hokra, Malay Nath, Nakuleshwar, Narayan Swami Ashram and Patal Bhuvneshwar were identified from the Pithoragarh district of Kumaon Himalaya. 89 medicinal plants belonging to 52 families and 77 genera of which, 2 are lichens, 4 are pteridophytes, 3 are gymnosperms and remaining 80 plant species are angiosperms. 6 plant species are reported with new therapeutic uses for the first time in this paper. Highest informant׳s consensus factor value was found in liver disorder (0.55) and least by body pains (0.23). 55 ethnomedicinal plants are showing 100% fidelity level against various diseases. Sacred groves in Kumaon region of Indian Himalaya are rich sources and best repository of ethno-medicinally important plants with many rare, endangered and threatened species. It is an excellent example of unique traditional way of in situ conservation of different plant species. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reflections Around the Conservation of Sacred Thangkas

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Sabine Cotte

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Tibetan thangkas (Buddhist scroll paintings are created as religious ritual objects. The fact that they are mainly considered as artworks in the Western world impacts on the decisions made for their display and conservation. This article explores the current approach to thangkas in Australian public collections and compares it with the views of contemporary Tibetan Buddhism practitioners. It underlines a few misconceptions at the source of conservation decision-making, and discusses practical outcomes of integrating the sacred dimension into professional practice against the backdrop of conservation’s Codes of Ethics. Conserving living religious heritage requires that professional ethical standards are adaptable to the needs of users. Existing frameworks for the conservation of sacred objects of pre-colonised, indigenous cultures provide useful models for the conservation of thangkas. This article argues that engaging with contemporary cultural groups to conserve religious significance is part of the mission of conservators. This is viewed as an expansion of conservation practice into the social realm, in a search for purposeful conservation that establishes the social relevance of our profession.

The Sacred Lotus - An Incredible Wealth of Wetlands

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 18; Issue 8. The Sacred Lotus - An Incredible Wealth of Wetlands. R N Mandal R Bar. General Article Volume 18 Issue 8 August 2013 pp 732-737. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link:

Stravinsky, Igor: Le Sacre du Printemps / Pierre-E. Barbier

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Barbier, Pierre-E.

1996-01-01

Uuest heliplaadist "Stravinsky, Igor: Le Sacre du Printemps. Requiem Canticles. Canticum sacrum. Variations sur un choral de Bach. Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Neeme Järvi" Chandos CHAN 9 408, distribution Media 7 (SD:160F)

Trampling the Sacred: Multicultural Education as Pedagogical Racism

Science.gov (United States)

Lovern, Lavonna Lea

2012-01-01

The following paper is a critical examination involving the misuse of sacred cultural tools and practices in the name of multicultural education. Native American practices are identified to illustrate how such inappropriate usages promote pedagogical racism. The misuse continues the hegemonic distribution of social capital. Through the…

Sacred space, analytic space, the self, and god.

Science.gov (United States)

Rizzuto, Ana-María

2009-01-01

Parental figures influence the type of religious experiences a person may have. Clinical material from the analysis of a young woman documents the importance of having an actual sacred space in which one can be oneself in religious life and a psychoanalytic space during treatment to progressively experience oneself.

The ecological implications of ancestral religion and reciprocal exchange in a sacred forest in Karendi

Science.gov (United States)

Cynthia T. Fowler

2003-01-01

This article tells the story of the sacred place named Mata Loko ("River's Source") in Karendi on the western end of the islands of sumba. This ethnographic case of an eastern Indonesian society where the traditional religion of Marapu persists sheds light on questions of how local belief systems are part of environmental adaptions. the use of sacred...

Internal and External Factors Shaping Educational Beliefs of High School Teachers of "Sacred" Subjects to Girls

Science.gov (United States)

Iluz, Shira; Rich, Yisrael

2009-01-01

This research investigated pedagogical beliefs of teachers of "sacred" school subjects, curricular topics that the school community deems culturally valued, unassailable and inviolate. Two hundred and fifty-five teachers of girls only who taught sacred or secular subjects in Jewish modern religious high schools responded to questionnaires focusing…

Eboo Patel (2012). Sacred Ground: Pluralism, Prejudice and the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

more genuine and lasting interfaith cooperation. While Sacred Ground focuses on the. United States, Patel's analysis of interreligious conflict and his prescriptions for promoting interfaith cooperation have broad relevance for international application in today's increasingly globally connected and religiously diverse world.

Sacred Groves: Myths, Beliefs, and Biodiversity Conservation—A Case Study from Western Himalaya, India

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Sushma Singh

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Religious and traditional beliefs, cultural mores, and practices play a crucial role in the conservation of environment and biodiversity. The present paper describes a case study of two sacred groves in Western Himalaya. Sacred groves (SGs are patches of land that are communally protected with religious zeal. A preliminary survey was conducted in these SGs to study their role in biodiversity conservation. The data collected included the general information regarding the SGs and the associated deity, nearest human habitation, access to them, and their floral and faunal diversity. Ethnomedicinal property of plants was collected from the indigenous communities. Many taboos are associated with both the SGs, which help in managing resources well through ritual representation. Different festivals are organized, where the local communities reaffirm their commitment to the forest and the deity. Sacred groves, in general, are a valuable tool of biodiversity conservation. But people’s changing attitudes, erosion of traditional beliefs, and human impact have caused degradation of sacred groves over the years. Their conservation would not be possible without the active participation of the local people. By improving their living standards and by giving benefits of conservation to them, long-term conservation goals in these SGs can be achieved.

Identifying Key Factors Relevant for Base Camp Siting

Science.gov (United States)

2017-12-01

centers. 3.2.6.3 Religious and historical sites Respecting sacred sites helps build rapport with the host nation. 3.2.6.4 Local infrastructure...churches, mosques, national libraries, hospitals, cemeteries, historical ruins, religious sites, cultural areas, and other protected sites...controlled and protected wells. • Electricity: town engineer • Academic: government and religious leaders • Trash: private business (local

Effects of Supplementary Feeding on the Breeding Ecology of the Buff-Throated Partridge in a Tibetan Sacred Site, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Nan; Moermond, Timothy C; Lloyd, Huw; Xu, Yu; Dou, Liang; Zhang, Kai; Yue, Bisong; Ran, Jianghong

2016-01-01

Our goal was to document effects of year-round supplemental feeding on breeding ecology of the Buff-throated Partridge, Tetraophasis szechenyii, within a Tibetan sacred site. We evaluated effects of supplemental feeding used as religious/cultural practices which could potentially aid conservation of endangered phasianids. We compared fed breeding groups to neighboring nonfed groups. Fed groups initiated first clutches significantly earlier than nonfed groups. Earlier laying groups within fed and nonfed groups showed significantly lower hatching rates than later groups; however, fed groups showed significantly higher hatching rates than nonfed groups laying in the same period. Earlier laying increased opportunities to renest. All six fed groups with clutch failures renested compared to only one of five nonfed groups with clutch failures. Fed female breeders showed significantly greater investment in their young with larger clutches and larger eggs, which likely increased survivability of early hatchlings. We observed no predation on birds at feeding sites and recorded only four cases of predation on incubating females, which showed no detectable difference between fed and nonfed groups. Ground-nesting birds typically face high risks of predation. Ten of the 48 groups nested in trees, which occurs in few phasianid species. Tree nests showed significantly higher hatching rates compared to ground nests; however, we found no significant difference in tree nesting between fed and nonfed groups. This partridge is one of four gallinaceous species with cooperative breeding. Breeding groups with helpers had significantly greater reproductive success than single pairs, and fed female breeders with helpers laid bigger eggs than single pairs. Comparing annual reproductive output per group, fed groups not only produced significantly more independent young (≥ 150 days post-hatching), their young hatched significantly earlier, which likely have greater reproductive value over

Information about Editor-in-Chief and the Secretary of the International Scholarly Board of Religious and Sacred Poetry

OpenAIRE

Tytko, Marek Mariusz

2014-01-01

Tekst jest informacją biograficzną o redaktorze naczelnym i Sekretarzu Międzynarodowej Rady Naukowej "Religious and Sacred Poetry". The text is the biographical information about editor-in-chief and the secretary of the International Scholarly Board of Religious and Sacred Poetry

Dancing the Numinous: Sacred and Spiritual Techniques of Contemporary American Belly Dancers

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Jeana Jorgensen

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, I explore how contemporary American practitioners of belly dance (as Middle Eastern dance and its many varieties are often called in the English-speaking world conceptualize not only the spiritual dimensions of their dance, but also how the very notion of performance affects sacred and spiritual dance practices. Drawing on interviews with this community, I describe the techniques of sacred and spiritual belly dancers, how these dancers theorize performance, and how the conflicts inherent to patriarchal mind-body dualism are resolved in these practices. My purpose here is twofold: to document an emergent dance tradition and to analyze its meanings in the relevant social context.

Dancing the Numinous: Sacred and Spiritual Techniques of Contemporary American Belly Dancers

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Jeana Jorgensen

2012-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper, I explore how contemporary American practitioners of belly dance (as Middle Eastern dance and its many varieties are often called in the English-speaking world conceptualize not only the spiritual dimensions of their dance, but also how the very notion of performance affects sacred and spiritual dance practices. Drawing on interviews with this community, I describe the techniques of sacred and spiritual belly dancers, how these dancers theorize performance, and how the conflicts inherent to patriarchal mind-body dualism are resolved in these practices. My purpose here is twofold: to document an emergent dance tradition and to analyze its meanings in the relevant social context.

Re-enchanted bodies: experiences of the sacred and healing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ostenfeld-Rosenthal, Ann

2010-01-01

patients' experiences of 'the sacred in the body' I want to argue that when bodily sensed spiritual experiences take on a personal meaning it opens a possibility for 'religious sceptics' to believe in the existence of a spiritual world playing an important role in relation to the healing process....

Medicinal plants from swidden fallows and sacred forest of the Karen and the Lawa in Thailand.

Science.gov (United States)

Junsongduang, Auemporn; Balslev, Henrik; Inta, Angkhana; Jampeetong, Arunothai; Wangpakapattanawong, Prasit

2013-06-24

Many ecosystem services provided by forests are important for the livelihoods of indigenous people. Sacred forests are used for traditional practices by the ethnic minorities in northern Thailand and they protect these forests that are important for their culture and daily life. Swidden fallow fields are a dominant feature of the agricultural farming landscapes in the region. In this study we evaluate and compare the importance of swidden fallow fields and sacred forests as providers of medicinal plants among the Karen and Lawa ethnic minorities in northern Thailand. We made plant inventories in swidden fallow fields of three different ages (1-2, 3-4, 5-6 years old) and in sacred forests around two villages using a replicated stratified design of vegetation plots. Subsequently we interviewed the villagers, using semi-structured questionnaires, to assess the medicinal use of the species encountered in the vegetation survey. We registered a total of 365 species in 244 genera and 82 families. Of these 72(19%) species in 60(24%) genera and 32(39%) families had medicinal uses. Although the sacred forest overall housed more species than the swidden fallow fields, about equal numbers of medicinal plants were derived from the forest and the fallows. This in turn means that a higher proportion (48% and 34%) of the species in the relatively species poor fallows were used for medicinal purposes than the proportion of medicinal plants from the sacred forest which accounted for 17-22%. Of the 32 medicinal plant families Euphorbiaceae and Lauraceae had most used species in the Karen and Lawa villages respectively. Sacred forest are important for providing medicinal plant species to the Karen and Lawa communities in northern Thailand, but the swidden fallows around the villages are equally important in terms of absolute numbers of medicinal plant species, and more important if counted as proportion of the total number of species in a habitat. This points to the importance of

Identifying Future Sacred Heart Administrators by Examining the Characteristics, Commonalities, and Personal Motivations of Current School Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Teixeira, Julie Brill

2012-01-01

Since their inception, all schools of the Sacred Heart have been headed by nuns of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Jesus [RSCJ]. As the years have passed, many RSCJ nuns have aged and retired leaving vacancies that have proven difficult to fill. In this qualitative study, the characteristics, commonalities, and personal motivations of Sacred…

Nineteenth-century urbanization as sacred process: insights from German Strasbourg.

Science.gov (United States)

Steinhoff, Anthony J

2011-01-01

This article examines a crucial site for modernity’s encounter with religion during the long nineteenth century, albeit one largely ignored both by religious and urban historians: the modern big city. Drawing on evidence from Strasbourg, which joined the ranks of Germany’s big cities soon after the Franco-Prussian War, it points out first, that urbanization had a significant urban dimension. It altered the absolute and relative size of the city’s faith communities, affected the confessional composition of urban neighborhoods, and prompted faith communities to mark additional parts of the urban landscape as sacred. Second, while urban growth—both demographic and physical—frequently challenged traditional understandings of religious community, it also facilitated the construction of new understandings of piety and community, especially via voluntary organizations and the religious media. Thereby, urbanization emerged as a key force behind sacralization in city and countryside as the nineteenth century ended and the twentieth began.

LE MIROIR, LE SECRET ET LE SACRÉ (The Mirror, the Secret, and the Sacred

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Jean-Jacques Wunenburger

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The perception opens the visible world. How it is then with intuition when the visible is hemmed by the invisible? What are the phenomenological and anthropological conditions of experience of invisible? We can proceed from mirror-reflections which provoked a number of beliefs in supernatural. They are inseparable from dimension of the sacred, from that what at the same time shows and hides itself. In final analysis, can we find in category of the sacred, in its diverse forms, the affective and cognitive key to the invisible?

The sacred realm: domain of new threats and challenges

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gaay Fortman, B. de

2006-01-01

This chapter looks at the sacred realm –as distinct from both the public and the private realm- as a contested space, full of old and new threats and challenges. As to conventional inter-religious violence the challenge today is to preserve both a culture of tolerance and the rule of law as basic

78 FR 21413 - Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-10

... cultural items listed in this notice meet the definition of sacred objects and objects of cultural... Natural History, Chicago, IL, that meet the definition of sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony... ``Apache's Medicine-man's effigy.'' Charles Owen had previously seen the figure on the Apache Reservation...

Impact and ecosystem service of forest and sacred grove as saviour of water quantity and quality in Garhwal Himalaya, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Jana, Purna; Dasgupta, Sabyasachi; Todaria, Nagendra P

2017-08-29

The present study was conducted in environs of the sacred grove of Garhwal Himalaya, India, with a view to assess the impacts of sacred groves and forests on the quality and quantity of water and also to assess the effect of seasonality on perennial stream quality. Water samples were collected from three randomly selected stream spots of both the sacred grove dominated by deodar (Cedrus deodara) and the non-sacred patch dominated by oak (Quercus leucotrichophora). Water samples from both patches were within the World Health Organization (WHO) standard limits. Based on an already established water quality index, water quality of both patches was safe for domestic and irrigation purposes but needs treatment for drinking purposes. Results of the present study also showed a very prominent impact of forest type as well as management condition on water quality and quantity. The water discharge from an oak forest shows more consistency than the discharge from a deodar forest. Due to the presence of the sacred grove, the area has become the source of good quality water supply during lean season for the surrounding villages. Water quality and quantity differed along with the change in season. The sacred grove and the existing forest leave a great impression on local dwellers, as due to its presence, local dwellers never run out of water supply during the dry season. As a result, the villagers sincerely want to protect the area for the sake of their own well-being.

Late Onset First Episode Psychosis Emerging as Delusional Misidentification of Familiar Sacred Places During a Holy Pilgrimage: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Awara, Mahmoud A; Moselhy, Hamdy F; Elnenaei, Manal O

2017-11-07

The delusional misidentification syndromes (DMS) include a myriad of discrete but related syndromes, which have wide spectrum anomalies of familiarity. Several misidentification syndromes have been described in the psychiatric literature, the most common of these delusions are: the Capgras syndrome; the Fregoli syndrome; the syndrome of inter-metamorphosis; reduplicative paramnesia; and environmental reduplication. The reported case highlights the emergence of late onset first episode psychosis in a Middle Eastern 65-year-old female who has no previous psychiatric history. The nature of psychosis was mainly delusions of misidentification and persecution. DMS are relatively rare and occur predominantly in association with schizophrenia and affective psychosis. Between 25 and 40% are associated with organic conditions such as dementia, head injuries, brain tumors, and epilepsy. Only three cases of misidentification of sacred places have been reported previously in the literature. This case report is the first to present a DMS, emerging as a late onset first episode psychosis during the sacred journey of Hajj. The reported case highlights the importance of early recognition and treatment of mental health conditions that may appear de novo during the Hajj sacred journey. Readily available psychiatric resources, psychotropic medications, and psycho-education may be pivotal in ensuring mental well-being of pilgrims, which is fundamental to maintain the mental capacity required for completing these journeys.

“Sacred scarab” in jewelry of Ancient Egypt: the symbol interpretation problem

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Lada V. Prokopovich

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The image of the Sacred scarab, like any other fact of culture, should be considered only in the context of certain circumstances, which involve the approach choice: viewing as either a sign or a symbol. In those cases where the scarab image stands as a symbol, while interpreting this one it should be taken into account the cultural context, which, as relevant studies show, can never be reduced to a simple interpretation scheme “Scarab — Dorbeetle — Sun symbol”. In that connection suggested is a hypothesis, according to which the image of the Sacred scarab as a symbol is divided into two, at least, concepts: a “Sunny Beetle”, to mean the beetle species Cetonia aurata (or any other similar, and a “Beetle-Demiurge”, to mean the dorbeetle.

Natural phenomena hazards, Hanford Site, south central Washington

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tallman, A.M.

1996-01-01

This document presents the natural phenomena hazard (NPH) loads for use in implementing DOE Order 5480.28, Natural Phenomena Hazards Mitigation, at the Hanford Site in south-central Washington State. The purpose of this document is twofold: (1) summarize the NPH that are important to the design and evaluation of structures, systems, and components at the Hanford Site; (2) develop the appropriate natural phenomena loads for use in the implementation of DOE Order 5480.28. The supporting standards, DOE-STD-1020-94, Natural Phenomena Hazards Design and Evaluation Criteria for Department of Energy Facilities (DOE 1994a); DOE-STD-1022-94, Natural Phenomena Hazards Site Characteristics Criteria (DOE 1994b); and DOE-STD-1023-95, Natural Phenomena Hazards Assessment Criteria (DOE 1995) are the basis for developing the NPH loads

Stealing the sacred: Why 'global heritage' discourse is perceived as ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Stealing the sacred: Why 'global heritage' discourse is perceived as a frontal attack on local heritage-making in Madagascar. ... Asked Questions about PDFs. Alternatively, you can download the PDF file directly to your computer, from where it can be opened using a PDF reader. To download the PDF, click the Download ...

Information about Editor-in-Chief and the Secretary of the International Scholarly Board of "Religious and Sacred Poetry"

OpenAIRE

Tytko, Marek Mariusz

2014-01-01

Tekst jest informacją biograficzną o dr. Marku Mariuszu Tytko, redaktorze naczelnym i sekretarzu Międzynarodowej Rady Naukowej "Religious and Sacred Poetry : An International Quarterly of Religion, Culture and Education". The text is the biographical information on Marek Mariusz Tytko, PhD, EDitor-in-Chief and secretary of the International Scholarly Council of "Religious and Sacred Poetry : An International Quarterly of Religion, Culture and Education".

Sacred Choices: Adolescent Relationships and Sexual Ethics--The Reform Movement's Response to the Need for Faith-Based Sexuality Education

Science.gov (United States)

Winer, Rabbi Laura Novak

2011-01-01

"Sacred Choices: Adolescent Relationships and Sexual Ethics" is a sexual ethics curriculum for middle school and high school students developed by the Union for Reform Judaism. Sacred Choices strives to teach Reform Jewish teens that their bodies are gifts from God and that Judaism provides relevant guidance on how to use and care for that gift…

Natural phenomena hazards, Hanford Site, Washington

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conrads, T.J.

1998-01-01

This document presents the natural phenomena hazard loads for use in implementing DOE Order 5480.28, Natural Phenomena Hazards Mitigation, and supports development of double-shell tank systems specifications at the Hanford Site in south-central Washington State. The natural phenomena covered are seismic, flood, wind, volcanic ash, lightning, snow, temperature, solar radiation, suspended sediment, and relative humidity

Sacred Torrents in Modernity: German Jewish Philosophers and the Legacy of Secularization

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Roemer Nils

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This article investigates the ongoing interaction between the Jewish sacred past and its modern interpreters. Jewish thinkers from the eighteenth century reclaimed these ideals instead of dismissing them. Sacred traditions and modern secular thought existed in their mutual constitutive interdependence and not in opposition. When the optimism in historical progress and faith in reason unraveled in the fin de siècle, it engendered a new critical response by Jewish historians and philosophers of the twentieth century. These critical voices emerged within the fault lines of nineteenth and early twentieth century Jewish anti-historicist responses. What separated twentieth-century Jewish thinkers such as Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig, and Gershom Scholem from their nineteenth-century forerunners was not their embrace of religion but their critical stance toward reason and their crumbling faith in historical progress.

Surfing into spirituality and a new, aquatic nature religion.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Bron

2007-01-01

"Soul surfers" consider surfing to be a profoundly meaningful practice that brings physical, psychological, and spiritual benefits. They generally agree on where surfing initially developed, that it assumed a religious character, was suppressed for religious reasons, has been undergoing a revival, and enjoins reverence for and protection of nature. This subset of the global surfing community should be understood as a new religious movement-a globalizing, hybridized, and increasingly influential example of what I call aquatic nature religion. For these individuals, surfing is a religious form in which a specific sensual practice constitutes its sacred center, and the corresponding experiences are constructed in a way that leads to a belief in nature as powerful, transformative, healing, and sacred. I advance this argument by analyzing these experiences, as well as the myths, rites, symbols, terminology, technology, material culture, and ethical mores that are found within surfing subcultures.

The Experience Of The Time In The Sacred And Profane In The Light Of Interpretation Of MiceaA Eliade

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Rodrigo Danubio Queiroz

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The present work aims to analyze and describe the human experience of the time in the sacred and the profane from the thought of the philosopher and historian Mircea Eliade. The research has as its starting point the observation of duality sacred/profane statement that results in two modes of being in the world, namely the religious and non-religious. Thus, we aimed to assess the extent of heterogeneous temporality in the life of man and the religious and man without religion. However, the understanding of this experience can be established only when one realizes the importance of constructions of temples, religious festivals, rituals and myth presented as one of the sacred language that only makes sense because of the inhomogeneity of time.

Site Screening and Technical Guidance for Monitored Natural Attenuation at DOE Sites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Borns, D.J.; Brady, P.V.; Brady, W.D.; Krupka, K.M.; Spalding, B.P.; Waters, R.D.; Zhang, P.

1999-03-01

Site Screening and Technical Guidance for Monitored Natural Attenuation at DOE Sites briefly outlines the biological and geochemical origins of natural attenuation, the tendency for natural processes in soils to mitigate contaminant transport and availability, and the means for relying on monitored natural attenuation (MNA) for remediation of contaminated soils and groundwaters. This report contains a step-by-step guide for (1) screening contaminated soils and groundwaters on the basis of their potential for remediation by natural attenuation and (2) implementing MNA consistent with EPA OSWER Directive 9200.4-17. The screening and implementation procedures are set up as a web-based tool (http://www.sandia.gov/eesector/gs/gc/na/mnahome.html) to assist US Department of Energy (DOE) site environmental managers and their staff and contractors to adhere to EPA guidelines for implementing MNA. This document is intended to support the Decision Maker's Framework Guide and Monitoring Guide both to be issued from DOE EM-40. Further technical advances may cause some of the approach outlined in this document to change over time.

Friedrich Max Müller and the Sacred Books of the East

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Molendijk, Arie L.

2016-01-01

This volume offers a critical analysis of one the most ambitious editorial projects of late Victorian Britain: the edition of the fifty substantial volumes of the Sacred Books of the East (1879-1910). The series was edited and conceptualized by Friedrich Max Müller (1823-1900), a world-famous

In-beam conversion electron spectroscopy using the SACRED array

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, P.M.; Cann, K.J.; Cocks, J.F.C.; Jones, G.D.; Julin, R.; Schulze, B.; Smith, J.F.; Wilson, A.N.

1997-01-01

Conversion electron studies of medium-heavy to heavy nuclear mass systems are important where the internal conversion process begins to dominate over gamma-ray emission. The use of a segmented detector array sensitive to conversion electrons has been used to study multiple conversion electron cascades from nuclear transitions. The application of the silicon array for conversion electron detection (SACRED) for in-beam measurements has successfully been implemented. (orig.). With 2 figs

MNAtoolbox: A Monitored Natural Attenuation Site Screening Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Borns, David J.; Brady, Patrick V.; Brady, Warren D.; Krupka, Kenneth M.; Spalding, Brian P.; Waters, Robert D.; Zhang, Pengchu

1999-07-12

Screening of sites for the potential application and reliance upon monitored natural attenuation (MNA) can be done using MNAtoolbox, a web-based tool for estimating extent of biodegradation, chemical transformation, and dilution. MNAtoolbox uses site-specific input data, where available (default parameters are taken from the literature), to roughly quantify the nature and extent of attenuation at a particular site. Use of MNAtoolbox provides 3 important elements of site evaluation: (1) Identifies likely attenuation pathways, (2) Clearly identifies sites where MNA is inappropriate, and (3) Evaluates data requirements for subsequent reliance on MNA as a sole or partial corrective action.

The Development of the Sacred Landscape of Saqqara in the Old Kingdom

Science.gov (United States)

Magli, Giulio

2015-05-01

Saqqara is one of the most important Necropolis in Egypt. In the course of the third millennium BC many Pharaohs choose Saqqara for their tombs. As a consequence the landscape constantly grew with the addition of new monuments, from the mastaba tombs of the first dynasty to the last pyramid of the Old Kingdom, that of Pepi II. The monuments were constructed respecting a series of topographical constraints which are not due to the morphology of the area but rather reflect symbolic - dynastic or astronomical - motivations. The analysis of these connections gives a better understanding of the choices made by the kings' architects in order to keep Maat - order - in the development of the site. Further, the way in which the sacred landscape came to be structured at the end of the Old Kingdom allows us to formulate a proposal for the possible location of the unique pyramid of the sixth dynasty which is still to be found: that of Userkare.

Effects of sacred music on the spiritual well-being of bereaved relatives: a randomized clinical trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir Araujo da Silva

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of instrumental sacred music and sacred music with vocals on the spiritual well-being of bereaved relatives. METHOD This is a randomized clinical trial carried out with family members bereaving the death of loved ones to cancer. Participants were allocated into three groups: Group 1 (control, Group 2 (experimental using sacred music with vocals or Group 3 (experimental using instrumental sacred music. Spiritual well-being was assessed through the Spiritual Well-Being Scale. RESULTS Sixty-nine (69 family members participated. Mean scores before and after the intervention indicated high levels of spiritual well-being (106.4 and 105.5 in Group 1; 103.2 and 105.2 in Group 2; 107.4 and 108.7 in Group 3 and religious well-being (57.9 and 56.9 in Group 1; 56.3 and 56.4 in Group 2; 57.4 and 58.1 in Group 3, and moderate levels of existential well-being (48.5 and 48.6 in Group 1; 46.9 and 48.9 in Group 2; 49.9 and 50.7 in Group 3, with the exception of Group 3 which presented a high level of existential well-being after the intervention. CONCLUSION The results show that there were no statistically significant differences in the spiritual well-being scores between the experimental groups and the control group. We evidence the need for further studies that use music therapy as a Nursing intervention for bereaved families. Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials: RBR-2wtwjz.

Effects of sacred music on the spiritual well-being of bereaved relatives: a randomized clinical trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Vladimir Araujo da; Silva, Rita de Cássia Frederico; Cabau, Nubia Carla Ferreira; Leão, Eliseth Ribeiro; Silva, Maria Júlia Paes da

2017-01-01

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of instrumental sacred music and sacred music with vocals on the spiritual well-being of bereaved relatives. METHOD This is a randomized clinical trial carried out with family members bereaving the death of loved ones to cancer. Participants were allocated into three groups: Group 1 (control), Group 2 (experimental using sacred music with vocals) or Group 3 (experimental using instrumental sacred music). Spiritual well-being was assessed through the Spiritual Well-Being Scale. RESULTS Sixty-nine (69) family members participated. Mean scores before and after the intervention indicated high levels of spiritual well-being (106.4 and 105.5 in Group 1; 103.2 and 105.2 in Group 2; 107.4 and 108.7 in Group 3) and religious well-being (57.9 and 56.9 in Group 1; 56.3 and 56.4 in Group 2; 57.4 and 58.1 in Group 3), and moderate levels of existential well-being (48.5 and 48.6 in Group 1; 46.9 and 48.9 in Group 2; 49.9 and 50.7 in Group 3), with the exception of Group 3 which presented a high level of existential well-being after the intervention. CONCLUSION The results show that there were no statistically significant differences in the spiritual well-being scores between the experimental groups and the control group. We evidence the need for further studies that use music therapy as a Nursing intervention for bereaved families. Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials: RBR-2wtwjz.

"Approaching the Sacred": Directionality in the Relation between Curriculum and Knowledge Structure

Science.gov (United States)

Gamble, Jeanne

2014-01-01

Increasing pressure on all levels of educational provision, whether academic or overtly vocational, to be to "relevant" and "useful" prompts consideration of the relation between curriculum and pedagogy in terms of the internal structure of knowledge forms. Following Durkheim's distinction between "sacred" and…

Sacred and totemic plants among thirty two ethnic groups in Burkina ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study aims to evaluate the diversity of sacred species and totemic species according to the different ethnic groups of Burkina Faso and to determine the influence of these taboos on the conservation of biodiversity. A sample of 2503 people from 32 ethnic groups were investigated in 330 villages based on the liveliness ...

Music As a Sacred Cue? Effects of Religious Music on Moral Behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Lang, Martin; Mitkidis, Panagiotis; Kundt, Radek; Nichols, Aaron; Krajčíková, Lenka; Xygalatas, Dimitris

2016-01-01

Religion can have an important influence in moral decision-making, and religious reminders may deter people from unethical behavior. Previous research indicated that religious contexts may increase prosocial behavior and reduce cheating. However, the perceptual-behavioral link between religious contexts and decision-making lacks thorough scientific understanding. This study adds to the current literature by testing the effects of purely audial religious symbols (instrumental music) on moral behavior across three different sites: Mauritius, the Czech Republic, and the USA. Participants were exposed to one of three kinds of auditory stimuli (religious, secular, or white noise), and subsequently were given a chance to dishonestly report on solved mathematical equations in order to increase their monetary reward. The results showed cross-cultural differences in the effects of religious music on moral behavior, as well as a significant interaction between condition and religiosity across all sites, suggesting that religious participants were more influenced by the auditory religious stimuli than non-religious participants. We propose that religious music can function as a subtle cue associated with moral standards via cultural socialization and ritual participation. Such associative learning can charge music with specific meanings and create sacred cues that influence normative behavior. Our findings provide preliminary support for this view, which we hope further research will investigate more closely.

Learning to (Re)member the Things We've Learned to Forget: Endarkened Feminisms, Spirituality, and the Sacred Nature of Research and Teaching. Black Studies and Critical Thinking. Volume 18

Science.gov (United States)

Dillard, Cynthia B.

2012-01-01

Feminist research has both held and contested experience as a category of epistemological importance, often as a secular notion. However, spirituality and sacred knowing are also fundamental to a Black/endarkened feminist epistemology in teaching and research, given the historical and cultural experiences of African ascendant women worldwide. How…

Woody plant diversity in sacred forests and fallows in Chiang Mai, Thailand

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Junsongduang, A.; Balslev, Henrik; Jampeetong, Arunothai

2014-01-01

All woody plant and seedling diversity was compared in a Karen and a Lawa hill-tribe village in northern Thailand in four different habitats: sacred forests and fallow fields of three ages derived from rotational shifting cultivation (young fallows, 1–2 years old; medium-age fallow, 3-4 years old...

Natural Capital - putting a value on geological sites

Science.gov (United States)

Dunlop, Lesley

2017-04-01

Natural Capital is a mechanism through which a value can be placed on nature allowing it to be considered alongside other assets. When the Government of the United Kingdom produced a Natural Environment White Paper (The Natural Choice: securing the value of nature) in 2012 there was no direct mention of geosites, geoheritage or geodiversity. One ambition of the Natural Environment White Paper was to stop environmental degradation and to rebuild natural capital and to value it. Whilst landscapes are mentioned in the paper geodiversity is not directly and this has been problematic for funding and recognition within the UK. Natural Capital is being used as the basis for many of the environmental reviews therefore it is essential that geodiversity can be included within this. The Natural Capital Committee defines natural capital as 'those elements of the natural environment which provide valuable goods and services to people'. In the main, these goods and services are related to ecology/biodiversity rather than to the full range of natural capital. Specifically, the values associated with abiotic nature (geodiversity) are frequently undervalued or ignored. The English Geodiversity Forum have been producing case studies as to how this might be done for different locations and this paper will present the work of this and how a value can be attributed to geodiversity. For example links to tourism and recreation within areas such as the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site and the Black Country proposed Geopark are easy to place a value on but it is more difficult with educational, scientific sites. Using an ecosystems services and biodiversity analogies this paper presents a framework that can be adopted for evaluation of geological sites. Defra (2015) The state of natural capital: protecting and improving natural capital for prosperity and wellbeing. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, 73 pages https

Image of Iraqis in The Cinema of Sacred Defense

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Abdollah Givian

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Regarding representational function of media, the current dissertation intends to examine the changes in the representation of the image of the Iraqis in the Sacred Defense Cinema. Iraqies have been pictured as the "Others" during last three decades. Due to the importance and role of sacred defense and its cinematic representations of "Self" and "Other" and thereby its contribution in the process of reconstruction of Iranian national identity this research is aimed at studying represented images of Iraqies and its changes during last three decades. To reach this objective I first examined the concept and theories of representation as stated by Richard Dyer and Stuart Hall. Then to complement Hall’s theories I referred to other thinkers in the field of identity theory, ‘self’ and ‘the other’ as stated. In the chapter on methodology I’ve benefited from a combination of the patterns presented by Kate Selbi, Ran Kallory and Rolan Bart to analyze the texts.The findings of this thesis demonstrates that in order to depict the Iraqis in the sixties verbal codes were primarily used whereas in the seventies and the eighties social and technical codes were most used respectively.In the first decade Iraqis were portrayed as those people who are imagined to be cruel, inhuman, in which the emphasis was laid on the impact of the Iraqi’s invasion. In the second decade we see Iraqi’s depicted as dumb and fat people having thick moustaches and rough voices and in the third we see this portrayal to be transformed where Iraqi’s are shown to be our Muslim brothers who have been forced to fight in the war. Having observed, examined and analyzed the films, we found out that when facing ‘the other’, i.e. the Iraqis, the metaphor of the boundary or border was used. This border is seen between ‘self’ and ‘the other’, i.e. the Iranians and the Iraqis in all the chosen movies on the Sacred Defense. In the first decade there was an objective

Natural Remediation at Savannah River Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, C. M.; Van Pelt, R.

2002-01-01

Natural remediation is a general term that includes any technology or strategy that takes advantage of natural processes to remediate a contaminated media to a condition that is protective of human health and the environment. Natural remediation techniques are often passive and minimally disruptive to the environment. They are generally implemented in conjunction with traditional remedial solutions for source control (i.e., capping, stabilization, removal, soil vapor extraction, etc.). Natural remediation techniques being employed at Savannah River Site (SRS) include enhanced bio-remediation, monitored natural attenuation, and phytoremediation. Enhanced bio-remediation involves making nutrients available and conditions favorable for microbial growth. With proper precautions and feeding, the naturally existing microbes flourish and consume the contaminants. Case studies of enhanced bio-remediation include surface soils contaminated with PCBs and pesticides, and Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) contamination in both the vadose zone and groundwater. Monitored natural attenuation (MNA) has been selected as the preferred alternative for groundwater clean up at several SRS waste units. Successful implementation of MNA has been based on demonstration that sources have been controlled, groundwater modeling that indicates that plumes will not expand or reach surface water discharge points at levels that exceed regulatory limits, and continued monitoring. Phytoremediation is being successfully utilized at several SRS waste units. Phytoremediation involves using plants and vegetation to uptake, break down, or manage contaminants in groundwater or soils. Case studies at SRS include managing groundwater plumes of tritium and VOCs with pine trees that are native to the area. Significant decreases in tritium discharge to a site stream have been realized in one phytoremediation project. Studies of other vegetation types, methods of application, and other target contaminants are

Consideration of natural attenuation. In remedation contaminated sites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2011-04-15

Upon the proposal submitted by ist Standing committee 5 (Contaminated Sites Committee - ALA) the Federal / State Working Group on Soil protection employed an ad hoc subcommittee dealing with considering natural attenuation in remediating contaminated sites and preparing an inter-State position paper. In the present position paper the way how to consider natural attenuation in practical remediation of contaminated sites is described. The systematic approach outlined allows an understandable decision-finding. A way is shown how the competent soil protection authorities may exercise discretion and in the framework of checking the appropriateness of measures may decide on the implementation of MNA based on a MNA concept (MNA = monitored natural attenuation). It is, however, also explained that when carrying out MNA a decision always made in an individual case is concerned which should be made in a close agreement between the obligated party and the authority.

Conventional and Indigenous Biodiversity Conservation Approach: A Comparative Study of Jachie Sacred Grove and Nkrabea Forest Reserve

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Samuel Boadi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Conventional managed forests and sacred groves are seldom assessed to determine their effectiveness in biodiversity conservation strategies. This study investigated tree and insect diversity in Jachie sacred grove (JSG and Nkrabea forest reserve (NFR in Ashanti region, Ghana. The study area constituted eight plots of 50 × 50 m along two 300 m long transects. Insects were sampled in eight pitfall traps, diagonally between the transects. Out of 150 individuals, 13 species in NFR and 15 species from JSG were registered. Celtis mildbraedii was the most dominant species in NFR = 43.18% and JSG = 23.58%. Mean DBH showed a significant relationship with basal area in NFR and JSG. Tree diversity and richness were higher in JSG (H′ = 1.43–2.3 ± 0.10; D = 1.8–3.69 ± 0.30 compared to NFR (H′ = 0.86–1.56 ± 0.09; D = 1.1–2.3 ± 0.57. However, insect diversity was higher in NFR (H′ = 1.34 ± 0.10 than in JSG (H′ = 0.5 ± 0.005. Camponotus furvus and Pachycondyla tarsata were most abundant in JSG and NFR, respectively. These findings will help conservationists work closely with traditional authorities in protecting sacred groves as key biodiversity hotspots.

Selection of radioactive waste disposal site considering natural processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakamura, H.

1991-01-01

To dispose the radioactive waste, it is necessary to consider the transfer of material in natural environment. The points of consideration are 1) Long residence time of water 2) Independence of biosphere from the compartment containing the disposal site in the natural hydrologic cycle 3) Dilution with the natural inactive isotope or the same group of elements. Isotope dilution for 129 I and 14 C can be expected by proper selection of the site. 241 Am and 239 Pu will be homogenized into soil or sediment with insoluble elements such as iron and aluminium. For 237 Np and 99 Tc anionic condition is important for the selection. From the point of view of hydrologic cycle, anoxic dead water zone avoiding beneath mountain area is preferable for the disposal site. (author)

Sacred Symbols in Dimitrie Gavrilean’s Paintings

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Emilian Adrian Gavrilean

2016-05-01

Full Text Available This year, on the 12th of July, there are four years since the passing away of the painter Dimitrie Gavrilean who, ,”through the unique impresion of his originality, early became an emblem of the school of painting of Iasi.” Born in Voroneţ, in 1942, Dimitrie Gavrilean attended ”Nicolae Grigorescu” Academy of Arts of Bucharest, being an eminent disciple of the master Corneliu Baba. The work in the creation workshop was combined with the vocation of teacher at the Faculty of Visual Arts and Design within ”G. Enescu” University of Arts of Iaşi, being a rector of this institution in the period 2000-2004. In the contemporary plastic landscape, the artistic work of the painter Dimitrie Gavrilean (1942-2012 from Iaşi occupies a special place. It mirrors the utmost of the autochthonous rural imaginary, the Romanian fundamental myths, the ancestral myths as well as the recently Christianized ones. His vision is specific to the Romanian Christianity and the Byzantine iconography. The language of Gavrilean’s paintings is one of symbols, by excellence. As Emil Staco rightfully observed, the entire work of art of master Gavrilean is ”a work of art of the symbols, of the metaphors rooted in the spirituality of the Romanian village of Bukovina, in the frescoes of Voroneţ and Humor Monasteries.” On the one hand, the painter did not content himself with illustrating only the ancestral mythical world by means of symbols with universal valences, but he got actively involved in the Christian valorization of mythical symbols. On the other hand, by integrating sacred symbols (the dove, the cock, winged characters, the wise old man, the architecture-church, the sun, Voroneţ blue of the Christian iconography of Byzantine tradition in paintings not necessarily religious, Dimitrie Gavrilean pushed his work of art to the border between sacred and profane, proving an extraordinary capacity of spiritualizing matter as well as of materializing the

Site characterization criteria (DOE-STD-1022-94) for natural phenomena hazards at DOE sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, J.C.; Ueng, T.S.; Boissonnade, A.C.

1995-12-01

This paper briefly summarizes requirements of site characterization for Natural Phenomena Hazards (NPH) at DOE sites. In order to comply with DOE Order 5480.28, site characterization criteria has been developed to provide site-specific information needed for development of NPH assessment criteria. Appropriate approaches are outlined to ensure that the current state-of-the-art methodologies and procedures are used in the site characterization. General and detailed site characterization requirements are provided in the areas of meteorology, hydrology, geology, seismology and geotechnical studies

Social Theory, Sacred Text, and Sing-Sing Prison: A Sociology of Community-Based Reconciliation.

Science.gov (United States)

Erickson, Victoria Lee

2002-01-01

Examines the sociological component of the urban community-based professional education programs at New York Theological Seminary offered at Sing-Sing Prison. Explores the simultaneous use of social theory and sacred texts as teaching tools and intervention strategies in the educational and personal transformation processes of men incarcerated for…

Places of Faith: A Reflection on Landscape of Manila Cathedral Plaza de Roma and Istiqlal Mosque Sacred Grounds of Jakarta

Science.gov (United States)

Pujalte, MM; Navarra, N.

2017-10-01

Crossing boundaries of faith from Manila to Jakarta, this study is to classify the open spaces in their sacred grounds according to its characteristics, elements, use of space and hierarchy of importance in landscape design approach. The reflection of their religious landscape in preserving the traditional, and exploring the non-traditional aspect of their landscape design in global setting is carried out thru a spatial analysis for Plaza de Roma of Manila Cathedral and the sacred grounds of Istiqlal Mosque. The design framework would tackle: concepts, planning approach, functional symbolic values, and aesthetics used. The data and information are all examined based on observation, historical background, analyses, and literature content in determining spatial functions. Finally, when results are completed, this will give a better understanding on the importance of open areas in Manila and Jakarta’s sacred spaces; paving way for a better sense of comfort in spiritual contemplation. This will also help reveal the commonalities in spiritual practices between Islam and Christianity, and the role of landscape in their religion and faith.

Remedial technology for contaminated natural gas dehydrator sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prosen, B.J.; Korreck, W.M.; Armstrong, J.M.

1991-01-01

Ground water and soil contamination at many of Michigan's oil and gas well sites has been attributed to natural gas dehydration processes. Since water was once thought to be the only by-product from the dehydration process, condensate from the process was discharged directly to the ground for several years. This condensate was later found to contain benzene, toluene, ethyl-benzene, and xylenes (BTEX), and the process of discharging condensate to the ground was stopped. Many oil and gas well sites had become impacted from the process during this time. Although condensate is no longer discharged to the ground, soil and water contamination still remains at many of these sites. In the last few years, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has targeted over 90 well sites for assessment of contamination associated with gas dehydration. The results of many of these assessments indicate that soil and ground water have been impacted, and the State of Michigan has mandated cleanup of these sites. Remedial technologies which have been used to contain and/or clean up the sites include excavation and product removal, soil venting, purge and treat, and enhanced biodegradation. This paper is a discussion of the technology, implementation, and results from each of these methods

Place Attachment in the Bible : The role of attachment to sacred places in religious life

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Counted, Agina Victor; Watts, Fraser

2017-01-01

This paper examines the role of place attachment in religious life by analyzing various significant place events in the Bible, using analysis of biblical discourse. The paper looks at various biblical places, and explores the implications of approaching these sacred settings in terms of place

Desmond and Moore’s Darwin’s Sacred Cause

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Allen Esterson

2013-04-01

Full Text Available In their book Darwin’s Sacred Cause (2009 Adrian Desmond and James Moore purport to demonstrate that they have provided an original explanation for the inspiration behind Darwin’s determined pursuit of an explanatory theory for the transformation of species of which he became convinced as a result of his experiences during the Beagle voyage of 1831 to 1836. This, they argue, was the “moral passion” that was evoked by his encountering the horrors of slavery during the periods he was able to disembark to explore areas of South America in the years 1832 to 1835. In short, they provide what they describe as “the untold story of how Darwin’s abhorrence of slavery led to our modern understanding of evolution.” This article explores the means by which the authors seek to persuade readers of the validity of their thesis, and concludes that far from providing compelling evidence, by providing a mass of historically interesting material relating to slavery that is actually tangential to their case, they obscure the fact that they fail to accomplish their aim. There is nothing in their account of events that provides a reason for preferring their explanation for Darwin’s devotion to understanding the processes involved in the transformation of species to the known historical facts of Darwin’s early zeal for natural science, exhibited in his childhood exploits with beetles and his more organized scientific activities when he was a student at Cambridge, enabled to come to fruition by his scientific activities during the voyage of the Beagle.

SACRED LANDSCAPES AS REPOSITORIES OF BIODIVERSITY. A CASE STUDY FROM THE HARIYALI DEVI SACRED LANDSCAPE, UTTARAKHAND

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Yogesh GOKHALE

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The present study was carried out in the Hariyali Devi sacred landscape of Garhwal Himalaya in Uttarakhand State of India. The study area falls under the jurisdiction of the Forest Department, having the status of reserve forest. The land scape is dedicated to the deity “Hariyali Devi” and that plays a major role in conserving the biodiversity of this land scape. Taboos, rituals and socio-cultural practices are associated with conservation practices. The study recorded 98 plant species, representing 88 genera and 46 families with different economic values. The dominant family was Rosaceae, which recorded the highest (10 number of species. Out of 98 plant species the dominant life form contribution was of herbs (52, shrubs (26 and tree species (21. Almost 82 plants species in the landscape are of medicinal importance, 15 species are used for timber and construction purposes, 19 species with different edible plant parts, such as fruits, flowers, seeds and rhizomes. The information about the uses/economic value of different plant species was gathered directly by interviewing knowledgeable elderly local villagers (including women.

Forgotten Bibles: Friedrich Max Müller’s Edition of the Sacred Books of the East

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Molendijk, Arie

2016-01-01

Max Müller’s edition of the Sacred Books of the East (1879-1910) is doubtless one of the most ambitious and daring editorial projects of late Victorian scholarship. This essay examines the claim that these translations ratify a whole taxonomy of concepts and procedures that will characterize the

Les lieux du sacré dans les Miracula sancti Germani d’Heiric d’Auxerre et les Gesta pontificum Autissiodorensium

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Dominique Iogna-Prat

2004-09-01

Full Text Available Comment cerner la notion de sacré dans les textes carolingiens que sont les Gestes des évêques d’Auxerre et les Miracles de saint Germain écrits par l’un des maîtres de l’école carolingienne d’Auxerre, Heiric ? Une étude lexicale précise des mots latins employés par les auteurs permet d’approcher au plus près les concepts renvoyant aux lieux du sacré. Ce sujet de maîtrise. suggéré par D. Iogna-Prat et réalisé sous la direction de M. Bourin (université de Paris I-Panthéon Sorbonne, avec l’aid...

Some notes on the rings with sacred inscriptions from Pannonia

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András Szabó

2015-02-01

Full Text Available More than a hundred rings bearing inscriptions are known from the territory of Roman Pannonia. Among these close to 30 artefacts can be regarded as rings displaying inscriptions of religious significance. Besides the Silvanus-rings, well-known to the archaeological research, some new groups of rings featuring sacred inscriptions can be distinguished according to the dedications. The aim of this paper is to analyse these objects and their religious backgrounds with the help of some archaeological, epigraphical and literary sources and to point out some of the questionable observations of the earlier research.

Natural decay series radionuclide studies at the Needle's Eye Natural Analogue Site, II, 1989-1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacKenzie, A.B.; Whitton, A.M.; Shimmield, T.M.; Jemielita, R.A.; Scott, R.D.; Hooker, P.J.

1991-12-01

HMIP has a research programme investigating some naturally radioactive sites as geochemical analogues of radionuclide migration. The objective is to test thermodynamic databases and computer codes used for modelling radionuclide migration under environmental conditions. This report describes the study of transport and retardation processes affecting natural radionuclides, mainly uranium (U), in the vicinity of pitchblende veins in the cliff at Needle's Eye on the Solway Coast, SW Scotland. The natural decay series results from this study have been used to develop a well constrained geochemical model within which the codes can be tested. A conceptual geochemical model for the behaviour of U at the site was developed in stage I of the study; work in stage II is concerned with improving the information available on the U source term, groundwater chemistry, U aqueous phase specification, U retardation by fracture-lining minerals during fissure flow of groundwater, U-organic associations and loss of U from the site by stream drainage. (author)

Finding the Sacred Direction: Medieval Books on the Qibla

Science.gov (United States)

Rius, M.

2009-08-01

Medieval Islamic scholars wrote a great number of books on the qibla, the Sacred Direction. These books had a huge readership and provided instructions for finding the direction of Mecca by either exact or approximate means. In principle, the qibla was a purely religious subject, but in practice its determination required the use of astronomy as an applied science. As so often, religion and politics had many points of contact and, in this case, it was generally political considerations that prevailed. Finally, the analysis of nautical charts can offer new perspectives. As yet, modern scholarship has not established the link between this area of study and the classical literature on this subject.

From the numinous to the sacred.

Science.gov (United States)

MacKenna, Christopher

2009-04-01

Jung took the idea of the 'numinous' from Rudolf Otto's book Das Heilige (E.T. The Idea of the Holy) and made it central to his understanding of religion. However, as Lucy Huskinson has recently pointed out, this involves a misreading of Otto's work in which we have to look beyond the numinous (which is the non-rational factor in religion) towards the 'holy' which, like a symbol, holds the rational and non-rational aspects of religious experience together in a personally transformative way. This understanding of the spiritual and psychological journey is supported by case material in which a numinous experience, arising in the context of intensive analytical psychotherapy, proved to be but the first step in a process which led, through a period of mourning, towards the development of the patient's capacity to symbolize. In the light of this, the author suggests that the sacred is to be found in the capacity for a certain quality of symbolic relatedness--to self and other--which may or may not be attended by numinous experience.

BETWEEN SACRED AND PROFANE: WOMAN‟S SEARCH FOR EXISTENCE IN ELIZABETH GILBERT‟S EAT, PRAY, LOVE

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Fatma Hetami

2017-04-01

The results indicate that the meaning of profane and sacred can be revealed through the description of liz‘s process in searching her existence. It can be seen in the novel‘s text through it‘s main signifier as represented by two words ‖big house‖ and ‖bath room‖. ‖Big house‖ symbolizes happiness, peace, and power; meanwhile ‖bath room‖ symbolizes sadness and loneliness. Liz, who is supposed to be comfortable living in happiness finally decides to negate it. Instead of enjoying her wonderful life represented by wealth, marriage, and family, Liz prefers to become nomadic, divorce her husband, and have no children. The process of searching her existence then leads her into spiritual experience that can be broken down into two binary oppositions: profane and sacred. She sacralizes the profane activities such as crying in the bath room, contemplating, scrubing the temple floors, and experiencing metaphysical crisis, to reach the God.

Sacred spaces in public places: religious and spiritual plurality in health care.

Science.gov (United States)

Reimer-Kirkham, Sheryl; Sharma, Sonya; Pesut, Barb; Sawatzky, Richard; Meyerhoff, Heather; Cochrane, Marie

2012-09-01

Several intriguing developments mark the role and expression of religion and spirituality in society in recent years. In what were deemed secular societies, flows of increased sacralization (variously referred to as 'new', 'alternative', 'emergent' and 'progressive' spiritualities) and resurgent globalizing religions (sometimes with fundamentalist expressions) are resulting in unprecedented plurality. These shifts are occurring in conjunction with increasing ethnic diversity associated with global migration, as well as other axes of difference within contemporary society. Democratic secular nations such as Canada are challenged to achieve social cohesion in the face of growing religious, spiritual and ethnic diversity. These challenges are evident in the high-paced, demanding arena of Health care. Here, religious and spiritual plurality enter in, sometimes resulting in conflict between medical services and patients' beliefs, other times provoking uncertainties on the part of healthcare professionals about what to do with their own religiously or spiritually grounded values and beliefs. In this paper, we present selected findings from a 3-year study that examined the negotiation of religious and spiritual pluralism in Health care. Our focus is on the themes of 'sacred' and 'place', exploring how the sacred - that which is attributed as special and set apart as it pertains to the divine, transcendence, God or higher power - takes form in social and material spaces in hospitals. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Compassionate love as a mechanism linking sacred qualities of marriage to older couples' marital satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Sabey, Allen K; Rauer, Amy J; Jensen, Jakob F

2014-10-01

Previous work has underscored the robust links between sanctification of marriage and marital outcomes, and recent developments in the literature suggest that compassionate love, which is important for intimate relationships, may act as a mediator of that relationship. Accordingly, the current study used actor-partner interdependence models to examine the relationship between a spiritual cognition (i.e., perceived sacred qualities of marriage) and marital satisfaction, and to determine whether that relationship is mediated by compassionate love, in a sample of older married couples (N = 64). Results revealed that wives' greater sacred qualities of marriage were significantly and positively linked to marital satisfaction on the part of both spouses, and that these links were partially mediated by couples' reports of compassionate love. These findings highlight the importance of moving beyond simply establishing the existence of the link between global markers of involvement of religion and marriage to understanding how specific spiritual cognitions may foster better relationship quality, especially among older couples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Site characterization criteria (DOE-STD-1022-94) for natural phenomena hazards at DOE sites. Revision 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, J.C.; Ueng, Tzou-Shin; Boissonnade, A.C.

1995-01-01

This paper briefly summarizes requirements of site characterization for Natural Phenomena Hazards (NPH) at DOE sites. In order to comply with DOE Order 5480.28, site characterization criteria has been developed to provide site-specific information needed for development of NPH assessment criteria. Appropriate approaches are outlined to ensure that the current state-of-the-art methodologies and procedures are used in the site characterization. General and detailed site characterization requirements are provided in the areas of meteorology, hydrology, geology, seismology and geotechnical studies

Patrick Saurin, Teocuicatl. Chants sacrés des anciens Mexicains

OpenAIRE

Gruzinski, Serge

2007-01-01

Patrick Saurin s’est penché sur l’un des nombreux manuscrits laissés par le franciscain Bernardino de Sahagùn : les teocuicatl, ces hymnes sacrés composés en l’honneur des anciens dieux mexicains. Vraisemblablement d’origine mexica, ces chants ont été rassemblés à Tepepulco vers 1560. S’agit- il de textes archaïques comme la critique s’est accordée à le penser ? L’auteur propose d’y voir, au moins pour partie d’entre eux, des hymnes portant la « marque d’une réécriture, voire d’une écriture r...

Primitive Rituals, Contemporary Aftershocks: Evocations of the Orientalist ‘Other’ in four productions of 'Le Sacre du printemps'

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Lucy Weir

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This paper situates the original choreography of Sacre as a basis for an ongoing exploration of non-Western themes in modern dance, a persistent fascination with the Orientalist ‘Other,’ before exploring the versions choreographed by Wigman, Bausch and Graham in chronological order of their first performances. In analysing different interpretations of the same score, two themes become apparent: first, that this piece heralded the birth of Modernism in classical dance performance, and second, that the driving anti-classical, anti-traditional rhythms that characterise the piece communicate an enduring interest in primitive aesthetics. Accordingly, this discussion takes Nijinsky’s Sacre as a starting point in re-evaluating the influence of primitivism and Otherness on contemporary dance, and represents an early indication of the significance of the Saidian, non-Western ‘Other’ in shaping the evolution of avant-garde dance.

Pterostichus neilgaimani sp. nov., a new species of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) from relict sacred grove in Eastern Georgia.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaladze, Giorgi; Kalatozishvili, Levan; Janiashvili, Zurab; Bakuradze, Giorgi

2017-10-03

A new species of ground beetles (Coleoptea: Carabidae) belonging to the subgenus Aphaonus Reitter, 1887 (genus Pterostichus Bonelli, 1810) is described, based on two specimens collected from the sacred grove of Khevsha (Eastern Georgia).

ETIKA NATURAL TAOISME DAN IMPLEMENTASINYA

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Iriyanto Widisuseno

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Ethical life according to Taoism means a way of life back to nature. Man must be able to interpret the laws of nature in an ethical perspective, and practice in the life of others. Taoism teaches life ethics need to be equipped virtue, which has a purity of heart that is sacred, or the sincerity and willingness to live for others. Taoist virtues law contains universal values, relevant for the people of Indonesia who are experiencing erosion and weakening of the appreciation of moral values. In addition, the transition period of political culture, especially from the time period of bureaucratic power to a democratic system of popular sovereignty towards civil society. Universal values of natural ethics Taoism in line with the ethical teachings of Pancasila.

Die Versprachlichung des Sakralen: The Transformation of the Authority of the Sacred into Secular Political Deliberation in Habermas’ Theory of Communicative Action

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Øjvind Larsen

2011-03-01

Full Text Available bermas claims in connection with his development of the theory of communicative action that the sacred is transformed in a positive way and can take the form of free deliberation in society, the so called Versprachlichung des Sakralen. The thesis is that the authority which could be found in religion and which is of fundamental significance for the integration of pre-modern societies is taken over by modern societies in forms of deliberation. Habermas develops his thesis in a discussion of Durkheim’s religious-sociological considerations. Habermas presents his thesis about the linguistic transformation of the sacred as a harmonious theory of secularization. However, if we follow Weber in his religious-sociological considerations of modernity, we reach a tragic theory of secularization which poses the real problem that modernity’s connection to the sacred has been dissolved. Cornelius Castoriadis’ theory of the imaginary institution and Claude Lefort’s theory of the empty place of the political as a new insecure moral ground for modern society are presented together as an alternative theory of secularization which can serve as a new framework for Habermas’ theory of communicative ethics and deliberative politics in modern society.

Review of Natural Phenomena Hazard (NPH) Assessments for the DOE Hanford Site

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Snow, Robert L.; Ross, Steven B.

2011-09-15

The purpose of this review is to assess the need for updating Natural Phenomena Hazard (NPH) assessments for the DOE's Hanford Site, as required by DOE Order 420.1B Chapter IV, Natural Phenomena Hazards Mitigation, based on significant changes in state-of-the-art NPH assessment methodology or site-specific information. This review is an update and expansion to the September 2010 review of PNNL-19751, Review of Natural Phenomena Hazard (NPH) Assessments for the Hanford 200 Areas (Non-Seismic).

In situ bioremediation (natural attenuation) at a gas plant waste site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ginn, J.S.; Sims, R.C.

1995-01-01

A former manufactured gas plant (MGP) waste site in New York was evaluated with regard to natural attenuation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Parent-compound concentrations of PAHs within an aquifer plume were observed to decrease with time subsequent to source removal of coal tar. Biotransformation-potential studies indicated that indigenous microorganisms in soil from the site were capable of degrading naphthalene and phenanthrene. A biochemical metabolite of phenanthrene degradation, 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid (1H2NA), was tentatively characterized in coal-tar-contaminated soil from the site-based on liquid chromatographic retention time. Kinetic information was developed for the disappearance of phenanthrene and 1H2NA in nonspiked contaminated soil at the site. The Microtox trademark bioassay was used to evaluate toxicity trends in contaminated soil at the site. Results from the Microtox trademark indicated a decreasing trend in toxicity with respect to time in contaminated site soil. Research results were evaluated with regard to the National Research Council's guidelines for evaluating in situ bioremediation, and were used to enhance site characterization and monitoring information for evaluating the role of bioremediation as part of natural attenuation of PAHs at coal-tar-contaminated sites

This Whole World Is OM: Song, Soteriology, and the Emergence of the Sacred Syllable

OpenAIRE

Moore Gerety, Finnian McKean

2015-01-01

This study explores the emergence of OM, the Sanskrit mantra and critically ubiquitous "sacred syllable" of South Asian religions. Although OM has remained in active practice in recitation, ritual, and meditation for the last three thousand years, and its importance in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions is widely acknowledged, the syllable's early development has received little attention from scholars. Drawing on the oldest textual corpus in South Asia, the Vedas, I survey one thousand yea...

Archaeoastronomy and sacred places in Tenerife (Canary Islands).

Science.gov (United States)

Jiménez, J. J.; Esteban, C.; Febles, J. V.; Belmonte, J. A.

For the last few years the authors have been investigating (with work still in progress) several archaeological sites of the indigenous culture of the island of Tenerife, in search of possible astronomical connections, be these of a calendric or religious nature. Of these sites, the authors will concentrate, within their archaeological context, on those containing small channels and carved "basins" (or "hollows") and interpreted as probable cultic sites. The present work constitutes and initial approach to the contrasting of different aspects, such as location, celestial horizon, morphology, the visibility of Mount Teide and burials.

TheoArtistry, and a Contemporary Perspective on Composing Sacred Choral Music

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George Corbett

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This article presents the methodology and research underpinning the TheoArtistry Composers’ Scheme, a project based in ITIA (the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts, School of Divinity, University of St Andrews (2016–2017. I analyse Sir James MacMillan’s theology of music, outline some practical and theoretical issues that arose in setting up theologian-composer partnerships, and reflect critically on the six new works of sacred choral music that emerged (these are printed as supplementary materials. The article assesses the implications of such collaboration for future work at the interface between theology and music, and between theology and the arts more generally.

Did Secret, Sacred Science: ``Kokopelli/Pamola,'' Motivate the Tarratines' Assassination of the Penobscots' Bashaba ca 1615, and Does ``Orono'' Yield Direct Physics Insights?

Science.gov (United States)

Ataide, Italani; de Souza, Beatriz; Pawa Matagamon, Sagamo

2007-04-01

``Tarratine'' may share cognate phonetics with Tatoosh, (Makah, Pacific NE), Tuitan, Totonac, (coastal ``neighbors'' of the Aztec), Teedyuscung/Tatiuskundt, (Penn.), Teotihuacan, Tomtomhegan, (``ME'' ca 1781-2), Titikaka/Titicaca, and Tantaquidgeon, (Conn.); the military action that led to the assassination of the Penobscots' Bashaba has explanatory roots tying it to the last raid involving `Indian' military action of the Revolutionary War. ``Turf'' rights influenced conflict imperatives. Preserved linguistic roots have it best: Ñari Huallac, coupled with Arizona, Allagash, Allahpatah, and Orono/Orinoco, indicate traditionalists' information, by recognizing Kokopelli/Pamola/Pele/electromagnetics/EMF, says how nature behaves. Penobscots and modern Peruvian descendants of the Incas have it right: the concealed ``Serpent God'' of their EMF alter ego(s), says their science, (applied physics) is sacred because it ``predicts'' nature, even tinnitus, via ``Rawandagon''! To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2007.NES07.C2.8

To have and to hold: possessing the sacred in the late renaissance

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Erin E. Benay

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Private devotional art of the early 17th century often found its place in the galleries of noblemen and women whose diverse collections were symbols not only of stylistic taste, but of their owners’ exhaustive curiosity. In these domestic settings, boundaries between sacred and secular were permeable, as the unprecedented physical intimacy portrayed in popular religious subjects such as St Matthew and the Angel, the Stigmatisation of St Francis, or Christ’s Agony in the Garden reveal. Representations of the latter reminded viewers of Christ’s human, corporal suffering and suggested a model of resolve strengthened by prayer. The Agony in the Garden appears on the interior of Jacopo Ligozzi’s virtuosic Portable Altar with Carrying Case (1608, likely a Medici gift presented to the Austrian court in anticipation of the marriage of archduchess Maria Maddalena to soon-to-be grand duke Cosimo II. Adorned with lavish botanical motifs on its exterior, the Altar’s potency as a sacred possession was redoubled by the owner’s tactile revelation of the portrayal of Christ supported by an Angel contained inside the case. Comprised of wood, oil on copper, and pietre dure inlay, it is an object intended to be held, opened, and experienced. This paper suggests that Ligozzi’s selective combination of sumptuous materials and choice of subject matter – botanical illustration and Christological iconography – allowed the object to appeal to the full sensorium, and therefore to function as efficaciously as a devotional aid as it did as a curiosity among other rare collectibles.

Estimating wind frequency limits for natural ventilation at remote sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Su, B.; Aynsley, R.

2006-01-01

Detailed wind data are collected at a limited number of sites, usually at airports. When a building is sited remote from the nearest wind data collection site, estimating wind frequency is more complex. The techniques involved come from the discipline of wind engineering. Where there is a relatively flat terrain between the wind data-recording site and the building site, simple computations can be made to account for the wind velocities over intervening terrain roughness. Where significant topographic features such as hills or mountains are present between the wind data-recording site and the building site, then boundary layer wind tunnel studies will be necessary to determine the influence of such features on wind speed and direction. Rough estimates can be calculated using factors used in some wind loading codes. When buildings are to be designed to take advantage of the energy efficiency offered by natural ventilation, it is important to estimate the actual potential for such ventilation. The natural ventilation potential can be estimated in terms of the percentage of time when wind exceeds some minimum value. For buildings near airports this is a relatively simple procedure. Such estimates are important as they also indicate the likely percentage of time when fans or other energy consuming devices will be needed to maintain indoor thermal comfort. This paper identifies the wind engineering techniques that can be used for such estimates and gives examples of such calculations

Valuation of environmental quality and eco-cultural attributes in Northwestern Idaho: Native Americans are more concerned than Caucasians.

Science.gov (United States)

Burger, Joanna

2011-01-01

Valuation of features of habitats and ecosystems usually encompasses the goods and services that ecosystems provide, but rarely also examine how people value ecological resources in terms of eco-cultural and sacred activities. The social, sacred, and cultural aspects of ecosystems are particularly important to Native Americans, but western science has rarely examined the importance of eco-cultural attributes quantitatively. In this paper I explore differences in ecosystem evaluations, and compare the perceptions and evaluations of places people go for consumptive and non-consumptive resource use with evaluations of the same qualities for religious and sacred places. Qualities of ecosystems included goods (abundant fish and crabs, butterflies and flowers, clean water), services (complexity of nature, lack of radionuclides that present a health risk), and eco-cultural attributes (appears unspoiled, scenic horizons, noise-free). Native Americans and Caucasians were interviewed at a Pow Wow at Post Falls, Idaho, which is in the region with the Department of Energy's Hanford Site, known for its storage of radioactive wastes and contamination. A higher percentage of Native American subjects engaged in consumptive and religious activities than did Caucasians. Native Americans engaged in higher rates of many activities than did Caucasians, including commune with nature, pray or meditate, fish or hunt, collect herbs, and conduct vision quests or other ceremonies. For nearly all attributes, there was no difference in the relative ratings given by Native Americans for characteristics of sites used for consumption/non-consumptive activities compared to religious/sacred places. However, Caucasians rated nearly all attributes lower for religious/sacred places than they did for places where they engaged in consumptive or non-consumptive activities. Native Americans were less concerned with distance from home for consumptive/non-consumptive activities, compared to religious

“UKRAINIAN SACRED MUSIC” ELECTRONIC STUDU GUIDE: CONTENT, STRUCTURE, USE RECOMMENDATIONS AT A PEDAGOGICAL HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION

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L. Gavrilova

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The article presents the electronic textbook “Ukrainian Sacred Music”, created for the students of pedagogical universities – future teachers of music. We consider the content of the electronic manual, its structure, requirements for the computer, as well as the prospects for its use in the classroom on the history of Ukrainian music and self-study.

From The Enchantment of Nature to Fashioning a Persuasive Planetary Ethic

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Whitney A. Bauman

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Many discussions surrounding environmental ethics and spirituality revolve aroundenchantment and place. Such notions are inherently marked by transcendentunderstandings of “religion” and “nature.” This article suggests that these transcendentunderstandings could be problematic in an era of globalization marked by movement andchange. Using the work of postmodern thinkers to destabilize foundational concepts of“Nature,” as well as the sacred, this article argues for fashioning a planetary ethic thatpays attention to aesthetics of movement and change, moving environmental ethics froma discussion about place to a discussion about pace.

Neuroscience, evolution and the sapient paradox: the factuality of value and of the sacred.

Science.gov (United States)

Renfrew, Colin

2008-06-12

The human genome, and hence the human brain at birth, may not have changed greatly over the past 60000 years. Yet many of the major behavioural changes that we associate with most human societies are very much more recent, some appearing with the sedentary revolution of some 10000 years ago. Among these are activities implying the emergence of powerful concepts of value and of the sacred. What then are the neuronal mechanisms that may underlie these consistent, significant (and emergent) patterns of behaviour?

Defining "natural product" between public health and business, 17th to 21st centuries.

Science.gov (United States)

Stanziani, Alessandro

2008-07-01

The historical definition of a natural product stands at the crossroads of business, health, and the symbolic order of things. Until the end of the 19th century, "natural product" was a synonym of perishable. The emergency of organic chemistry made perishability be replaced with "toxicity". Nowadays, genetics is provoking a radical change in the notion and practises of "natural product". However, these concerns are never entirely opposed to "naturality" as a synonym for sacred and symbolic order. Traceability is largely based upon kosher practices and the association between organic and good for health is hardly based upon sound scientific arguments.

Treasures in Heaven and on Earth : Poverty and Abundance in the Life and Sacred Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heber, N.

2017-01-01

This PhD dissertation explores poverty and abundance in Bach’s life and sacred cantatas and inquires how he himself might have handled the tension between the material and spiritual aspects. Although his career was increasingly lucrative, Bach did not amass significant wealth. In 1730, he complained

AHP 42: GUARDIANS OF NATURE: TIBETAN PASTORALISTS AND THE NATURAL WORLD

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ཀླུ་ཚང་ཚེ་རིང་འབུམ། Tsering Bum (Tshe ring 'bum

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Guardians of Nature is a clearly written and very insightful view of the political economic, environmental, and social-cultural transformations reshaping lives and livelihoods on the Tibetan Plateau. Written as a first-hand narrative account of his work over several years with Yulshul villagers, Tsering Bum’s perceptive book discusses key issues of contemporary Tibetan pastoralism: mining, the importance of the caterpillar fungus economy, resettlement, co-ops, education policy, human-wildlife conflict, and sacred mountains. It also explores quite new phenomena, such as Tibetan pastoralists hiring Han Chinese as herding laborers while living off of caterpillar fungus income, and the rise of feral dogs as a result of the sharp drop in Tibetan mastiff prices. Tsering Bum’s analysis is informed by critiques of nature-culture binaries and illustrates the many effects of perverse policy incentives. Strongly recommended for anyone interested in understanding Tibetan pastoral areas today.

Values in nature conservation, tourism and UNESCO World Heritage site stewardship

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liburd, Janne J.; Becken, Susanne

2017-01-01

tourism operators, public sector managers and other stakeholders from the iconic World Heritage Site and tourism destination, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR) reveal how shifting ideologies and government policies increased pressures on nature, resulting in new alliances between stewards from...... the tourism sector and national and international organizations. These alliances were built on shared nature conservation values and successfully reduced increasing development pressures. Three distinct phases in this process emerged at the GBR, which were driven by personal values held by tourism industry...... representatives, and their recognition of tourism’s reliance on nature for business success. Changing mainstream ideologies and political values can erode World Heritage and Protected Areas, and recalibrate values – including the universal values on which World Heritage Sites depend – towards more anthropocentric...

Information on web-site of the State protection of nature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rajtar, R.

2005-01-01

Statna ochrana prirody SR (SOP SR - State protection of nature of the Slovak Republic) is professional organisation with all-Slovak operation, which operation is aimed on provision of professional activities for service of state administration in protection of nature and landscape. Structure of the SOP SR, their operation and information presented on the web site of the SOP SR (www.sopsr.sk) are described

Place Attachment in the Bible: The Role of Attachment to Sacred Places in Religious Life

OpenAIRE

Counted, Victor; Watts, Fraser

2017-01-01

This paper examines the role of place attachment in religious life by analyzing various significant place events in the Bible, using analysis of biblical discourse. The paper looks at various biblical places, and explores the implications of approaching these sacred settings in terms of place attachment theory. In the Old Testament we focus on Mount Sinai, Canaan, and Jerusalem, and in the New Testament on Galilee, Jerusalem, and on view that Christianity, to some extent, transcends place att...

Is Continuing Contumely Relative to Mc Leod's Vision and ``Secret Sacred Science, (SSS),'': Contagiously Counterproductive in Science, or an Unhealthy Artifact of ``Turf Wars''?

Science.gov (United States)

Leod, Roger

2007-04-01

Mc Leod confirmed, with physics, his models for vision, and for electromagnetic artifacts, by traditional methods, associated with phenomena like tornados, hurricanes, and earthquakes. The latter confirmations are evidently apparent across current ethnology, cultures, linguistics, religion, rituals, exotic astronomy, somewhat concealed evidence of native record-keeping/writing, and iconography. Use of cultural anthropology while observing a modern Peruvian sacred-site-sweeping at Cuzco, coupled with their assertion that Ñari Huallac means ``serpent God,'' plus electromagnet information, reveals that their religious world-view include(s)(d) applied science that is still otherwise unacknowledged. Alexander Thom's precise megalithic site-measurements also imply that ``The Ancients' Serpent'' made/makes precise tracks that convey valuable information. The linguistics of words like Seminole, and unusual visual effects, reveal some traditionalists have done better than most scientists, for vision, and observational physics, and earth science. Tornado and hurricane tracks are predictable, as are some earthquakes. Tornado ``detuning'' or shutdown is electromagnetically possible. To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2007.NES07.C2.7

The Sacred Mountain of Varallo in Italy: seismic risk assessment by acoustic emission and structural numerical models.

Science.gov (United States)

Carpinteri, Alberto; Lacidogna, Giuseppe; Invernizzi, Stefano; Accornero, Federico

2013-01-01

We examine an application of Acoustic Emission (AE) technique for a probabilistic analysis in time and space of earthquakes, in order to preserve the valuable Italian Renaissance Architectural Complex named "The Sacred Mountain of Varallo." Among the forty-five chapels of the Renaissance Complex, the structure of the Chapel XVII is of particular concern due to its uncertain structural condition and due to the level of stress caused by the regional seismicity. Therefore, lifetime assessment, taking into account the evolution of damage phenomena, is necessary to preserve the reliability and safety of this masterpiece of cultural heritage. A continuous AE monitoring was performed to assess the structural behavior of the Chapel. During the monitoring period, a correlation between peaks of AE activity in the masonry of the "Sacred Mountain of Varallo" and regional seismicity was found. Although the two phenomena take place on very different scales, the AE in materials and the earthquakes in Earth's crust, belong to the same class of invariance. In addition, an accurate finite element model, performed with DIANA finite element code, is presented to describe the dynamic behavior of Chapel XVII structure, confirming visual and instrumental inspections of regional seismic effects.

Sounding Sacred: The Adoption of Biblical Archaisms in the Book of Mormon and Other 19th Century Texts

Science.gov (United States)

Bowen, Gregory A.

2016-01-01

The Book of Mormon is a text published in 1830 and considered a sacred work of scripture by adherents of the Latter-day Saint movement. Although written 200 years later, it exhibits many linguistic features of the King James translation of the Bible. Such stylistic imitation has been little studied, though a notable exception is Sigelman &…

THE SACRED IN THE EVERY-DAY WORLD: DISCOVERING THE POSSIBILITIES OF NATURAL THEOLOGY

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P. MIKHAYLOV

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The present article attempts to defi ne the parameters of competency of natural theology and the ways this theological information may be applied. The author demonstrates the fact that the natural knowledge of God, the prototype of this branch of theology, is the invariable basis and starting point of religious consciousness. In order to better understand this fact, the antithesis of this principle is examined in the work of Kant and Barth both of whom sought to destroy the basis of natural theology proceeding respectively from a philosophical and a theological standpoint. Finally, the author reviews the methods explored by Orthodox theology of the patristic period which defi ned more clearly the concept of natural theology and sought to discover the limits of its use

Decaleside: a new class of natural insecticide targeting tarsal gustatory sites

Science.gov (United States)

Rajashekar, Yallappa; Rao, Lingamallu J. M.; Shivanandappa, Thimmappa

2012-10-01

Natural sources for novel insecticide molecules hold promise in view of their eco-friendly nature, selectivity, and mammalian safety. Recent progress in understanding the biology of insect olfaction and taste offers new strategies for developing selective pest control agents. We have isolated two natural insecticidal molecules from edible roots of Decalepis hamiltonii named Decalesides I and II, which are novel trisaccharides, highly toxic to household insect pests and stored-product insects. We have experimentally shown that insecticidal activity requires contact with tarsi on the legs but is not toxic orally. The insecticidal activity of molecules is lost by hydrolysis, and various sugars modify toxic response, showing that the insecticidal activity is via gustatory sites on the tarsi. Selective toxicity to insects by virtue of their gustatory site of action and the mammalian safety of the new insecticides is inherent in their chemical structure with 1-4 or 1-1 α linkage that is easily hydrolyzed by digestive enzymes of mammals. Decalesides represent a new chemical class of natural insecticides with a unique mode of action targeting tarsal chemosensory/gustatory system of insects.

43 CFR 423.2 - Definitions of terms used in this part.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... authoritative representative of an Indian religion, as sacred by virtue of its established religious... access. Cultural resource means any man-made or associated prehistoric, historic, architectural, sacred... resources, historic properties, traditional cultural properties, sacred sites, and cultural landscapes that...

Snail darters and sacred places: creative application of the endangered species act.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilmer, Robert Andrew

2013-11-01

Rather than exploring how indigenous people have been alienated from resources by environmental policies, this paper explores how indigenous peoples have worked with environmental organizations to use the broad protections provided by environmental laws to protect cultural resources. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, along with other concerned groups, partnered with environmentalists in opposing the destruction of the endangered snail darter's critical habitat by the Tennessee Valley Authority's Tellico Dam. The dam had been opposed by a shifting alliance of Cherokees, local farmers, trout fisherman, and environmentalists since it was announced in 1963. A previous lawsuit by this coalition delayed the project from 1972 to 1974 under the National Environmental Policy Act. The Endangered Species Act provided this coalition with a powerful tool for opposing the destruction of burial grounds and sacred village sites throughout the lower Little Tennessee River valley. The coalition of environmental organizations, Cherokees, and others was ultimately unsuccessful in stopping the dam from being built, but was successful in establishing a strict precedent for the enforcement of the Endangered Species Act. The lawsuit also created a space for the Eastern Band to negotiate for the return of Cherokee remains and halt the removal of any additional burials. In this situation, the strategic support of environmental regulation enabled the Eastern Band to exert some degree of control over the fate of cultural resources in the valley, and also demonstrates the significant role American Indian peoples played in one of the seminal events of the environmental movement during the 1970s.

Mirroring the Object of the Lesson: The Creative Process of Scriptural Rewriting as an Effective Practice for Teaching Sacred Texts

Science.gov (United States)

Palmer, Carmen

2018-01-01

This paper introduces Rewritten Scripture and scriptural rewriting as a creative process that, when mirrored in a teaching exercise, may serve as an effective practice in teaching sacred texts. Observing changes made between scripture and its rewriting may allow readers to identify different contexts among these texts. Furthermore, the act of…

A sacred dance transmitted in the ritual for paying homage to one's teacher in Thailand

OpenAIRE

岩澤, 孝子

2001-01-01

This article attemps to describe a dance which is considered as a sacred knowledge among classical dancers in Thailand. This is the reflection of their unique idea, wai khru, which means showing respect to the teacher and the ritual based on this idea. In Thailand wai khru is generally practised wherever they have a person to be recognized as a teacher in their own comunities. In these days, however, under the influence of the modernization, the idea that the teacher has a special power and k...

Viable contribution of Tibetan sacred mountains in southwestern China to forest conservation.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Xiaoli; Li, Sheng; Wang, Dajun; Lu, Zhi

2015-12-01

The Tibetan sacred mountains (TSMs) cover a large area and may represent a landscape-scale conservation opportunity. We compared the conservation value of forests in these mountains with the conservation value of government-established nature reserves and unmanaged open-access areas in Danba County, southwestern China. We used Landsat satellite images to map forest cover and to estimate forest loss in 1974-1989, 1989-1999, and 1999-2013. The TSMs (n = 41) and nature reserves (n = 4) accounted for 21.6% and 29.7% of the county's land area, respectively. Remaining land was open-access areas (i.e., areas without any restrictions on resource use) (56.2%) and farmlands (2.2%). Within the elevation range suitable for forests, forest cover did not differ significantly between nature reserves (58.8%) and open-access areas (58.4%), but was significantly higher in TSMs (65.5%) after controlling for environmental factors such as aspect, slope, and elevation. The TSMs of great cultural importance had higher forest cover, but patrols by monastery staff were not necessarily associated with increased forest cover. The annual deforestation rate in nonsacred areas almost tripled in 1989-1999 (111.4 ha/year) relative to 1974-1989 (40.4 ha/year), whereas the rate in TSMs decreased in the later period (19.7 ha/year vs. 17.2 ha/year). The reduced forest loss in TSMs in 1989-1999 was possibly due to the renaissance of TSM worship and strengthened management by the local Buddhist community since late 1980s. The annual deforestation rate in Danba decreased dramatically to 4.4 ha/year in 1999-2013, which coincided with the implementation of a national ban on logging in 1998. As the only form of protected area across the Tibetan region during much of its history, TSMs have positively contributed to conserving forest at a landscape scale. Conservation of TSM forests largely relied on the strength of local religious institutions. Integrating community-based conservation of TSMs within the

The nature of the active site in heterogeneous metal catalysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørskov, Jens Kehlet; Bligaard, Thomas; Larsen, Britt Hvolbæk

2008-01-01

This tutorial review, of relevance for the surface science and heterogeneous catalysis communities, provides a molecular-level discussion of the nature of the active sites in metal catalysis. Fundamental concepts such as "Bronsted-Evans-Polanyi relations'' and "volcano curves'' are introduced...

The Camouflage of the Sacred in the Short Fiction of Hemingway

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Zaid Ali

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This essay examines the short fiction of Ernest Hemingway in the light of Mircea Eliade’s notion of the camouflage of the sacred and the larval survival of original spiritual meaning. A subterranean love pulsates beneath the terse dialogue of Hemingway’s characters whose inner life we glimpse only obliquely. In the short play (“Today Is Friday” and four short stories (“The Killers,” “A Clean Well-Lighted Place,” “Old Man at the Bridge,” and “The Light of the World,” discussed here, light imagery, biblical allusions, and the figure of Christ, reveal a hidden imaginary universe. This sacral dimension has been largely overlooked by critics who dwell on the ostensible spiritual absence that characterizes Hemingway’s fiction.

The Sacred Mountain of Varallo in Italy: Seismic Risk Assessment by Acoustic Emission and Structural Numerical Models

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Alberto Carpinteri

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We examine an application of Acoustic Emission (AE technique for a probabilistic analysis in time and space of earthquakes, in order to preserve the valuable Italian Renaissance Architectural Complex named “The Sacred Mountain of Varallo.” Among the forty-five chapels of the Renaissance Complex, the structure of the Chapel XVII is of particular concern due to its uncertain structural condition and due to the level of stress caused by the regional seismicity. Therefore, lifetime assessment, taking into account the evolution of damage phenomena, is necessary to preserve the reliability and safety of this masterpiece of cultural heritage. A continuous AE monitoring was performed to assess the structural behavior of the Chapel. During the monitoring period, a correlation between peaks of AE activity in the masonry of the “Sacred Mountain of Varallo” and regional seismicity was found. Although the two phenomena take place on very different scales, the AE in materials and the earthquakes in Earth’s crust, belong to the same class of invariance. In addition, an accurate finite element model, performed with DIANA finite element code, is presented to describe the dynamic behavior of Chapel XVII structure, confirming visual and instrumental inspections of regional seismic effects.

Canadian Natural Resources Limited uses Siteview(TM) to manage its reclamation sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holtby, L.

2003-01-01

Implementation of the Siteview(TM) computer software package designed to capture and manage reclamation data, by Canadian Natural Resources Limited is reported. Use of this software, developed by Pelodon Computer Enterprises in Calgary, enables Canadian Natural Resources to track from a single file data from each of over 3000 sites from the pre-construction stage right through to the final reclamation. Having all data in a single file permits the company to track the number of Reclamation Certificate applications submitted and received for a specific time period, helping them to capture the liability reduction and rental reduction associated with those sites and in general, manage their reclamation program more efficiently. Tracking the reclamation sites is by specific Site Status Codes, which allow the company to quickly determine current status of each site. Budgeting for reclamation can also be planned more accurately based on the current status of sites. Siteview(TM) also manages waste disposal information in the Guide 50 Drilling Waste Disposal Notification forms by digitally inputting all required data such as waste disposal location, mud system, and the volume of mud, and generating reports based on various waste disposal parameters. The software is also used by environmental consultants to track client's well site operations, and display them graphically in their reports, thus providing value-added services to their clients

Morality and Intimate Partner Violence: Do Men in Court-Mandated Psychological Treatment Hold a Sacred Moral Vision of the World and Themselves?

Science.gov (United States)

Vecina, María L; Chacón, José C

2016-01-01

This article examines the characterization of men in a court-mandated treatment for violence against their partners as holding a sacred vision of the 5 moral foundations and of their own morality. This characterization is compatible with the assumption that a sacred moral world is easily threatened by reality and that may be associated to violent defensive actions. The results from latent class analyses reveal (a) a 4-class distribution depending exclusively on the intensity with which all participants (violent and nonviolent) tend to sacralize the actions proposed in the Moral Foundations Sacredness Scale and (b) a greater prevalence of the violent participants among the classes that are more prone to sacralize. They also show that they hold an inflated moral vision of themselves: They think they are much more moral than intelligent than others who have never been charged with criminal behavior (Muhammad Ali effect).

Tracce d’inizio e di fine. Citazioni sacre nelle “17 variazioni” di Emilio Villa

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Bianca Battilocchi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This article aims to identify the numerous quotations from sacred texts appearing in Emilio Villa’s 17 variazioni. Indeed, the 1955 collection of poems offers a wide range of references to Biblical sources and archaic cosmogonic myths, ancient symbologies and eschatological conjectures. The poet is both the translator and the interpreter of these texts, which the collection mixes and interlinks in the shape of an enigma. This air of mystery seems to deny any definitive revelation, highlighting instead a plurality of points of view that ultimately result in Apocalypse.

Resting site use of giant pandas in Wanglang Nature Reserve.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Dongwei; Wang, Xiaorong; Li, Junqing

2017-10-23

Little is known about the resting sites used by the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), which restricts our understanding of their resting habits and limits conservation efforts. To enhance our understanding of resting site requirements and factors affecting the resting time of giant pandas, we investigated the characteristics of resting sites in the Wanglang Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province, China. The results indicated that the resting sites of giant pandas were characterised by a mean slope of 21°, mean nearest tree size of 53.75 cm, mean nearest shrub size of 2.82 cm, and mean nearest bamboo number of 56. We found that the resting sites were closer to bamboo than to trees and shrubs, suggesting that the resting site use of giant pandas is closely related to the presence of bamboo. Considering that giant pandas typically rest near a large-sized tree, protection of large trees in the forests is of considerable importance for the conservation of this species. Furthermore, slope was found to be an important factor affecting the resting time of giant pandas, as they tended to rest for a relatively longer time in sites with a smaller degree of slope.

Whole genome resequencing reveals natural target site preferences of transposable elements in Drosophila melanogaster.

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Raquel S Linheiro

Full Text Available Transposable elements are mobile DNA sequences that integrate into host genomes using diverse mechanisms with varying degrees of target site specificity. While the target site preferences of some engineered transposable elements are well studied, the natural target preferences of most transposable elements are poorly characterized. Using population genomic resequencing data from 166 strains of Drosophila melanogaster, we identified over 8,000 new insertion sites not present in the reference genome sequence that we used to decode the natural target preferences of 22 families of transposable element in this species. We found that terminal inverted repeat transposon and long terminal repeat retrotransposon families present clade-specific target site duplications and target site sequence motifs. Additionally, we found that the sequence motifs at transposable element target sites are always palindromes that extend beyond the target site duplication. Our results demonstrate the utility of population genomics data for high-throughput inference of transposable element targeting preferences in the wild and establish general rules for terminal inverted repeat transposon and long terminal repeat retrotransposon target site selection in eukaryotic genomes.

Gis-Based Site Selection for Underground Natural Resources Using Fuzzy Ahp-Owa

Science.gov (United States)

Sabzevari, A. R.; Delavar, M. R.

2017-09-01

Fuel consumption has significantly increased due to the growth of the population. A solution to address this problem is the underground storage of natural gas. The first step to reach this goal is to select suitable places for the storage. In this study, site selection for the underground natural gas reservoirs has been performed using a multi-criteria decision-making in a GIS environment. The "Ordered Weighted Average" (OWA) operator is one of the multi-criteria decision-making methods for ranking the criteria and consideration of uncertainty in the interaction among the criteria. In this paper, Fuzzy AHP_OWA (FAHP_OWA) is used to determine optimal sites for the underground natural gas reservoirs. Fuzzy AHP_OWA considers the decision maker's risk taking and risk aversion during the decision-making process. Gas consumption rate, temperature, distance from main transportation network, distance from gas production centers, population density and distance from gas distribution networks are the criteria used in this research. Results show that the northeast and west of Iran and the areas around Tehran (Tehran and Alborz Provinces) have a higher attraction for constructing a natural gas reservoir. The performance of the used method was also evaluated. This evaluation was performed using the location of the existing natural gas reservoirs in the country and the site selection maps for each of the quantifiers. It is verified that the method used in this study is capable of modeling different decision-making strategies used by the decision maker with about 88 percent of agreement between the modeling and test data.

Stabilization of bacterially expressed erythropoietin by single site-specific introduction of short branched PEG chains at naturally occurring glycosylation sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffmann, E; Streichert, K; Nischan, N; Seitz, C; Brunner, T; Schwagerus, S; Hackenberger, C P R; Rubini, M

2016-05-24

The covalent attachment of polyethylene glycol (PEG) to therapeutic proteins can improve their physicochemical properties. In this work we utilized the non-natural amino acid p-azidophenylalanine (pAzF) in combination with the chemoselective Staudinger-phosphite reaction to install branched PEG chains to recombinant unglycosylated erythropoietin (EPO) at each single naturally occurring glycosylation site. PEGylation with two short 750 or 2000 Da PEG units at positions 24, 38, or 83 significantly decreased unspecific aggregation and proteolytic degradation while biological activity in vitro was preserved or even increased in comparison to full-glycosylated EPO. This site-specific bioconjugation approach permits to analyse the impact of PEGylation at single positions. These results represent an important step towards the engineering of site-specifically modified EPO variants from bacterial expression with increased therapeutic efficacy.

ASSESSING AEROBIC NATURAL ATTENUATION OF TRICHLOROETHENE AT FOUR DOE SITES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koelsch, Michael C.; Starr, Robert C.; Sorenson, Kent S. Jr.

2005-01-01

A 3-year Department of Energy Environmental Science Management Program (EMSP) project is currently investigating natural attenuation of trichloroethane (TCE) in aerobic groundwater. This presentation summarizes the results of a screening process to identify TCE plumes at DOE facilities that are suitable for assessing the rate of TCE cometabolism under aerobic conditions. In order to estimate aerobic degradation rates, plumes had to meet the following criteria: TCE must be present in aerobic groundwater, a conservative co-contaminant must be present and have approximately the same source as TCE, and the groundwater velocity must be known. A total of 127 TCE plumes were considered across 24 DOE sites. The four sites retained for the assessment were: (1) Brookhaven National Laboratory, OU III; (2) Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Northwest Plume; (3) Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site, Industrialized Area--Southwest Plume and 903 Pad South Plume; and (4) Savannah River Site, A/M Area Plume. For each of these sites, a co-contaminant derived from the same source area as TCE was used as a nonbiodegrading tracer. The tracer determined the extent to which concentration decreases in the plume can be accounted for solely by abiotic processes such as dispersion and dilution. Any concentration decreases not accounted for by these processes must be explained by some other natural attenuation mechanism. Thus, ''half-lives'' presented herein are in addition to attenuation that occurs due to hydrologic mechanisms. This ''tracer-corrected method'' has previously been used at the DOE's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory in conjunction with other techniques to document the occurrence of intrinsic aerobic cometabolism. Application of this method to other DOE sites is the first step to determining whether this might be a significant natural attenuation mechanism on a broader scale. Application of the tracer-corrected method to data from the Brookhaven

[A Chinese Philosophical Foundation for the Sacred Mission of Nurses: The Ways of Heaven and Life are Correlated].

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Mei-Hsiu

2016-08-01

Clinical nursing practice uses professional nursing techniques, empathy, and moral judgment to help relieve the pain of patients who are suffering physically or mentally from trauma or illness. Thus, nursing involves sacred tasks. According to Confucian reasoning, morality is expressed through everyday actions. Providing care to patients arouses concern and sympathy in the caregiver, which induces him or her to fully apply professional knowledge to this task. This conduct demonstrates the moral conscience of nurses. The Chinese adage "Tian-tao hsing-ming hsiang kuan tung" (the way of heaven and life are correlated), attributed to Northern Song dynasty scholar Zhang Tsai, aptly explains the sacred mission of the nursing profession. Zhang held that all humans are born with a conscience that is given by heaven. However, human senses and desires may suppress this conscience. As Zhang Tsai suggested, the conscience must be cultivated in order to be manifested. The increase in recent years of international academic discussion / research related to the value and meaning of nursing and of exploration into how to promote the moral competence of nurses, not only provide support to Zhang's argument that "tian-tao" and "hsing-ming" are correlated but also provide positive momentum toward enhancing the self-worth of nurses and enabling patients to receive better care.

Sacred byzantine music and its influence on old East Slavic Orthodox music

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Włodzimierz Wołosiuk

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Sacred Byzantine music originates from three sources: “the liturgy of heaven”, synagogue music as well as old Greek theory of music and lays at the bottom of the East Slavs liturgical chant. The tonal base of the Byzantine music formed tetrachords. From them the so called Diatonic mode took shape. It was the easiest and the most popular sound arrangement steming from Greek music. The Cristian Church considered it to be in accordance with its Spirit and needs. From the tetrachords mentioned above other tones were created, namely Doric tones, Lydian, Phrygian and Mixolydian and, together withall their derivatives they gave beginning to the Oktoechos tradition. Byzantine music was flourishing in monasteries and in town areas andmany different forms were elaborated on like troparions, kontakions, stichiry, canons, etc. If one speaks about composers then certainly some names cannot be omitted. These are: St. Anatolius (Patriarchof Constantinople, St. Andrew of Crete, St. Romanos the Melodist,St. Sophronius of Jerusalem and, above all, St. John of Damascus who collected and systematized the liturgical chants creating mentioned Oktoechos. The acceptance of the Greek form of Christianity by Rus’ caused a cultivation of the sacred Greek vocal art on its territory which manifested in a form of so called Znamenny chant. This type of chant was at first similar to the Greek model but later on it moved away from it. Musical notation of the Old East Slavic singing was based on neumes which names in Old East Slavic have changed a little and only few survived. Furthermore, liturgical note books together with their genre and music content have been taken over from Byzantium. Especially visible in the Old East Slavic monody, Byzantine patterns were pervading also the later polyphony which proves they were always current. Moreover, this allows to claim that Rus’ became the real successor of the Greek Orthodox traditions in new circumstances of sacral

HEIGHT GROWTH OF Araucaria angustifolia (Bert. O. Ktze. ON THREE NATURAL SITES, AT REGION OF CANELA - RS

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Luciano Weber Scheeren

2009-09-01

Full Text Available This work has had as its principal objectives the study of dominant height growth considering its age in three natural sites, and the determination of natural sites classification efficacy for the Araucaria angustifolia (Bert. O. Ktze. in a planting stand in Canela, RS. For height and age data adjustment, determined through stem analysis, it was used the RICHARDS (1959 non-linear mathematics model, with two and three coefficients, resulting the three coefficient model as the most efficient to data adjustment of twelve dominant tree sampled on three natural sites in study. Seven groups of dominant trees with different trends growth were obtained, indicating that the natural sites classification did not detect with accuracy the effects of environmental  variables on height growth of Araucaria angustifolia.

Content of naturally occurring radionuclides in samples taken from world historical sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nikolic, J.; Jankovic, M.; Todorovic, D.; Sarap, N.

2011-01-01

This paper presents the results of the investigation of naturally occurring radionuclides content in different samples taken from the historical sites in Iran, China, Syria and Jordan. Samples contained different natural materials used in masonry, for making artefacts for personal use as well as water, sand and mud from the Dead sea. The aim was to ascertain the content of naturally occurring radionuclides, calculation of hazard indexes and their comparison to the values recommended and obtained in modern days materials [sr

Tchen's Sacred Isolation—Prelude to Malraux's Fraternal Humanism

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Roch C. Smith

1982-09-01

Full Text Available While Malraux's life-long quest was to seek new values in man's perennial and shared struggle against an overwhelming fate, his early protagonist, particularly the assassin, turns to destruction and terrorism in a frenzied search for absolutes. This attempt to identify with the very fatality that has the power to destroy him is especially developed in Tchen, who embodies a despairing fascination with totalistic nihilism that Malraux must overcome in his search for a new notion of man. Tchen's initiation to murder in La Condition humaine marks a transgression of a taboo that thrusts him into what Georges Bataille calls the realm of the "sacred." His attempt to reconcile life and death by identifying with his victim irredeemably isolates Tchen from other, uninitiated men. Transformed by murder, he leaves the reality of revolution for the inhuman world of cosmic existence and individual death. Seeking to escape the human condition, he becomes obsessed with killing Chang-Kai-shek in order to kill himself and thereby "possess" his fate. But the illusion of such an escape dies with Tchen. Even his admiring disciples repudiate his nihilistic temptation as Malraux begins to seek in human fraternity the foundations of a new humanism.

Desiring the death-of-the-death. Michelangelo (madrigal n.118), Shakespeare (son. 146), Donne (sacred son. X)

OpenAIRE

Ida Campeggiani

2013-01-01

Michelangelo wrote two versions of the madrigal n. 118; the second one transforms the meaning of the first from the profane to the sacred, with minor variants. Both are included in the archive of texts known as ‘canzoniere’. An analysis of the two shows Michelangelo’s intention to introduce private drives in his work, taking care, though, of creating a framework within which to absorb those subversive aspects the prevailing morality would have rejected. Buonarroti uses the topos of the lover’...

The Ruprechtov natural analogue site (Cz) study: mobile natural organic matter identification, characterisation and link to PA relevant processes - 16341

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Havlova, Vaclava; Cervinka, Radek; Noseck, Ulrich; Brasser, Thomas; Havel, Josef

2009-01-01

The Ruprechtov Natural Analogue (CZ) Programme has been focused on studying real system processes, relevant to performance assessment (PA) of sediment formations that can form the overburden of geological repository host rocks. The site has been extensively studied due to its geological constitution (granite - kaolin - clay - U mineralisation - organic matter). The presented study used Ruprechtov unique but well-described geological conditions in order to identify and characterise mobile organic matter (MOM) that can be easily released into groundwater and can influence PA relevant specie migration due to complexation/sorption reaction. The modem analytical method MALDI-TOF MS was used for characterisation. It was found that only a small fraction of sedimentary natural organic matter (NOM) from the site was easily releasable (max. 5%) as MOM, resulting in low organic substance concentration in natural groundwater. MOM amount released was decreasing with increasing NOM content. MALDI-TOF MS proved to be a useful tool to characterize organic substances, either natural ones or artificially released from natural organic matter samples. A noticeable fingerprint for all the MOM compounds analysed was found at MALDITOF MS spectra. This showed that MOM from the Ruprechtov site was in all cases composed of molecules with low molecular weight (under 1000 Da). As determined by the consequent geochemical analyses, despite groundwater reducing conditions MOM compounds would be mainly interacting with U(VI) in the groundwater, being present as more abundant U specie. Good correspondence of results enabled to consider the extracted humic acid HA 12/3 as a mobile organic matter fraction representative. (authors)

Natural phenomena evaluations of the K-25 site UF6 cylinder storage yards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fricke, K.E.

1996-01-01

The K-25 Site UF 6 cylinder storage yards are used for the temporary storage of UF 6 normal assay cylinders and long-term storage of other UF 6 cylinders. The K-25 Site UF 6 cylinder storage yards consist of six on-site areas: K-1066-B, K-1066-E, K-1066-F, K-1066-J, K-1066-K and K-1066-L. There are no permanent structures erected on the cylinder yards, except for five portable buildings. The operating contractor for the K-25 Site is preparing a Safety Analysis Report (SAR) to examine the safety related aspects of the K-25 Site UF 6 cylinder storage yards. The SAR preparation encompasses many tasks terminating in consequence analysis for the release of gaseous and liquid UF 6 , one of which is the evaluation of natural phenomena threats, such as earthquakes, floods, and winds. In support of the SAR, the six active cylinder storage yards were evaluated for vulnerabilities to natural phenomena, earthquakes, high winds and tornados, tornado-generated missiles, floods (local and regional), and lightning. This report summarizes those studies. 30 refs

Symbolic structure in the architecture of the temple – introduction into theology of the sacred art

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Jerzy Uścinowicz

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Symbol has always been an intrinsic part of a person. The human being – homo religiosus – is by nature also a homo symbolicus, who thinks and feels symbolically, who lives symbolically. In the domain of sacrum, in the temple, life is realized through holy symbols.In the past, this was directly reflected in the architecture and in the art of all religions. They have their special compensation in the temple and vice versa; the temple is a concrete manifestation of the function of a symbol. Thanks to them, art could manifest itself, could naturally pass from the level of aesthetics to the level of religion. Nowadays we face a kind of crisis of symbol in the sphere of art, certain reluctance towards symbols. The language of symbols seems to be dying out.Two thousand years of history of Christianity proved that a main criterion of a value of church architecture was not based on architectural precursors. This architecture was sacred because it was a carrier of a „truth of God” and – like a liturgical mysterion and iconography art – it was a theological comment. It was a codified language of the transposes of religions essences and orders, into the form of architectural expression. This was in a East Christianity and this happens there up to this day.One of the proofs to confirmate this thesis is an example of dome. It has been in existence since the beginning of forming the traditional architecture structure of the orthodox temple; it manifested symbolical and archetype essence – as an interior space and as an exterior form. In the history of architecture as well as the history of religion it had precisely defined symbolic meanings. They designated its significance in the temple, they gave rise to its long duration in the history, and eventually they gave it a status of an essential element, an everlasting witness of Divine mystery”. Presentation of this essence and orders constructs indispensable context to a value of the

Location and nature of calcium-binding sites in salivary acidic proline-rich phosphoproteins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bennick, A.; McLaughlin, A.C.; Grey, A.A.; Madapallimattam, G.

1981-01-01

The location of the calcium-binding sites in the human acidic proline-rich proteins, salivary proteins A and C, was determined by equilibrium dialysis of the tryptic peptides with buffers containing 45 Ca. All the calcium-binding sites are located in the NH 2 -terminal tryptic peptide (TX peptide). The nature of the calcium binding sites in the TX peptide and native salivary proteins A and C, as well as dephosphorylated proteins was compared. Two types of sites can be distinguished in peptide TX. Type I sites have an apparent dissociation constant (K) of 38 μM and are responsible for the binding of 2.6 mol of Ca/mol of peptide. The corresponding figures for Type II sites are 780 μM and 5.3 mol of Ca/mol of peptide. In the native proteins, the amount of calcium bound at the type II sites decreases to 3.9 mol of Ca/mol of proteins A and C and K increases to 1100 μM. The amount of calcium bound at type I sites decreases to 1.5 mol/mol of protein A and 0.6 mol/mol of protein C, but there is no change in K. Dephosphorylation affects the calcium binding at both types of sites. The experiments indicate that the COOH-terminal parts of the native proteins affect the number and the nature of the protein calcium-binding sites. Proton and phosphorous NMR data demonstrate that β-COOH in aspartic acid, as well as phosphoserine, are part of the calcium-binding sites. The difference in calcium binding to salivary proteins A and C may be due at least partially to differences in the environment of one or more aspartic acids

Mircea Eliade'de "Kutsal ve Kutsal Zaman" Kavrami

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Münir Yıldırım

2015-11-01

Full Text Available In common, sacred is defined with the word of religion. Also religion is often defined in terms of sacred as distinc from the profane. In a wider sense, the notion of the sacred has been identified, to some extent, with that of religious. Mircea Eliade points out, the sacred is revealed in the profane and anything that humans have ever handled come intact with or loved can reveal the sacred. According to Eliade, all definitions that have ever been give of the religious phenomenon make the sacred the opposite of the profane. Meanwhile, the sacred as that was awesome and reducible to reason. On the other way, there is another notion that as with sacred, is that sacred time. It’s a time that essentially different from the profane time. According to Eliade time divided into the “sacred” and “profane” times, sacred time differ from profane but this latter reckoning itself differs in nature

Reasons of Emergence and Formation Features of Quebec Swearing (Les Sacres

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Fedor S. Nepsha

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The paper examines the main reasons for the emergence and spread of Quebec swearing (les sacres. Socio-psychological aspects of their origin and distribution in the Quebec dialect of the French language are analyzed. It is established that after the Silent Revolution (Révolution tranquille of the 6070s of the 20th century, the influence of the Catholic Church in Quebec was minimized, so the “les sacres” lost their original meaning and no longer bear a religious connotation. Various variants of classification of mechanisms of word-formation “les sacres” are also given in the work. Separately, the classification proposed by André Bugaev has been singled out, within the framework of which the mechanisms of the word-formation “les sacres” are discussed in detail. With its use, it is suggested to perform a linguistic analysis of the retrospective of the word-formation system “les sacres” and to establish a relationship with socio-political factors.

Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) Technologies for Natural Hazard Risk Site Detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wenzel, H.

2007-01-01

Satellite imageries and digital elevation data of Turkey are investigated for detecting sites prone to natural hazards. Digital image processing methods used to enhance satellite data and to produce morphometric maps in order to contribute to the detection of causal factors related to landslides, local site conditions influencing and/or experiencing earthquake damage intensity or those of tsunami and storm surge hazard sites at the coasts

Natural bioventing remediation from tidal wave action at a field site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kampbell, D.H.; Kittel, J.A.

1996-01-01

A remediation research study has been implemented at a jet fuel spill site on an island airport. A buried pipeline fracture several years ago resulted in a fuel spill exceeding 160,000 gallons. The site hydrogeology is a fragmented coral matrix with fresh water overlying more dense salt water. Water table fluctuations of about two feet occur once every twelve hours from tidal action. The research approach being pursued is to recover free-phase floating petroleum liquid using vacuum-mediated subsurface skimming wells. The vacuum will create an active vadose zone aeration to enhance aerobic biodegradation processes and vaporization of fuel. Once the floating fuel is removed, a natural bioventing action caused by tidal oscillations will complete remediation of the spill site

43 CFR 46.215 - Categorical exclusions: Extraordinary circumstances.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... populations (EO 12898). (k) Limit access to and ceremonial use of Indian sacred sites on Federal lands by Indian religious practitioners or significantly adversely affect the physical integrity of such sacred...

Les rapports de l’art abstrait (Kandinsky, Klee, Mondrian avec les tendances d’abstraction de l’art sacré / The Connections of Abstract Art (Kandinsky, Klee, Mondrian with the Abstractization Tendencies of Sacred Art

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Gabriel Badea

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of this paper is to study the connections that can be established between the modern abstractionism and the abstract tendencies from other historical eras. In the first part I will present three distinct interpretations: the first direction is based on authors as Mircea Eliade and Roger Lipsey, who see modern art through the links still alive between art and religion, from a syncretic perspective, or, after Eliade’s expression, based on a creative hermeneutics. The second direction is represented by the work of Adorno, Compagnon, Greenberg, Lyotard, for whom the modern art is a manifestation of radical discontinuity in relation to the art of the past, and the emergence of abstractionism is due primarily to a historical necessity (the increasing rupture between form and content, the increased autonomy of the sensible over the intelligible. The third direction is represented to Wilhelm Worringer, whose work (Abstraktion und Einfühlung, 1907 predates the emergence of the first abstract paintings, but relying on the German aesthetic tradition, manages to go beyond the threshold distinction between figurative and abstract, thus identifying a type of Einfühlung art and another of abstract type, namely the predominance of one or the other in different historical contexts and civilizational patterns. In the second part of the paper I will refer to instances of the spirit of abstraction in the case of Byzantine sacred art, especially in the footsteps of Plotinian aesthetics and as a result of the iconoclastic crisis. In the last part, I will present the key ideas for three major representatives of abstractionism (Kandinsky, Klee, Mondrian and the survival of the concepts of sacred art in their works and art theories.

Natural radioactivity of airbone particulates in coal-ash disposal sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukushima, Masanori; Tsukamoto, Masaki

1984-01-01

An investigation was made on the actual concentrations of U, Th and Po in air-borne dust and soil around coal power stations, to study the effect of coal-ash disposal site on natural radioactivity of environmental samples. Samples were collected at a coal-ash disposal and its reference places. The results obtained are summaried as follows; (1) Concentrations of U, Th and Po in air-borne dust at the disposal place was nealy equal to those at the reference place. (2) Origin of those α-emitting elements in the dust was successfully deduced, on the basis of correlating concentrations of Sc and Cl elements in the dust. (3) It was inferred that elements of both U and Po in the dust at disposal site came from soil by about 80% and artificial origin such as exhausted gas by remainder. Almost all Th element were from soil. It was therefore concluded that effect of disposal site on radioactivity concentrations of dusts was negligible. (author)

Valuation of environmental quality and eco-cultural attributes in Northwestern Idaho: Native Americans are more concerned than Caucasians

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burger, Joanna [Division of Life Sciences, Nelson Biological Laboratory, Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8082 (United States); Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8082 (United States)

2011-01-15

Valuation of features of habitats and ecosystems usually encompasses the goods and services that ecosystems provide, but rarely also examine how people value ecological resources in terms of eco-cultural and sacred activities. The social, sacred, and cultural aspects of ecosystems are particularly important to Native Americans, but western science has rarely examined the importance of eco-cultural attributes quantitatively. In this paper I explore differences in ecosystem evaluations, and compare the perceptions and evaluations of places people go for consumptive and non-consumptive resource use with evaluations of the same qualities for religious and sacred places. Qualities of ecosystems included goods (abundant fish and crabs, butterflies and flowers, clean water), services (complexity of nature, lack of radionuclides that present a health risk), and eco-cultural attributes (appears unspoiled, scenic horizons, noise-free). Native Americans and Caucasians were interviewed at a Pow Wow at Post Falls, Idaho, which is in the region with the Department of Energy's Hanford Site, known for its storage of radioactive wastes and contamination. A higher percentage of Native American subjects engaged in consumptive and religious activities than did Caucasians. Native Americans engaged in higher rates of many activities than did Caucasians, including commune with nature, pray or meditate, fish or hunt, collect herbs, and conduct vision quests or other ceremonies. For nearly all attributes, there was no difference in the relative ratings given by Native Americans for characteristics of sites used for consumption/non-consumptive activities compared to religious/sacred places. However, Caucasians rated nearly all attributes lower for religious/sacred places than they did for places where they engaged in consumptive or non-consumptive activities. Native Americans were less concerned with distance from home for consumptive/non-consumptive activities, compared to religious

Valuation of environmental quality and eco-cultural attributes in Northwestern Idaho: Native Americans are more concerned than Caucasians

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burger, Joanna

2011-01-01

Valuation of features of habitats and ecosystems usually encompasses the goods and services that ecosystems provide, but rarely also examine how people value ecological resources in terms of eco-cultural and sacred activities. The social, sacred, and cultural aspects of ecosystems are particularly important to Native Americans, but western science has rarely examined the importance of eco-cultural attributes quantitatively. In this paper I explore differences in ecosystem evaluations, and compare the perceptions and evaluations of places people go for consumptive and non-consumptive resource use with evaluations of the same qualities for religious and sacred places. Qualities of ecosystems included goods (abundant fish and crabs, butterflies and flowers, clean water), services (complexity of nature, lack of radionuclides that present a health risk), and eco-cultural attributes (appears unspoiled, scenic horizons, noise-free). Native Americans and Caucasians were interviewed at a Pow Wow at Post Falls, Idaho, which is in the region with the Department of Energy's Hanford Site, known for its storage of radioactive wastes and contamination. A higher percentage of Native American subjects engaged in consumptive and religious activities than did Caucasians. Native Americans engaged in higher rates of many activities than did Caucasians, including commune with nature, pray or meditate, fish or hunt, collect herbs, and conduct vision quests or other ceremonies. For nearly all attributes, there was no difference in the relative ratings given by Native Americans for characteristics of sites used for consumption/non-consumptive activities compared to religious/sacred places. However, Caucasians rated nearly all attributes lower for religious/sacred places than they did for places where they engaged in consumptive or non-consumptive activities. Native Americans were less concerned with distance from home for consumptive/non-consumptive activities, compared to religious

Valuation of environmental quality and eco-cultural attributes in Northwestern Idaho: Native Americans are more concerned than Caucasians

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burger, Joanna, E-mail: burger@biology.rutgers.edu [Division of Life Sciences, Nelson Biological Laboratory, Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8082 (United States); Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8082 (United States)

2011-01-15

Valuation of features of habitats and ecosystems usually encompasses the goods and services that ecosystems provide, but rarely also examine how people value ecological resources in terms of eco-cultural and sacred activities. The social, sacred, and cultural aspects of ecosystems are particularly important to Native Americans, but western science has rarely examined the importance of eco-cultural attributes quantitatively. In this paper I explore differences in ecosystem evaluations, and compare the perceptions and evaluations of places people go for consumptive and non-consumptive resource use with evaluations of the same qualities for religious and sacred places. Qualities of ecosystems included goods (abundant fish and crabs, butterflies and flowers, clean water), services (complexity of nature, lack of radionuclides that present a health risk), and eco-cultural attributes (appears unspoiled, scenic horizons, noise-free). Native Americans and Caucasians were interviewed at a Pow Wow at Post Falls, Idaho, which is in the region with the Department of Energy's Hanford Site, known for its storage of radioactive wastes and contamination. A higher percentage of Native American subjects engaged in consumptive and religious activities than did Caucasians. Native Americans engaged in higher rates of many activities than did Caucasians, including commune with nature, pray or meditate, fish or hunt, collect herbs, and conduct vision quests or other ceremonies. For nearly all attributes, there was no difference in the relative ratings given by Native Americans for characteristics of sites used for consumption/non-consumptive activities compared to religious/sacred places. However, Caucasians rated nearly all attributes lower for religious/sacred places than they did for places where they engaged in consumptive or non-consumptive activities. Native Americans were less concerned with distance from home for consumptive/non-consumptive activities, compared to religious

The Dredging of the Sacred Cenote of Chichen Itzá 1904-1914

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Guillermo Palacios

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This article analyzes the “restoration” of a treasure of incalculable value, taken from Chichen Itzá’s Sacred Cenote with the help of a primitive dredge installed along its edge by Edward H. Thompson, then the U.S. consul in Progreso, and financed by Harvard University’s Peabody Museum and private collectors from the Boston area. This “restoration” began in 1904 and continued up until 1907, with periodic resumptions up until 1909, the year in which Thompson resigned from his consular position, which marked the weakening of the network of complicity that he had been weaving since 1875 to allow him to illegally export hundreds of Maya pieces to the University of Cambridge. The article concludes in 1914, when the violence of the Mexican Revolution unintentionally put an end to the looting of Chichén Itzá.

False indications of 95Zr-95Nb internal contamination due to contaminated sacred thread

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garg, S.P.; Singh, I.S.; Sharma, R.C.

2000-01-01

Whole body monitoring of a worker showed an apparent internal contamination with a considerable amount of 95 Zr- 95 Nb. Inhalation exposure was suspected to have taken place about a week earlier when he had last worked in the radioactive area. Unexpected fast clearance indicated by the third periodical weekly follow up monitoring was considered to be an abnormal behaviour. Investigations revealed an external contamination on a sacred thread, which the worker was putting on across his thorax and not removing it at the time of bath due to religious considerations. These studies have underscored that short term follow up measurements data should be critically scrutinized and a caution should be exercised in the interpretation such data particularly in case of such relatively short lived radionuclides. (author)

Integrating Sacred Knowledge for Conservation: Cultures and Landscapes in Southwest China

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Jianchu Xu

2005-12-01

Full Text Available China is undergoing economic growth and expansion to a free market economy at a scale and pace that are unprecedented in human history. This is placing great pressure on the country's environment and cultural diversity. This paper examines a number of case histories in China, focusing on the culturally varied and ecologically diverse southwest region of the country. We show how developments in recent Chinese history have devalued and in some cases eliminated indigenous knowledge and practices in the quest to strengthen the centralized state. Despite these changes, more than 30 ethnic minorities live in southwest China. For generations these peoples have maintained landscapes through traditional land use and cultural practices. This indigenous knowledge places a high value on protecting forests, landscapes, and water catchments while preserving biodiversity. These values are maintained through religious beliefs, hunting taboos, and the protection of sacred sites. We advocate a conservation policy for China that includes the indigenous knowledge and values needed to maintain the environment and the traditional cultures themselves. There are seminal signs that the government is beginning to support indigenous cultures in China. The Organic Law of 1998 granted villages the legal right to self-government and gave indigenous communities greater responsibility for land and resource use. Traditional and indigenous cultural products have also developed a market and an economic value within a growing tourism industry. In many cases, however, indigenous people remain isolated from major land-use and conservation decisions that are the result of centrally planned policy. Meanwhile, frequent oscillations in forest policy and land tenure insecurity since the 1950s have led to the erosion of many local institutions and the loss of indigenous knowledge. We suggest that the long-term viability of the environment requires an interactive approach that involves

The Problems of Deficient Data when Planning for Religious Tourism: An Irish Case Study

OpenAIRE

Enongene, Vreny; Griffin, Kevin

2016-01-01

This study stresses the importance of the availability of data and relevant statistics in the advancement of tourism knowledge and the enhancement of visitor experiences (pre-and post-experiences) for those particularly interested in visiting sacred sites, as well as its study. With sacred sites in the Island of Ireland as sites under study. The dearth in data and relevant statistics on religious tourism sites and their facilities, visitor numbers and their activities, management issues, and ...

Mobilising Mother Cabrini's Educational Practice: The Transnational Context of the London School of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus 1898-1911

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Maria Patricia

2015-01-01

A schoolteacher from Lombardy, Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), founded the Institute of Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC) in 1880. It was one of the 185 female religious institutes established in Italy in the nineteenth century. In the newly unified Italy, Cabrini found opportunities to formulate progressive Catholic…

Environmental Aspects of Sites Like America's Stonehenge, (AS), Florida's Miami Tequesta Site, and Lowell's A.D. 1069

Science.gov (United States)

Ochs, Michael Ann; Mc Leod, Roger D.

2002-04-01

Subtle ``instrumentation" is often unnoticed. Stone-chamber transponder-receivers are principle and secondary wave detectors, part of the ``technologic" arsenal of men like Passaconaway/Metacomen of colonial-era Massachusetts, or the earthquake-predicting Shawnee Tecumseh of the Ohio Valley region, during 1811-1813. An Ohio stone-effigy ``serpent" is a thunderstorm precursor signal indicator. The Hopi require similar ``equipment," when duping gullible ``rain-dance" patrons. Tornado/waterspout activity is documented right in the Tequesta site at the river in Miami, Florida, which generates detectable signals. Columbus could have used similar ``secret sacred science" previously learned from American Indians, and thereby successfully predicted an anomalous hurricane on a subsequent trip. These, and the Hawaiian volcano goddess Pelee, seem to be a mythic equivalent of electromagnetically generated signals, i.e., a metaphor for ``environmental applied physics" we detect at A.S.

Tuskegee as Sacred Rhetoric: Focal Point for the Emergent Field of African American Religion and Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Laws, Terri

2018-02-01

Scholars in African American religion engage the Tuskegee Syphilis Study as the focal point of the African American experience in institutional medicine. Seeking a way forward from this history and its intentional evil, the author proposes to position Tuskegee as a form of Lynch's culturally contextual sacred rhetoric to make use of its metaphoric value in the emerging field of African American religion and health. In this broader meaning-making frame, Tuskegee serves as a reminder that African American religious sensibility has long been an agential resource that counters abuse of the Black body. It also acknowledges the complex decisions facing African American clinical trial participants.

The Virgin of Luján: sacred source of legitimation of the heroes of the Malvinas War

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Laura Marina Panizo

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The loss of a loved one in war, as in the extraordinary losses in general, produces a break in the usual ways of facing death. In this article we will see how relatives of fallen in the Malvinas War were adapted to these changes in a creative way, reformulating conventional models to understand them, through a framework of interpretation of losses where the Virgin of Luján, sacred source of legitimation of the dead and the bereaved, becomes the instrument through which occurs the communion of all Argentineans, both living and dead, and strengthening the national identity.  

Natural resource management activities at the Savannah River Site. Environmental Assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1993-07-01

This environmental assessment (EA) reviews the environmental consequences of ongoing natural resource management activities on the Savannah River Site (SRS). Appendix A contains the Natural Resources Management Plant (NRMP). While several SRS organizations have primary responsibilities for different elements of the plan, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service, Savannah River Forest Station (SRFS) is responsible for most elements. Of the river scenarios defined in 1985, the High-Intensity Management alternative established the upper bound of environmental consequences; it represents a more intense level of resource management than that being performed under current resource management activities. This alternative established compliance mechanisms for several natural resource-related requirements and maximum practical timber harvesting. Similarly, the Low-Intensity Management alternative established the lower bound of environmental consequences and represents a less intense level of resource management than that being performed under current resource management activities. This alternative also established compliance mechanisms, but defined a passively managed natural area. The Proposed Action of this EA describes the current level of multiple-natural resource management. This EA reviews the proposed action, and the high and low intensity alternative scenarios.

The uranium source-term mineralogy and geochemistry at the Broubster natural analogue site, Caithness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milodowski, A.E.; Pearce, J.M.; Basham, I.R.; Hyslop, E.K.

1991-01-01

The British Geological Survey (BGS) has been conducting a coordinated research programme at the Broubster natural analogue site in Caithness, north Scotland. This work on a natural radioactive geochemical system has been carried out with the aim of improving our confidence in using predictive models of radionuclide migration in the geosphere. This report is one of a series being produced and it concentrates on the mineralogical characterization of the uranium distribution in the limestone unit considered as the 'source-term' in the natural analogue model

The geological, geochemical, topographical and hydrogeological characteristics of the Broubster natural analogue site, Caithness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ball, T.K.; Milodowski, A.E.

1989-06-01

One of the four natural analogue sites chosen for investigation by the British Geological Survey is the uranium mineralisation at Broubster, Caithness, Scotland. Naturally occurring uranium has been leached from a thin mineralised limestone horizon and has been carried by groundwater flow into a peat bog about 100m away. This process has probably been going on for at least 5000 years. Standard surveying, hydrogeological and geochemical methods have been applied in the investigation and analysis of the area. Selected samples of the mineralisation, peat soils and associated groundwaters have been examined in detail. This report summarises the main findings accumulated since 1968 when the site was first discovered, and provides a useful information base for further modelling work. (author)

Natural resource risk and cost management in environmental restoration: Demonstration project at the Savannah River Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bascietto, J.J.; Sharples, F.E.

1995-01-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is both a trustee for the natural resources present on its properties and the lead response agency under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). As such, DOE is addressing the destruction or loss of those resources caused by releases of hazardous substances from its facilities (DOE 1991) and collecting data to be used in determining the extent of contamination at its facilities, estimating risks to human health and the environment, and selecting appropriate remedial actions. The remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) process is used to investigate sites and select remedial actions. A Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process may be used to determine whether natural resources have also been injured by the released hazardous substances and to calculate compensatory monetary damages to be used to restore the natural resources. In FY 1994, the Savannah River Site (SRS) was chosen to serve as a demonstration site for testing the integrated NRDA framework and demonstrating how NRDA concerns might be integrated into the environmental restoration activities of an actual site that is characteristically large and complex. The demonstration project (1) provided a means to illustrate the use of complex analyses using real information on the specific natural resources of the SRS; (2) served as a vehicle for reinforcing and expanding the SRS staff's understanding of the links between the NRDA and RI/FS processes; (3) provided a forum for the discussion of strategic issues with SRS personnel; and (4) allowed the refining and elaboration of DOE guidance by benchmarking the theoretical process using real information and issues

78 FR 48902 - Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-12

... published, the Field Museum staff determined that the objects meet the NAGPRA definitions for sacred objects... sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony under 25 U.S.C. 3001. In the Federal Register (72 FR... notice are specific ceremonial objects needed by traditional Native American religious leaders for the...

Justices as “Sacred Symbols”: Antonin Scalia and the Cultural Life of the Law

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Christopher Jones Brian

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Perhaps no single judge in recent years has embodied the intricacies and difficulties of the cultural life of the law as much as American Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. While common law judges have traditionally acquired status—and cultural relevance—from the significance, eloquence and forcefulness of their judicial opinions, Justice Scalia took an altogether different route. Both on and off the bench, he pushed the limits of legal and political legitimacy. He did this through a strict adherence to what we call a “judicial mandate,” flamboyant but engaging writing, biting humor and widespread marketing of his originalist and textualist interpretative theories. This article chronicles these features of Scalia’s jurisprudence and public life more generally, ultimately characterising the late justice as a “sacred symbol” in American legal and political circles, and beyond.

78 FR 50091 - Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: University of Colorado Museum of Natural History...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-16

... organizations, has determined that the cultural items listed in this notice meet the definition of sacred... History, Boulder, CO that meet the definition of sacred objects under 25 U.S.C. 3001. This notice is..., religious, and ceremonial items, through gifts, purchases, and items left for collateral by Mandan, Hidatsa...

Subcellular site and nature of intracellular cadmium in plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, G.J.

1979-01-01

The mechanisms underlying heavy metal accumulation, toxicity, and tolerance in higher plants are poorly understood. Since subcellular processes are undoubtedly involved in all these phenomena, it is of interest to study the extent, subcellular site and nature of intracellularly accumulated cadmium in higher plants. Whole plants supplied 109 CdCl 2 or 112 CdSO 4 accumulated Cd into roots and aerial tissues. Preparation of protoplasts from aerial tissues followed by subcellular fractionation of the protoplasts to obtain intact vacuoles, chloroplasts and cytosol revealed the presence of Cd in the cytosol but not in vacuoles or chloroplasts. No evidence was obtained for the production of volatile Cd complexes in tobacco

The Ganges and the GAP: An Assessment of Efforts to Clean a Sacred River

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Kenneth R. Tamminga

2012-07-01

Full Text Available For centuries, the Ganges River in India has been the locus of sacred rites for the Hindus. The religious significance of the Ganges is physically manifested in ghats (stepped landings that form the land-water interface. Besides serving as a site for religious bathing and cremation, the ghats are also tied to people’s livelihoods and are an inseparable part of their daily lives. Today, the increasingly urbanized Ganges basin sustains more than 40 percent of India’s population. At the same time, industrialization and the pressures of a growing population along its banks have contributed to alarming levels of pollution in the river. In 1985, the federal government of India launched the Ganga Action Plan (GAP with the primary objective of cleaning the river. However, characterized by centralized planning and control with little public participation, the GAP had limited impact. In 2011, the government launched yet another clean up program—the National Ganga River Basin Project—with support from the World Bank. In this paper, we take a closer look at the programs to highlight the tenuous relationship between the need for ‘efficient’ management of environmental problems and public participation. Can public participation fit into the technocratic model that is often adopted by environmental programs? What approaches to participation kindle authorship and empowerment among those who share a deep relationship with the river and the ghats? Can religious practices be accommodated within scientific frameworks of adaptive management and resilience? We argue that rethinking the relationship between pollution control programs and participation is crucial for any effort to clean the Ganges, restore its waterfront, and catalyze broader regeneration in the Ganges basin.

The Effects of Sacred Value Networks Within an Evolutionary, Adversarial Game

Science.gov (United States)

McCalla, Scott G.; Short, Martin B.; Brantingham, P. Jeffrey

2013-05-01

The effects of personal relationships and shared ideologies on levels of crime and the formation of criminal coalitions are studied within the context of an adversarial, evolutionary game first introduced in Short et al. (Phys. Rev. E 82:066114, 2010). Here, we interpret these relationships as connections on a graph of N players. These connections are then used in a variety of ways to define each player's "sacred value network"—groups of individuals that are subject to special consideration or treatment by that player. We explore the effects on the dynamics of the system that these networks introduce, through various forms of protection from both victimization and punishment. Under local protection, these networks introduce a new fixed point within the game dynamics, which we find through a continuum approximation of the discrete game. Under more complicated, extended protection, we numerically observe the emergence of criminal coalitions, or "gangs". We also find that a high-crime steady state is much more frequent in the context of extended protection networks, in both the case of Erdős-Rényi and small world random graphs.

Sacred Psychotherapy in the “Age of Authenticity”: Healing and Cultural Revivalism in Contemporary Finland

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James M. Wilce

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Like other European countries, contemporary Finland has witnessed an explosion of healing modalities designatable as “New Age” (though not without profound controversy, [1]. This paper focuses on Finnish courses in lament (wept song, tuneful weeping with words that combine healing conceived along psychotherapeutic lines and lessons from the lament tradition of rural Karelia, a region some Finns regard as their cultural heartland. A primary goal of the paper is to explicate a concept of “authenticity” emerging in lament courses, in which disclosing the depths of one’s feelings is supported not only by invoking “psy-“ discourses of self-help, but also by construing the genuine emotional self-disclosure that characterizes neolamentation as a sacred activity and a vital contribution to the welfare of the Finnish people.

Comparison of long-term stability of containment systems for residues and wastes contaminated with naturally occurring radionuclides at an arid site and two humid sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winters, M.; Merry-Libby, P.; Hinchman, R.

1985-01-01

The long-term stability of near-surface containment systems designed for the management of radioactive wastes and residues contaminated with naturally occurring radionuclides are compared at the three different sites. The containment designs are: (1) a diked 8.9-m high mound, including a 3.2-m layered cap at a site (humid) near Lewiston, New York, (2) a 6.8-m-high mound, including a similar 3.2-m cap at a site (humid) near Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and (3) 4.8-m deep trenches with 3.0-m backfilled caps at a site (arid) near Hanford, Washington. Geological, hydrological, and biological factors affecting the long-term (1000-year) integrity of the containment systems at each site are examined, including: erosion, flooding, drought, wildfire, slope and cover failure, plant root penetration, burrowing animals, other soil-forming processes, and land-use changes. For the containment designs evaluated, releases of radon-222 at the arid site are predicted to be several orders of magnitude higher than at the two humid sites - upon initial burial and at 1000 years (after severe erosion). Transfer of wastes containing naturally occurring radionuclides from a humid to an arid environment offers little or no advantage relative to long-term stability of the containment system and has a definite disadvantage in terms of gaseous radioactive releases. 26 references, 3 figures, 4 tables

Natural phenomena analyses, Hanford Site, Washington

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tallman, A.M.

1989-01-01

Probabilistic seismic hazard studies completed for the Washington Public Power Supply System's Nuclear Plant 2 and for the US Department of Energy's N Reactor sites, both on the Hanford Site, suggested that the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory seismic exposure estimates were lower than appropriate, especially for sites near potential seismic sources. A probabilistic seismic hazard assessment was completed for those areas that contain process and/or waste management facilities. the lower bound magnitude of 5.0 is used in the hazard analysis and the characteristics of small-magnitude earthquakes relatively common to the Hanford Site are addressed. The recommended ground motion for high-hazard facilities is somewhat higher than the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory model and the ground motion from small-magnitude earthquakes is addressed separately from the moderate- to large-magnitude earthquake ground motion. The severe wind and tornado hazards determined for the Hanford Siste are in agreement with work completed independently using 43 years of site data. The low-probability, high-hazard, design-basis flood at the Hanford Site is dominated by dam failure on the Columbia River. Further evaluation of the mechanisms and probabilities of such flooding is in progress. The Hanford Site is downwind from several active Cascade volcanoes. Geologic and historical data are used to estimate the ashfall hazard

Assessment of Hexavalent Chromium Natural Attenuation for the Hanford Site 100 Area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Truex, Michael J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Szecsody, James E. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Qafoku, Nikolla P. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Sahajpal, Rahul [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Zhong, Lirong [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Lawter, Amanda R. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Lee, Brady D. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2015-09-01

Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) plumes are present in the 100 Area at the Hanford Site. Remediation efforts are under way with objectives of restoring the groundwater to meet the drinking-water standard (48 µg/L) and protecting the Columbia River by ensuring that discharge of groundwater to the river is below the surface-water quality standard (10 µg/L). Current remedies include application of Pump-and-Treat (P&T) at the 100-D, 100-H, and 100-K Areas and Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) at the 100-F/IU Area. Remedy selection is still under way at the other 100 Areas. Additional information about the natural attenuation processes for Cr(VI) is important in all of these cases. In this study, laboratory experiments were conducted to demonstrate and quantify natural attenuation mechanisms using 100 Area sediments and groundwater conditions.

Statutory Interpretation through the Prism of the Bill of Rights: S v Litako 2014 SACR 431 (SCA

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Salona Lutchman

2015-07-01

Full Text Available On 16 April 2014, the Supreme Court of Appeal handed down judgment in the matter of S v Litako 2014 2 SACR 431 (SCA ("Litako". The judgment reconsiders the landmark decision of the same court, S v Ndhlovu 2002 2 SACR 325 (SCA ("Ndhlovu" in which the court held that an informal admission made by one accused could be admitted against a co-accused even if the accused in court denies making the statement and the statement itself is therefore considered to be hearsay. The court in Ndhlovu applied section 3 of the Law of Evidence Amendment Act 45 of 1988 and found that the hearsay extra curial admission could be admitted in the interests of justice. In Litako the court found that section 3 did not overrule an existing common law rule, which is that the extra curial statement of an accused (whether an informal admission or a confession cannot be tendered against a co-accused. This is because section 3 does not expressly overrule this common law rule. Rather, the provision itself requests that its application be subject to the common law. The judgment is important for various reasons. Firstly, it is generally in keeping with the existing rule on the cautionary treatment of accomplice evidence. Secondly, the judgment highlights the current confusion in the relationship between statute and common law with regards to informal admissions and confessions. Thirdly, the court employs methods of statutory interpretation to re-examine the principle from Ndhlovu and finds that the court in that case did not apply its mind correctly in disregarding the common law rule. The court undertook a teleological approach to interpretation by infusing the meaning of the words with the spirit, purport and objects of the Bill of Rights and found that the statute had not overruled the common law rule.

Catalytic Ozonation of Toluene Using Chilean Natural Zeolite: The Key Role of Brønsted and Lewis Acid Sites

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Serguei Alejandro-Martín

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The influence of surface physical-chemical characteristics of Chilean natural zeolite on the catalytic ozonation of toluene is presented in this article. Surface characteristics of natural zeolite were modified by acid treatment with hydrochloric acid and ion-exchange with ammonium sulphate. Prior to catalytic ozonation assays, natural and chemically modified zeolite samples were thermally treated at 623 and 823 K in order to enhance Brønsted and Lewis acid sites formation, respectively. Natural and modified zeolite samples were characterised by N2 adsorption at 77 K, elemental analysis, X-ray fluorescence, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR spectroscopy, using pyridine as a probe molecule. The highest values of the reaction rate of toluene oxidation were observed when NH4Z1 and 2NH4Z1 zeolite samples were used. Those samples registered the highest density values of Lewis acid sites compared to other samples used here. Results indicate that the presence of strong Lewis acid sites at the 2NH4Z1 zeolite surface causes an increase in the reaction rate of toluene oxidation, confirming the role of Lewis acid sites during the catalytic ozonation of toluene at room temperature. Lewis acid sites decompose gaseous ozone into atomic oxygen, which reacts with the adsorbed toluene at Brønsted acid sites. On the other hand, no significant contribution of Brønsted acid sites on the reaction rate was registered when NH4Z1 and 2NH4Z1 zeolite samples were used.

Dans les flots de l'Ao-Shio. Entre Japon et Corée : de l'îlot sacré à l'îlot disputé

OpenAIRE

Pelletier, P.

1998-01-01

Two small islands located in the Ao-shio (or Tsushima) sea current are facing two opposite fates reflecting the highs-lows of the relationship between Korea and Japan, either peaceful or warlike. Okinoshima, which is incorporated within the Japanese world, is a sacred island. Takeshima or Tok-to is being fought over by Japanese and Korean states. (Résumé d'auteur)

Comparison of Different Height–Diameter Modelling Techniques for Prediction of Site Productivity in Natural Uneven-Aged Pure Stands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guangshuang Duan

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Reliable estimates of forest site productivity are a central element of forest management. The model of height-diameter relationship of dominant trees using algebraic difference approach (ADA is a commonly used method to measure site productivity of natural uneven-aged stands. However, the existing models of this method do not recognize site type or sample plot specific variability in height curves; thus, it cannot be effectively used to estimate site type or sample plot-related site productivity for natural uneven-aged stands. Two primary subject-specific approaches, ADA with dummy variable (DV (ADA + DV and ADA with combination of dummy variable and nonlinear mixed-effects modelling (CM (ADA + CM, were proposed for height–diameter modelling. Height–diameter models developed with ADA, ADA + DV and ADA + CM were compared using data from 4161 observations on 349 permanent sample plots of four major natural uneven-aged pure stands (Spruce, Korean Larch, Mongolian Oak, and White Birch in northeastern China. It was found that models developed with ADA + CM provided the best performance, followed by the models with ADA + DV, and the models developed with ADA performed the worst. Random effects at the plot level were substantial, and their inclusion greatly improved the model’s accuracy. More importantly, the models developed with ADA + CM provide an effective method for quantifying site type- and sample plot-specific forest site productivity for uneven-aged pure stands.

O-pi e-de-i: on round building as an archetypical form of sacred space in the Aegean

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Evyenia Yiannouli

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The archaeological record supports the general proposition that the simplest form of architecture, the round building type, variously persisted throughout the Aegean prehistory. This paper makes a case for the identification of round building as a distinct genre of sacred space in the Aegean Bronze Age, Mycenaean Crete in particular, combining evidence from architecture, iconography and the scripts. Certain archetypical features are thus delineated. It is argued that the historical understanding of the emerging LBA state requires a study of the architecture prior to the 2nd millennium BC as much as other relevant evidence issuing from the latest Aegean strata.

Natural radioactivity in ground water near the Savannah River Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Price, V. Jr.; Michel, J.

1990-08-01

A study of natural radioactivity in groundwater on and adjacent to the Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken (SC) was conducted to determine the spatial and temporal variations in the concentration of specific radionuclides. All available measurements for gross alpha particle activity, gross beta activity, uranium, Ra-226, Ra-228, and radon were collated. Relatively few radionuclide-specific results were found. Twenty samples from drinking water supplies in the area were collected in October 1987 and analyzed for U-238, U-234, Ra-226, Ra-228, and Rn-222. The aquifer type for each public water supply system was determined, and statistical analyses were conducted to detect differences among aquifer types and geographic areas defined at the country level. For samples from the public water wells and distribution systems on and adjacent to the site, most of the gross alpha particle activity could be attributed to Ra-226. Aquifer type was an important factor in determining the level of radioactivity in groundwater. The distribution and geochemical factors affecting the distribution of each radionuclide for the different aquifer types are discussed in detail. Statistical analyses were also run to test for aerial differences, among counties and the site. For all types of measurements, there were no differences in the distribution of radioactivity among the ten counties in the vicinity of the site or the site itself. The mean value for the plant was the lowest of all geographic areas for gross alpha particle activity and radon, intermediate for gross beta activity, and in the upper ranks for Ra-226 and Ra-228. It is concluded that the drinking water quality onsite is comparable with that in the vicinity. 19 refs., 5 figs., 5 tabs

THE FORMATION OF READERS IN THE ERA OF ITS “SACREDNESS”: IT WOULD BE THE SACRED THE CAUSE OF FASCINATION WITH CONTEMPORARY BESTSELLERS?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaime dos Reis Sant'Anna

2016-07-01

Full Text Available What explain the great appreciation by mass literature, as the bestseller Harry Potter or The Twilight Saga? We can use the mass literature to form readers in the school, or we must use only canonical literature? Finally, the more important discussion in this article: the sacred would be an enhancer element to explain the appreciation by these works and how would must the teachers debate this theme with their students?

Towards a harmonious development between nature and culture on Walisanga religious site, Indonesia - learning from the best practices in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Suprapti, Atiek; Pandelaki, Edward E.; Indriastjario; Budi Sardjono, Agung; Tomohiko, Yosidha; Masao, Yagi; Higashino, Adriana P.

2017-12-01

Nature and culture are elements that play an important role in the development of a place. Sites of Walisanga spread all over Java since in 16 century. Muslim communities respect respect for these sites. These sites have become an attractive destination of religious tourism on the North Coast of Java. Some of these sites are very close to nature and as a part culture. Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan are the examples of the master pieces of indigenous architecture which are still maintained very well. The Japanese religious sites with the beautiful architecture and landscape in the culture format have been successfully attracting tourist from all over the world. This paper aims to determine the potency and problems associated with the development of spatial harmony between the nature and culture on the Walisanga religious sites in Indonesia by conducting a dialogue with best practices cases in Japan. This study used descriptive analysis methods. The result showed that, there are similarities between Indonesian and Japan in treating cultural heritage assets. Indonesian government gives quite significant roles to public to participate in preserving cultural heritage. Japan government has given support through the modern technology and funding, assets registration, maintenance and protection, and the assets management. Creating the harmony between nature and culture is necessary to enhance performance, facilities and infrastructure.

Traditional medicine applied by the Saraguro yachakkuna: a preliminary approach to the use of sacred and psychoactive plant species in the southern region of Ecuador.

Science.gov (United States)

Armijos, Chabaco; Cota, Iuliana; González, Silvia

2014-02-24

During the colonial period, the indigenous saraguros maintained their traditions, knowledge, and practices to restore and preserve the health of their members. Unfortunately, many of their practices and medicinal resources have not been documented. In this study, we sought to document the traditional healers' (yachakkuna saraguros) knowledge about medicinal and psychoactive plants used in the mesas and in magical-religious rituals. The study was conducted under a technical and scientific cooperation agreement between the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL), the Dirección Provincial de Salud de Loja (DPSL), and the Saraguro Healers Council (Consejo de Sanadores de Saraguro). For the present study, the DPSL and Saraguro Healers Council selected the 10 yachakkuna most recognized for their knowledge and their use of sacred and psychoactive species. Ten interviews with the selected yachakkuna were conducted between 2010 and 2011 to ascertain how the Saraguro traditional healing system is structured and to obtain a record of the sacred and medicinal plant species used to treat supernatural diseases and for psychoactive purposes. The present study describes the traditional health system in the Saraguro indigenous community located in southern Ecuador. It also describes the main empirical methods used to diagnose diseases: direct physical examination of the patient, observation of the patient's urine, documentation of the patient's pulse, limpia, palpation and visionary methods, including supernatural diseases (susto, vaho de agua, mal aire, mal hecho, shuka) and reports of the use of sacred and medicinal psychoactive plants, such as the San Pedro cactus (Echinopsis pachanoi), wandug (Brugmansia spp.), and tobacco (Nicotiana spp.). This study also describes the rituals (limpia, soplada) employed by the Saraguro yachakkuna to treat supernatural diseases. Finally, we report on the main plants used during limpia in the Saraguro community. The current traditional

False indications of {sup 95}Zr-{sup 95}Nb internal contamination due to contaminated sacred thread

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garg, S P; Singh, I S; Sharma, R C [Internal Dosimetry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, BARC Hospital, Mumbai (India)

2000-05-01

Whole body monitoring of a worker showed an apparent internal contamination with a considerable amount of {sup 95}Zr-{sup 95}Nb. Inhalation exposure was suspected to have taken place about a week earlier when he had last worked in the radioactive area. Unexpected fast clearance indicated by the third periodical weekly follow up monitoring was considered to be an abnormal behaviour. Investigations revealed an external contamination on a sacred thread, which the worker was putting on across his thorax and not removing it at the time of bath due to religious considerations. These studies have underscored that short term follow up measurements data should be critically scrutinized and a caution should be exercised in the interpretation such data particularly in case of such relatively short lived radionuclides. (author)

Natural responses to Quaternary climatic change in the Nevada Test Site region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gibson, J.D.

1993-01-01

Migration of hazardous contaminants within geologic settings depends on natural processes. Climatic fluctuations can affect the magnitudes and rates of many of these processes. In any long-term environmental evaluation of natural processes, responses to climatic change must be considered. Four generalized categories of natural responses to Quaternary climatic change are recognized for the Nevada Test Site (NTS) region of southwestern Nevada and adjacent California: (1) biologic, (2) geomorphic, (3) hydrologic (including surface and subsurface) and (4) pedologic/diagenetic. Specific examples that correspond to the four categories illustrate the broad range of complex natural processes the are affected by climatic change. These responses dictate the potential effects of climatic change on contaminant transport, effects that are being examined by existing and planned environmental-restoration and waste-management programs within the region. Regulatory requirements for many of these programs include long-term (>10,000-year) waste isolation because of radiologic components. The purpose here is not to be exhaustive in documenting all known natural responses to climatic change in the NTS region, but rather to give a flavor of the scope of interdisciplinary and interrelated fields of Quaternary science that must be considered in evaluating the possible effects of climatic change on long-term environmental programs

Responsibility, God and society: The cry of the Other in the sacred texts as a challenge towards responsible global citizenship

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johann-Albrecht Meylahn

2009-04-01

Full Text Available The article seeks to respond to the question: What role can the sacred texts play in the construction of a Christian identity that is responsible to the Other in a pluralistic global world? The sacred texts of the Judaic-Christian tradition offer not only an understanding of the wholly otherness of God, but also form the basis of our understanding and perception of humanity (anthropology, the world and ourselves (personhood/identity. This understanding is constructed in the context of responding to the call of the wholly Other and the others. Identities are traditionally constructed through the identification and exclusion of differences (otherness, thus leading to an ethic of exclusion and responsibility only to oneself/ourselves. Yet these identity-forming texts harbour a persistent otherness, which challenges these traditional identities by interrupting them with a call to responsibility toward the other. The otherness harboured in these texts takes various forms, namely: The otherness of the ancient world to our world, the otherness of the transcendental Other, and the otherness of the text itself, as there is always a différance that has not yet been heard. These various forms of otherness, of our identity-forming texts, deconstruct our identity constructions, thus calling us to a continuous responsibility towards the other. This call could form the basis of a Christian identity and ethic of global cosmopolitan citizenship that is always responding to the eschatological interruption by the other, who is not yet present or who has not been offered presence.

The location of uranium in source rocks and sites of secondary deposition at the Needle's Eye natural analogue site, Dumfries and Galloway

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basham, I.R.; Hyslop, E.K.; Milodowski, A.E.; Pearce, J.M.

1989-08-01

The British Geological Survey has been conducting a co-ordinated research programme at the natural analogue site of Needle's Eye at Southwick on the Solway coast in SW Scotland. This study of a naturally radioactive geochemical system has been carried out with the aim of improving our confidence in using predictive models of radionuclide migration in the geosphere. This report describes results of integrated mineralogical techniques which have been applied to the study of both the 'source-term' and sites of secondary accumulation of uranium. Pitchblende in a polymetallic-carbonate breccia vein exposed in ancient sea-cliffs is the main source of labile uranium although other uranium-bearing minerals present in the granodiorite and hornfelsed siltstone host-rocks present probable ancillary leachable sites. In keeping with the complex chemistry of the primary sulphide-rich mineralization, a large variety of secondary U minerals has been recorded among which arsenates and hydrous silicates appear to predominate. Uranium transported in groundwaters draining the cliffs has accumulated in organic-rich estuarine/intertidal mudflat sediments of Quaternary age. Charged particle track registration techniques have demonstrated convincingly the effectiveness of humidified organic matter in retarding uranium transport and, coupled with scanning electron microscopy, have indicated an important role of living plants and bacteria in uranium uptake and concentration. (author)

The sacred weapon: bow and arrow combat in Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manouchehr Moshtagh Khorasani

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The following article presents the development of the bow and arrow, and its important role in the history of Iran. The bow always played an important role not only on the battlefield, but also in hunting. It was also considered as a sacred weapon and additionally a royal symbol. Bow and arrow were considered as a superior weapon in comparison with other types of weapons because one could fight with them at a safer distance as one offered by swords, maces and axes. The first part of the article presents a short history of the bow in Iran. Based on historical Persian manuscripts, the next part explains the structure of the composite bow and the materials used for making it. The third part describes some types of bows based on the material, place of production, the usage, and bow type based on the length of the bow and the arrows. The following part talks about different types of arrows based on morphology of arrowheads, the type of plume/feather, the material of the shaft, the material of the arrowhead, the length of arrows, the target of arrows, the place of production of arrowheads and terms for describing its different features of an arrowhead. Then, the article talks about different types of thumb rings, bowstrings, quivers and bow cases and arrow guides for shooting short arrows. The next part discusses different principles of archery as explained in Persian manuscripts. Finally the article describes different archery targets.

Uranium mineral - groundwater equilibrium at the Palmottu natural analogue study site, Finland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahonen, L.; Ruskeeniemi, T.; Blomqvist, R.; Ervanne, H.; Jaakkola, T.

1993-01-01

The redox-potential, pH, chemical composition of fracture waters, and uraninite alteration associated with the Palmottu uranium mineralization (a natural analogue study site for radioactive waste disposal in southwestern Finland), have been studied. The data have been interpreted by means of thermodynamic calculations. The results indicate equilibrium between uraninite, ferric hydroxide and groundwater in the bedrock of the study site. Partially oxidized uraninite (UO 2 .33) and ferric hydroxide are in equilibrium with fresh, slightly acidic and oxidized water type, while primary uraninite is stable with deeper waters that have a higher pH and lower Eh. Measured Eh-pH values of groundwater cluster within a relatively narrow range indicating buffering by heterogenous redox-processes. A good consistency between measured Eh and analyzed uranium oxidation states was observed

Religion as a Site of Language Contact.

Science.gov (United States)

Spolsky, Bernard

2003-01-01

Provides an overview of early work on the translation of sacred texts into various languages. Reviews the language use patterns and practices historically characteristic of different religious traditions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Quakerism. Describes linguistic effects of missionary activity in several…

Unraveling the Nature of Sites Active toward Hydrogen Peroxide Reduction in Fe?N?C Catalysts

OpenAIRE

Choi, Chang Hyuck; Choi, Won Seok; Kasian, Olga; Mechler, Anna K.; Sougrati, Moulay Tahar; Br?ller, Sebastian; Strickland, Kara; Jia, Qingying; Mukerjee, Sanjeev; Mayrhofer, Karl J. J.; Jaouen, Fr?d?ric

2017-01-01

Abstract Fe?N?C catalysts with high O2 reduction performance are crucial for displacing Pt in low?temperature fuel cells. However, insufficient understanding of which reaction steps are catalyzed by what sites limits their progress. The nature of sites were investigated that are active toward H2O2 reduction, a key intermediate during indirect O2 reduction and a source of deactivation in fuel cells. Catalysts comprising different relative contents of FeN x C y moieties and Fe particles encapsu...

Sacred History for a Central Asian TownSaints, Shrines, and Legends of Origin inHistories of Sayrām, 18th-19th Centuries

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Devin DeWeese

2009-05-01

Full Text Available Cet article étudie les mythes historiques concernant Sayrām, une petite ville du sud de l'actuel Kazakhstan, cas exemplaire de concepts indigènes d'identité communautaire en Asie centrale pré-soviétique. Ces traditions sont conservées dans un ensemble de travaux en turc, sous le titre générique de « Histoire de Sayrām », qui combine une « histoire sacrée » de la ville avec une « géographie sacrée » sous la forme d'un catalogue de mausolées locaux ; ces deux composantes situent ainsi Sayrām à la fois dans le temps et dans l'espace, à l'intérieur d'un univers sacré défini en tant qu'islamique. Elles offrent une vision de la participation de cette ville à un cadre historique déterminé par l'hommage sanctificateur du Prophète Muhammad à Sayrām, et une affirmation de la présence continue et de la protection, à travers leurs mausolées, d'une multitude de saints musulmans (comprenant aussi bien des personnages purement locaux que d'autres bien connus dans le folklore islamique. Ces ouvrages, compilés vraisemblablement au XVIIIe siècle et répandus très largement dans la seconde moitié du XIXe siècle, reflètent souvent d'anciennes traditions narratives évocatrices du rôle de Sayrām au début de l'islamisation de l'Asie centrale. Mais elles montrent également l'importance capitale de la définition par la religion des identités locales et régionales, au sein de la population sédentaire d'Asie centrale, avant les changements induits par la conquête russe, l'établissement du pouvoir soviétique et la formulation des nouvelles identités « nationales » qui perdurent aujourd'hui.

Multi-Site Application of the Geomechanical Approach for Natural Fracture Exploration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

R. L. Billingsley; V. Kuuskraa

2006-03-31

In order to predict the nature and distribution of natural fracturing, Advanced Resources Inc. (ARI) incorporated concepts of rock mechanics, geologic history, and local geology into a geomechanical approach for natural fracture prediction within mildly deformed, tight (low-permeability) gas reservoirs. Under the auspices of this project, ARI utilized and refined this approach in tight gas reservoir characterization and exploratory activities in three basins: the Piceance, Wind River and the Anadarko. The primary focus of this report is the knowledge gained on natural fractural prediction along with practical applications for enhancing gas recovery and commerciality. Of importance to tight formation gas production are two broad categories of natural fractures: (1) shear related natural fractures and (2) extensional (opening mode) natural fractures. While arising from different origins this natural fracture type differentiation based on morphology is sometimes inter related. Predicting fracture distribution successfully is largely a function of collecting and understanding the available relevant data in conjunction with a methodology appropriate to the fracture origin. Initially ARI envisioned the geomechanical approach to natural fracture prediction as the use of elastic rock mechanics methods to project the nature and distribution of natural fracturing within mildly deformed, tight (low permeability) gas reservoirs. Technical issues and inconsistencies during the project prompted re-evaluation of these initial assumptions. ARI's philosophy for the geomechanical tools was one of heuristic development through field site testing and iterative enhancements to make it a better tool. The technology and underlying concepts were refined considerably during the course of the project. As with any new tool, there was a substantial learning curve. Through a heuristic approach, addressing these discoveries with additional software and concepts resulted in a stronger set

Endophytic root bacteria associated with the natural vegetation growing at the hydrocarbon-contaminated Bitumount Provincial Historic site.

Science.gov (United States)

Blain, Natalie P; Helgason, Bobbi L; Germida, James J

2017-06-01

The Bitumount Provincial Historic site is the location of 2 of the world's first oil-extracting and -refining operations. Despite hydrocarbon levels ranging from 330 to 24 700 mg·(kg soil) -1 , plants have been able to recolonize the site through means of natural revegetation. This study was designed to achieve a better understanding of the plant-root-associated bacterial partnerships occurring within naturally revegetated hydrocarbon-contaminated soils. Root endophytic bacterial communities were characterized from representative plant species throughout the site by both high-throughput sequencing and culturing techniques. Population abundance of rhizosphere and root endosphere bacteria was significantly influenced (p hydrocarbon-degrading genes (CYP153 and alkB) were significantly affected (p < 0.05) by the interaction of plant species and sampling location. Our findings suggest that some of the bacterial communities detected are known to exhibit plant growth promotion characteristics.

Mourning Mandela: sacred drama and digital visuality in Cape Town

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Paula Uimonen

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The world united in unprecedented ways in mourning the global icon Nelson Mandela, an emotionally charged historical event in which digital visuality played an influential role. The memorial service for Nelson Mandela on Tuesday, 10 December 2013, gathered dignitaries and celebrities from around the world at the First National Bank Stadium in Johannesburg, to mourn the passing of Madiba and to celebrate his life work. At the Grand Parade in Cape Town, the event was broadcast on large public screens, followed by live music performances and narrowcast interaction with the audience. Building on recent research on public screens during global media events, this article addresses the mediated mourning rituals at the Grand Parade in terms of a sacred drama. Focusing on social relationality, the article discusses how digital visuality mediated a sense of global communitas, thus momentarily overcoming historical frictions between the global north and the global south, while expanding the fame of Madiba. Paying attention to the public display of visual memory objects and the emotional agency of images, it argues that digital visuality mediated social frictions between the living and the dead, while recasting a historical subject as a historical object. The article further discusses how digital visuality mediated cultural frictions of apartheid and xenophobia, through the positioning of Mandela in the pantheon of Pan-African icons, thus underlining the African origin of this global icon. The analysis is based on ethnographic observations and experiences in Cape Town.

MONITORED NATURAL ATTENUATION OF TERTIARY BUTYL ALCOHOL (TBA) IN GROUND WATER AT GASOLINE SPILL SITES

Science.gov (United States)

The state agencies that implement the Underground Storage Tank program rely heavily on Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) to clean up contaminants such as benzene and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) at gasoline spill sites. This is possible because the contaminants are biolo...

Comparative Assessment Of Coastal Tourism Potentials Of Selected Areas In Rivers State Nigeria

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Obinwanne

2015-08-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The study examined coastal tourism potentials in Rivers State with emphasis on Opobo Bonny and Port Harcourt to determine the area that has comparative advantage for tourism development to optimally utilize resources. The study was conducted in Bonny Opobo and Port Harcourt of River State Nigeria. The area occupies the land close to the Atlantic Ocean within 60km radius from the coast. A survey design was adopted for the study. The instruments used were observation checklist and interview schedule. The instruments were tested for validity and reliability using five experts drawn from the field. The data collected were analyzed using ethnographic description method of analysis to answer research questions. The natural attractions found include mangrove forest sacred forests sacred rivers lakes beaches fishing rivers natural sources of drinking water and sanctuary. The cultural heritage resources were historical monument shrines museums different cultural festivals cultural materials and slave port. The man-made attractions were recreational park zoological garden and tourism village. It was found that there were more tourism potentials in Port Harcourt study site more than Bonny and Opobo sites and therefore Port Harcourt has comparative advantage over Bonny and Opobo for tourism development. Therefore efforts should be made and scarce resources utilized towards developing those coastal areas with best potentials and comparative advantage over others.

The location of uranium in source rocks and sites of secondary deposition at the Needle's Eye natural analogue site, Dumfries and Galloway

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basham, I.R.; Hyslop, E.K.; Milodowski, A.E.; Pearce, J.M.

1991-01-01

The British Geological Survey has been conducting a coordinated research programme at the natural analogue site of Needle's Eye at Southwick on the Solway coast in south-west Scotland. This study of a naturally radioactive geochemical system has been carried out with the aim of improving our confidence in using predictive models of radionuclide migration in the geosphere. This report describes results of integrated mineralogical techniques which have been applied to the study of both the source-term and sites of secondary accumulation of uranium. Pitchblende in a polymetallic-carbonate breccia vein exposed in ancient sea-cliffs is the main source of labile uranium although other uranium-bearing minerals present in the granodiorite and hornfelsed siltstone host-rocks present probable ancillary leachable sites. In keeping with the complex chemistry of the primary sulphide-rich mineralization, a large variety of secondary U minerals has been recorded among which arsenates and hydrous silicates appear to predominate. Uranium transported in groundwaters draining the cliffs has accumulated in organic-rich estuarine/intertidal mudflat sediments of Quaternary age. Charged particle track registration techniques have demonstrated convincingly the effectiveness of humified organic matter in retarding uranium transport and, coupled with scanning electron microscopy, have indicated the important role of living plants and bacteria in uranium uptake and concentration. Computer codes used: CHEMVAL; CHEMTARD 5 figs.; 64 plates; 37 refs

Development of an Integrated Natural Barrier Database System for Site Evaluation of a Deep Geologic Repository in Korea - 13527

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Haeryong; Lee, Eunyong; Jeong, YiYeong; Lee, Jeong-Hwan

2013-01-01

Korea Radioactive-waste Management Corporation (KRMC) established in 2009 has started a new project to collect information on long-term stability of deep geological environments on the Korean Peninsula. The information has been built up in the integrated natural barrier database system available on web (www.deepgeodisposal.kr). The database system also includes socially and economically important information, such as land use, mining area, natural conservation area, population density, and industrial complex, because some of this information is used as exclusionary criteria during the site selection process for a deep geological repository for safe and secure containment and isolation of spent nuclear fuel and other long-lived radioactive waste in Korea. Although the official site selection process has not been started yet in Korea, current integrated natural barrier database system and socio-economic database is believed that the database system will be effectively utilized to narrow down the number of sites where future investigation is most promising in the site selection process for a deep geological repository and to enhance public acceptance by providing readily-available relevant scientific information on deep geological environments in Korea. (authors)

Natural analogues of radionuclide migration: reconnaissance study of sites (May 1985-March 1986)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hooker, P.J.; Ball, T.K.; Basham, I.R.; Bloodworth, A.J.; Roberts, P.D.; Ivanovich, M.

1986-01-01

Research into natural analogues of radionuclide migration provide data for supporting computer codes that describe the processes of transport and retardation. Such models are appropriate to the far-fields of shallow and deep radioactive waste repositories. The objective of this research project was to define locations within the UK and abroad worthy of detailed investigation. Site investigations and evaluations were carried out at a number of UK localities. The main focus of this survey has been on uraniferous veins in places at near surface where transport of uranium into sediments has occurred. Several uranium rich mineralisations associated with granite margins were visited in Cornwall, Devon and along the Solway Firth coast in Scotland; the disused U mine at South Terras in Cornwall and the coastal site at Needle's Eye near Dalbeattie are confirmed as future study sites. Results to hand from the sediments of Loch Lomand warrant further measurements of iodine and bromine in fresh cores. (author)

Catalytic Pyrolysis of Chilean Oak: Influence of Brønsted Acid Sites of Chilean Natural Zeolite

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Serguei Alejandro Martín

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes the Chilean natural zeolite as catalyst on bio-oil upgrade processes. The aim of this study was to analyze chemical composition of bio-oil samples obtained from catalytic pyrolysis of Chilean native oak in order to increase bio-oil stability during storage. In order to identify chemical compounds before and after storage, biomass pyrolysis was carried out in a fixed bed reactor at 623 K and bio-oil samples were characterized by gas chromatography/mass spectrophotometry (GC/MS. A bio-oil fractionation method was successfully applied here. Results indicate that bio-oil viscosity decreases due to active sites on the zeolite framework. Active acids sites were associated with an increment of alcohols, aldehydes, and hydrocarbon content during storage. Higher composition on aldehydes and alcohols after storage could be attributed to the occurrence of carbonyl reduction reactions that promotes them. These reactions are influenced by zeolite surface characteristics and could be achieved via the direct contribution of Brønsted acid sites to Chilean natural zeolite.

Chemical speciation modelling of the South Terras and Madeira Abyssal Plain natural analogue sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duffield, J.R.; Xu Langqui; Williams, D.R.

1988-11-01

The chemical speciation of uranium has been modelled using field data from the South Terras and Madeira Abyssal Plain natural analogue sites. In general, validation is good, particularly for the Abyssal Plain model. Problems regarding uranium redox couples have been highlighted as have other areas requiring further consideration for building into the thermodynamic models. (author)

The archaeological cultural landscape of the north Thracians: the habitats space in the context of the daily, the production activity and the sacred (VII/VIth-IIIth centuries BC

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Vasile Haheu

2017-09-01

Full Text Available It is currently difficult to highlight the problem of structures which belonged to septentrional thracians both within themselves as well as their internal planning. The case in the Saharna microzone allows us to determine their placement in “nest”, while Little Horodca demonstrates their placement in a row, alongside the valley of Botna. Each of these agglomerations evolves around a fortress-centre. As to their internal structure, we can also observe their placement in rows. In Alcedar we see the presence of a fence which was likely serving as a circling of households. With some objects a public centre was observed – ie. market in the middle of town, surrounded by more pretentious buildings. In many cases, some structures with sacred meaning were discovered – both public and individual. Lately we have observed the promotion of the cultural and archaeological landscape as it highlights the interaction between human, nature, and environment. Only in this way can we reconstruct the livelihoods, every day interactions, productions, and secret believes of the population.

Il Codice Argimusco: ierotopie e ierofanie fra cristianesimo ed eresia medievale

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MILAZZO, Gabriella

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The anthropologist Mircea Eliade introduces the concept of sacred space by providing a clear description of this phenomenon. He explains that every sacred space implies a hierophany; a manifestation of the sacred itself. Hierotopy, on the other hand, according to Lidov, is the creation of the sacred space in order to make an everyday place symbolically different. It represents a form of creativity typical of every culture, and it is a manifestation which is still present in peoples lives and daily activities. Argimusco, a megalithic site in Sicily, seems to perfectly lend itself to this type of study, and although lots of studies in the field of archaeoastronomy have been carried out on this site, only few regarding anthropology have been done. The survey carried out has to take many historical and theological parameters into account, and it becomes difficult for an anthropologist not to form hasty opinions, as he tries to come to an understanding of the meaning that medieval men had given to those stones, still vivid in their collective imagination. The essay begins with the analysis of the ancient cult of the stone, and moves to the various sacred and heretical beliefs of Medieval Christianity. It continues with the study of “alchemical initiation”, and finally touches on the debate concerning the beliefs of gnosticism.

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Tokos and atokion: an examination of natural law reasoning against usury and against contraception.

Science.gov (United States)

Noonan Jt

1965-01-01

"Natural law," which has been appealed to by catholic theologians in their arguments against both usury and contraception, is examined in this essay. Usury was "tokos" to the Greeks, while what caused contraception was "atokion." Beyond this verbal link, usury and contraception share the bond of having both been condemned as contrary to the natural level of generation. An act of lending is naturally sterile; an act of intercourse naturally fertile. These 2 propositions appeared to be the chief rational support of the absolute prohibition by Catholic theologians of any profit on a loan or of any act preventing intercourse from being fertile. The question arises as to why the argument based on nature seemed so superior; psychological and rhetorical satisfactions would seem to account for the choice. The sacral character of coitus to which the argument finally appeals seems no stronge than the usury argument's appeal to the sacred character of time. The claim that coitus was naturally fertile continued long after acceptance of the marriage of sterile individuals, intercourse during pregnancy, and use of the rhythm method. The argument asserted that contraception was an evil which man could grasp. Values dear to all people were endangered by the practice of contraception, and the argument base on nature stood for this proposition.

Scanning ARM Cloud Radars. Part II: Data Quality Control and Processing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kollias, Pavlos; Jo, Ieng; Borque, Paloma; Tatarevic, Aleksandra; Lamer, Katia; Bharadwaj, Nitin; Widener, Kevin B.; Johnson, Karen L.; Clothiaux, Eugene E.

2014-03-01

The Scanning ARM Cloud Radars (SACR’s) are the primary instruments for documenting the four-dimensional structure and evolution of clouds within a 20-30 km radius from the ARM fixed and mobile sites. Here, the post-processing of the calibrated SACR measurements is discussed. First, a feature mask algorithm that objectively determines the presence of significant radar returns is described. The feature mask algorithm is based on the statistical properties of radar receiver noise. It accounts for atmospheric emission and is applicable even for SACR profiles with few or no signal-free range gates. Using the nearest-in-time atmospheric sounding, the SACR radar reflectivities are corrected for gaseous attenuation (water vapor and oxygen) using a line-by-line absorption model. Despite having a high pulse repetition frequency, the SACR has a narrow Nyquist velocity limit and thus Doppler velocity folding is commonly observed. An unfolding algorithm that makes use of a first guess for the true Doppler velocity using horizontal wind measurements from the nearest sounding is described. The retrieval of the horizontal wind profile from the HS-RHI SACR scan observations and/or nearest sounding is described. The retrieved horizontal wind profile can be used to adaptively configure SACR scan strategies that depend on wind direction. Several remaining challenges are discussed, including the removal of insect and second-trip echoes. The described algorithms significantly enhance SACR data quality and constitute an important step towards the utilization of SACR measurements for cloud research.

The Media and/or the Sacred Trinity – Gossip, War, and Conspiracy Theories or “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suzana Marjanić

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Speaking in a global context, the media’s sacred trinity, in the sense of gaining publicity and financing their programs, certainly makes up gossip, focuses on war (of course, the American matrix of war against so-called terrorism and finally conspiracy theories. As it is well-known, it is all about content that sells well. The abovementioned triad is presented on the cases of performance art by local artists/ performance artists (on the example of their criticism of the said material – Milan Božić, Boris Demur, Željko Kipke, Tomislav Gotovac aka Antonio G. Lauer i Siniša Labrović.

Subcellular site and nature of intracellular cadmium in plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, G.J.

1979-01-01

The mechanisms underlying heavy metal accumulation, toxicity and tolerance in higher plants are poorly understood. Since subcellular processes are undoubtedly involved in all these phenomena, it is of interest to study the extent of, subcellular site of and nature of intracellularly accumulated cadmium in higher plants. Whole plants supplied 109 CdCl 2 or 112 CdSO 4 accumulated Cd into roots and aerial tissues. Preparation of protoplasts from aerial tissue followed by subcellular fractionation of the protoplasts to obtain intact vacuoles, chloroplasts and cytosol revealed the presence of Cd in the cytosol but not in vacuoles or chloroplasts. Particulate materials containing other cell components were also labeled. Of the 109 Cd supplied to plants, 2 to 10% was recovered in both cytosol preparations and in particulate materials. Cytosol contained proteinaceous--Cd complexes, free metal and low molecular weight Cd complexes. Labeling of protoplasts gave similar results. No evidence was obtained for the production of volatile Cd complexes in tobacco

Characterization of natural adsorbent material for heavy metal removal in a petrochemical site contamination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bianchi F.

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Despite of over 25 years of intensive technological efforts, sub-surface environment cleanup still remains a challenge, especially in case of highly contaminated sites. In this context, ion exchanger technologies could provide simple and effective solutions for heavy metal removal in water treatment. The challenge is finding exchanger able to operate in extreme natural environments or in situations involving natural interfering species such as inorganic ions. In this paper we exam the use of natural zeolites as versatile exchanger for environmental protection of coastal refinery's groundwater against pollution of Ni, Cd, Pb. The influence of particle diameter on clinoptilolite performances toward heavy metal removal is studied. Also, we evaluate the exchanger activities in condition of high ionic strength, commonly present in groundwater located under coastal petrol industries. The obtained results confirmed that ion exchangers could provide an effective solutions for remediation in complex environmental conditions.

Applicability of monitored natural attenuation at radioactively contaminated sites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-01-15

grouped into three categories: non-intervention, containment and removal. This report discusses in detail the necessary prerequisites, processes involved and applicability of non-intervention as a strategy for dealing with radioactive contamination. Particular emphasis is put on modelling tools as integral elements of monitored natural attenuation (MNA). It provides a comprehensive critique of, and explores the limits of, the applicability of MNA. While MNA is de facto relied upon in many instances where contamination cannot be completely removed from an engineered repository, it is emphasized that non-intervention is not equivalent to a 'do nothing' option. In order to rely on MNA safely, a thorough understanding of the site and the migration behaviour of the contaminants in the given environment is needed. This is gained from a comprehensive site investigation. This report complements other recent reports on remediation techniques and strategies with a less invasive concept. An extensive body of references including relevant web sites will help the reader to find more detailed or more up-to-date information.

Applicability of monitored natural attenuation at radioactively contaminated sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

grouped into three categories: non-intervention, containment and removal. This report discusses in detail the necessary prerequisites, processes involved and applicability of non-intervention as a strategy for dealing with radioactive contamination. Particular emphasis is put on modelling tools as integral elements of monitored natural attenuation (MNA). It provides a comprehensive critique of, and explores the limits of, the applicability of MNA. While MNA is de facto relied upon in many instances where contamination cannot be completely removed from an engineered repository, it is emphasized that non-intervention is not equivalent to a 'do nothing' option. In order to rely on MNA safely, a thorough understanding of the site and the migration behaviour of the contaminants in the given environment is needed. This is gained from a comprehensive site investigation. This report complements other recent reports on remediation techniques and strategies with a less invasive concept. An extensive body of references including relevant web sites will help the reader to find more detailed or more up-to-date information

How does litter quality and site heterogeneity interact on decomposer food webs of a semi-natural forest?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Strandmark, Lisa Bjørnlund; Christensen, Søren

2005-01-01

The relative importance of litter quality and site heterogeneity on population dynamics of decomposer food webs was investigated in a semi-natural mixed deciduous forest in Denmark. Litterbags containing beech or ash leaves were placed in four plots. Plots were located within gaps and under closed...... at the end of the study period. At the first sampling, where bacterial activity prevailed, the relative abundance of the two dominant bacterial-feeders, Rhabditidae (fast growing) and Plectus spp. (slower growing), depended more on site than litter type. At the second sampling where fungal activity became...... in the decomposer food web, site effects were also detected and nematode functional groups responded more to site than to litter quality early on in the decomposition process....

76 FR 47538 - Sacred Sites; Executive Order 13007

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-05

... is available for review and comment at http://www.fs.fed.us/spf/tribalrelations/sacredsites . DATES.... The draft report, and other associated information, is available at: http://www.fs.fed.us/spf...

Rapid assessment of ecosystem services provided by two mineral extraction sites restored for nature conservation in an agricultural landscape in eastern England.

Science.gov (United States)

Blaen, Phillip J; Jia, Li; Peh, Kelvin S-H; Field, Rob H; Balmford, Andrew; MacDonald, Michael A; Bradbury, Richard B

2015-01-01

Despite growing recognition that mineral sites restored for nature conservation can enhance local biodiversity, the wider societal benefits provided by this type of restoration relative to alternative options are not well understood. This study addresses this research gap by quantifying differences in ecosystem services provision under two common mineral site after-uses: nature conservation and agriculture. Using a combination of site-specific primary field data, benefits transfer and modelling, we show that for our sites restoration for nature conservation provides a more diverse array of ecosystem services than would be delivered under an agricultural restoration scenario. We also explore the effects of addressing different conservation targets, which we find alter the provision of ecosystem services on a service-specific basis. Highly species-focused intervention areas are associated with increased carbon storage and livestock grazing provision, whereas non-intervention areas are important for carbon sequestration, fishing, recreation and flood risk mitigation. The results of this study highlight the wider societal importance of restored mineral sites and may help conservation managers and planners to develop future restoration strategies that provide benefits for both biodiversity and human well-being.

The geological, geochemical, topographical and hydrogeological characteristics of the Broubster natural analogue site, Caithness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ball, T.K.; Milodowski, A.E.

1991-01-01

One of the four analogue sites chosen for investigation by the British Geological Survey is the uranium mineralization at Broubster, Caithness, Scotland. Naturally occurring uranium has been leached from a thin mineralized limestone horizon and has been carried by groundwater flow into a peat bog about 100 m away. This process has probably been going on for at least 5 000 years. Standard surveying, hydrogeological and geochemical methods have been applied in the investigation and analysis of the area. Selected samples of the mineralization, peat soils and associated groundwaters have been examined in detail. This report summarizes the main findings accumulated since 1968 when the site was first discovered, and provides a useful information base for further modelling work. 27 refs.; 12 plates; 40 figs.; 17 tabs

Natural course of early COPD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rhee CK

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Chin Kook Rhee,1 Kyungjoo Kim,1 Hyoung Kyu Yoon,2 Jee-Ae Kim,3 Sang Hyun Kim,4 Sang Haak Lee,5 Yong Bum Park,6 Ki-Suck Jung,7 Kwang Ha Yoo,8 Yong Il Hwang7 1Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St Mary’s Hospital, 2Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Yeouido St Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, 3Pharmaceutical Policy Evaluation Research Team, Research Institution, 4Big Data Division, Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, Wonju, 5Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, St Paul’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, 6Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Hallym University Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital, Seoul, 7Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Anyang, 8Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea Background and objective: Few studies have examined the natural course of early COPD. The aim of this study was to observe the natural course of early COPD patients. We also aimed to analyze medical utilization and costs for early COPD during a 6-year period. Methods: Patients with early COPD were selected from Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES data. We linked the KNHANES data of patients with early COPD to National Health Insurance data. Results: A total of 2,397 patients were enrolled between 2007 and 2012. The mean forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1 was 78.6%, and the EuroQol five dimensions questionnaire (EQ-5D index value was 0.9. In total, 110 patients utilized health

Understanding the physical and chemical nature of the warfarin drug binding site in human serum albumin: experimental and theoretical studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Abou-Zied, Osama K

2015-01-01

Human serum albumin (HSA) is one of the major carrier proteins in the body and constitutes approximately half of the protein found in blood plasma. It plays an important role in lipid metabolism, and its ability to reversibly bind a large variety of pharmaceutical compounds makes it a crucial determinant of drug pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. This review deals with one of the protein's major binding sites "Sudlow I" which includes a binding pocket for the drug warfarin (WAR). The binding nature of this important site can be characterized by measuring the spectroscopic changes when a ligand is bound. Using several drugs, including WAR, and other drug-like molecules as ligands, the results emphasize the nature of Sudlow I as a flexible binding site, capable of binding a variety of ligands by adapting its binding pockets. The high affinity of the WAR pocket for binding versatile molecular structures stems from the flexibility of the amino acids forming the pocket. The binding site is shown to have an ionization ability which is important to consider when using drugs that are known to bind in Sudlow I. Several studies point to the important role of water molecules trapped inside the binding site in molecular recognition and ligand binding. Water inside the protein's cavity is crucial in maintaining the balance between the hydrophobic and hydrophilic nature of the binding site. Upon the unfolding and refolding of HSA, more water molecules are trapped inside the binding site which cause some swelling that prevents a full recovery from the denatured state. Better understanding of the mechanism of binding in macromolecules such as HSA and other proteins can be achieved by combining experimental and theoretical studies which produce significant synergies in studying complex biochemical phenomena.

POETICS OF TRANSCENDENCE: STYLISTIC REDUCTION AS A TOOL FOR REPRESENTATION OF SACRED MEANINGS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Brazgovskaya

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The main direction of the work is connected to the representation of abstract (transcendent objects in music and literature. The article analyses "Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten" by Arvo Pärt and some poems of Czesław Miłosz. The metaphysical dimension of reality involves forms and things, existing beyond the boundaries of empirical perception and, at first sight, beyond the descriptive practices. Abstract objects are available in intellectual experience, but culture must transform them into a symbolic form. As a rule, it is connected to the practice of art minimalism. The essence of minimalism is the reduction of number of stylistic tools and “purification” the perception from the visual / auditory images (not a mimetic use of language. For the representation of the sacred Pärt uses only mensural canon form, scale and chord. These “characters” are deprived of descriptive function, but have symbolic potential (canon as a sign of stopped time, the eternal return. The distinctive feature of the Miłoszʼs style is the pursuit to “clean” the signs (indexical and symbolic. There is the reverse side of language distillation: the rejection of the subjective position, emotional experience, the distance between the person and the object of representation.

Palliative Nursing and Sacred Medicine: A Holistic Stance on Entheogens, Healing, and Spiritual Care.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosa, William E; Hope, Stephanie; Matzo, Marianne

2018-04-01

The fields of palliative and holistic nursing both maintain a commitment to the care of the whole person, including a focus on spiritual care. Advanced serious illness may pose a plethora of challenges to patients seeking to create meaning and purpose in their lives. The purpose of this article is to introduce scholarly dialogue on the integration of entheogens, medicines that engender an experience of the sacred, into the spiritual and holistic care of patients experiencing advanced serious illness. A brief history of the global use of entheogens as well as a case study are provided. Clinical trials show impressive preliminary findings regarding the healing potential of these medicinal agents. While other professions, such as psychology, pharmacy, and medicine, are disseminating data related to patient outcomes secondary to entheogen administration, the nursing literature has not been involved in raising awareness of such advancements. Research is illustrating their effectiveness in achieving integrative experiences for patients confronting advanced serious illness and their ability to promote presence, introspection, decreased fear, and increased joy and acceptance. Evidence-based knowledge surrounding this potentially sensitive topic is necessary to invite understanding, promote scientific knowledge development, and create healing environments for patients, nurses, and researchers alike.

Scanning ARM Cloud Radars Part II. Data Quality Control and Processing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kollias, Pavlos [McGill Univ., Montreal, QC (Canada); Jo, Ieng [McGill Univ., Montreal, QC (Canada); Borque, Paloma [McGill Univ., Montreal, QC (Canada); Tatarevic, Aleksandra [McGill Univ., Montreal, QC (Canada); Lamer, Katia [McGill Univ., Montreal, QC (Canada); Bharadwaj, Nitin [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Widener, Kevin B. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Johnson, Karen [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Clothiaux, Eugene E. [Pennsylvania State Univ., State College, PA (United States)

2013-10-04

The Scanning ARM Cloud Radars (SACR’s) are the primary instruments for documenting the four-dimensional structure and evolution of clouds within a 20-30 km radius from the ARM fixed and mobile sites. Here, the post-processing of the calibrated SACR measurements is discussed. First, a feature mask algorithm that objectively determines the presence of significant radar returns is described. The feature mask algorithm is based on the statistical properties of radar receiver noise. It accounts for atmospheric emission and is applicable even for SACR profiles with few or no signal-free range gates. Using the nearest-in-time atmospheric sounding, the SACR radar reflectivities are corrected for gaseous attenuation (water vapor and oxygen) using a line-by-line absorption model. Despite having a high pulse repetition frequency, the SACR has a narrow Nyquist velocity limit and thus Doppler velocity folding is commonly observed. An unfolding algorithm that makes use of a first guess for the true Doppler velocity using horizontal wind measurements from the nearest sounding is described. The retrieval of the horizontal wind profile from the Hemispherical Sky – Range Height Indicator SACR scan observations and/or nearest sounding is described. The retrieved horizontal wind profile can be used to adaptively configure SACR scan strategies that depend on wind direction. Several remaining challenges are discussed, including the removal of insect and second-trip echoes. The described algorithms significantly enhance SACR data quality and constitute an important step towards the utilization of SACR measurements for cloud research.

Hand calculation of safe separation distances between natural gas pipelines and boilers and nuclear facilities in the Hanford site 300 Area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daling, P.M.; Graham, T.M.

1999-01-01

The US Department of Energy has undertaken a project to reduce energy expenditures and improve energy system reliability in the 300 Area of the Hanford Site near Richland, Washington. This project replaced the centralized heating system with heating units for individual buildings or groups of buildings, constructed a new natural-gas distribution system to provide a fuel source for many of these units, and constructed a central control building to operate and maintain the system. The individual heating units include steam boilers that are housed in individual annex buildings located in the vicinity of a number of nuclear facilities operated by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The described analysis develops the basis for siting the package boilers and natural-gas distribution system used to supply steam to PNNL's 300 Area nuclear facilities. Minimum separation distances that would eliminate or reduce the risks of accidental dispersal of radioactive and hazardous materials in nearby nuclear facilities were calculated based on the effects of four potential fire and explosion (detonation) scenarios involving the boiler and natural-gas distribution system. These minimum separation distances were used to support siting decisions for the boilers and natural-gas pipelines

SITE-94. Natural elemental mass movement in the vicinity of the Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, W.M.; Smith, G.M.; Towler, P.A.; Savage, D.

1997-05-01

The primary objective of this study is to quantify natural elemental fluxes at a location exhibiting typical characteristics of a site for a spent fuel repository in Sweden. The relevant pathways are considered to be: Groundwater transport; Glacial erosion; Non-glacial weathering; River transport. Calculations are made of elemental mass fluxes from a volume of rock equivalent to that which would hold a KBS-3 style repository. In addition, the radioactive flux associated with the natural series radionuclide mass fluxes from the repository are also calculated. These can be compared directly to performance assessment predictions of the releases from a repository. 88 refs, 13 figs, 24 tabs

SITE-94. Natural elemental mass movement in the vicinity of the Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miller, W.M.; Smith, G.M.; Towler, P.A.; Savage, D. [QuantiSci, Melton Mowbray (United Kingdom)

1997-05-01

The primary objective of this study is to quantify natural elemental fluxes at a location exhibiting typical characteristics of a site for a spent fuel repository in Sweden. The relevant pathways are considered to be: Groundwater transport; Glacial erosion; Non-glacial weathering; River transport. Calculations are made of elemental mass fluxes from a volume of rock equivalent to that which would hold a KBS-3 style repository. In addition, the radioactive flux associated with the natural series radionuclide mass fluxes from the repository are also calculated. These can be compared directly to performance assessment predictions of the releases from a repository. 88 refs, 13 figs, 24 tabs.

Is There a Specific Ambivalence of the Sacred? Illustrations from the Apparition of Medjugorie and the Movement of Sant’Egidio

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

de Franco, Chiara; Barbato, Mariano; LeNormand, Brigitte

2012-01-01

toward violence. At best, the debate is summarised by Appleby's argument about the ambivalence of the sacred. We argue that this ambivalence is not specific to religious claims but inherent to all public claims about best solutions and fundamental questions in politics. The problem is not the claim......In the debate about the return of religion in politics, religious actors and discourses are viewed with a certain concern. Whereas some defend the peaceful effects of religion, most contributions understand religious truth claims as a challenge to democratic pluralism that presents a tendency...... make strong religious truth claims contributing to peace-building and reconciliation during conflicts where religion was an important dimension: the apparitions of Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the movement of Sant'Egidio in Algeria....

Evaluation of natural attenuation processes in the groundwater of a tar oil contaminated site: development of a monitoring network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borke, P.; Husers, N.; Werner, P.; Leibenath, C.

2005-01-01

Tar oil is a complex mixture of mainly aromatic hydrocarbons. It is found in the subsurface of manufactured gas plants (MGP), coking plants or wood preserving facilities. The transportation into the soil and groundwater stands for a severe contamination. This is due to the physico-chemical properties of the DNAPL (dense non aqueous phase liquid) and its mobility in the soil and aquifer system. Additionally most of the contaminants show a low biological degradability and solubility under in situ conditions. Therefore it is known as a long term source of contamination. Nevertheless, natural attenuation (NA) processes are detectable at tar oil contaminated sites. In the thematic network two of the German funding priority KORA (http://www.natural-attenuation.de) these processes are matter of investigation. Four typical contaminated sites were chosen to evaluate under which circumstances monitored natural attenuation (MNA) is applicable. Furthermore enhanced natural attenuation questions are examined. The design of monitoring networks at tar oil contaminated sites plays a significant role in gaining field evidence for natural attenuation as well as documenting the efficiency of the attenuation processes and evaluating the matching of performance goals. Well designed monitoring networks include the placement of monitoring wells in 3D so that 3D flow path, mass balances and an estimation of mass flux can be monitored. As an example the history of the monitoring network of a wood preserving facility is shown. Starting from a risk assessment network to a network for MNA is presented. In this case for example especially the determination of the groundwater flow direction in time and space is connected to the number of observation wells and their location. Moreover in the beginning the observation wells were located according to the assumed centerline of the plume. Because of the variability of the groundwater flow direction and the need to determine mass flux a control plane

Natural Attenuation of Chlorinated Solvents Performance and Cost Results from Multiple Air Force Demonstration Sites, Technology Demonstration Slide Presentation

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Wiedemeier, Todd

1999-01-01

This slide presentation summarizes the results of natural attenuation treatability studies at 14 Air Force sites contaminated with chlorinated solvents and their associated biodegradation daughter products...

Mobility of radionuclides and trace elements in soil from legacy NORM and undisturbed naturally 232Th-rich sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Mrdakovic Popic, Jelena; Meland, Sondre; Salbu, Brit; Skipperud, Lindis

2014-05-01

Investigation of radionuclides (232Th and 238U) and trace elements (Cr, As and Pb) in soil from two legacy NORM (former mining sites) and one undisturbed naturally 232Th-rich site was conducted as a part of the ongoing environmental impact assessment in the Fen Complex area (Norway). The major objectives were to determine the radionuclide and trace element distribution and mobility in soils as well as to analyze possible differences between legacy NORM and surrounding undisturbed naturally 232Th-rich soils. Inhomogeneous soil distribution of radionuclides and trace elements was observed for each of the investigated sites. The concentration of 232Th was high (up to 1685 mg kg(-1), i.e., ∼7000 Bq kg(-1)) and exceeded the screening value for the radioactive waste material in Norway (1 Bq g(-1)). Based on the sequential extraction results, the majority of 232Th and trace elements were rather inert, irreversibly bound to soil. Uranium was found to be potentially more mobile, as it was associated with pH-sensitive soil phases, redox-sensitive amorphous soil phases and soil organic compounds. Comparison of the sequential extraction datasets from the three investigated sites revealed increased mobility of all analyzed elements at the legacy NORM sites in comparison with the undisturbed 232Th-rich site. Similarly, the distribution coefficients Kd (232Th) and Kd (238U) suggested elevated dissolution, mobility and transportation at the legacy NORM sites, especially at the decommissioned Nb-mining site (346 and 100 L kg(-1) for 232Th and 238U, respectively), while the higher sorption of radionuclides was demonstrated at the undisturbed 232Th-rich site (10,672 and 506 L kg(-1) for 232Th and 238U, respectively). In general, although the concentration ranges of radionuclides and trace elements were similarly wide both at the legacy NORM and at the undisturbed 232Th-rich sites, the results of soil sequential extractions together with Kd values supported the expected differences

The long-term durability of low alkali cements. Evidence from new natural analog sites in Europe and North Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alexander, W. Russell; Laine, Heini M.; Khoury, Hani

2015-01-01

The long-term durability of low alkali cements is of interest where they are under consideration as repository tunnel and exploration borehole seals and plugs. It is essential to have an appropriate understanding of their longevity to inform decisions on their potential use in a repository environment. Archaelogical analogues of low alkali cement have been studied for some time. Thomassin and Rassineux (1992), for example, reviewed some of the literature on Gallo-Roman cement-based materials and noted that one of the most impressive examples is the 1700 year old Roman mortar used in Hadrian's Wall (UK) which still contains substantial amounts of CSH (calcium silicate hydrate) compounds. These mortars were studied specifically with the behaviour of an ILW repository in mind (Jull and Lees 1990). However, plugs and seals will generally be required to be durable for longer than the few thousand years which can be accessed via archaeological analogues, so it is essential to turn to natural systems for evidence of longer term durability. To date, there have been no reported studies on natural low alkali cements. In principle, however, such cements should exist and the Bituminous Marl Formation, which hosts the natural OPC cements in Jordan (Pitty and Alexander, 2011), is a likely source. This Formation constitutes a widespread terrain which stretches from Syria in the north, through Israel and Jordan to Saudi Arabia in the south. The natural cement was formed by the combustion of organic rich limestones, a process which continues today. In Syria and northern Jordan, for example, the Formation is punctured by Late Oligocene to Quaternary volcanics so sites which include pozzolanic ash mixed with the Bituminous Marl exist and, on combustion, should produce natural low alkali cements. A site in northern Jordan is currently under investigation for evidence of long-term fresh groundwater/low alkali cement interaction and the preliminary results of the study will be

The long-term durability of low alkali cements. Evidence from new natural analog sites in Europe and North Africa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alexander, W. Russell [Bedrock Geosciences, Auenstein (Switzerland); Laine, Heini M. [Saanio and Riekkola Oy, Helsinki (Finland); Khoury, Hani [Jordan Univ., Amman (Jordan). Dept. of Geology

2015-07-01

The long-term durability of low alkali cements is of interest where they are under consideration as repository tunnel and exploration borehole seals and plugs. It is essential to have an appropriate understanding of their longevity to inform decisions on their potential use in a repository environment. Archaelogical analogues of low alkali cement have been studied for some time. Thomassin and Rassineux (1992), for example, reviewed some of the literature on Gallo-Roman cement-based materials and noted that one of the most impressive examples is the 1700 year old Roman mortar used in Hadrian's Wall (UK) which still contains substantial amounts of CSH (calcium silicate hydrate) compounds. These mortars were studied specifically with the behaviour of an ILW repository in mind (Jull and Lees 1990). However, plugs and seals will generally be required to be durable for longer than the few thousand years which can be accessed via archaeological analogues, so it is essential to turn to natural systems for evidence of longer term durability. To date, there have been no reported studies on natural low alkali cements. In principle, however, such cements should exist and the Bituminous Marl Formation, which hosts the natural OPC cements in Jordan (Pitty and Alexander, 2011), is a likely source. This Formation constitutes a widespread terrain which stretches from Syria in the north, through Israel and Jordan to Saudi Arabia in the south. The natural cement was formed by the combustion of organic rich limestones, a process which continues today. In Syria and northern Jordan, for example, the Formation is punctured by Late Oligocene to Quaternary volcanics so sites which include pozzolanic ash mixed with the Bituminous Marl exist and, on combustion, should produce natural low alkali cements. A site in northern Jordan is currently under investigation for evidence of long-term fresh groundwater/low alkali cement interaction and the preliminary results of the study will be

The Role of Informal Protected Areas in Maintaining Biodiversity in the Western Ghats of India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shonil A. Bhagwat

2005-06-01

Full Text Available Although it is widely believed that an important function of protected areas is to conserve species that are unable to survive elsewhere, there are very few empirical studies in which a comparison is made between biodiversity of protected areas and that of the cultivated landscape surrounding them. We examined the diversity of trees, birds, and macrofungi at 58 sites in three land-use types in a tree-covered landscape in Kodagu district in the Western Ghats of India. Ten forest reserve sites in the formal protected area, and 25 sacred groves and 23 coffee plantations in the neighboring cultivated landscape were sampled. A total of 215 tree, 86 bird, and 163 macrofungus species were recorded. The forest reserve had a large number of trees that were restricted in their distribution, and the sacred groves had a large number of macrofungi. We observed that deciduous trees and non-forest-dwelling birds increased, and evergreen trees and forest-dwelling birds decreased with increasing intensity of land management. We found that trees having non-timber uses and macrofungi useful to the local people, as well as those with medicinal properties, were abundant in sacred groves. We found no significant differences in the distribution of endemic and threatened birds across the three land-use types. Although endemic trees were more abundant in the forest reserve than in sacred groves, threatened trees were more abundant in sacred groves than in the forest reserve. We attribute the high diversity in sacred groves to the native tree cover in shade coffee plantations. We conclude that informal protected areas are as important as formal ones for biodiversity conservation in Kodagu. We recommend that a conservation strategy that recognizes informal protection traditions is essential for successful biodiversity conservation in regions where formal reserves are surrounded by a matrix of cultivated land.

An evaluation of water quality in private drinking water wells near natural gas extraction sites in the Barnett Shale formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Fontenot, Brian E; Hunt, Laura R; Hildenbrand, Zacariah L; Carlton, Doug D; Oka, Hyppolite; Walton, Jayme L; Hopkins, Dan; Osorio, Alexandra; Bjorndal, Bryan; Hu, Qinhong H; Schug, Kevin A

2013-09-03

Natural gas has become a leading source of alternative energy with the advent of techniques to economically extract gas reserves from deep shale formations. Here, we present an assessment of private well water quality in aquifers overlying the Barnett Shale formation of North Texas. We evaluated samples from 100 private drinking water wells using analytical chemistry techniques. Analyses revealed that arsenic, selenium, strontium and total dissolved solids (TDS) exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency's Drinking Water Maximum Contaminant Limit (MCL) in some samples from private water wells located within 3 km of active natural gas wells. Lower levels of arsenic, selenium, strontium, and barium were detected at reference sites outside the Barnett Shale region as well as sites within the Barnett Shale region located more than 3 km from active natural gas wells. Methanol and ethanol were also detected in 29% of samples. Samples exceeding MCL levels were randomly distributed within areas of active natural gas extraction, and the spatial patterns in our data suggest that elevated constituent levels could be due to a variety of factors including mobilization of natural constituents, hydrogeochemical changes from lowering of the water table, or industrial accidents such as faulty gas well casings.

Mechanistic and "natural" body metaphors and their effects on attitudes to hormonal contraception.

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, Susan

2012-01-01

A small, self-selected convenience sample of male and female contraceptive users in the United Kingdom (n = 34) were interviewed between 2006 and 2008 concerning their feelings about the body and their contraceptive attitudes and experiences. The interviewees were a sub-sample of respondents (n = 188) who completed a paper-based questionnaire on similar topics, who were recruited through a poster placed in a family planning clinic, web-based advertisements on workplace and university websites, and through direct approaches to social groups. The bodily metaphors used when discussing contraception were analyzed using an interpretative phenomenological analytical approach facilitated by Atlas.ti software. The dominant bodily metaphor was mechanistic (i.e.,"body as machine"). A subordinate but influential bodily metaphor was the "natural" body, which had connotations of connection to nature and a quasi-sacred bodily order. Interviewees drew upon this "natural" metaphorical image in the context of discussing their anxieties about hormonal contraception. Drawing upon a "natural," non-mechanistic body image in the context of contraceptive decision-making contributed to reluctance to use a hormonal form of contraception. This research suggests that clinicians could improve communication and advice about contraception by recognizing that some users may draw upon non-mechanistic body imagery.

O sagrado no romance hispano-americano do século XX (The sacred in the Hispanic-American novel of the 20th century - DOI: 10.5752/P.2175-5841.2013v11n29p279

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Lucia Trevisan

2013-03-01

Full Text Available O trabalho estuda as formas de representação do sagrado no romance hispano-americano do século XX e propõe uma reflexão sobre algumas formas de utilização das mitologias e tradições religiosas pela literatura. A presença das narrativas sagradas no texto literário do século XX surge marcada por uma renovada experiência estética, pois não se trata apenas de utilizar ou reutilizar uma temática exótica, mas, sim, perceber um potencial tradutor de verdades universais, imanentes aos textos religiosos ou mitologias ancestrais. O artigo propõe uma reflexão sobre as particularidades da produção literária europeia e hispano-americana, que utilizam os temas sagrados, a fim de perceber as consonâncias e dissonâncias estéticas e históricas. O fenômeno estético denominado “mitologismo”, estudado por E.M. Mielietinski, pode ser entendido como um modus operandi da estruturação do romance que conjuga literatura e relatos sagrados e, neste estudo, fundamenta a discussão sobre a heterogeneidade cultural dos povos hispânicos expressa em suas representações literárias. Palavras-chave: Romance . Mitologias. Religião. Hispano-América. Abstract This article studies the forms of representation of the sacred in the Hispanic-American novel of the 20th century and proposes a reflection on some ways of using the mythological and religious traditions by literature. The presence of sacred narratives in the literary texts of the 20th century is marked by a renewed aesthetic experience, once it does not only refer to using or re-using an exotic theme, but perceiving a potential translator of universal truths, immanent to religious texts or mythological ancestors. The present proposal offers a reflection on the peculiarities of European and Hispanic-American productions which make use of sacred themes, meaning to understand the aesthetic and historical consonances and dissonances. The aesthetic phenomenon named “mythologism”, studied

Rationalization of indigenous male circumcision as a sacred religious custom: health beliefs of Xhosa men in South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Mavundla, Thandisizwe Redford; Netswera, Fulufelo Godfrey; Bottoman, Brian; Toth, Ferenc

2009-10-01

This article presents research findings based on the meaning of indigenous circumcision to Xhosa men in South Africa. In South Africa, male circumcision is a rite of passage from adolescence to adulthood. The country has experienced serious problems associated with the practice of this rite ranging from dehydration to death in the traditional "bush" circumcision schools. A qualitative, endogenous research "How do you experience having a son who is undergoing the circumcision rite?" The study revealed cultural circumcision as a "sacred religious practice" with five themes, namely (a) readiness of Xhosa families to engage in the circumcision ritual, (b) the act of circumcision and preparation for manhood, (c) the importance of symbolic purity during the circumcision ritual, (d) celebrating acquired manhood, and (5) aspects of manhood and the rejection of clinical care. Secondary to this are health promotion recommendations made for individuals involved in this ritual.

Summary of Natural Resources that Potentially Influence Human Intrusion at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site, Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

NSTec Environmental Management

2007-01-01

In 1993, Raytheon Services Nevada completed a review of natural resource literature and other sources to identify potentially exploitable resources and potential future land uses near the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS) of the Nevada Test Site (NTS), Nye County, Nevada, that could lead to future inadvertent human intrusion and subsequent release of radionuclides to the accessible environment. National Security Technologies, LLC, revised the original limited-distribution document to conform to current editorial standards and U.S. Department of Energy requirements for public release. The researchers examined the potential for future development of sand, gravel, mineral, petroleum, water resources, and rural land uses, such as agriculture, grazing, and hunting. The study was part of the performance assessment for Greater Confinement Disposal boreholes. Sand and gravel are not considered exploitable site resources because the materials are common throughout the area and the quality at the Area 5 RWMS is not ideal for typical commercial uses. Site information also indicates a very low mineral potential for the area. None of the 23 mining districts in southern Nye County report occurrences of economic mineral deposits in unconsolidated alluvium. The potential for oil and natural gas is low for southern Nye County. No occurrences of coal, tar sand, or oil shale on the NTS are reported in available literature. Several potential future uses of water were considered. Agricultural irrigation is impractical due to poor soils and existing water supply regulations. Use of water for geothermal energy development is unlikely because temperatures are too low for typical commercial applications using current technology. Human consumption of water has the most potential for cause of intrusion. The economics of future water needs may create a demand for the development of deep carbonate aquifers in the region. However, the Area 5 RWMS is not an optimal location for

Site Closure Strategy Model for Creosote Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coll, F.R.; Gray, D.R.

2009-01-01

In conjunction with RCRA site corrective action at an active wood preserving facility, a risk-based site closure strategy was developed and incorporated the performance of a dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) source recovery remedy, a monitored natural attenuation (MNA) remedy for dissolved phase groundwater, and institutional controls. Innovative creosote DNAPL source recovery has been undertaken at the Site since 1998. Pooled creosote DNAPL is present 90 feet below ground within a transmissive sand and gravel aquifer with a saturated thickness of approximately 80 feet. The creosote DNAPL source is situated on the property boundary of the site and has generated a 1/2 mile off-site dissolved phase plume, creating significant NAPL management and remedial technology verification issues. To date, over 120,000 gallons of creosote DNAPL have been recovered from the subsurface utilizing a modified circulation well technology. A mass discharge flux protocol was developed to serve as a major performance metrics for the continuation of source removal efforts and to support the application of monitored natural attenuation as an associated remedial technology for groundwater. The mass removal success has supported the MNA remedy for dissolved phase groundwater and the associated development of institutional controls. The enacted site management strategy outlines the current and future risk management activities for the Site and represents an appropriate site closure strategy for the Site. (authors)

Coastal Vulnerability and risk assessment of infrastructures, natural and cultural heritage sites in Greece.

Science.gov (United States)

Alexandrakis, George; Kampanis, Nikolaos

2016-04-01

The majority of human activities are concentrated around coastal areas, making coastline retreat, a significant threat to coastal infrastructure, thus increasing protection cost and investment revenue losses. In this study the management of coastal areas in terms of protecting coastal infrastructures, cultural and environmental heritage sites, through risk assessment analysis is been made. The scope is to provide data for spatial planning for future developments in the coastal zone and the protection of existing ones. Also to determine the impact of coastal changes related to the loss of natural resources, agricultural land and beaches. The analysis is based on a multidisciplinary approach, combining environmental, spatial and economic data. This can be implemented by integrating the assessment of vulnerability of coasts, the spatial distribution and structural elements of coastal infrastructure (transport, tourism, and energy) and financial data by region, in a spatial database. The approach is based on coastal vulnerability estimations, considering sea level rise, land loss, extreme events, safety, adaptability and resilience of infrastructure and natural sites. It is based on coupling of environmental indicators and econometric models to determine the socio-economic impact in coastal infrastructure, cultural and environmental heritage sites. The indicators include variables like the coastal geomorphology; coastal slope; relative sea-level rise rate; shoreline erosion/accretion rate; mean tidal range and mean wave height. The anthropogenic factors include variables like settlements, sites of cultural heritage, transport networks, land uses, significance of infrastructure (e.g. military, power plans) and economic activities. The analysis in performed by a GIS application. The forcing variables are determined with the use of sub-indices related to coastal geomorphology, climate and wave variables and the socioeconomics of the coastal zone. The Greek coastline in

Natural attenuation of trichloroethene and its degradation products at a lake-shore site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

An, Youn-Joo; Kampbell, Donald H.; Weaver, James W.; Wilson, John T.; Jeong, Seung-Woo

2004-01-01

Subsurface contamination by trichloroethene (TCE) was detected at a Michigan National Priorities List (NPL) site in 1982. The TCE plume resulted from the disposal of spent solvent and other chemicals at an industrial facility located in the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. TCE degradation products of three dichloroethene (DCE) isomers, vinyl chloride (VC) and ethene were present. The plume was depleted of oxygen and methanogenic at certain depths. Transects of the plume were sampled by slotted auger borings the year after the TCE plume was first discovered. Water samples were also taken from lake sediments to a depth of 12 m about 100 m offshore. Later samples were taken along the shoreline of the lake with a hand-driven probe. Later in 1998 water was taken from sediments about 3-m from the shoreline. The average concentration of each chemical and net apparent base coefficient between appropriate pairs of transects between the lower site and lakeshore were calculated. Loss rates were then calculated from an analytical solution of the two-dimensional advective-dispersive-reactive transport equation. Net apparent rate coefficients and a set of coupled reaction rate equations were used to extract the apparent loss coefficients. This study showed the field evidence for natural attenuation of TCE. - Field investigation of TCE contamination at a lake-shore site indicates that TCE is anaerobically degrading under ambient conditions

Imagining Exodus for Israel-Palestine: Reading the Secular and the Sacred, Diaspora and Homeland, in Edward Said and David Grossman

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Anna Hartnell

2005-03-01

Full Text Available This paper takes as its starting point Edward Said's distinction between 'religious' and 'secular' modes of cultural affiliation. As these simultaneously diverging and converging modes also trammel the particular grounds of thinking that have been Said's natural target of criticism - Zionism - his work speaks particularly powerfully to the debate surrounding the religious genealogy of Jewish identity. This paper argues that Said's interventions on Zionism highlight as problematic the position whereby the 'Ingathering of the Exiles' is promoted as coexisting with a 'diasporic consciousness' nurtured by Judaism during exile; messianic hopes of religious Jews cannot be reconciled with physical return to the Promised Land; identity circumscribed by ethnicity and place cannot stand in as exemplary for the exiled, unsettled and ultimately homeless identity trumpeted by discourses of the 'post', as many contemporary theorists would have it. And yet through an exploration of the writings of David Grossman, whose construction of Jewish identity is envisaged through the regulating, competing and collaborating tropes of Zionism and Diaspora, I argue that this position is crucial for the elaboration of Israeli identity. I also argue that in fact there is room within Said's thinking both for the anti-essentialist elaboration of 'homeless' identities as well as 'the permission to narrate' an identity politics, and that his own distinction between the 'secular' and the 'religious' begins to disassemble. I explore this blurring of the sacred and the secular through the prism of Exodus - as both concept and narrative. This paper suggests that it is precisely Said's achievement to embody these tensions between religion and its other, divine providence and human agency, historical materialism and postmodernism, alienation and its perennially tempting opposite: home.

Long term developments in irradiated natural uranium processing costs. Optimal size and siting of plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thiriet, L.

1964-01-01

The aim of this paper is to help solve the problem of the selection of optimal sizes and sites for spent nuclear fuel processing plants associated with power capacity programmes already installed. Firstly, the structure of capital and running costs of irradiated natural uranium processing plants is studied, as well as the influence of plant sizes on these costs and structures. Shipping costs from the production site to the plant must also be added to processing costs. An attempt to reach a minimum cost for the production of a country or a group of countries must therefore take into account both the size and the location of the plants. The foreseeable shipping costs and their structure (freight, insurance, container cost and depreciation), for spent natural uranium are indicated. Secondly, for various annual spent fuel reprocessing programmes, the optimal sizes and locations of the plants are determined. The sensitivity of the results to the basic assumptions relative to processing costs, shipping costs, the starting up year of the plant programme and the length of period considered, is also tested. - this rather complex problem, of a combinative nature, is solved through dynamic programming methods. - It is shown that these methods can also be applied to the problem of selecting the optimal sizes and locations of processing plants for MTR type fuel elements, related to research reactor programmes, as well as to future plutonium element processing plants related to breeder reactors. Thirdly, the case where yearly extraction of the plutonium contained in the irradiated natural uranium is not compulsory is examined; some stockpiling of the fuel is then allowed some years, entailing delayed processing. The load factor of such plants is thus greatly improved with respect to that of plants where the annual plutonium demand is strictly satisfied. By including spent natural uranium stockpiling costs an optimal rhythm of introduction and optimal sizes for spent fuel

Microbial utilization of naturally occurring hydrocarbons at the Guaymas Basin hydrothermal vent site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bazylinski, D.A.; Wirsen, C.O.; Jannasch, H.W.

1989-01-01

The Guaymas Basin (Gulf of California; depth, 2,000 m) is a site of hydrothermal activity in which petroliferous materials is formed by thermal alteration of deposited planktonic and terrestrial organic matter. We investigated certain components of these naturally occurring hydrocarbons as potential carbon sources for a specific microflora at these deep-sea vent sites. Respiratory conversion of [1- 14 C]hexadecane and [1(4,5,8)- 14 C]naphthalene to 14 CO 2 was observed at 4 degree C and 25 degree C, and some was observed at 55 degree C, but none was observed at 80 degree C. Bacterial isolates were capable of growing on both substrates as the sole carbon source. All isolates were aerobic and mesophilic with respect to growth on hydrocarbons but also grew at low temperatures (4 to 5 degree C). These results correlate well with previous geochemical analyses, indicating microbial hydrocarbon degradation, and show that at least some of the thermally produced hydrocarbons at Guaymas Basin are significant carbon sources to vent microbiota

Reading Images of Christ: Masculinity and Homosexuality as Sites of Struggle in Popular Religious Images of Jesus

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Judith Samson

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The attitude towards homosexuality has become one of the key markers of political identity. In Europe as well as in Northern America it has been used by different groups to promote their views. Especially between fundamentalist Christians and politically as well as religiously liberal people it has become a significant topic of contestation. This article argues that this struggle not only takes place on a textual, but also on a visual discursive level, in which the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is central. An analysis of the representation of Jesus’ masculinity in this image shows that different groups, Polish fundamentalists at a pilgrimage site and liberal American producers of a satiric website, use different versions of the same image to either counter or support public acceptance of homosexuality.

Natural Recharge to the Unconfined Aquifer System on the Hanford Site from the Greater Cold Creek Watershed: Progress Report 2004

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Waichler, Scott R.; Wigmosta, Mark S.; Coleman, Andre M.

2004-09-14

Movement of contaminants in groundwater at the Hanford Site is heavily dependent on recharge to the unconfined aquifer. As the effects of past artificial discharges dissipate, the water table is expected to return to more natural conditions, and natural recharge will become the driving force when evaluating future groundwater flow conditions and related contaminant transport. Previous work on the relationship of natural recharge to groundwater movement at the Hanford Site has focused on direct recharge from infiltrating rainfall and snowmelt within the area represented by the Sitewide Groundwater Model (SGM) domain. However, part of the groundwater recharge at Hanford is provided by flow from Greater Cold Creek watershed (GCC), a large drainage area on the western boundary of the Hanford Site that includes Cold Creek Valley, Dry Creek Valley, and the Hanford side of Rattlesnake Mountain. This study was undertaken to estimate the recharge from GCC, which is believed to enter the unconfined aquifer as both infiltrating streamflow and shallow subsurface flow. To estimate recharge, the Distributed Hydrology-Soil-Vegetation Model (DHSVM) was used to simulate a detailed water balance of GCC from 1956 to 2001 at a spatial resolution of 200~m and a temporal resolution of one hour. For estimating natural recharge to Hanford from watersheds along its western and southwestern boundaries, the most important aspects that need to be considered are 1)~distribution and relative magnitude of precipitation and evapotranspiration over the watershed, 2)~streamflow generation at upper elevations and infiltration at lower elevations during rare runoff events, and 3)~permeability of the basalt bedrock surface underlying the soil mantle.

Radionuclide transport and retention in natural rock formations. Ruprechtov site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noseck, U.; Brasser, T.

2006-05-01

Deep geological disposal is based on a multi-barrier concept in which clay materials often play an important role as geological barriers. Detailed investigations of suitable geological analogues may lead to a better understanding of the complex interrelations between transport and sorption of radionuclides in argillaceous media under natural conditions, and especially on very long-term scales relevant for Performance assessment (PA). The Ruprechtov site was chosen because its geological and geochemical conditions are similar to sedimentary sequences which cover often potential host rocks for underground waste repositories. It is situated in the north-western part of the Czech Republic in a Tertiary basin of the Eger (Ohre) rift composed of clay and organic material (coal, lignite), with places of high uranium conentrations. With a bilateral project this site has been investigated by GRS, Germany and NRI, Czech Republic in order to identify the main mobilisation/immobilisation processes for PA-relevant elements, namely uranium. The work presented here is a continuation of the previous project phase. In this last project phase the site investigation was limited to a small area of about 200 m 3 . Three exploration boreholes and two boreholes for detailed investigation were available at that time. The main intention of the new project phase was to enlarge the investigation area, in order to better understand the structure and the hydrogeochemical conditions of the overall system. On the one hand this includes the characterisation of the hydrogeological conditions in order to understand the regional groundwater flow and potential uranium transport processes on a larger spatial scale. Therefore the spatial extension of uranium-rich layers, water-bearing horizons and lithological units as well as groundwater ages and flow directions need to be determined. On that basis a conceptual model for the groundwater flow at Ruprechtov site can be developed. On the other hand it

33 CFR 148.737 - What environmental statutes must an applicant follow?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... (ASA), 43 U.S.C. 2102, et. seq.; American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA), 42 U.S.C. 1996, et. seq... Sites Act, 16 U.S.C. 46, et. seq.; Indian Sacred Sites, E.O. 13007, 61 FR 26771; Intergovernmental...

Site properties for Crimean juniper (Juniperus excelsa) in semi-natural forests of south western Anatolia, Turkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Ozkan, Kürsad; Gulsoy, Serkan; Aerts, Raf; Muys, Bart

2010-01-01

We explored the semi-natural forests in south western Anatolia along a gradient between Mediterranean and continental climates to determine the site requirements of Juniperus excelsa in Turkey. We hypothesized that environmental variables and indicator species can be used to predict differences in occurrence and cover of J. excelsa and can therefore support decision making in reforestation management planning. Plant species composition and environmental variables were assessed in 153 plots. Association between J. excelsa and other plant species and environmental variables were analyzed using Fisher exact probability tests and stepwise discriminant analysis. High altitude (> 1000 m) as a proxy for an Oromediterranean climate, and high surface stoniness as a proxy for low competition by other tree species, are positive site properties for J. excelsa. The tree species avoids Eumediterranean and Supramediterranean plant communities. Twelve plant species, including the herbs Dianthus zonatus, Ajuga chamaepitys and Paronchia carica and the shrub Cotoneaster nummularia may be used as site indicators for J. excelsa restoration. Platanus orientalis, with similar site requirements but at present negatively associated to J. excelsa due to competitive effects, may be considered an additional indicator if stand conversion (harvesting and replacing P. orientalis) is part of the management plan.

Traditionally protected forests and nature conservation in the North ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A total of 920 traditionally protected forests have been found in sample areas in Handeni District (23 villages) and Mwanga District (Usangi and Ugweno Divisions). The size of the forests is between 0.125 and 200 ha. In earlier times sacred forests (one of the seven different types of traditionally protected forests in Handeni) ...

Sacred Land –Roman Empire – Byzantium — Rus’: The Concept of Heredity in Old Russian Literature

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Vladimir M. Kirillin

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The article examines the history of the idea of connection, succession, and hereditybetween Old Rus’, on the one hand, and such ancient political and spiritual centers ofthe Christian world as Jerusalem, Rome, and Constantinople on the other, within theOld Russian political thought. This idea was never documented in particular treatisesbut was nonetheless present in fictional, polemical and didactic works whether as amarginal or central theme, whether directly or allegorically. The author of the article considerably extends the circle of sources that drew retrospective analogies between Russian history and Sacred Land history. Indirect parallels in the “Word about the Law and the Grace” become explicit and specific in the hagiographic legend about Kiev Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich and later recur, with different accents, in a number of literary texts in the 15 th –17 th centuries, reflecting the course of Russian history. In these texts, we encounter a division between Rome as a symbol of imperial mundane power associated with state politics, and Jerusalem as a symbol of the Kingdom of God associated with church and religion.

Natural science research of the Bulgar fortified settlement site (preliminary results

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Golyeva Alexandra A.

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The article presents the first results of the comprehensive scientific research conducted on the Bulgar fortified settlement site in 2011. Samples for analysis were selected in the form of series of vertical columns from excavation walls. The species of trees used in the construction, the composition of the mud bricks and the bonding mortar, as well as the genesis of individual cultural layers have been identified. It has been found out that the settlement development and functioning had been reciprocating in nature: periods of intense habitation of its individual sections were followed by short stages of desolation. In all investigated soil columns with the cultural layers there are streaks consisting solely of phytoliths and cuticle casts. A possible explanation of the phenomenon may be that the plot was covered with layers of manure of significant length and capacity. This conclusion is debatable and requires further research.

Sacred, Secular, and Ecological Discourses: the Sethusamudram Project

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Feagans, Carl T.

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The nature of discourse in public culture has changed significantly if not noticeably in just the past few decades. The Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project (SSCP intended to create a commercial shipping lane between India and Sri Lanka demonstrates the nature of this change in discourse, which seems focused around the convergence of traditional news media and public commentary through the medium of the Internet which increases the reach of news as well as the speed with which that news arrives to its audience. Just two decades earlier, at a time when the Internet was very young, many of the same political parties and government agencies involved with the SSCP were also involved in the Babri Mosque controversy which culminated in the deaths of perhaps 2000 people as well as the destruction of an historical site, the mosque itself. While many factors are likely to have contributed, the SSCP controversy, in which thousands of concerned Hindus mobilized in protests, resulted in little if no injury or damage to property. This was, perhaps, due in part to the nature of the public discourse.La naturaleza del discurso en la cultura pública ha experimentado cambios notables en el transcurso de unas décadas. El análisis del proyecto Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project (SSCP para la creación de una línea de navegación comercial entre la India y Sri Lanka muestra el efecto de este cambio en el que Internet ha sido decisivo debido a la mayor afluencia de noticias y a su rápida difusión respecto de los medios tradicionales de comunicación y de creación de opinión pública. Solo dos décadas atrás, cuando Internet iniciaba su andadura, muchos de los partidos políticos y agencias gubernamentales involucrados en el SSCP se vieron implicados en el polémico asunto de la Mezquita de Babri que culminó con la muerte de casi 2.000 personas así como con la destrucción del propio monumento. Aunque indudablemente hay que tener en cuenta otros factores

Restoration Practices Used on Post Mining Sites and Industrial Deposits in the Czech Republic with an Example of Natural Restoration of Granodiorite Quarries and Spoil Heaps

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Chuman Tomáš

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Mining of minerals that have significant impact on landscape and landscape functions affects 1% of the land surface worldwide. In the Czech Republic the extent of mining sites is estimated to be more than 800 km2 and according to the state legislation the land affected by mining should be reclaimed. There are several approaches to land restoration, which are shortly reviewed in this article, from pure technical approach to one adopting natural processes. The review shows increasing appeal of scientist and conservationist to use natural processes e.g. natural or directed succession as an alternative method of post-mining sites or industrial deposits restoration due to growing evidence of conservational value of such sites in human dominated landscapes. The natural processes used for land restoration are often argued to be slow therefore the rate of spontaneous vegetation succession was assessed in stone quarries and on spoil heaps using a sequence of panchromatic aerial images. The results showed that natural processes act fast and vegetation can reach 100% cover within 10-15 years in granodiorite quarries and on spoil heaps.

Native Geosciences: Strengthening the Future Through Tribal Traditions

Science.gov (United States)

Bolman, J. R.; Quigley, I.; Douville, V.; Hollow Horn Bear, D.

2008-12-01

Native people have lived for millennia in distinct and unique ways in our natural sacred homelands and environments. Tribal cultures are the expression of deep understandings of geosciences shared through oral histories, language and ceremonies. Today, Native people as all people are living in a definite time of change. The developing awareness of "change" brings forth an immense opportunity to expand and elevate Native geosciences knowledge, specifically in the areas of earth, wind, fire and water. At the center of "change" is the need to balance the needs of the people with the needs of the environment. Native tradition and our inherent understanding of what is "sacred above is sacred below" is the foundation for an emerging multi-faceted approach to increasing the representation of Natives in geosciences. The approach is also a pathway to assist in Tribal language revitalization, connection of oral histories and ceremonies as well as building an intergenerational teaching/learning community. Humboldt State University, Sinte Gleska University and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in partnership with Northern California (Hoopa, Yurok, & Karuk) and Great Plains (Lakota) Tribes have nurtured Native geosciences learning communities connected to Tribal Sacred Sites and natural resources. These sites include the Black Hills (Mato Paha, Mato Tiplia, Hinhan Kaga Paha, Mako Sica etc.), Klamath River (Ishkêesh), and Hoopa Valley (Natinixwe). Native geosciences learning is centered on the themes of earth, wind, fire and water and Native application of remote sensing technologies. Tribal Elders and Native geoscientists work collaboratively providing Native families in-field experiential intergenerational learning opportunities which invite participants to immerse themselves spiritually, intellectually, physically and emotionally in the experiences. Through this immersion and experience Native students and families strengthen the circle of our future Tribal

Politics, religion and space. About places of mediation and sacred space among the Gurage of Ethiopia

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PALMISANO, Antonio Luigi

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The main faiths among the Gurage of Ethiopia – Orthodox Christianity, Islam and autochthonous polytheism – provide a constellation of integrative principles for territorial and descent segmentation. Religious leaders and ritual specialists of the three confessions have always represented the unity of Gurage tribes facing the outside world and still receive tributes of cattle, sheep, goats, honey, ensete, money etc. The ethnic court of justice of the Gurage, the yejoka, has re-dimensioned its office, in order to prevent the rise of central instances within the process of political mediation between juxtaposed lineages and territorial segments. The article focuses on the identification and institutionalisation of sacred places among these tribes, the places where the personae, the lineages and residential groups interact within the self-representation processes of Gurage society. The theological and liturgical pluralism, practised by the three faiths, confirms the Gurage’s capacity to answer to the many and contradictory stimuli of modern society, of market economy, of political, administrative and territorial transformation which takes place in the world. This religious plurality in a single family, in a single person, unveils religion as an answer, or rather as a structure of satisfactory answers.

Application of site-specific natural isotope fractionation (SNIF-NMR) of hydrogen to the characterization of European beers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, G.J.; Benbernou, M.; Lantier, F.

1985-01-01

More than one hundred samples of European beers have been investigated by the new SNIF-NMR method which is based on 2H NMR at the natural abundance level and enables site-specific natural isotope fractionation factors in ethanol to be determined. The relative (R) and absolute (D/H)sub(i) parameters are shown to be characteristic of the country where the beers are brewed and the observed variations are explained in terms of cereal composition, water resource, and manufacturing processing (fermentation, yeast, temperature cycle). These new parameters find analytical and mechanistic applications in the identification of a beer and in the investigation of a fermentation process. (author)

Use of N Natural Abundance and N Species Concentrations to Assess N-Cycling in Constructed and Natural Coastal Wetlands

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C. Marjorie Aelion

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Natural abundance of N stable isotopes used in combination with concentrations may be useful indicators of N-cycling in wetlands. Concentrations and N signatures of NO3−, NH4+, and sediment organic nitrogen (SON were measured in two impacted coastal golf course retention ponds and two natural marshes. Limited NO3− was detected in natural site surface water or pore water, but both isotopic signature and concentrations of NO3− in surface water of impacted sites indicated anthropogenic inputs. In natural sites, NH4+ concentrations were greatest in deeper pore water and least in surface water, suggesting diffusion predominates. The natural sites had greater %SON, and N indicated that the natural sites also had greater NH4+ released from SON mineralization than impacted sites. In NO3−-limited systems, neither concentrations nor N natural abundance was able to provide information on N-cycling, while processes associated with NH4+ were better elucidated by using both concentrations and N natural abundance.

Use of 15N Natural Abundance and N Species Concentrations to Assess N-Cycling in Constructed and Natural Coastal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aelion, W.C.M.; Engle, M.R.; Aelion, W.C.M.; Ma, H.

2010-01-01

Natural abundance of N stable isotopes used in combination with concentrations may be useful indicators of N-cycling in wetlands. Concentrations and 15 N signatures of NO 3 -, NH 4 and sediment organic nitrogen (SON) were measured in two impacted coastal golf course retention ponds and two natural marshes. Limited NO 3 was detected in natural site surface water or pore water, but both isotopic signature and concentrations of NO 3 - in surface water of impacted sites indicated anthropogenic inputs. In natural sites, NH 4 concentrations were greatest in deeper pore water and least in surface water, suggesting diffusion predominates. The natural sites had greater % SON, and 15 N indicated that the natural sites also had greater NH 4 + released from SON mineralization than impacted sites. In NO 3 --limited systems, neither concentrations nor 15 N natural abundance was able to provide information on N-cycling, while processes associated with NH 4 + were better elucidated by using both concentrations and 15 N natural abundance

Methods of measurement and evaluation of natural radionuclide contents in buildings, at building sites, and in building materials and water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

The recommendations should serve as guidelines for specifying the scope of measurement and ways of evaluating the measuring results when satisfying the relevant requirements laid down by the Czech Atomic Act (Act No. 18/1997) and Decree No. 184/1997 in the field of natural radiation sources occurring in the environment without deliberate use. The document consists of the following sections: Methodology for the measurement and assessment of natural exposure of persons in dwelling rooms of buildings; Methodology of determination of the radon risk of building sites; Principles of systematic measurement and evaluation of natural radionuclide contents of building materials; and Principles of systematic measurement and evaluation of natural radionuclide contents of supplied water. (P.A.)

Monitoring Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in real-time on oil and natural gas production sites

Science.gov (United States)

Lupardus, R.; Franklin, S. B.

2017-12-01

Oil and Natural Gas (O&NG) development, production, infrastructure, and associated processing activities can be a substantial source of air pollution, yet relevant data and real-time quantification methods are lacking. In the current study, O&NG fugitive emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) were quantified in real-time and used to determine the spatial and temporal windows of exposure for proximate flora and fauna. Eleven O&NG sites on the Pawnee National Grassland in Northeastern Colorado were randomly selected and grouped according to production along with 13 control sites from three geographical locations. At each site, samples were collected 25 m from the wellhead in NE, SE, and W directions. In each direction, two samples were collected with a Gasmet DX4040 gas analyzer every hour from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm (6 hours total), July to October, 2016 (N=864). VOC concentrations generally increased during the 6 hr. day with the exception of N2O and were predominately the result of O&NG production and not vehicle exhaust. Thirteen of 24 VOCs had significantly different levels between production groups, frequently above reference standards and at biologically relevant levels for flora and fauna. The most biologically relevant VOCs, found at concentrations exceeding time weighted average permissible exposure limits (TWA PELs), were benzene and acrolein. Generalized Estimating Equations (GEEs) measured the relative quality of statistical models predicting benzene concentrations on sites. The data not only confirms that O&NG emissions are impacting the region, but also that this influence is present at all sites, including controls. Increased real-time VOC monitoring on O&NG sites is required to identify and contain fugitive emissions and to protect human and environmental health.

78 FR 18783 - Establishment of the R[iacute]o Grande del Norte National Monument

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-28

... protection of religious and cultural sites in the monument and provide access to the sites by members of... Indian Religious Freedom Act (92 Stat. 469, 42 U.S.C. 1996) and Executive Order 13007 of May 24, 1996 (Indian Sacred Sites). Laws, regulations, and policies followed by the BLM in issuing and administering...

77 FR 73045 - Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Draft Pima County Multi-Species Habitat Conservation...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-07

... opportunities. Urban growth has resulted in significant development, which is expected to continue in the.... The presence of archeological sites, buildings and structures, historic events, sacred and traditional...

El Canto Popular Religioso y la Reforma Litúrgica en España (1850-1915 Sacred and Secular Vocals and Liturgical Reform in Spain (1850-1915

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Antonia Virgili Blanquet

2010-07-01

Full Text Available El objeto de estudio es el tratamiento que recibe el Canto popular religioso y la participación del pueblo en el movimiento de reforma de la liturgia católica del siglo XIX en España. Se revisan tanto fuentes documentales como ediciones de repertorios idóneos para facilitar el canto del pueblo en latín y en lengua vernácula. Todo ello permite llegar a la consideración del movimiento reformista decimonónico como impulsor de una tendencia innovadora que el Concilio Vaticano II desarrollará: la participación activa de los fieles en la liturgia. Esta visión matiza las posturas que consideran esta reforma como un simple historicismo trasnochado y retrógrado, centrado en la recuperación del gregoriano y la polifonía religiosa como modelos de la nueva composición religiosa.Abstract The study focuses on the way in which Sacred and Secular vocal music and people's participation was treated by the Reform Movement of Catholic Liturgy in Spain during the XIXth century. The essay analyses both documentary sources and repertoire editions which aim was to facilitate congregation's singing in Latin as well as in vernacular language. All this allows us to conclude that XIXth Reform stimulated an innovative trend developed by Vatican Council II: the active participation of people in the Liturgy. These results show a different approach in contrast with current opinions that consider the Liturgical Reform Movement as a simple old-fashioned and retrograde historicism just focused on Gregorian and religious polyphony as historical models for new sacred musical compositions.

A sacred command of reason? Deceit, deception, and dishonesty in nurse education.

Science.gov (United States)

Rolfe, Gary

2016-07-01

Kant (Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals. Hackett, Indianapolis, 1797) described honesty as 'a sacred command of reason' which should be obeyed at all times and at any cost. This study inquires into the practice of dishonesty, deception, and deceit by universities in the UK in the pursuit of quality indicators such as league table positions, Research Excellence Framework (REF) scores, and student satisfaction survey results. Deception occurs when the metrics which inform these tables and surveys are manipulated to suggest an improvement in quality when, in fact, the raised scores are merely the result of clever strategic planning. Deceit occurs when these manipulated scores are deliberately and knowingly presented as real improvements in research and educational quality. It might be argued that, within the context of the artificial ivory tower world of academe, this is a game played by almost every academic in every higher education institution with no real losers and little wider consequence. However, this study suggests that some of the strategies employed by institutions to improve their scores without directly addressing the issue of quality can, in certain practice-based disciplines such as nursing, result in dire consequences for practitioners and service users. It concludes with a number of suggestions taken from personal experience to resolve the tension between the contractual demands placed on nurse academics by their employers and the moral and practical obligations of their professional body, most notably the use of subversion. The conclusion, contra Kant, is that the most effective strategy against dishonesty and deception is often more dishonesty and deception. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Landfill: Comparison of pedogenesis between sites of Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh plantation and naturalized herbaceus vegetation

OpenAIRE

Lanfranco, J. W.; Marlats, R. M.; Baridon, E.

1999-01-01

The purpose of this work was compared different levels of pedogenetics process between sites with Eucalyptus camaldulensis plantation and naturalized grass. The trial was installed on landfill soil cover in Villa Domínico, Buenos Aires Province, Argentine, CEAMSE, 34°40’S,50’’; 58°18’45’’W; 4m osl. At five age of trees and forteen of the Landfill was realized the following determination: 1- Physical and Chemicals caracterization of own microsite tree and analogical microsite without trees inf...

Nepal and the Americas: Can Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Signals Be Detected There That Yield Information About Culturally Dictated Spiritual Values, and Can Computers Interface Their Assessment?

Science.gov (United States)

Aryal, Sanjita; Mc Leod, Roger D.; Mc Leod, David M.

2002-10-01

Nepal has a particularly rich tradition of culturally developed views on the material and spiritual worlds, and also has a powerful natural environment that may generate EMFs in conjunction with natural phenomena. We have an interest in determining whether these can be detected by portable technological means, and recording such data on notebook-type computers for analysis and evaluation. One goal is to assess whether historic Native Americans, such as Maine's and New Hampshire's Molly Ockett, may have been motivated in their selection of special, and perhaps, to them, "sacred" sites for their attention and as possible burial sites. Some of these may have been chosen on the basis of the EMFs that seem to emanate from them, and their assessment of what they meant to their worldviews. Do some Amerindians consider the EMF and reincarnation as requiring their rejection of material aspects of existence? Could other traditional cultures, or even suicidal terrorists, be sensitive to "information" they may receive from the EMF?

Percolative nature of A-site disordered La0.75Ca0.25-xSrxMnO3 manganites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Venkatesh, R.; Yadam, Sankararao; Venkateshwarlu, D.

2015-01-01

Magnetic, resistive, and magnetoresistance measurements were used to investigate the percolative nature of A-site disordered La0.75Ca0.25-xSrxMnO3(x = 0, 0.10) manganites. La0.75Ca0.15Sr0.10MnO3 has an orthorhombic structure and second order magnetic phase transition indicates the presence of two...

Fault-Related Sanctuaries

Science.gov (United States)

Piccardi, L.

2001-12-01

Beyond the study of historical surface faulting events, this work investigates the possibility, in specific cases, of identifying pre-historical events whose memory survives in myths and legends. The myths of many famous sacred places of the ancient world contain relevant telluric references: "sacred" earthquakes, openings to the Underworld and/or chthonic dragons. Given the strong correspondence with local geological evidence, these myths may be considered as describing natural phenomena. It has been possible in this way to shed light on the geologic origin of famous myths (Piccardi, 1999, 2000 and 2001). Interdisciplinary researches reveal that the origin of several ancient sanctuaries may be linked in particular to peculiar geological phenomena observed on local active faults (like ground shaking and coseismic surface ruptures, gas and flames emissions, strong underground rumours). In many of these sanctuaries the sacred area is laid directly above the active fault. In a few cases, faulting has affected also the archaeological relics, right through the main temple (e.g. Delphi, Cnidus, Hierapolis of Phrygia). As such, the arrangement of the cult site and content of relative myths suggest that specific points along the trace of active faults have been noticed in the past and worshiped as special `sacred' places, most likely interpreted as Hades' Doors. The mythological stratification of most of these sanctuaries dates back to prehistory, and points to a common derivation from the cult of the Mother Goddess (the Lady of the Doors), which was largely widespread since at least 25000 BC. The cult itself was later reconverted into various different divinities, while the `sacred doors' of the Great Goddess and/or the dragons (offspring of Mother Earth and generally regarded as Keepers of the Doors) persisted in more recent mythologies. Piccardi L., 1999: The "Footprints" of the Archangel: Evidence of Early-Medieval Surface Faulting at Monte Sant'Angelo (Gargano, Italy

Fidelity of northern pine snakes (Pituophis m. melanoleucus) to natural and artificial hibernation sites in the New Jersey Pine Barrens.

Science.gov (United States)

Zappalorti, Robert T; Burger, Joanna; Burkett, David W; Schneider, David W; McCort, Matthew P; Golden, David M

2014-01-01

Environmental managers require information on whether human-made hibernacula are used by rare snakes before constructing large numbers of them as mitigation measures. Fidelity of northern pine snakes (Pituophis m. melanoleucus) was examined in a 6-year study in the New Jersey Pine Barrens to determine whether they used natural and artificial hibernacula equally. Pine snakes used both artificial (human-made) and natural (snake-adapted) hibernacula. Most natural hibernacula were in abandoned burrows of large mammals. Occupancy rates were similar between natural and artificial hibernacula. Only 6 of 27 radio-tracked snakes did not shift hibernacula between years, whereas 78% shifted sites at least once, and fidelity from one year to the next was 42%. For snakes that switched hibernacula (n = 21), one switched among artificial hibernacula, 14 (65%) switched among natural hibernacula, and 6 (29%) switched from artificial to natural hibernacula. Data indicate that most pine snakes switch among hibernacula, mainly selecting natural hibernacula, suggesting that artificial dens are used, but protecting natural hibernacula should be a higher conservation priority.

Mer partagée, part maudite. La fabrique rituelle d’un horizon maritime : mer et sacré chez les pêcheurs Imrâgen (Mauritanie

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hélène Artaud

2012-02-01

Full Text Available La mer a longtemps été perçue pour la société maure comme un monde en marge, étranger et étrange. Seule exception notable : la relation liant les communautés imrâgen à l’espace maritime. Dans la perception imrâgen de la mer se présentent d’emblée comme enchevêtrés les mondes naturels et surnaturels. Les modalités de leur articulation procèdent toutefois de logiques que seuls distinguent et maîtrisent certains initiés, dépositaires du « secret de la mer ». Quelques familles, issues des groupes maraboutiques Bârikalla et Buhubbayni, ont ainsi réussi à asseoir leur légitimité sur la côte par l’exercice de pouvoirs supposés influencer le cours des phénomènes naturels (vents, intensité des courants, cycle de la lune ou le comportement d’espèces marines (dauphins et tortues, dont ils ont fait leurs principaux émissaires. Quelles sont la nature, l’efficacité et les limites de ce pouvoir sur la mer? Comment inscrit-il le marabout au cœur de l’écologie imrâgen, le sacré au principe de l’équilibre naturel ? C’est à ces questionnements que nous nous proposons d’apporter quelques éléments d’analyse.

Geomorphology of Dra Abu el-Naga (Egypt): The basis of the funerary sacred landscape

Science.gov (United States)

Bardají, T.; Martínez-Graña, A.; Sánchez-Moral, S.; Pethen, H.; García-González, D.; Cuezva, S.; Cañaveras, J. C.; Jiménez-Higueras, A.

2017-07-01

A geological and geomorphological analysis has been performed in the necropolis of Dra Abu el-Naga in order to understand the role played by these two factors in the development of the sacred landscape. The investigation focuses upon two aspects of the development of the necropolis, the selection criteria for tomb location and the reconstruction of the ancient funerary landscape. Around 50 tombs were surveyed, analysing the characteristics of their host rock and classifying them according to a modified Rock Mass Rating Index, in order to understand how rock quality affected tomb construction. This analysis resulted in the definition of five rock-quality classes (I to V) from very good to very poor rock. The geological study also resulted in a proposed geological-geomorphological model for the evolution of this zone of the Theban necropolis that complements previous works by other authors. Due to the lack of precise dating evidence this chronology is a relative one and is based on the chronology given by other authors for similar deposits and events. Two catastrophic events, represented by mega-landslides, have been identified, the first one predates the deposition of early Pleistocene fluvial deposits, and the second one possibly occurred during the middle-late Pleistocene. Two weathering surfaces developed under wetter than present climatic conditions and have been tentatively correlated to the mid-late Pleistocene humid period and the African-Humid Period (early-mid Holocene).

Yield and level of phenolic compounds in the inflorescence of yellow everlasting Helichrysum arenarium (L. Moench collected from natural sites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Forycka Anna

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The inflorescence of Helichrysum arenarium (L. Moench shows anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, detoxifying properties and is traditionally used in liver and biliary tract diseases. Because of its difficult and expensive cultivation, the plant raw material is mainly harvested from natural sites.

Accident for natural gas well with hydrogen sulfide in relation to nuclear power plant siting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tan Chengjun; Shangguang Zhihong; Sha Xiangdong

2010-01-01

In order to make assessment to the potential impact from accident of natural gas wells with hydrogen sulfide on the habitability of main control room of nuclear power plant (NPP), several assumptions such as source terms of maximum credible accident, conservative atmospheric conditions and release characteristics were proposed in the paper, and the impact on the habitability of main control room was evaluated using toxicity thresholds recommended by foreign authority. Case results indicate that the method can provide the reference for the preliminary assessment to external human-induced events during the siting phrase of NPP. (authors)

32 CFR 651.14 - Integration with Army planning.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Religious Freedom Act. (7) Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act. (8) Comprehensive Environmental Response... 12898, 3 CFR, 1994 Comp., p. 859). (14) Indian Sacred Sites (Executive Order 13007, 3 CFR, 1996 Comp., p...

Revisiting plant conservation on wooded shrines by a transversal approach: "Core" vs. "satellite" species and anthropological knowledge in Bwaba land, Burkina Faso

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne Fournier

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Studies on plant conservation in sacred groves provide mixed results, with some showing their effectiveness while others do not. We argue that beyond the variety of field cases, studies usually suffer from overrating rare species and insufficient consideration of societal data. The sacred sites of Bondoukuy department in Bwaba cultural area (Burkina Faso were geo-referenced and measured; the most abundant ligneous species were listed and their abundance recorded. Their conservation status and dynamics were assessed based on the core vs. satellite species model of Hanski. Data interpretations relied on the phytogeographical affinities of abundant species and on anthropological knowledge of the Bwaba society. The vast majority of shrines were less than 1 ha, located in or near villages in specific landscape features, and covered with trees. The most abundant species of shrines belonged mostly to local phytochories, but were subject to rather high anthropisation. The results support the concept that wooded shrines preserve local biodiversity, but indicate threats from an invasive alien species. The location and condition of shrines appeared to be constitutive features: the Bwaba system of thought involves a series of sacred sites (with and without trees located in remarkable features of the landscape, and their way of life has resulted in the proximity of these sites to the villages. The beliefs that promote plant cover conservation do so only to a certain extent and regardless of the species content, which raises the concern that alien species may upset the established communities. These beliefs have led the Bwaba to choose the most humid environments in which to set up their wooded shrines, which is interesting from a conservation perspective. The study advocates for a better consideration of social data to identify the key elements of the dynamics of the vegetation of sacred groves.

Consequences of least tern (Sternula antillarum) microhabitat nest-site selection on natural and mechanically constructed sandbars in the Missouri River

Science.gov (United States)

Stucker, Jennifer H.; Buhl, Deborah A.; Sherfy, Mark H.

2013-01-01

Nest-habitat selection in colonial species has rarely been assessed at multiple spatial scales to evaluate its fitness consequences. Management for the federally endangered U.S. Interior population of Least Terns (Sternula antillarum) has focused on maintenance of breeding habitats, including mechanical construction of sandbars from dredged material. Least Terns are attracted to large areas of unvegetated substrate, yet small-scale habitat features are thought to trigger selection for nesting. We evaluated nest-scale habitat selection to determine (1) whether selection differs between constructed and natural sandbars and (2) the subsequent consequences of habitat selection on nest success. During 2006–2008, we examined 869 Least Tern nest sites on constructed and natural sandbars in the Missouri River for evidence of microhabitat selection at the nest in relation to habitat within the surrounding 3-m area. Least Tern nest sites had coarser and larger substrate materials at the nest, more debris, and less vegetation than the surrounding area. Nests in constructed habitats had a greater percentage of coarse substrates and less vegetation or debris than nests in naturally created habitats. Apparent nest success was 1.8× greater on constructed than on natural sandbars. Nest success was best predicted by models with two spatial scales of predictors, including substrates (nest) and vegetation and debris (nest or surrounding area). Our results indicate that Least Terns select nest microhabitat characteristics that are associated with wind- and water-scoured habitats, and that nest success increases when these habitats are selected.

New Reactor Siting in Finland, Hanhikivi Site in Pyhaejoki - STUK preliminary safety assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nevalainen, Janne

2013-01-01

STUK has performed a preliminary assessment of the Decision-in-Principle on the Fennovoima application. A variety of factors must be considered in the selection of a site, including effects of the site on the plant design and the effects of the plant on the site environment. These include external hazards, both natural and human-induced. Since this is a new site, an extensive siting process is followed, that can include an EIA. A site survey is performed to identify candidate sites, after investigating a large region and rejecting unsuitable sites. The remaining sites are then screened and compared on the basis of safety and other considerations to select one or more preferred sites. Natural hazards include geology, seismology, hydrology and meteorology. Offshore ice will be a particular hazard for this plant, since the site is on average only 1.5 m above sea level. The design basis earthquake corresponds to a return frequency of 100,000 years, with 50 % confidence. The existing sites in southern Finland used a design peak ground acceleration of 0.1 g with the ground response spectrum maximum at 10 Hz. The candidate sites in northern Finland will require a peak ground acceleration of 0.2 g with the ground response spectrum maximum at 25 Hz

78 FR 64593 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on US 26: MP 49.20-MP 57.45 Project: Clackamas County, OR

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-29

...)(1)]; American Indian Religious Freedom Act [42 U.S.C. 1996]; Farmland Protection Policy Act (FPPA... Resources; E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites, E.O. 13287 Preserve America; E.O. 13175 Consultation and...

76 FR 45649 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on I-5: Fern Valley Interchange Project: Jackson County, OR

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-29

.... 2000(d) et seq.]; American Indian Religious Freedom Act [42 U.S.C. 1996]; Farmland Protection Policy.... 13007 Indian Sacred Sites, E.O. 13287 Preserve America; E.O. 13175 Consultation and Coordination with...

25 CFR 262.5 - Application for permits.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... either state that no religious or cultural site will be harmed or destroyed by the proposed work or... similar condition: “Human remains of Indians, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural...

The geology, hydrogeology and geochemistry of the Needle's Eye natural analogue site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hooker, P.J.

1991-01-01

The British Geological Survey has been carrying out a research investigation of the Needle's Eye site at Southwick on the Solway coast in south-western Scotland. This study of a naturally radioactive geochemical system has the aim of improving our confidence in using predictive models of radionuclide migration in the geosphere. This summary report describes results from the integrated use of hydrogeological, mineralogical and geochemical techniques applied to the study of the transport and distribution of uranium. Pitchblende veins exposed in the cliffs are a major source of soluble uranium in ground-waters flowing into organic-rich post-glacial flood plain and intertidal mudflat deposits. Organic matter both living and dead has played a key role in the retardation of uranium in these sediments. Chemical transport modelling of the uranium dispersion/retardation is described and the implications for performance assessment work are discussed. Computer codes used: CHEMVAL (thermodynamic data base constants). CHIMERE (chemical equilibrium code). METIS (flow code). PHREEQE (chemical equilibrium code). STELE (coupled chemical transport code)

Designating Earth's Moon as a United Nations World Heritage Site - Permanently Protected from Commercial or Military Uses

Science.gov (United States)

Steiner, R. G.

2002-01-01

This paper proposes that Earth's Moon, in its entirety, be designated a United Nations World Heritage Site (WHS), permanently protected from any and all commercial or military utilization and reserved exclusively for scientific and aesthetic purposes. The paper discusses: 1) the extraordinary importance of the Moon for science, culture, and religion - past, present and future; 2) the history of proposals to exploit the Moon for commercial and military purposes and the shortcomings of this colonial, exploitation paradigm; and 3) the necessity, policy mechanisms, and political dynamics of designating the Moon as a World Heritage Site, permanently protected from commercial and/or military uses. The first part of the paper discusses the extraordinary importance of the Moon as it exists today - as a scientific laboratory, a source of beauty and inspiration throughout human evolution, a source for artistic expression, and as an object that is considered sacred by many cultures. Next, the paper traces the history of specific proposals for the exploitation of the Moon for commercial and/or military purposes - including plans by the U.S. Air Force in 1959 to detonate a nuclear explosion on the Moon, proposals to strip-mine the lunar regolith for helium-3 and rocket-fuel hydrogen; construction of solar power plants to transmit energy to Earth, and proposals to use the lunar surface as a billboard upon which to project commercial advertisements visible from Earth. The profound ethical, legal, and scientific shortcomings of this exploitation paradigm are described as an emerging Extraterrestrial Manifest Destiny that we have a collective obligation to challenge and constrain. The paper proposes that space exploration be infused with an ethical commitment to compassion, reverence, conservation, and non-interference to abiotic and biotic systems alike; as opposed to the expansion and extraterrestrial imposition of the colonization, exploitation, domination, and despoliation

The predictable nature of the Paleozoic sedimentary sequence beneath the Bruce nuclear site in Southern Ontario, Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parmenter, Andrew; Jensen, Mark; Crowe, Richard

2012-01-01

Document available in extended abstract form only. A key aspect of a Deep Geologic Repository (DGR) safety case is the ability to develop and communicate an understanding of the geologic stability and resilience to change at time frames relevant to demonstrating repository performance. As part of an on-going Environmental Assessment, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) recently completed site-specific investigations within an 850 m thick Paleozoic sedimentary sequence beneath the Bruce nuclear site for the proposed development of a DGR for Low and Intermediate Level Waste (L and ILW). As envisioned, the shaft-accessed DGR would be excavated at a nominal depth of 680 m within the low permeability Ordovician argillaceous limestone of the Cobourg Formation, which is overlain by more than 200 m of low permeability Ordovician shale. The geo-scientific investigations revealed a relatively undeformed and laterally continuous architecture within the sedimentary sequence at the repository scale (1.5 km 2 ) and beyond. This paper explores the predictable nature of the sedimentary sequence that has contributed to increasing confidence in an understanding of the spatial distribution of groundwater system properties, deep groundwater system evolution and natural barrier performance. Multi-disciplinary geo-scientific investigations of the Bruce nuclear site were completed in 3 phases between 2006 and 2010. The sub-surface investigations included a deep drilling, coring and in-situ testing program and, the completion of a 19.7 km (9 lines) 2-D seismic reflection survey. The drilling program involved 6 (150 mm dia.) deep boreholes (4-vertical; 2 inclined) that were extended through the sedimentary sequence from 4 drill sites, arranged around the 0.3 km 2 footprint of the proposed repository. The more than 3.8 km of rock core (77 mm dia.) retrieved have provided, in part, a strong basis to understand bedrock lithology and mineralogy, facies assemblages, structure, and oil and gas

Religious Relationships with the Environment in a Tibetan Rural Community: Interactions and Contrasts with Popular Notions of Indigenous Environmentalism.

Science.gov (United States)

Woodhouse, Emily; Mills, Martin A; McGowan, Philip J K; Milner-Gulland, E J

Representations of Green Tibetans connected to Buddhism and indigenous wisdom have been deployed by a variety of actors and persist in popular consciousness. Through interviews, participatory mapping and observation, we explored how these ideas relate to people's notions about the natural environment in a rural community on the Eastern Tibetan plateau, in Sichuan Province, China. We found people to be orienting themselves towards the environment by means of three interlinked religious notions: (1) local gods and spirits in the landscape, which have become the focus of conservation efforts in the form of 'sacred natural sites;' (2) sin and karma related to killing animals and plants; (3) Buddhist moral precepts especially non-violence. We highlight the gaps between externally generated representations and local understandings, but also the dynamic, contested and plural nature of local relationships with the environment, which have been influenced and reshaped by capitalist development and commodification of natural resources, state environmental policies, and Buddhist modernist ideas.

Premodern’den Postmodern’e Benliğin ve Kutsalın Dönüşümü: Narsisist Benliğin Kutsal Algısı / Transformation of Knowledge and Sacred from Premodern to Postmodern: The Sacred Perception of Narcissist Self

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmet GÜVEN

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Benlik kavramını, vülgarize ederek söylemek gerekirse, modern öncesi ve sonrası olmak üzere ayırmak gerekir. Modern düşüncenin “bilgi”nin mahiyeti üzerinde meydana getirmiş olduğu dönüşüm öncelikle benlik algısını ve kaçınılmaz olarak kutsal algısını değiştirmiştir. Geleneğin içinde merkezi konuma sahip olan “kutsal bilgi” (scentia sacra benliğe, ancak “Külli akl” (intellect ile varlık sahası tanımış ve benliği terbiye edilmesi gereken “nefs” olarak görmüştü. Modern düşünce ise “bilen” ve “bilinen” benlik ayrımını yaparak bilginin merkezini ilahi olandan beşeri olana taşıyarak bilginin “desacralizasyonunu” (kutsallıktan arındırma temin etmiştir. Geleneğin çok katmanlı hakikat telakkisi yerine geçen modernizmin tek boyutlu ve dayatmacı hakikat algısına tepki olarak postmodern zamanlarda hakikatin ulaşılamaz olduğu fikrine dayanan hakikatin izafiliği düşüncesi doğmuştur. Bu postmodern düşünce narsisist benliğin ortaya çıkışında en etkili unsurdur. / To clarify the concept of the self, it is necessary to consider the term in two periods as premodern and postmodern. The transformation realized in the essence of the “information” by modern thought, changed initially the perception of the self and then inevitably the perception of sacred. The sacred knowledge (scentia sacra which had a central place in traditional thought entitled self to exist only in divine intelligence (intellect and the tradition regarded the self as the personality which must be disciplined. However, modern thought made a separation between the self that knows and the self that is known, and desacralized the information by shifting the center of the information from divine to the human one. The thought about the relativity of the truth which based on idea of the inaccessibility of the truth was born in postmodern times as a reaction to the perception of the one

77 FR 66215 - Limitation of Claims Notice for Judicial Review of Actions by FHWA and Other Federal Agencies in...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-02

.... 2000(d)-2000(d)(1)]; American Indian Religious Freedom Act [42 U.S.C. 1996]; Farmland Protection Policy... Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 13287 Preserve America; E.O. 13175 Consultation and Coordination with Indian...

78 FR 64594 - Final Federal Agency Actions on Proposed Highway in North Carolina

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-29

...)(1)]; American Indian Religious Freedom Act [42 U.S.C. 1996]; Farmland Protection Policy Act (FPPA... Populations; E.O. 11593 Protection and Enhancement of Cultural Resources; E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites; E.O...

78 FR 66419 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on Proposed Highway in Pennsylvania

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-05

.... 2000(d)-2000(d)(1)]; American Indian Religious Freedom Act [42 U.S.C. 1996]; Farmland Protection Policy... Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 13287 Preserve America; E.O. 13175 Consultation and Coordination with Indian...

76 FR 56493 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on State Loop 375 From Interstate Highway 10 to the...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-09-13

.... 2000(d)-2000(d)(1)]; American Indian Religious Freedom Act [42 U.S.C. 1996]; Farmland Protection Policy... Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 13287 Preserve America; E.O. 13175 Consultation and Coordination with Indian...

In the Name of the Father and of the Revolution: The Sacred and the Effects of the Master Signifier on Subjectivity in War Contexts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristian Jesús Palma Florián

2018-01-01

Full Text Available As a symbolic function, the Ideal of the Revolution becomes the central signifier in the subjectivity of its militants, and creates its own Names of the Father, its own master signifiers that alienate the combatants and generate effects at the level of "the sacred" in the symbolic, imaginary, and real registers, in both the public setting of the collective and the private one of the subject. The objective of the article is to understand the deployment of the ideal that drives the revolutionary cause, the ways it operates in the collective and singular setting, and the effects it causes on subjectivity. Finally, it examines the process of downfall of the ideal and some of its dilemmas as a preamble of the subject's exit from war.

Missouri Department of Natural Resources Hazardous Waste Program Weldon Spring site remedial action project. Status of project to date January 1997

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

This document describes the progress made by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) during the fourth year (1996) of the Agreement in Support (AIS) in its oversight role of the Weldon Springs Site Remedial Action Project (WSSRAP). The fourth year at the Weldon Springs Site shows sustained progress as the project moves through the final design and into the remedial action phases of the Chemical Plant Operable Unit. The remedial action phase includes the Foundations Removal work package, Chemical Solidification and Stabilization, and disposal cell

  The Emergent Threefold Self:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Runehov, Anne Leona Cesarine

2008-01-01

Are we ghost or machines? Roger's title reminds me of my own book in which I asked the question whether religious experiences are Sacred or Neural. The answer was they are both, sacred and neural (Runehov, 2007). Analogically, could the answer to Trigg's question perhaps be that we are both ghost...... on the self, the two orders of reality taken into account. The suggested model is monistic in nature, i.e. as Trigg argues, there is "only one kind of stuff", however, this stuff will be shown to be threefold....

Boundedness dan Polusi pada Situs Islam Cirebon Abad XVI—XVIII

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irmawati M. Johan

2007-10-01

Full Text Available Archaeological sites are the traces of people ‘s lives in the past. The remaining traces are texts, simply waiting to be read. This article tries to interpret the housing patterns in the sites of palaces in Cirebon using the concepts of boundedness, the sacred, the profane, and the pollution.

76 FR 53706 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on Proposed Highway in Washington

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-29

...)]; American Indian Religious Freedom Act [42 U.S.C. 1996]. 7. Wetlands and Water Resources: Clean Water Act... Resources; E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 13287 Preserve America; E.O. 13175 Consultation and...

78 FR 64592 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on the Stehekin Valley Road Improvement Project From the...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-29

...)-2000(d)(1)]; American Indian Religious Freedom Act [42 U.S.C. 1996]. 7. Wetlands and Water Resources... Resources; E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites, E.O. 13287 Preserve America; E.O. 13175 Consultation and...

77 FR 24255 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on Proposed Highways in Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-23

...)-2000(d)(1)]; American Indian Religious Freedom Act [42 U.S.C. 1996]; Farmland Protection Policy Act [7... Cultural Resources; E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 13287 Preserve America; E.O. 13175 Consultation...

78 FR 59085 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Action on Proposed Highway in California

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-25

.... 2000(d)-2000(d)(1)]; American Indian Religious Freedom Act [42 U.S.C. 1996]; Farmland Protection Policy... of Cultural Resources; E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 13287 Preserve America; E.O. 13175...

Browse Title Index

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Items 201 - 250 of 294 ... Indilinga: African Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems. ... An example of a research model based on indigenous games, Abstract .... for the rescuing of Phiphidi waterfalls and other sacred cultural sites, Abstract.

Deltorphins: a family of naturally occurring peptides with high affinity and selectivity for delta opioid binding sites.

OpenAIRE

Erspamer, V; Melchiorri, P; Falconieri-Erspamer, G; Negri, L; Corsi, R; Severini, C; Barra, D; Simmaco, M; Kreil, G

1989-01-01

Deltorphins are endogenous linear heptapeptides, isolated from skin extracts of frogs belonging to the genus Phyllomedusa, that have a higher affinity and selectivity for delta opioid binding sites than any other natural compound known. Two deltorphins with the sequence Tyr-Ala-Phe-Asp(or Glu)-Val-Val-Gly-NH2 have been isolated from skin extracts of Phyllomedusa bicolor. The alanine in position 2 is in the D configuration. These peptides, [D-Ala2]deltorphins I and II, show an even higher affi...

Natural attenuation at a former gas plant site: isotope analyses; Nachweis von Natural Attenuation mittels Isotopenuntersuchungen an einem ehemaligen Kokereistandort

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nagel, Aglaia; Strauss, Harald; Achten, Christine [Westfaelische Wilhelms-Universitaet Muenster, Institut fuer Geologie und Palaeontologie, Muenster (Germany); Stephan, Manuel [Universitaet Duisburg-Essen, Instrumentelle Analytische Chemie, Essen (Germany)

2011-12-15

Natural attenuation of mono- (BTEX) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was studied in groundwater at a former gas plant site over a distance of about 500 m. The contamination source was located within a 4-6 m thick succession of interbedded silt and sand (K{sub f} =1,4 .10{sup -7} m/s) at a depth of about 5-6 m below the surface. Groundwater flow times between source and the receiving surface waters were determined on the order of a few hundred years. The main contaminants were found to be benzene and naphthalene with concentrations up to 200,000 and 8,500 {mu}g/l, respectively. Over the past 9 years, concentrations within the contaminant plume have decreased and degradation of benzene was proven by compound specific carbon isotope analyses. In addition, sulphur isotope studies revealed that sulphate reduction has played a significant role. This was supported by ambient sulphate concentrations of 300-1,800 {mu}g/l at the site that are sufficient to sustain a long-term perspective for this process. In agreement with these physico-chemical conditions, no transfer of BTEX or PAHs from the plume into the nearby river has been observed. (orig.) [German] An einem ehemaligen Kokereistandort im Ruhrgebiet wurde das Potenzial von Natural Attenuation (natuerlicher Abbau und Rueckhalt) fuer mono- (BTEX) und polyzyklische aromatische Kohlenwasserstoffe (PAK) im Grundwasser auf einer Fliessstrecke von ca. 500 m untersucht. Das Schadenszentrum befindet sich unter eingeebnetem Bergematerial in ca. 5-6 m Tiefe unter Gelaendeoberkante innerhalb einer ca. 4-6 m maechtigen Schluff-Sand-Wechselfolge (K{sub f} =1,4 .10{sup -7} m/s). Im gesamten Aquifer resultieren Fliesszeiten von wenigen Hundert Jahren vom Schadstoffzentrum bis zur Vorflut. Hauptkontaminanten sind Benzen (bis ca. 200.000 {mu}g/l) und Naphthalen (bis ca. 8.500 {mu}g/l). An der Fahnenspitze liegen seit 9 Jahren schrumpfende Konzentrationen vor, die in Einklang mit einem mittels Kohlenstoffisotopie

Site observational work plan for the UMTRA Project Site at Riverton, Wyoming. Revision 3/95

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-03-01

Ground water compliance for the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project sites, including the Riverton, Wyoming, site, is governed by the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act and the US Environmental Protection Agency's Health and Environmental Protection Standards for Uranium and Thorium Mill Tailings. The compliance strategy proposed for this site is natural flushing in conjunction with institutional controls. The essential premise of natural flushing is that ground water movement and natural attenuation processes will reduce the detected contamination to background levels or alternate concentration limits that do not pose a risk to human health or the environment within 100 years. This document contains the following sections. Section 2.0 of this SOWP describes the requirements for meeting standards at UMTRA Project sites. Section 3.0 provides site-specific data and the related conceptual model. Section 4.0 provides the justification for the recommended ground water compliance strategy for the Riverton site. Section 5.0 provides the justification and process for collection and assessment of additional required data. Section 6.0 provides a list of the references cited. The appendixes include data on monitor wells and lithography, ground water, surface water, and sediment quality

Translation as a Site of Language Policy Negotiation in Jewish Day School Education

Science.gov (United States)

Avni, Sharon

2012-01-01

This article examines how students and teachers at a non-Orthodox Jewish day school in New York City negotiate the use of translation within the context of an institutionalized language policy that stresses the use of a sacred language over that of the vernacular. Specifically, this paper analyzes the negotiation of a Hebrew-only policy through…

Building Traffic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elias, Camelia

2011-01-01

The age-old archetype, homo religiosus, or the human being capable of experiencing the sacred, has shifted allegiance in the postmodern age. From experiencing the divine either through nature or through allowing for the emergence of inner human nature, the postmodern agent has gone from self...

78 FR 77477 - Notice of Statute of Limitations on Claims; Notice of Final Federal Agency Action on the...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-23

... Religious Freedom Act (42 U.S.C. 1996); Farmland Protection Policy Act (7 U.S.C. 4201-4209); the Uniform... Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 13287 Preserve America; E.O. 13175 Consultation and Coordination with Indian...

76 FR 65776 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on Proposed Highway Project in Wisconsin

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-24

... and Economic: Civil Rights Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C. 2000(d) et. seq.]; American Indian Religious Freedom... Resources; E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 13287 Preserve America; E.O. 13175 Consultation and...

Natural phenomena hazards project for Department of Energy sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coats, D.W.

1985-01-01

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has developed seismic and wind hazard models for the Office of Nuclear Safety (ONS), Department of Energy (DOE). The work is part of a three-phase effort aimed at establishing uniform building design criteria for seismic and wind hazards at DOE sites throughout the United States. In Phase 1, LLNL gathered information on the sites and their critical facilities, including nuclear reactors, fuel-reprocessing plants, high-level waste storage and treatment facilities, and special nuclear material facilities. In Phase 2, development of seismic and wind hazard models, was initiated. These hazard models express the annual probability that the site will experience an earthquake or wind speed greater than some specified magnitude. In the final phase, it is anticipated that the DOE will use the hazard models to establish uniform criteria for the design and evaluation of critical facilities. 13 references, 2 figures, 1 table

Fiscal 1999 research report. Survey on geothermal development sites (Survey on natural environment); 1999 nendo chinetsu kaihatsu sokushin chosa. Shizen kankyo chosa hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-03-01

This report summarizes the result on selecting sites for large-caliber production wells, and landscape characteristic evaluation for simulation, based on the landscape survey on C candidate site for geothermal development. Field survey was made on landscape, plants and animals in the Kirishima Eboshidake area. It was clarified that this area has diverse flora including some rare species such as rein orchid and monkshood which are listed as endangered species. In addition, not a few epiphytes were identified. The zoological survey result showed that planted forests of evergreen coniferous trees which cover a wide range of the surveyed area, and peripheral grassland, scrub and natural forests provide good habitats for mammals such as sika deer and wild boars. On the other hand, no animal species in need of special protection were found. Geologically some traces of landslide occurrence in the past were detected in the northern part of the surveyed area relatively. As the survey result, some promising sites suitable for geothermal development were selected, which are judged to have a relatively small impact on natural environment and landscape. (NEDO)

Dissonant Nature

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clemmensen, Thomas Juel

2013-01-01

Nature restoration is far from being a neural undertaking. Just like any other type of heritage production it can be the source of dissonance – ‘our’ nature is not necessary ‘their’ nature. Often this dissonance is managed in ways, which are not particular sensitive to site-specificity. As exempl...... and allows for multiple interpretations to coexist. Evidence can be found in the Re-naturalization of River Aire (2002-2015), a restoration project, which reveals approaches that could be labelled landscape architecture specific....

75 FR 43611 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on Proposed Highway in Washington

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-26

... Economic: Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000(d)-2000(d)(1)); American Indian Religious Freedom Act... Protection and Enhancement of Cultural Resources; E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 13287 Preserve America...

77 FR 55896 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on Loop 1 in Texas

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-11

... Indian Religious Freedom Act [42 U.S.C. 1996]; Farmland Protection Policy Act (FPPA) [7 U.S.C. 4201- 4209... Protection and Enhancement of Cultural Resources; E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 13287 Preserve America...

76 FR 80447 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on Proposed Highways in Montana

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-23

.... Social and Economic: Civil Rights Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C. 2000(d)-2000(d)(1)]; American Indian Religious... Resources; E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 13287 Preserve America; E.O. 13175 Consultation and...

76 FR 410 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on Proposed Highway in Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-04

.... Social and Economic: Civil Rights Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C. 2000(d)-2000(d)(1)]; American Indian Religious... and Enhancement of Cultural Resources; E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 13287 Preserve America; E...

78 FR 42151 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on the Goethals Bridge Replacement Project in New York and...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-15

... Indian Religious Freedom Act [42 U.S.C. 1996]; Farmland Protection Policy Act (FPPA) [7 U.S.C. 4201-4209... and Enhancement of Cultural Resources; E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 13287 Preserve America; E...

77 FR 26601 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on Proposed Highway in Connecticut

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-04

... Indian Religious Freedom Act [42 U.S.C. 1996]; Farmland Protection Policy Act (FPPA) [7 U.S.C. 4201-4209... Protection and Enhancement of Cultural Resources; E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 13287 Preserve America...

75 FR 60164 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on Proposed Shared-Use Path in New York State

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-29

.... Social and Economic: Civil Rights Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C. 2000(d)-2000(d)(1)]; American Indian Religious... and Enhancement of Cultural Resources; E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 13287 Preserve America; E...

77 FR 34456 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on the Newberg Dundee Bypass Project Project: Yamhill and...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-11

... Economic: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C. 2000(d) et seq.]; American Indian Religious... and Enhancement of Cultural Resources; E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 13175 Consultation and...

10 CFR 960.3-1-5 - Basis for site evaluations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... comparative evaluations of sites in terms of the capabilities of the natural barriers for waste isolation and.... Comparative site evaluations shall place primary importance on the natural barriers of the site. In such... the sensitivity of the natural barriers to such realistic engineered barriers. For a better...

Uranium ISR Mine Closure — General Concepts and Model-Based Simulation of Natural Attenuation for South-Australian Mine Sites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jeuken, B.; Märten, H.; Woods, P., E-mail: horst.maerten@heathgate.com.au [Heathgate Resources Pty. Ltd. (Heathgate), Adelaide (Australia); Kalka, H.; Nicolai, J. [Umwelt- und Ingenieurtechnik GmbH Dresden (UIT), Dresden (Germany)

2014-05-15

Heathgate has demonstrated the effect of natural attenuation (NA) in post in-situ recovery (ISR) aquifer regions during the operation of the Beverley mine since 2001. Enhanced natural attenuation (ENA) has been considered as the key component of the mine closure concept for the new Beverley Four Mile (BFM) project, complemented by an extensive monitoring program. Data from batch and column tests for BFM core samples was used to calibrate a reactive transport model, whose application in conjunction with the hydrological modelling of the BFM aquifer has shown that NA will result in the restoration of the aquifer in time. ENA within a staged mine development program under the site-specific circumstances is discussed. (author)

Liturgy and Morality. Constitution  on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium in the Context of Moral Theology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bogusław Mielec

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The fiftieth anniversary of the promulgation of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of Vaticanum II encourages attempts of its interpretation in the context of moral theology. It leads to the conclusion that there is a co-relation between liturgy and morality in the history of salvation. The Revelation of the Old Testament reveals the conjunction between worship and morality. Attempts to separate the two in the history of the Chosen People raise objections of prophets. Their criticism, however, comes together with the announcement of the future in which God will reveal the divisions between worship and morality. The New Testament shows the fulfilment of this promise in Jesus Christ. His salvific work establishes the Christian liturgy, in which man participates as a physical, as well as a spiritual being. The salvation, made present in the liturgy of the Church, is a relation, the co-operation of God and man, grace and freedom. Sacrosantum Concilium presents this revealed truth, emphasising the objective and subjective dimensions of liturgy as the work of Christ, in which a Christian participates actively, freely and consciously (participatio actuosa. The participation is mostly spiritual, therefore moral at the same time. Only than can the external elements of liturgy take place, including its detailed forms, gestures, attitudes and behaviours of the sacred liturgy participants. It means that the liturgical participatio actuosa requires moral works through imitation of Christ leading to conversion. That is when “faith works through love” (cf. Gal 5 : 6. It leads us to the notion of sacrifice, which, as far as man is concerned, requires a total change. Sinful man presented with the love of the Triune God may respond to it with his own, gradually maturing love. The process constitutes the drama of God and man, which is the tension between grace and freedom, which is then represented by the co-relation between liturgy and morality

Numerical analysis of a proposed percolation experiment at the Pena Blanca natural analog site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, R.T.; Rice, G.

1995-01-01

A field-scale percolation test is proposed for the Pena Blanca natural analog site near Chihuahua, MX. To aid in design of the field test, the V-TOUGH two-phase flow simulator was applied to model percolation of water through 8 to 10 m of partially saturated fractured tuff. The rock was characterized as a composite medium using measured hydraulic properties for the rock matrix and estimated values for the fractures. Measured matrix permeability varied over four orders of magnitude and fracture apertures were estimated to range from 10 to 1,000 μm. Water arrival times were predicted to vary between one day to 10,000 yr. The utility of the composite model and other representations of flow through fractured porous media can be tested using results from the field scale infiltration test data

Methodology of site studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caries, J.C.; Hugon, J.; Grauby, A.

1980-01-01

This methodology consists in an essentially dynamic, estimated and follow-up analysis of the impact of discharges on all the environment compartments, whether natural or not, that play a part in the protection of man and his environment. It applies at two levels, to wit: the choice of site, or the detailed study of the site selected. Two examples of its application will be developed, namely: at the choice of site level in the case of marine sites, and of the detailed study level of the chosen site in that of a riverside site [fr

Study on natural breeding sites of sand flies (Diptera: Phlebotominae) in areas of Leishmania transmission in Colombia.

Science.gov (United States)

Vivero, Rafael José; Torres-Gutierrez, Carolina; Bejarano, Eduar E; Peña, Horacio Cadena; Estrada, Luis Gregorio; Florez, Fernando; Ortega, Edgar; Aparicio, Yamileth; Muskus, Carlos E

2015-02-22

The location of the microhabitats where immature phlebotomine sand flies of the genus Lutzomyia develop is one of the least-known aspects of this group of medically important insects. For this reason strategies of source reduction approach for their control have not been possible in contrast to other insect vectors (such as mosquitoes), because their juvenile stages in terrestrial microhabitats is difficult to detect. Direct examination of soil samples, incubation of substrates and the use of emergence traps were the methods used to identify juvenile stages in 160 soil samples from urban and forest habitats within the foci of Leishmania transmission in Colombia. Immatures collected were identified subsequent from the rearing and emergence of adults using taxonomic keys or the analysis of the mitochondrial marker cytochrome oxidase I. Plant species associated with the natural breeding sites were identified and physicochemical properties of the soils were analyzed. A total of 38 (23.7%) sampling sites were identified as breeding sites, 142 phlebotomine sand flies were identified, belonging to 13 species of the genus Lutzomyia and two of Brumptomyia. The greatest numbers of immature were found within the tabular roots (51 immature sand flies from eight positive sites) and bases of trees (35 immature sand flies from 11 sites). The characterization and presence of the tree species (mainly Ceiba pentadra, Anacardium excelsum, Pseudosamanea guachapale) and the physicochemical properties (relative humidity and carbon/nitrogen ratio) of the soils associated with these breeding sites are significant factors in explaining the diversity and abundance of phlebotomine sand flies. Immature phlebotomine sand flies of the genus Lutzomyia in Colombia can be found in a wide variety of breeding sites rich in organic matter, high relative humidity and are associated with a typical vegetation of each locality. These results provide new perspectives for the study of the ecology of the

Veiled Word(s) – Sacred Silence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Isar, Nicoletta

2014-01-01

or secret prayer, and divine silence, which are at the very centre of the Byzantine altar. The main focus is to investigate the liminal nature of the Mystery, manifested through concealing-revealing devices, which are thresholds in the liturgical participation of the Byzantine subject. Fear and secrecy...

The dependence of natural regeneration of forest trees on upper soil conditions and acidity at damaged sites in the Black Forest, Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Littek, T.

1993-06-01

It was the goal of this study to investigate the influence of different upper soil conditions on the germination and establishment, as well as the growth, of young plants of various tree species. For this purpose, four test plots in the region of the Black Forest were laid out, in which, by various means of site preparation and fertilization, the upper soils were changed. Natural seeding of common spruce, European silver-fir, beech, sycamore maple, European mountainash, and grey alder was simulated by means of controlled sowing. For comparison, a greenhouse experiment was carried out, examining the germination and development of the same tree species in various soil substrata, using different fertilizers, and under the influence of artificial acid rain. The most important results - with a high level of variation depending on the tree species examined - can be summarized as follows: Based on the results of field and greenhouse experiments, as well as on the investigations of other authors, it can be concluded that natural regeneration of forest stands is considerably impeded under conditions of increasing soil acidity and by high acid depositions. This is seen directly as the result of unfavorable chemical conditions in the upper soil, as well as indirectly due to deteriorating competitiveness against other vegetation. Site preparation and lime or dolomite fertilization can be important measures in the practice of forestry, to encourage natural regeneration in highly acidic sites with an unfavourable humus layer and a high presence of competing vegetation. (orig./UWA). 2 figs., 85 tabs., 269 refs [de

75 FR 62182 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on Proposed Highway in North Carolina

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-07

... Indian Religious Freedom Act [42 U.S.C. 1996]; Farmland Protection Policy Act (FPPA) [7 U.S.C. 4201-4209... Populations; E.O. 11593 Protection and Enhancement of Cultural Resources; E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites; E.O...

75 FR 25309 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on Proposed Expanded Intermodal Freight Terminal in Michigan

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-07

... 1964 [42 U.S.C. 2000(d)-2000(d)(1)]; American Indians Religious Freedom Act [42 U.S.C. 1996]; Farmland...; E.O. 11593, Protection and Enhancement of Cultural Resources; E.O. 13007, Indian Sacred Sites; E.O...

75 FR 28317 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on Proposed Highways in Michigan

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-20

... 1964 [42 U.S.C 2000(d)-2000(d)(1)]; American Indians Religious Freedom Act [42 U.S.C. 1996]; Farmland... Populations; E.O. 11593, Protection and Enhancement of Cultural Resources; E.O. 13007, Indian Sacred Sites; E...

Between two worlds. Sverre Fehn and the Crematorium in Larvik

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giovanni Comi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Designed by Sverre Fehn in collaboration with Geir Grung in 1950, the crematorium of Larvik consists of a wall of 140 meters length and 3,60 meters height in front of the Sandefjord. The wall constitutes an element of distinction between the interior and the exterior; it builds a relationship and, at the same time, recognition between the town and the sacred space of the crematorium. This separation is made even more evident by the orography of the ground and by the wooded site that emphasizes the diversity of the area dedicated to the crematorium from the nature of the surrounding forest. The wall defines two fronts: one facing the woods and the other, more architectural hosting the funeral chapel, overlooking the sea. Architecture becomes, in its precision and essentiality, a symbol of a new idea of nature.

Preserving heritage resources through responsible use of southern Nevada’s lands [Chapter 9] (Executive Summary)

Science.gov (United States)

Carol B. Raish

2013-01-01

Southern Nevada’s cultural resources (heritage resources) include archeological remains, sacred sites, historic sites, and cultural landscapes of significance to Native Americans and many other cultural groups. Locating, maintaining, and protecting these special places are part of the mandate of Nevada’s Federal and state agencies. This summary addresses Sub-goal 2.2...

Missouri Department of Natural Resources Hazardous Waste Program Weldon Spring site remedial action project. Status to date January 1998

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

This document describes the progress made by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) during the fifth year (1997) of the Agreement in Support (AIS) in its oversight role of the Weldon Springs Site Remedial Action Project (WSSRAP). Staffing issues this year have been a challenge with the resignation of an Environmental Specialist (ES) in June 1997, and the death of Robert Stovall, an Environmental Engineer (EE) II in August 1997. Progress made during this period includes securing a contract laboratory, participation in several workgroup meetings for activities at the site, oversight of the Feasibility Study/Proposed Plan (FS/PP), coordination between the US Department of Energy and the various State regulatory programs and interactions with the local public drinking water supply agency and health departments

The post-secular city

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Greve, Anni

) elements in ritual and ceremonies. Second, emergent spaces of post-secular practices are not only connected to traditional religious sites. With Schmautz (1998) it is necessary to understand a sacred site in its original social and cultural setting, and in the present experience of it. With a point...... in research on trans-national identity making (Fortier 2002). This paper suggests a displacement of focus from trans-national to international identity making and the possible role of religious societies. It is argued that an international culture is not mainstream culture however there are (universal......’ the paper argues for a possible potential of storytelling and mutual recognition. Third, it offers an argument for detecting ‘post-secular sites’ at the urban level from two angles: From architecture (the iconic consciousness) and from performance (the sacred drama). Fourth, the paper closes with a case...

Vermont Natural Resources Atlas

Data.gov (United States)

Vermont Center for Geographic Information — The purpose of the�Natural Resources Atlas�is to provide geographic information about environmental features and sites that the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources...

Teaching Science Is a Sacred Act

Science.gov (United States)

Madden, Lauren

2018-01-01

Science, as enterprise and epistemology, has been politicized. This essay recounts one science teacher educator's perspective and experience on this politicization of science and describes the necessity for preservice and practicing teachers to understand the nature and process of science. The role of teachers in advocating for science is clearly…

Site observational work plan for the UMTRA Project site at Riverton, Wyoming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-09-01

The site observational work plan (SOWP) for the Riverton, Wyoming, Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project Site is the first document for the UMTRA Ground Water Project to address site-specific activities to meet compliance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed ground water standards (52 FR 36000 (1987)). In support of the activities the regulatory framework and drivers are presented along with a discussion of the relationship of this SOWP to other UMTRA Ground Water Project programmatic documents. A combination of the two compliance strategies that will be recommended for this site are no remediation with the application of alternate concentration levels (ACL) and natural flushing in conjunction with institutional controls. ACLs are to be applied to constituents that occur at concentrations above background levels but which are essential nutrients and occur within nutritional ranges and/or have very low toxicity and high dietary intake rates compared to the levels detected in the ground water. The essential premise of natural flushing is that ground water movement and natural attenuation processes will reduce the detected contamination to background levels within 1 00 years. These two recommended compliance strategies were evaluated by applying Riverton site-specific data to the compliance framework developed in the UMTRA Ground Water programmatic environmental impact statement. There are three aquifers beneath the site: a surficial unconfined aquifer, a middle semiconfined aquifer, and a deeper confined aquifer. The milling-related contamination at the site has affected both the surficial and semiconfined aquifers, although the leaky shale aquifers separating these units limits the downward migration of contamination into the semiconfined aquifer. A shale aquitard separates the semiconfined aquifer from the underlying confined aquifer which has not been contaminated by milling-related constituents

Assessment of natural attenuation of ground-water contamination at sites FT03, LF13, and WP14/LF15, Dover Air Force Base, Delaware

Science.gov (United States)

Barbaro, Jeffrey R.

2002-01-01

Water-quality, aquifer-sediment, and hydro-logic data were used to assess the effectiveness of natural attenuation of ground-water contamination at Fire Training Area Three, the Rubble Area Landfill, the Liquid Waste Disposal Landfill, and the Receiver Station Landfill in the East Management Unit of Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. These sites, which are contaminated with chlorinated solvents and fuel hydrocarbons, are under-going long-term monitoring to determine if natural attenuation continues to sufficiently reduce contaminant concentrations to meet regulatory requirements. This report is the first assessment of the effectiveness of natural attenuation at these sites since long-term monitoring began in 1999, and follows a preliminary investigation done in 1995?96. This assessment was done by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force.Since 1995?96, additional information has been collected and used in the current assessment. The conclusions in this report are based primarily on ground-water samples collected from January through March 2000. Previous analytical results from selected wells, available geologic and geo-physical well logs, and newly acquired information such as sediment organic-carbon measurements, hydraulic-conductivity measurements determined from slug tests on wells in the natural attenuation study area, and water-level measurements from surficial-aquifer wells also were used in this assessment. This information was used to: (1) calculate retardation factors and estimate contaminant migration velocities, (2) improve estimates of ground-water flow directions and inferred contaminant migration pathways, (3) better define the areal extent of contamination and the proximity of contaminants to discharge areas and the Base boundary, (4) develop a better under-standing of the vertical variability of contaminant concentrations and redox conditions, (5) evaluate the effects of temporal changes on concentrations in the plumes and

78 FR 21004 - Proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Revision Assigning Certain Federal Environmental...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-08

... 1966, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 469-469(c). 12. American Indian Religious Freedom Act, 42 U.S.C. 1996. 13... Populations; E.O. 11593, Protection and Enhancement of Cultural Resources; E.O. 13007, Indian Sacred Sites; E...

Visiting Ground Zero: sacred echoes in secular rites

OpenAIRE

Richard C. Martin

2010-01-01

For the past several years since September 11, 2001, large numbers of people from across the continent and around the world have visited the site of the devastated World Trade Center in New York. Scholars in religious studies and the social sciences have noticed that there were and continue to be (though less so over time) religious aspects to the observances and performances of visitors to ‘Ground Zero’, as the site of the former World Trade Center almost immediately came to be called. A cen...

Estimating Emissions of Toxic Hydrocarbons from Natural Gas Production Sites in the Barnett Shale Region of Northern Texas.

Science.gov (United States)

Marrero, Josette E; Townsend-Small, Amy; Lyon, David R; Tsai, Tracy R; Meinardi, Simone; Blake, Donald R

2016-10-04

Oil and natural gas operations have continued to expand and move closer to densely populated areas, contributing to growing public concerns regarding exposure to hazardous air pollutants. During the Barnett Shale Coordinated Campaign in October, 2013, ground-based whole air samples collected downwind of oil and gas sites revealed enhancements in several potentially toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) when compared to background values. Molar emissions ratios relative to methane were determined for hexane, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX compounds). Using methane leak rates measured from the Picarro mobile flux plane (MFP) system and a Barnett Shale regional methane emissions inventory, the rates of emission of these toxic gases were calculated. Benzene emissions ranged between 51 ± 4 and 60 ± 4 kg h -1 . Hexane, the most abundantly emitted pollutant, ranged from 642 ± 45 to 1070 ± 340 kg h -1 . While observed hydrocarbon enhancements fall below federal workplace standards, results may indicate a link between emissions from oil and natural gas operations and concerns about exposure to hazardous air pollutants. The larger public health risks associated with the production and distribution of natural gas are of particular importance and warrant further investigation, particularly as the use of natural gas increases in the United States and internationally.

YUCCA MOUNTAIN SITE DESCRIPTION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simmons, A.M.

2004-01-01

The ''Yucca Mountain Site Description'' summarizes, in a single document, the current state of knowledge and understanding of the natural system at Yucca Mountain. It describes the geology; geochemistry; past, present, and projected future climate; regional hydrologic system; and flow and transport within the unsaturated and saturated zones at the site. In addition, it discusses factors affecting radionuclide transport, the effect of thermal loading on the natural system, and tectonic hazards. The ''Yucca Mountain Site Description'' is broad in nature. It summarizes investigations carried out as part of the Yucca Mountain Project since 1988, but it also includes work done at the site in earlier years, as well as studies performed by others. The document has been prepared under the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management quality assurance program for the Yucca Mountain Project. Yucca Mountain is located in Nye County in southern Nevada. The site lies in the north-central part of the Basin and Range physiographic province, within the northernmost subprovince commonly referred to as the Great Basin. The basin and range physiography reflects the extensional tectonic regime that has affected the region during the middle and late Cenozoic Era. Yucca Mountain was initially selected for characterization, in part, because of its thick unsaturated zone, its arid to semiarid climate, and the existence of a rock type that would support excavation of stable openings. In 1987, the United States Congress directed that Yucca Mountain be the only site characterized to evaluate its suitability for development of a geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel

Siting of research reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-01-01

The purpose of this document is to develop criteria for siting and the site-related design basis for research reactors. The concepts presented in this document are intended as recommendations for new reactors and are not suggested for backfitting purposes for facilities already in existence. In siting research reactors serious consideration is given to minimizing the effects of the site on the reactor and the reactor on the site and the potential impact of the reactor on the environment. In this document guidance is first provided on the evaluation of the radiological impact of the installation under normal reactor operation and accident conditions. A classification of research reactors in groups is then proposed, together with a different approach for each group, to take into account the relevant safety problems associated with facilities of different characteristics. Guidance is also provided for both extreme natural events and for man-induced external events which could affect the safe operation of the reactor. Extreme natural events include earthquakes, flooding for river or coastal sites and extreme meteorological phenomena. The feasibility of emergency planning is finally considered for each group of reactors

77 FR 531 - Notice of Limitation on Claims Against a Proposed Transportation Project

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-05

...: Civil Rights Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C. 2000(d)-2000(d)(1)); American Indian Religious Freedom Act [42 U.S.C... Populations; E.O. 11593 Protection and Enhancement of Cultural Resources; E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites; E.O...

78 FR 54947 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on Proposed US 1 Improvements-Rockingham, Richmond County, NC

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-06

...: Civil Rights Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C. 2000(d)-2000(d)(1)]; American Indian Religious Freedom Act [42 U.S.C... Populations; E.O. 11593 Protection and Enhancement of Cultural Resources; E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites; E.O...

32 CFR Appendix A to Part 651 - References

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

...., p. 859. Executive Order 13007 Indian Sacred Sites, 3 CFR, 1996 Comp., p. 196. Executive Order 13045... Religious Freedom Act. 42 U.S.C. 1996. Clean Air Act As amended (42 U.S.C. 7401, et seq.). Clean Water Act...

77 FR 26355 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on Avenida Rio Salado/Broadway Road

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-03

...: Civil Rights Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C. 2000(d)-2000(d)(1)]; American Indian Religious Freedom Act [42 U.S.C... of Cultural Resources; E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 13287 Preserve America; E.O. 13175...

75 FR 59325 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on Proposed Highway in North Carolina

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-27

...: Civil Rights Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C. 2000(d)-2000(d)(1)]; American Indian Religious Freedom Act [42 U.S.C... of Cultural Resources; E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 13287 Preserve America; E.O. 13175...

Thermal-stable proteins of fruit of long-living Sacred Lotus Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn var. China Antique.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen-Miller, J; Lindner, Petra; Xie, Yongming; Villa, Sarah; Wooding, Kerry; Clarke, Steven G; Loo, Rachel R O; Loo, Joseph A

2013-09-01

Single-seeded fruit of the sacred lotus Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn var. China Antique from NE China have viability as long as ~1300 years determined by direct radiocarbon-dating, having a germination rate of 84%. The pericarp, a fruit tissue that encloses the single seeds of Nelumbo , is considered one of the major factors that contribute to fruit longevity. Proteins that are heat stable and have protective function may be equally important to seed viability. We show proteins of Nelumbo fruit that are able to withstand heating, 31% of which remained soluble in the 110°C-treated embryo-axis of a 549-yr-old fruit and 76% retained fluidity in its cotyledons. Genome of Nelumbo is published. The amino-acid sequences of 11 "thermal proteins" (soluble at 100°C) of modern Nelumbo embryo-axes and cotyledons, identified by mass spectrometry, Western blot and bioassay, are assembled and aligned with those of an archaeal-hyperthermophile Methancaldococcus jannaschii (Mj; an anaerobic methanogen having a growth optimum of 85°C) and with five mesophile angiosperms. These thermal proteins have roles in protection and repair under stress. More than half of the Nelumbo thermal proteins (55%) are present in the archaean Mj, indicating their long-term durability and history. One Nelumbo protein-repair enzyme exhibits activity at 100°C, having a higher heat-tolerance than that of Arabidopsis. A list of 30 sequenced but unassembled thermal proteins of Nelumbo is supplemented.

Estimation of natural ground water recharge for the performance assessment of a low-level waste disposal facility at the Hanford Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rockhold, M.L.; Fayer, M.J.; Kincaid, C.T.; Gee, G.W.

1995-03-01

In 1994, the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) initiated the Recharge Task, under the PNL Vitrification Technology Development (PVTD) project, to assist Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC) in designing and assessing the performance of a low-level waste (LLW) disposal facility for the US Department of Energy (DOE). The Recharge Task was established to address the issue of ground water recharge in and around the LLW facility and throughout the Hanford Site as it affects the unconfined aquifer under the facility. The objectives of this report are to summarize the current knowledge of natural ground water recharge at the Hanford Site and to outline the work that must be completed in order to provide defensible estimates of recharge for use in the performance assessment of this LLW disposal facility. Recharge studies at the Hanford Site indicate that recharge rates are highly variable, ranging from nearly zero to greater than 100 mm/yr depending on precipitation, vegetative cover, and soil types. Coarse-textured soils without plants yielded the greatest recharge. Finer-textured soils, with or without plants, yielded the least. Lysimeters provided accurate, short-term measurements of recharge as well as water-balance data for the soil-atmosphere interface and root zone. Tracers provided estimates of longer-term average recharge rates in undisturbed settings. Numerical models demonstrated the sensitivity of recharge rates to different processes and forecast recharge rates for different conditions. All of these tools (lysimetry, tracers, and numerical models) are considered vital to the development of defensible estimates of natural ground water recharge rates for the performance assessment of a LLW disposal facility at the Hanford Site

Characterization of overwintering sites of the invasive brown marmorated stink bug in natural landscapes using human surveyors and detector canines.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Doo-Hyung Lee

Full Text Available Halyomorpha halys is an invasive species from Asia causing major economic losses in agricultural production in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Unlike other crop pests, H. halys is also well-known for nuisance problems in urban, suburban, and rural areas, as massive numbers of adults often invade human-made structures to overwinter inside protected environments. Research efforts have focused on populations in human-made structures while overwintering ecology of H. halys in natural landscapes is virtually unknown. We explored forested landscapes in the mid-Atlantic region to locate and characterize natural overwintering structures used by H. halys. We also evaluated the use of detector canines to locate overwintering H. halys to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of surveys. From these studies, we indentified shared characteristics of overwintering sites used by H. halys in natural landscapes. Overwintering H. halys were recovered from dry crevices in dead, standing trees with thick bark, particularly oak (Quercus spp. and locust (Robinia spp.; these characteristics were shared by 11.8% of all dead trees in surveyed landscapes. For trees with favorable characteristics, we sampled ∼20% of the total above-ground tree area and recovered 5.9 adults per tree from the trees with H. halys present. Two detector canines were successfully trained to recognize and detect the odor of adult H. halys yielding >84% accuracy in laboratory and semi-field trials. Detector canines also found overwintering H. halys under field conditions. In particular, overwintering H. halys were recovered only from dead trees that yielded positive indications from the canines and shared key tree characteristics established by human surveyors. The identified characteristics of natural overwintering sites of H. halys will serve as baseline information to establish crop economic risk levels posed by overwintering populations, and accordingly develop sustainable

English Nature's ''natural areas'': a different look at the countryside

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirby, K.J.

1994-01-01

Nature conservation is often equated with the protection of nature reserves and other special sites. However in England such sites are now often surrounded by agricultural land of limited wildlife value. There is no guarantee that the plants and animal communities that we have inherited can be maintained in island-like patches. Therefore we must try to make the countryside in-between richer as well. The current changing agricultural and forestry scenes mean that there is a good possibility that this can be achieved. Short rotation coppice (SRC) is one of the new land-uses whose impact we need to consider. Studies to date indicate that it is a richer habitat than arable land or heavily improved grassland at the level of the individual field. Our concern in the countryside as a whole however is how blocks of SRC relate to other habitats and features; are there better alternative uses (from a wildlife point of view) in a particular landscape? The description of the current state and long-term objectives for particular Natural Areas should help us to make such decisions in a consistent way. Use of wood for fuel from traditional coppice is also likely to benefit nature conservation by bringing neglected woods back into rotation. Where large schemes are proposed however there are a number of issues related primarily to the timing of the work and methods of harvesting that may need adjustment to prevent damage to sensitive sites. Involvement of English Nature staff at an early stage should make it easier to resolve any potential problems. (Author)

YUCCA MOUNTAIN SITE DESCRIPTION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A.M. Simmons

2004-04-16

The ''Yucca Mountain Site Description'' summarizes, in a single document, the current state of knowledge and understanding of the natural system at Yucca Mountain. It describes the geology; geochemistry; past, present, and projected future climate; regional hydrologic system; and flow and transport within the unsaturated and saturated zones at the site. In addition, it discusses factors affecting radionuclide transport, the effect of thermal loading on the natural system, and tectonic hazards. The ''Yucca Mountain Site Description'' is broad in nature. It summarizes investigations carried out as part of the Yucca Mountain Project since 1988, but it also includes work done at the site in earlier years, as well as studies performed by others. The document has been prepared under the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management quality assurance program for the Yucca Mountain Project. Yucca Mountain is located in Nye County in southern Nevada. The site lies in the north-central part of the Basin and Range physiographic province, within the northernmost subprovince commonly referred to as the Great Basin. The basin and range physiography reflects the extensional tectonic regime that has affected the region during the middle and late Cenozoic Era. Yucca Mountain was initially selected for characterization, in part, because of its thick unsaturated zone, its arid to semiarid climate, and the existence of a rock type that would support excavation of stable openings. In 1987, the United States Congress directed that Yucca Mountain be the only site characterized to evaluate its suitability for development of a geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.

Natural groundwater recharge and water balance at the Hanford Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rockhold, M.L.; Fayer, M.J.; Gee, G.W.; Kanyid, M.J.

1990-01-01

The purpose of this report is to present water-balance data collected in 1988 and 1989 from the 300 Area Buried Waste Test Facility and Grass Site, and the 200 East Area closed-bottom lysimeter. This report is an annual update of previous recharge status reports by Gee, Rockhold, and Downs, and Gee. Data from several other lysimeter sites are included for comparison. 43 refs., 28 figs., 7 tabs

Sustainably connecting children with nature: an exploratory study of nature play area visitor impacts and their management

Science.gov (United States)

Browning, Matthew H.E.M.; Marion, Jeffrey L.; Gregoire, Timothy G.

2013-01-01

Parks are developing nature play areas to improve children's health and “connect” them with nature. However, these play areas are often located in protected natural areas where managers must balance recreation with associated environmental impacts. In this exploratory study, we sought to describe these impacts. We also investigated which ages, gender, and play group sizes most frequently caused impact and where impacts most frequently occur. We measured the lineal and aerial extent and severity of impacts at three play areas in the eastern United States. Methods included soil and vegetation loss calculations, qualitative searches and tree and shrub damage classifications. Additionally, we observed 12 h of play at five play areas. Results showed that measurable negative impacts were caused during 33% of the time children play. On average, 76% of groundcover vegetation was lost at recreation sites and 100% was lost at informal trails. In addition, approximately half of all trees and shrubs at sites were damaged. Meanwhile, soil exposure was 25% greater on sites and trails than at controls. Boys and small group sizes more frequently caused impact, and informal recreation sites were most commonly used for play. No statistically significant correlations were found between age or location and impact frequency. Managers interested in developing nature play areas should be aware of, but not deterred by these impacts. The societal benefits of unstructured play in nature may outweigh the environmental costs. Recommended management strategies include selecting impact-resistant sites, improving site resistance, promoting low impact practices, and managing adaptively.

MANAGING THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE ON ROMANIAN RELIGIOUS SITES: MONASTERIES ABBOTS’ PERCEPTIONS

OpenAIRE

Mihai Florin BĂCILĂ; Alexandru CHIŞ; Gabriela Cecilia STĂNCIULESCU; Alexandra-Maria ŢÎRCA

2010-01-01

For thousands of years, people have been travelling to places considered sacred to meet or to worship Divinity. Religion-motivated tourism is extremely important in many parts of the world. The aim of this paper is to investigate the issue of the religious tourism experience for a religion considered to be conservative and traditionalist in relation to other denominations. In order to achieve this end we distinguish the behavioural characteristics and motivations of the religious sites’ visit...

Monitored natural attenuation (MNA) and risk management applied to an active industrial site affected by fuel spill in groundwater

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Pablo, J.; Marti, V.; Rovira, M.; Vinolas, C.; Navarro, O.

2005-01-01

Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) applied to sites were groundwater have been affected by a fuel spill from an Industrial Underground Storage Tank (UST) is economically viable and a reliable methodology to achieve remediation goals. MNA process consists in the control of naturally occurring physical, chemical , and biological processes and is based in the knowledge of the processes that take place and reduce the charge of compounds derived from fuel in the site of study. Because the risk for Human Health and Ecosystem define the concept of contaminant, during MNA special attention has to be taken on concentration diminution of that are or could become contaminants and in this way is possible to perform Risk-Based Land Management (RBLM) by measuring both, the primary lines of evidence (shrinking or stable plume of contaminants) and secondary lines of evidence (given by geochemical indicators in the plume). Once, evidences have been gathered, is possible to calculate the rate of attenuation of contaminants and evaluate if admissible risk is reached an in a reasonable time framework, in order to propose MNA as a unique remediation or combined with other procedures to apply to an affected site. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the application of MNA to an active industrial site in order to develop a RBLM able to assess that the risk for Human Health and ecosystem are acceptable. The added attractive of this methodology is the non-intrusiveness that allows not to stop the industrial activity. The site considered in our study is in an active company located about 15 Km to NW from Barcelona, Spain.The company has a buried UST containing heavy fuel oil for energetic use. During 2002 a general soil impact study revealed that subsoil and groundwater close to the UST were affected by hydrocarbon losses from the tank and in January 2003 the fuel of the tank was emptied by pumping. The free phase of fuel floating on groundwater remained on the aquifer. As a

Site-specific selfish genes as tools for the control and genetic engineering of natural populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Burt, Austin

2003-05-07

Site-specific selfish genes exploit host functions to copy themselves into a defined target DNA sequence, and include homing endonuclease genes, group II introns and some LINE-like transposable elements. If such genes can be engineered to target new host sequences, then they can be used to manipulate natural populations, even if the number of individuals released is a small fraction of the entire population. For example, a genetic load sufficient to eradicate a population can be imposed in fewer than 20 generations, if the target is an essential host gene, the knockout is recessive and the selfish gene has an appropriate promoter. There will be selection for resistance, but several strategies are available for reducing the likelihood of it evolving. These genes may also be used to genetically engineer natural populations, by means of population-wide gene knockouts, gene replacements and genetic transformations. By targeting sex-linked loci just prior to meiosis one may skew the population sex ratio, and by changing the promoter one may limit the spread of the gene to neighbouring populations. The proposed constructs are evolutionarily stable in the face of the mutations most likely to arise during their spread, and strategies are also available for reversing the manipulations.

Assessment of natural hydrocarbon bioremediation at two gas condensate production sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barker, G.W.; Raterman, K.T.; Fisher, J.B.; Corgan, J.M.; Trent, G.L.; Brown, D.R.; Sublette, K.L.

1995-01-01

Condensate liquids are present in soil and groundwater at two gas production sites in the Denver-Julesburg Basin operated by Amoco. These sites have been closely monitored since July 1993 to determine whether intrinsic aerobic or anaerobic bioremediation of hydrocarbons occurs at a sufficient rate and to an adequate endpoint to support a no-intervention decision. Groundwater monitoring and analysis of soil cores strongly suggest that intrinsic bioremediation is occurring at these sites by multiple pathways, including aerobic oxidation, Fe(III) reduction, and sulfate reduction

Ecological and radioecological studies of nuclear installation sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caries, J. C.; Hugon, J.; Grauby, A.

1988-01-01

The site study method consists of a dynamic and estimated analysis and of following up the release impact on all natural or non natural media compartments that take a part in the protection of man and his environment. The stages of knowing a nuclear site include the site preliminary radioecological evaluation, diffusion parameters evaluation, the quantification of factors of radioelements transfer to man, the ecological baseline carrying out, the radioactive baseline establishment, the radioecological synthesis of the results, the site radioactive and ecological control. This method applys to selection and detailed study of site. 1 tab., 7 refs. (F.M.)

78 FR 50107 - Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: University of Colorado Museum of Natural History...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-16

... organizations, has determined that the cultural items listed in this notice meet the definition of sacred... Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim these cultural items should... tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim these cultural...

Current status of natural orifice trans-endoscopic surgery (NOTES and laparoendoscopic single site surgery (LESS in urologic surgery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafael E. Sanchez-Salas

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Laparoendoscopic single site surgery (LESS and natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES represent novel approaches in urological surgery. To perform a review of the literature in order describe the current status of LESS and NOTES in Urology. References for this manuscript were obtained by performing a review of the available literature in PubMed from 01-01-02 to 15-05-09. Search terms included single port, single site, NOTES, LESS and single incision. A total of 412 manuscripts were initially identified. Out of these, 64 manuscripts were selected based in their urological content. The manuscript features subheadings for experimental and clinical studies, as NOTES-LESS is a new surgical technique and its future evolution will probably rely in initial verified feasibility. A subheading for reviews presents information regarding common language and consensus for the techniques. The issue of complications published in clinical series and the future needs of NOTES-LESS, are also presented.

Natural decay series radionuclide studies at the Needle's Eye natural analogue site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacKenzie, A.B.; Scott, R.D.; Houston, C.M.; Hooker, P.J.

1991-01-01

This report covers work on a natural radioactive geochemical system and has been carried out with the aim of improving confidence in using predictive models of radionuclide migration in the geosphere. It is one of a series being produced and is concerned with the U/Th decay series characterization of the hydrothermal mineral veins and the movement of these radionuclides into post-glacial flood plain deposits

NATURAL BASES AND ARTISTIC MEANS OF MODERN ARTS AND CRAFTS OF DAGESTAN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. G. Gazimagomedov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The aim is to carry out a generalized analysis of the history of formation of a new artistic language in contemporary arts and crafts of Dagestan. An innovative search for applied artist has gained further development in a series of works of the leading masters of folk arts and crafts of Dagestan. Discussion. For millennia, arts and crafts of Dagestan have been organically linked with the life of people and their everyday way of life and daily activities, with their worldview and understanding of beauty. In the middle of the 1st millennium BC in the mountainous Dagestan, art of bronze casting has reached a high degree of perfection, most vividly represented by statues of different wild and domestic animals. Images of animals are interpreted generically, without study of small details, but with the characteristic features of the exterior. Paired images of birds are often found in the arts and crafts of the medieval Dagestan. This heraldic composition, two-part or in conjunction with the sacred tree - a three-part, presented in metal-plastic and carved stone and wood, was one of the most popular and enduring decorative items that was common during the Middle Ages and has survived to the present day. This also has been further developed and improved and inherited by craftsmen of Dagestan.Conclusion. When creating works of arts and crafts craftsmen use diverse traditional arts and engineering techniques, the ancient but substantially revised and reinterpreted iconic scenes and ornamental motifs. In art, folk craftsmen emphasize the unity of man and nature. Most ornamental motifs common in Dagestan, go back to the very specific nature prototypes. Compositional structure, as the artistic analysis shows, is often borrowed from nature. This feeling becomes a condition for cultural and biological development, acting as a factor of co-evolution of man and nature.

Native American Religious Freedom and Federal Land Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Dahl, Eric William

1990-01-01

Explains the importance of specific locations to the performance of ceremonies and rituals in traditional Native American religions. Discusses recent court decisions in favor of federal land management agencies denying protection to sacred sites because of economic or development considerations. Contains 15 references. (SV)

A plant taxonomic survey of the Uranium City region, Lake Athabasca north shore, emphasizing the naturally colonizing plants on uranium mine and mill wastes and other human-disturbed sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harms, V.L.

1982-07-01

A goal of this study was to acquire more complete baseline data on the existing flora of the Uranium City region, both in natural and human-disturbed sites. Emphasis was given to determining which plant species were naturally revegetating various abandoned uranium mine and mill waste disposal areas, other human-disturbed sites, and ecologically analogous sites. Another goal was to document the occurrence and distribution in the study region of rare and possibly endangered species. A further objective was to suggest regionally-occurring species with potential value for revegetating uranium mine and mill waste sites. Field investigations were carried out in the Uranium City region during August, 1981. During this time 1412 plant collections were made; a total of 366 plant species - trees, shrubs, forbs, graminoids, lichens, and bryophytes were recorded. The report includes an annotated checklist of plant species of the Uranium City region and a reference index of plant taxa indicating species that have high revegetation potential

Absence of Non-histone Protein Complexes at Natural Chromosomal Pause Sites Results in Reduced Replication Pausing in Aging Yeast Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marleny Cabral

2016-11-01

Full Text Available There is substantial evidence that genomic instability increases during aging. Replication pausing (and stalling at difficult-to-replicate chromosomal sites may induce genomic instability. Interestingly, in aging yeast cells, we observed reduced replication pausing at various natural replication pause sites (RPSs in ribosomal DNA (rDNA and non-rDNA locations (e.g., silent replication origins and tRNA genes. The reduced pausing occurs independent of the DNA helicase Rrm3p, which facilitates replication past these non-histone protein-complex-bound RPSs, and is independent of the deacetylase Sir2p. Conditions of caloric restriction (CR, which extend life span, also cause reduced replication pausing at the 5S rDNA and at tRNA genes. In aged and CR cells, the RPSs are less occupied by their specific non-histone protein complexes (e.g., the preinitiation complex TFIIIC, likely because members of these complexes have primarily cytosolic localization. These conditions may lead to reduced replication pausing and may lower replication stress at these sites during aging.

Characterization of the National Petroleum Reserve No. 3 (NPR-3) Site for Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material(NORM)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

White, G.J; Rood, A.S.

1999-01-21

The National Petroleum Reserve No. 3 site (NPR-3) near Casper, Wyoming is being prepared for transfer to private industry. Remediation of the NPR-3 site has already begun in anticipation of this transfer. This document describes the characterization of the NPR-3 site for Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM). Data generated on radionuclide concentrations and radon emanation may be used to determine disposal options and the need for remediation at this site. A preliminary gamma survey of the NPR-3 site was conducted to identify areas of potential NORM contamination. Based on these gamma surveys, two general areas of NORM contamination were found: the North Water Flood area and the BTP-10 produced water discharge steam. A maximum surface exposure rate of 120 {micro}R h{sup -1} was observed in the North Water Flood area, with the highest readings found along the drainage channel from the area. Exposure rates dropped to background quickly with increasing distance from the center of the drainage. The maximum observed exposure rate in the BTP-10 produced water drainage was 40 {micro}R h{sup -1}. Soil and sediment sampling were concentrated in these two areas. All samples were analyzed for concentration of {sup 226}Ra, {sup 228}Ra, and {sup 40}K. Maximum {sup 226}Ra concentrations observed in the samples collected were 46 pCi g{sup -1} for soil and 78 pCi g{sup -1} for sediment. Concentrations in most samples were considerably lower than these values. Radon emanation fraction was also measured for a randomly selected fraction of the samples. The mean Rn emanation fraction measured was 0.10, indicating that on average only 10 percent of the Rn produced is released from the medium. Based on the results of these analyses, NORM contamination at the NPR-3 site is minimal, and appears to be restricted to the two general areas sampled. Concentrations of NORM radionuclides found soils and sediments in these two locations do not justify remedial actions at present

Sacred Habitats at Got Ramogi Cultural Landscape: Opportunities and Strategies for Ecotourism in Siaya County, Kenya

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ODEDE Fredrick Z. Argwenge

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Considering that tourism is one of the World’s largest industry, inter and intra-regional competition is unavoidable. The competition has been further worsened by the globalization nature of tourism. As such, tourism business is better realized when efforts are put towards destination as opposed to regional or national tourism promotion. Against this background, developing and making the ecotourism business plan operational will not only unlock the tourism potential but also help in the management, promotion and protection of the sites for future generations and enhance economic growth of Siaya County in Kenya. In the development of this business plan, a participatory approach was adopted. The participation involved stakeholders; namely Community based organizations (CBOs, boat operators, beach leaders, religious leaders, Kenya Forest Research Institute (KEFRI, operators of hospitality services in the region, local community representatives as well as Provincial administration. The stakeholders were put in a workshop setting which was facilitated by four consultants from Bondo University. The plan also used secondary information sources from Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS, and web sites among others.

Natural Resource Management Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Green, T. [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Schwager, K. [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

2016-10-01

This comprehensive Natural Resource Management Plan (NRMP) for Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) was built on the successful foundation of the Wildlife Management Plan for BNL, which it replaces. This update to the 2003 plan continues to build on successes and efforts to better understand the ecosystems and natural resources found on the BNL site. The plan establishes the basis for managing the varied natural resources located on the 5,265-acre BNL site, setting goals and actions to achieve those goals. The planning of this document is based on the knowledge and expertise gained over the past 15 years by the Natural Resources management staff at BNL in concert with local natural resource agencies including the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Long Island Pine Barrens Joint Planning and Policy Commission, The Nature Conservancy, and others. The development of this plan works toward sound ecological management that not only benefits BNL’s ecosystems but also benefits the greater Pine Barrens habitats in which BNL is situated. This plan applies equally to the Upton Ecological and Research Reserve (Upton Reserve). Any difference in management between the larger BNL area and the Upton Reserve are noted in the text.

Heterogeneous seepage at the Nopal I natural analogue site, Chihuahua, Mexico

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dobson, Patrick F.; Cook, Paul J.; Ghezzehei, Teamrat A.; Rodriguez, J. Alfredo; Villalba, Lourdes; de la Garza, Rodrigo

2008-10-25

An integrated field, laboratory, and modeling study of the Pena Blanca (Chihuahua, Mexico) natural analogue site is being conducted to evaluate processes that control the mobilization and transport of radionuclides from a uranium ore deposit. One component of this study is an evaluation of the potential for radionuclide transport through the unsaturated zone (UZ) via a seepage study in an adit at the Nopal I uranium mine, excavated 10 m below a mined level surface. Seasonal rainfall on the exposed level surface infiltrates into the fractured rhyolitic ash-flow tuff and seeps into the adit. An instrumented seepage collection system and local automated weather station permit direct correlation between local precipitation events and seepage within the Nopal I +00 adit. Monitoring of seepage within the adit between April 2005 and December 2006 indicates that seepage is highly heterogeneous with respect to time, location, and quantity. Within the back adit area, a few zones where large volumes of water have been collected are linked to fast flow path fractures (0-4 h transit times) presumably associated with focused flow. In most locations, however, there is a 1-6 month time lag between major precipitation events and seepage within the adit, with longer residence times observed for the front adit area. Seepage data obtained from this study will be used to provide input to flow and transport models being developed for the Nopal I hydrogeologic system.

Heterogeneous seepage at the Nopal I natural analogue site, Chihuahua, Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dobson, Patrick F.; Cook, Paul J.; Ghezzehei, Teamrat A.; Rodriguez, J. Alfredo; Villalba, Lourdes; de la Garza, Rodrigo

2008-01-01

An integrated field, laboratory, and modeling study of the Pena Blanca (Chihuahua, Mexico) natural analogue site is being conducted to evaluate processes that control the mobilization and transport of radionuclides from a uranium ore deposit. One component of this study is an evaluation of the potential for radionuclide transport through the unsaturated zone (UZ) via a seepage study in an adit at the Nopal I uranium mine, excavated 10 m below a mined level surface. Seasonal rainfall on the exposed level surface infiltrates into the fractured rhyolitic ash-flow tuff and seeps into the adit. An instrumented seepage collection system and local automated weather station permit direct correlation between local precipitation events and seepage within the Nopal I +00 adit. Monitoring of seepage within the adit between April 2005 and December 2006 indicates that seepage is highly heterogeneous with respect to time, location, and quantity. Within the back adit area, a few zones where large volumes of water have been collected are linked to fast flow path fractures (0-4 h transit times) presumably associated with focused flow. In most locations, however, there is a 1-6 month time lag between major precipitation events and seepage within the adit, with longer residence times observed for the front adit area. Seepage data obtained from this study will be used to provide input to flow and transport models being developed for the Nopal I hydrogeologic system.

Natural processes as means to create local connection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sjøstedt, Victoria

2010-01-01

and practical knowledge about how to apply natural processes to planning. This paper investigates how natural process thinking caters for a connection to the local and the site-specific in a Chinese context of transformation. Natural process thinking as a site-based urban design approach is understood...... and utilized conceptually within the Wuhan project by mapping-techniques and environmental simulation software. The result gives implications concerning method development for architects as how to develop design concepts based on natural process thinking. Furthermore, the result shows that natural processes...

Development of site-specific soil cleanup criteria: New Brunswick Laboratory, New Jersey site

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Veluri, V.R.; Moe, H.J.; Robinet, M.J.; Wynveen, R.A.

1983-03-01

The potential human exposure which results from the residual soil radioactivity at a decommissioned site is a prime concern during D and D projects. To estimate this exposure, a pathway analysis approach is often used to arrive at the residual soil radioactivity criteria. The development of such a criteria for the decommissioning of the New Brunswick Laboratory, New Jersey site is discussed. Contamination on this site was spotty and located in small soil pockets spread throughout the site area. Less than 1% of the relevant site area was contaminated. The major contaminants encountered at the site were /sup 239/Pu, /sup 241/Am, normal and natural uranium, and natural thorium. During the development of the pathway analysis to determine the site cleanup criteria, corrections for the inhomogeneity of the contamination were made. These correction factors and their effect upon the relevant pathway parameters are presented. Major pathways by which radioactive material may reach an individual are identified and patterns of use are specified (scenario). Each pathway is modeled to estimate the transfer parameters along the given pathway, such as soil to air to man, etc. The transfer parameters are then combined with dose rate conversion factors (ICRP 30 methodology) to obtain soil concentration to dose rate conversion factors (pCi/g/mrem/yr). For an appropriate choice of annual dose equivalent rate, one can then arrive at a value for the residual soil concentration. Pathway modeling, transfer parameters, and dose rate factors for the three major pathways; inhalation, ingestion and external exposure, which are important for the NBL site, are discussed.

CERN in "Nature"

CERN Multimedia

CERN Bulletin

2013-01-01

CERN is nestled within a verdant natural environment which, thanks to a conservation-oriented policy, is characterized by a remarkable biodiversity. The continued protection of that diversity calls for thoughtful, carefully planned measures.   CERN’s site is an extensive one: its 650 hectares include 210 hectares of buildings, roadways and parking lots, 100 hectares of fenced-off green area, and 340 hectares of non-fenced land, a patchwork of fields, woods and pasture. This land teems with a great variety of plants and animals, including some rare and unexpected species. In 2009 CERN received a certificate from the Swiss foundation Nature & économie for the Meyrin site, and the award was renewed in 2012 for three more years. “The green spaces inside the fenced area are tended by six ISS gardeners, whose duties also include keeping the sidewalks and footpaths clear of snow in winter. The Meyrin site also includes orchid sanctuaries, meadows and sheep pasture...

The implications of ritual practices and ritual plant uses on nature conservation: a case study among the Naxi in Yunnan Province, Southwest China.

Science.gov (United States)

Geng, Yanfei; Hu, Guoxiong; Ranjitkar, Sailesh; Shi, Yinxian; Zhang, Yu; Wang, Yuhua

2017-10-25

Conservation of biodiversity is primary important of today's critically vulnerable environment. Efficient conservation can be possible only with the long-term participation and understanding of the communities. Ritual beliefs of the indigenous people are one of the important tools to understand the local communities and aid the nature conservation. In this paper, we documented contemporary ritual practices and ritual plant uses among the Naxi people and discussed the importance of traditional knowledge on ritual practice in the conservation of plants in the mountains presenting a case study of the Dongba culture. This study was carried out from July in 2013 to July in 2014. To document and analyze the present state of the ritual plant used by the Naxi people we conducted an ethnobotanical survey. We interviewed local people including Dongba priests using the semi-structured questionnaire. During the field study, we participated in the local religious activities to witness the use of different plants in ritual activities of the Naxi people. We interviewed twenty-two key informants and eleven of them were male. All the specimens of documented species were collected and deposited at the herbarium of Kunming Institute of Botany. The survey results revealed the Naxi people possessed sound knowledge of the traditional ritual plants and great diversity of plants used in many of Naxi rituals and festivals. From the survey, we documented 32 ritual plant species belonging to 24 genera of 17 families used in various ritual activities. The ritual plants were grouped into two categories, namely those burned as incense, and those used for decoration. The incense plants like Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata and Pistacia weinmanniifolia were probably promising natural aromatic resource. Plants of genus Quercus were the most frequently used species. The places for ritual activities were diverse, such as the incense burners inside and outside the house and sacred trees at the

PLURALIZING NATURE

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clemmensen, Thomas Juel

2014-01-01

Denmark is widely recognised for its democratic approach to planning and the idea of planning for the common good. This interest in the common good and common values seems also to be reflected in the way which nature restoration is planned and managed – one common nature directed by the public...... authorities. But nature restoration is far from being a neural undertaking. Just like any other type of heritage production it can be the source of dissonance – ‘our’ nature is not necessary ‘their’ nature. Often this dissonance is managed in ways, which are not particular sensitive to site......-specificity. As exemplified by the Skjern River Restoration Project (1999-2003), one interpretation of the landscape sometimes suppresses other valid interpretations neglecting its diverse history. However, evidence from Switzerland suggests that planning for the common good, in the case of nature restoration, does...

Technical advisory on SSC site criteria and catalog of site information needs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1985-06-15

The Superconducting Super Collider, or SSC, is a proposed scientific instrument of the study of the fundamental nature of matter. In the SSC two 20-TeV beams of protons will be accelerated and counter circulate on an approximately circular path. The protons will be made to collide at six locations where detectors can be placed to count and measure the products of the collisions. These collisions, twenty times more energetic than in any existing facility, will enable scientists to probe deeper into the heart of matter in the quest for a deeper understanding of the universal forces of nature. The goal of the SSC project is to create a scientific laboratory in high energy physics whose facilities are unique. Ultimately the success of that laboratory will be measured by its scientific discoveries, measurements, interpretations, and innovations. Toward that end the accelerator-collider must be constructed to high standards at minimum cost and maximum effectiveness. Preparations must be made for future operations and a scientific-technical staff attracted and maintained. The chosen site must accommodate all of these factors. This document summarizes siting criteria for the SSC and enumerates site-specific information important to the evaluation of potential sites. This document is not a call for site proposals but a technical report prepared for the information and use of the Department of Energy (DOE).

Thorium-230 dating of natural waters at the Nevada Test Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bakhtiar, S.N.

1990-01-01

Radiocarbon determinations have been used in the past to estimate the ages of groundwater from the Paleozoic aquifer underlying the Nevada Test Site and adjacent areas. We measured the concentrations of 230 Th, 232 Th, 234 U and 238 U in several water samples taken from the wells and spring at the Nevada Test Site and calculated the 230 Th ages. 2 refs

Dutch Nature and Environmental Compendium 2003

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-01-01

The title publication comprises all the data on the nature and the environment in the Netherlands, information on related policy, references to data sources and recent research. The data and the information on the website are published in print, but the most actual data can be found on the site. The first book with the title Nature Compendium was published in April 2003. The second edition of the Environmental Compendium was published as a book in October 2001. Since March 2003 the websites of the Environmental Compendium and the Nature Compendium are integrated in one site: www.rivm.nl/milieuennatuurcompendium/nl/ [nl

Current status and future perspectives in laparoendoscopic single-site and natural orifice transluminal endoscopic urological surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Autorino, Riccardo; Stein, Robert J; Lima, Estevão; Damiano, Rocco; Khanna, Rakesh; Haber, Georges-Pascal; White, Michael A; Kaouk, Jihad H

2010-05-01

Objective of this study is to provide an evidence-based analysis of the current status and future perspectives of scarless urological surgery. A PubMed search has been performed for all relevant urological literature regarding natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) and laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS). In addition, experience with LESS and NOTES at our own institution has been considered. All clinical and investigative reports for LESS and NOTES procedures in the urological literature have been considered. A wide variety of clinical procedures in urology have been successfully completed by using LESS techniques. Thus far, experience with NOTES has largely been investigational, although early clinical reports are emerging. Further development of instrumentation and platforms is necessary for both techniques to become more widely adopted throughout the urological community.

Las creencias en el asfalto: La sacralización como una forma de apropiación del espacio público en la ciudad de México As crenças no asfalto: A sacralização como uma forma de apropriação do espaço publico na cidade de México The belives on the asphalt: Sacred sites as means of appropriation of the public space in México City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Ana Portal

2009-12-01

sacred sites. This sacred quality is achieved by installing crucifixes, altars and niches for virgins and saints. These symbols of folk religion not only adorn public sites, but also offer protection, serve as mnemonic devices and manage spatial liminality -all this in a chaotic city where public spaces are considered to be almost extinct. These elements -faces, proper names, common religious symbols- mark "anonymous" urban spaces, generating meaning and memory for inhabitants. In this fashion, public spaces become a scenario for projecting personal elements of neighborhood groups.

Missouri Department of Natural Resources Hazardous Waste Program Weldon Spring site remedial action project. Status of project to date January 1996

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

This document describes the progress made by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources during the third year (1995) of the Agreement in Support (AIS) in its oversight role at the Weldon Springs Site. The accomplishments this year include participation in several workgroup meetings, oversight of the two operable units (Groundwater and Quarry Residuals), coordination between the US DOE and the various regulatory programs, and continued independent analysis of the treated water discharges

Induced and natural break sites in the chromosomes of Hawaiian Drosophila

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tonzetich, J.; Lyttle, T.W.; Carson, H.L.

1988-01-01

Gamma-irradiation of a laboratory strain of the Hawaiian species of Drosophila heteroneura yielded 310 breaks in the five major acrocentric polytene chromosomes. Their map positions conform to the Poisson distribution, unlike most of the 436 natural breaks mapped in 105 closely related species endemic to Hawaii. Genome element E is longer and has more induced breaks than the others. Both in Hawaiian and related species groups, this element shows increased polymorphism and fixation of naturally occurring inversions. The X chromosome (element A) also accumulates many natural breaks; the majority of the resulting aberrations become fixed rather than remain as polymorphisms. Although size may play a small role in initial break distribution, the major effects relative to the establishment of a rearrangement in natural populations are ascribed to the interaction of selection and drift. Nonconformance of the natural breaks to the Poisson distribution appears to be due to the tendency for breaks to accumulate both in the proximal euchromatic portion of each arm and in heterochromatic regions that are not replicated in the polytene chromosomes

Assessment of Natural Stream Sites for Hydroelectric Dams in the Pacific Northwest Region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Douglas G. Hall; Kristin L. Verdin; Randy D. Lee

2012-03-01

This pilot study presents a methodology for modeling project characteristics using a development model of a stream obstructing dam. The model is applied to all individual stream reaches in hydrologic region 17, which encompasses nearly all of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Project site characteristics produced by the modeling technique include: capacity potential, principal dam dimensions, number of required auxiliary dams, total extent of the constructed impoundment boundary, and the surface area of the resulting reservoir. Aggregated capacity potential values for the region are presented in capacity categories including total, that at existing dams, within federal and environmentally sensitive exclusion zones, and the balance which is consider available for greenfield development within the limits of the study. Distributions of site characteristics for small hydropower sites are presented and discussed. These sites are screened to identify candidate small hydropower sites and distributions of the site characteristics of this site population are presented and discussed. Recommendations are made for upgrading the methodology and extensions to make the results more accessible and available on a larger scale.

Site observational work plan for the UMTRA Project site at Spook, Wyoming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-05-01

The Spook, Wyoming, site observational work plan proposes site-specific activities to achieve compliance with Subpart B of 40 CFR Part 192 (1994) of the final US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ground water protection standards 60 FR 2854 (1995) at this Uranium Mill Tailing Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project site. This draft SOWP presents a comprehensive summary of existing site characterization data, a conceptual site model of the nature and extent of ground water contamination, exposure pathways, and potential impact to human health and the environment. Section 2.0 describes the requirements for meeting ground water standards at UMTRA Project sites. Section 3.0 defines past and current conditions, describes potential environmental and human health risks, and provides site-specific data that supports the selection of a proposed ground water compliance strategy. Section 4.0 provides the justification for selecting the proposed ground water compliance strategy based on the framework defined in the ground water programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS)

"We share a sacred secret": gender, domesticity, and containment in Transvestia's histories and letters from crossdressers and their wives.

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Robert

2011-01-01

After WWII in the United States, gender and sexual minorities began to construct social identities in a cold war climate hostile to gender and sexual transgression. The coming of the sexual revolution in the mid-1960s and 1970s unleashed forces that provided opportunities for these groups to demarcate their differences from one another, achieve visibility, and court public favor in a more permissive and tolerant society. In this article, I examine how a cohort of white, heterosexual crossdressers and their wives forged a redeeming social script in ways that seem counterintuitive to the "spirit of the times." The presence of transvestism within the sacred, idealized space of the American home produced tremendous anxiety on the part of these transvestite husbands and especially their wives. To deflect the stigma of sexual deviancy and sooth feelings of insecurity, these couples utilized strategies of containment and embraced the domestic ideal, even well into the sexualized and swinging seventies. Their strategic yet curious retreat into domesticity compels a second look at the consensus, conformity, and containment narratives that once dominated our scholarly imagination of intimate matters during the postwar years. Might current revisionist histories have gone too far in discrediting these potent forces? How do gender and sexual populations beholden to whiteness and notions of respectability fit within the sexual revolutions of postwar America?

Criteria and approaches for the remediation of sites contaminated with natural radionuclides in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldammer, W.

1999-01-01

In some parts of Germany substantial areas have been contaminated with naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) from past activities. Particularly important are residues from past uranium mining operations (WISMUT), being subject to a massive 13 billion DM cleanup program, as well as other mining activities dealing with elevated levels of NORM. Decisions concerning the necessity and the required extent of remediation measures are based on a combination of criteria addressing limitations of maximum individual doses for critical groups as well as the optimization of the net benefit from the remediation. From these basic requirements secondary criteria have been derived, defining, for example, soil contamination levels below which a remediation is not required. The optimization analyses, carried-out to identify optimal remediation options, address radiological risks as well as short and long term costs within a cost-benefit analysis framework. Other relevant factors of influence, e.g. chemical risks or ecological damage, are incorporated as well. Comprehensive methodologies utilizing probabilistic methods have been developed to assess site conditions and possible remediation options on this basis. (author)

Quantification of uncertain outcomes from site characterization: Insights from the ESF-AS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boyle, W.J.; Parrish, D.K.; Beccue, P.C.

1992-01-01

As part of the Exploratory Studies Facility Alternatives Study (ESF-AS) the uncertain outcomes from site characterization were quantified using a probabilistic tree known as ''Nature's Tree.'' Nature's Tree distinguished the true characteristics of the Yucca Mountain site from the perceived characteristics deduced from testing. Bayesian probabilistic calculations converted probabilities in Nature's Tree to the probabilistic estimates required for the comparative analysis of Exploratory Studies Facility-repository options. Experts on characterization testing explicitly addressed several site characterization issues that are considered implicitly in many site characterization programs

Natural compounds as next-generation herbicides.

Science.gov (United States)

Dayan, Franck E; Duke, Stephen O

2014-11-01

Herbicides with new modes of action (MOAs) are badly needed due to the rapidly evolving resistance to commercial herbicides, but a new MOA has not been introduced in over 20 years. The greatest pest management challenge for organic agriculture is the lack of effective natural product herbicides. The structural diversity and evolved biological activity of natural phytotoxins offer opportunities for the development of both directly used natural compounds and synthetic herbicides with new target sites based on the structures of natural phytotoxins. Natural phytotoxins are also a source for the discovery of new herbicide target sites that can serve as the focus of traditional herbicide discovery efforts. There are many examples of strong natural phytotoxins with MOAs other than those used by commercial herbicides, which indicates that there are molecular targets of herbicides that can be added to the current repertoire of commercial herbicide MOAs. © 2014 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

Role of community forest reserves in wildlife conservation in Benin ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Sacred groves and community forests are common ways for local rural African people to conserve natural resources. The importance of traditional approach in wildlife conservation was evaluated with line transect method utilized to assess five community forests. Comparable species richness with similar size protected ...

Engaged World-Making

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Robertson, Maria Louise Bønnelykke; Rubow, Cecilie

2013-01-01

Drawing on fieldwork in Kiribati and the Cook Islands, this chapter shows how atoll islands and tropical lagoons, considered highly vulnerable to present and future sea level rise, are extraordinary malleable socio-natural worlds. Revolving around sacred islands submerged by sea water, ancient fi...

Natural Areas Analysis and Evaluation: Oak Ridge Reservation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baranski, Micahel J [self

2009-11-01

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Oak Ridge Reservation, encompassing 33,639 acres in the Valley and Ridge Physiographic Province of East Tennessee, has long been known for its unfragmented forests and high biodiversity. Many areas on the Reservation have been recognized as important natural areas, but no comprehensive treatment has been performed to evaluate the relative significance and importance of these areas compared to each other. The present study was conducted to develop a set of guidelines for evaluating the natural value of specific areas, to evaluate all the terrestrial areas that are currently delineated, and to rank all areas according to their relative biodiversity importance. All available data, reports and site-specific information relevant to Reservation lands, including Tennessee Division of Natural Areas database information, were evaluated and field work was conducted. Methodologies and criteria for assessment and evaluation of areas were developed; categories of criteria were devised; and a ranking system for evaluation of natural areas was produced. There were 70 areas evaluated during the study. The system is flexible, dynamic and easily revised to reflect updated and new information and interpretations. Eight categories of evaluation factors were established and used to characterize each site. These were the following: size of area, number or status taxa present, number of Endangered and Threatened taxa present, rarity of the Endangered and Threatened taxa on the Reservation, community diversity, site integrity and quality, disturbance and threat levels, and other significant features and factors. Each category generally consisted of a 5-point ranking scale from 0-4, allowing for a possible composite score of 32, with higher ranked, more important, sites attaining higher scores. Highly ranked sites are representative of regional natural diversity; contain outstanding natural features, communities or geology and/or very rare taxa or other elements; are

78 FR 18789 - Establishment of the San Juan Islands National Monument

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-28

... tribe. The Secretary shall, in consultation with Indian tribes, ensure the protection of religious and... cultural and customary uses, consistent with the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (42 U.S.C. 1996) and Executive Order 13007 of May 24, 1996 (Indian Sacred Sites). Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to...

The evidence is in favour of uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Selinger, B.

1999-01-01

Take Australia's most unloved mining enterprise: uranium. Please it inside our most loved national park: Kakadu. Surround it with our most sensitive social issue: Aboriginal sacred sites and land rights. Finally, obtain World Heritage listing to ensure the debate is internationalised. The result: Jabiluka becomes an icon for environmental outrage.

Linkage between site characterization program and performance and design data needs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blanchard, M.B.; Dobson, D.C.; Younker, J.L.; Voegele, M.D.

1990-01-01

The basis for identifying site-specific data needs for the Yucca Mountain site was a thorough review and evaluation of the regulatory requirements for a geologic repository. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) regulation governing disposal of high-level waste in a geologic repository utilizes a multiple barrier approach that includes reliance on both engineered and natural elements. Given an understanding of the regulatory requirements, the next step was to identify the natural features of the site and the components of the engineered barriers considered most likely to make significant contributions to isolation of waste at Yucca Mountain. The intent was to develop a site testing program that focused on understanding those natural site characteristics and processes most likely to contribute to waste isolation; and providing site data necessary to design and assess the performance of engineered barriers. 3 refs., 3 figs

The sacred disease and its patron saint.

Science.gov (United States)

Fatović-Ferencić, S; Dürrigl, M A

2001-08-01

Although the Hippocratic natural theory of epilepsy as a brain disorder originated around 400 bc , it did not begin to take root until the 18th and 19th centuries, leaving the intervening centuries dominated by mostly supernatural concepts. This article provides historical insight into human behavior when afflicted with disease: supplication to a patron saint, Saint Valentine, a cult that spread throughout Europe.

Determination of naturally occurring radioactive materials and heavy metals in soil sample at industrial site area Gebeng, Pahang

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muhammad Dzulkhairi Zulkifly

2012-01-01

A study has been carried out to determine the natural occurring radioactivity and heavy metal at an industrial site area Gebeng, Pahang. Sampling has been done in four different stations. This study has been carried out to determine the natural radioactivity ( 238 U, 232 Th, 40 K and 226 Ra) and heavy metal in soil sample. Natural radioactivities were determined using Gamma Spectrometry System, the heavy metal determination was done using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The result for analysis radioactivity concentration showed that Uranium-238 were in the range of 28.18 ± 4.78 Bq/ kg - 39.63 ± 4.79 Bq/ kg, while the concentration for Thorium-232 were in the range of 45.66 ± 5.49 Bq/ kg - 72.43 ± 9.47 Bq/ kg and for the Radium-226, the concentration were in the range of 8.93 ± 1.15 Bq/ kg - 14.29 ± 2.61 Bq/ kg. The concentration of Potassium-40 were in the range of 51.06 ± 12.18 Bq/ kg - 426.28 ± 137.70 Bq/ kg. 8 heavy metals have been found from the four different stations which are Al, Fe, V, Mn, Cr, Cu, Zn and Pb. Fe show the highest concentration among the other heavy metal while Pb show the lowest concentration. From this study, the specific activities of natural radionuclide in almost all stations were below the world limit average for soil, which is 35 Bq/ kg for Uranium-238 and Radium-226, while Thorium-232 and Potassium-40 were above the world limit average which are 30 Bq/ kg and 400 Bq/ kg. (author)

The role of natural mineral particles collected at one site in Patagonia as immersion freezing ice nuclei

Science.gov (United States)

López, María Laura; Borgnino, Laura; Ávila, Eldo E.

2018-05-01

This work studies the role of mineral particles collected in the region of Patagonia (Neuquén, Argentina) as ice nuclei particles (INPs) by immersion freezing mode. The particle immersion-freezing ability was analyzed under laboratory conditions by using an established drop-freezing technique. Mineralogical composition was characterized by using X-ray diffraction and electron micro probe analysis. Dynamic light scattering was used to determine the grain size distribution of particles, while the N2 adsorption and methylene blue adsorption methods were applied to determine their specific surface area. Water droplets of different volumes containing different concentrations of particles were cooled until droplets were frozen. For all the analyzed drop volumes, an increase in the freezing temperature of the drops was observed with increasing dust concentration. In the same way, the freezing temperature increased when the drop volume was increased at constant dust concentration. Both behaviors were linked to the availability of active sites in the particles. A plateau in the freezing temperature was observed at high suspension concentration for all the drop volumes. This plateau was related to the aggregation of the particles when the suspension concentration was increased and to the consequent decrease in the number of active sites. The active sites per unit of surface area were calculated and reported. For the studied range of temperature, results are in agreement with those reported for different sites and particles. From the chemical and morphological analysis of the particle components and the results obtained from the literature, it was concluded that even though montmorillonite was the main mineral in the collected sample, the accessory minerals deserve to be analyzed in detail in order to know if they could be responsible for the ability of the collected soil particles to act as INPs. Considering that the region of Patagonia has been identified as an important

Modelling the long-term isolation performance of natural and engineered geologic CO{sub 2} storage sites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johnson, J.W.; Nitao, J.J.; Morris, J.P. [California Univ., Livermore, CA (United States). Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

2005-07-01

Caprock integrity is an important constraint on the long-term performance of natural and engineered carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) sequestration sites. Influxes of CO{sub 2} can lead to concomitant geochemical alteration and geomechanical deformation of the caprock and degrade seal integrity. In this study, reactive transport modelling was used to assess the evolution of caprock permeability. The model was based on mathematical models of the coupled physical and chemical processes catalyzed by an influx event, along with supporting geochemical databases and a distinct-element geomechanical model. Geomechanical contribution was evaluated within a full system analysis of coupled hydrological and geochemical processes for Sleipner-like settings, and then analyzed as a function of hydrological processes, key reservoir properties, and CO{sub 2} influx parameters. The net effect of the geomechanical and geomechanical contributions on caprock integrity was then evaluated for both natural and engineered storage scenarios. Results of the study showed that CO{sub 2} influx-triggered geochemical and geomechanical processes act in opposition to enhance and degrade hydrodynamic seal capacity through aperture narrowing and widening of microfractures. The extent of geochemical enhancement was independent of the reservoir characteristics that distinguished saline-aquifer from enhanced oil recovery and CO{sub 2} sequestration settings. However, while the extent of geochemical alteration was nearly independent of the filling mode, geomechanical deformation processes were more pronounced in engineered storage scenarios. Results suggested that the secure caprocks of natural CO{sub 2} accumulation settings may be incapable of providing effective seals for engineered injection processes. The pressure increase associated with CO{sub 2} accumulation in any compartmentalized system resulted in the net geomechanical aperture widening of caprock microfractures. It was concluded that the

[System construction of early warning for ecological security at cultural and natural heritage mixed sites and its application: a case study of Wuyishan Scenery District].

Science.gov (United States)

You, Wei-Bin; He, Dong-Jin; Qin, De-Hua; Ji, Zhi-Rong; Wu, Li-Yun; Yu, Jian-An; Chen, Bing-Rong; Tan, Yong

2014-05-01

This paper proposed a new concept of ecological security for protection by a comprehensive analysis of the contents and standards of world heritage sites. A frame concept model named "Pressure-State-Control" for early warning of ecological security at world heritage mixed sites was constructed and evaluation indicators of this frame were also selected. Wuyishan Scenery District was chosen for a case study, which has been severely disturbed by natural and artificial factors. Based on the frame model of "Pressure-State-Control" and by employing extension analysis, the matter-element model was established to assess the ecological security status of this cultural and natural world heritage mixed site. The results showed that the accuracy of ecological security early warning reached 84%. Early warning rank was I level (no alert status) in 1997 and 2009, but that in 2009 had a higher possibility to convert into II level. Likewise, the early-warning indices of sensitive ranks were different between 1997 and 2009. Population density, population growth rate, area index for tea garden, cultivated land owned per capita, level of drought, and investment for ecological and environmental construction were the main limiting factors to hinder the development of ecological security from 2009 to future. In general, the status of Wuyishan Scenery District ecological security was relatively good and considered as no alert level, while risk conditions also existed in terms of a few early-warning indicators. We still need to pay more attention to serious alert indicators and adopt effective prevention and control measures to maintain a good ecological security status of this heritage site.

Natural abundance 15N NMR assignments delineate structural differences between intact and reactive-site hydrolyzed Cucurbita maxima trypsin inhibitor III.

Science.gov (United States)

Krishnamoorthi, R; Nemmers, S; Tobias, B

1992-06-15

15N NMR assignments were made to the backbone amide nitrogen atoms at natural isotopic abundance of intact and reactive-site (Arg5-Ile6) hydrolyzed Cucurbita maxima trypsin inhibitor III (CMTI-III and CMTI-III*, respectively) by means of 2D proton-detected heteronuclear single bond chemical shift correlation (HSBC) spectroscopy, utilizing the previously made sequence-specific 1H NMR assignments (Krishnamoorthi et al. (1992) Biochemistry 31, 898-904). Comparison of the 15N chemical shifts of the two forms of the inhibitor molecule revealed significant changes not only for residues located near the reactive-site region, but also for those distantly located. Residues Cys3, Arg5, Leu7, Met8, Cys10, Cys16, Glu19, His25, Tyr27, Cys28 and Gly29 showed significant chemical shift changes ranging from 0.3 to 6.1 ppm, thus indicating structural perturbations that were transmitted throughout the molecule. These findings confirm the earlier conclusions based on 1H NMR investigations.

Multi-Sited Resilience

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olwig, Mette Fog

2012-01-01

with natural disasters and climate change. In a globalized world, however, it is hard to discern what is “local” as global organizations play an increasingly visible and powerful role. This paper will argue that local understandings and practices of resilience cannot be disentangled from global understandings...... flooding in northern Ghana, this paper examines the mutual construction of “local” and “global” notions and practices of resilience through multi-sited processes. It is based on interviews and participant observation in multiple sites at the “local,” “regional” and “global” levels....

SISTEMUL SIMBOLIC – REPER EDUCAŢIONAL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alina ŢICĂU

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Istoria tradiţională dezvăluie picturi rupestre, semne hieroglifice şi texte sacre care reliefează o serie de expresii ale vieţii cotidiene. În jurul acestora, oamenii îşi organizează viaţa, îşi fac un nivel de expectanţă, creează valori educaţionale, spirituale şi sociale. Un anumit gest non-verbal avea conotaţii taumaturgice sau de protecţie a comunităţii, iar cel mai cunoscut exemplu reprezintă cercetarea auspiciilor. Această acomodare mutuală dintre diferitele activităţi încorporate în cadrul unei culturi, la care participă în mod concret şi indisolubil dimensiunea religioasă şi cea economică, atinge viaţa atât la nivel exterior, cât şi subliminal. Părinţii marketingului au conştientizat această forţă a simbolurilor non-verbale de natură mitologică, sacră şi culturală şi doresc o exploatare a lor. În studiul de faţă vom descoperi particularităţile sistemului simbolurilor sacre şi ale celor contemporane. Unul dintre sistemele simbolice analizate în cele ce urmează este mărul (Apple, simbol al căderii omului din starea paradisiacă.SYMBOLIC SYSTEM – EDUCATIONAL VALUETraditional History reveals a series of cave paintings, hieroglyphs and sacred texts which unveil a series of expression of everyday life. Around them people organized the life, they were making a level of hope, bring into life educational, spiritual and social values. A certain gesture non-verbal have thaumaturgy connotations or the protection of the com­munity and the most known example are augurs. This mutual respect between the various activities incorporated within a culture, in which are involved in a concrete manner and inextricably mixed up with the size of the religious and the economic, reaches the life at both outside and subliminally. Marketing parents have become aware of this force of symbols non-verbal nature of the mythology, sacred and cultural and have wanted an exploitation rights of their own. In

Improving regulatory effectiveness in Federal/State siting actions. State perspectives on energy facility siting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stevens, D.W.; Helminski, E.L.

1978-03-01

The National Governors' Association, through its Committee on Natural Resources and Environmental Management, has been concerned with the growing administrative difficulties, both at the federal and state levels, of certifying sites for new major energy facilities. This concern led, early in 1977, to the creation of a Subcommittee on Energy Facility Siting to comprehensively analyze current conditions and determine how basic improvements might be made to the process. The report is meant to further clarify the issues that confront States and the Federal government in the siting of energy facilities

Mineral formation on metallic copper in a `Future repository site environment`: Textural considerations based on natural analogs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amcoff, Oe. [Uppsala Univ. (Sweden). Inst. of Earth Sciences

1998-01-01

Copper mineral formation in the Swedish `repository site environment` is discussed. Special attention is given to ore mineral textures (=the spatial relation among minerals), with examples given from nature. It is concluded: By analogy with observations from natural occurrences, an initial coating of Cu-oxide on the canister surface (because of entrapped air during construction) will probably not hinder a later sulphidation process. Early formation of Cu-sulphides on the canister surface may be accompanied by formation of CuFe-sulphides. The latter phase(s) may form through replacement of the Cu-sulphides or, alternatively, by means of reaction between dissolved copper and fine-grained iron sulphide (pyrite) in the surrounding bentonite. Should for some reason the bentonite barrier fail and the conditions become strongly oxidizing, we can expect crustifications and rhythmic growths of Cu(II)-phases, like malachite (Cu{sub 2}(OH){sub 2}CO{sub 3}). A presence of Fe{sup 2} in the clay minerals making up the bentonite might prove to have an adverse effect on the canister stability, since, in this case, the bentonite might be expected to act as a sink for dissolved copper. The mode of mineral growth along the copper - bentonite interface remains an open question.

Mineral formation on metallic copper in a 'Future repository site environment': Textural considerations based on natural analogs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amcoff, Oe.

1998-01-01

Copper mineral formation in the Swedish 'repository site environment' is discussed. Special attention is given to ore mineral textures (=the spatial relation among minerals), with examples given from nature. It is concluded: By analogy with observations from natural occurrences, an initial coating of Cu-oxide on the canister surface (because of entrapped air during construction) will probably not hinder a later sulphidation process. Early formation of Cu-sulphides on the canister surface may be accompanied by formation of CuFe-sulphides. The latter phase(s) may form through replacement of the Cu-sulphides or, alternatively, by means of reaction between dissolved copper and fine-grained iron sulphide (pyrite) in the surrounding bentonite. Should for some reason the bentonite barrier fail and the conditions become strongly oxidizing, we can expect crustifications and rhythmic growths of Cu(II)-phases, like malachite (Cu 2 (OH) 2 CO 3 ). A presence of Fe 2 in the clay minerals making up the bentonite might prove to have an adverse effect on the canister stability, since, in this case, the bentonite might be expected to act as a sink for dissolved copper. The mode of mineral growth along the copper - bentonite interface remains an open question

78 FR 13890 - Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: San Francisco State University NAGPRA Program, San...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-01

... ethnographic research, the sacred object and object of cultural patrimony is 1 clay pipe fragment. Based on consultation and ethnographic research, the objects of cultural patrimony are 4 obsidian tools or flakes, 5... ethnographic research, the pestle is an object of cultural patrimony. The age of site CA-SON-UNK (Dry Creek) is...

Original Paper Contribution of sacred forests to biodiversity ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Regarding plant diversity, a total of 75 species (68 tree species and 7 herbaceous species) distributed in 70 genera and 40 ... assess the natural stand structure in forests. ..... multiple sequential rites that have the power ... divinities and wind.

NATURAL RESOURCES ASSESSMENT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D.F. Fenster

2000-01-01

The purpose of this report is to summarize the scientific work that was performed to evaluate and assess the occurrence and economic potential of natural resources within the geologic setting of the Yucca Mountain area. The extent of the regional areas of investigation for each commodity differs and those areas are described in more detail in the major subsections of this report. Natural resource assessments have focused on an area defined as the ''conceptual controlled area'' because of the requirements contained in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regulation, 10 CFR Part 60, to define long-term boundaries for potential radionuclide releases. New requirements (proposed 10 CFR Part 63 [Dyer 1999]) have obviated the need for defining such an area. However, for the purposes of this report, the area being discussed, in most cases, is the previously defined ''conceptual controlled area'', now renamed the ''natural resources site study area'' for this report (shown on Figure 1). Resource potential can be difficult to assess because it is dependent upon many factors, including economics (demand, supply, cost), the potential discovery of new uses for resources, or the potential discovery of synthetics to replace natural resource use. The evaluations summarized are based on present-day use and economic potential of the resources. The objective of this report is to summarize the existing reports and information for the Yucca Mountain area on: (1) Metallic mineral and mined energy resources (such as gold, silver, etc., including uranium); (2) Industrial rocks and minerals (such as sand, gravel, building stone, etc.); (3) Hydrocarbons (including oil, natural gas, tar sands, oil shales, and coal); and (4) Geothermal resources. Groundwater is present at the Yucca Mountain site at depths ranging from 500 to 750 m (about 1,600 to 2,500 ft) below the ground surface. Groundwater resources are not discussed in this report, but are planned to be included in the hydrology

Emerging technologies for recycling MGP sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shosky, D.J. Jr.; Mahfood, J.J.; Brown, R.A.; Jackson, M. Jr.

1995-01-01

Commercial production of lamp gas from coal was a common practice during the late 1800s to mid 1900s. With the development of gas transmission pipelines and the commercialization of natural gas, the gas manufacturing industry became obsolete. Plants were closed and, although many were completely dismantled, the environmental legacies still remain. Many former manufactured gas plant (MGP) sites occupy prime real estate and the value of the restored property can be significant. Does the remediation industry possess the clean-up technology to ready MGP sites for re-use? Often, the answer is yes. Today, MGP site management tools and remediation technologies can be matched to most land-use and clean-up requirements. The MGP site recycling strategy first looks at the property's potential value to the community, along with analogous exposure risks. Risk assessment takes into account the nature and extent of MGP contamination; soil and hydrogeological conditions impacting the fate and transport of constituents; and the probability of human exposure under a range of property uses. Risk assessment is a key tactic in determining the cost of site restoration for a range of potential property uses. An MGP site owner can use this information to select the remediation approach that delivers the highest return on the cleanup investment

Evaluation of afforestation development and natural colonization on a reclaimed mine site

Science.gov (United States)

Diana Laarmann; Henn Korjus; Allan Sims; Ahto Kangur; Andres Kiviste; John Stanturf

2015-01-01

Post-mining restoration sites often develop novel ecosystems as soil conditions are completely new and ecosystem assemblage can be spontaneous even on afforested sites. This study presents results from long-term monitoring and evaluation of an afforested oil-shale quarry in Estonia. The study is based on chronosequence data of soil and vegetation and comparisons are...

Natural attenuation processes in landfill leachate plumes at three Danish sites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjerg, Poul Løgstrup; Tuxen, Nina; Reitzel, Lotte

2011-01-01

This article provides an overview of comprehensive core and fringe field studies at three Danish landfill sites. The goal of the research activities is to provide a holistic description of core and fringe attenuation processes for xenobiotic organic compounds in landfill leachate plumes. The appr......This article provides an overview of comprehensive core and fringe field studies at three Danish landfill sites. The goal of the research activities is to provide a holistic description of core and fringe attenuation processes for xenobiotic organic compounds in landfill leachate plumes....... The approach used is cross-disciplinary, encompassing integration of field-scale observations at different scales, field injection experiments, laboratory experiments, and reactive solute transport modeling. This is illustrated in examples from the most recently investigated site-the Sjoelund Landfill...... approaches and tools used in the application of MNA. In particular, the use of in situ indicators to document mass removal in landfill leachate plumes is emphasized. In this article, we advocate the application of conceptual and numerical models as tools for the integration of data and testing of hypotheses....

UK Natural Analogue Coordinating Group: fourth annual report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Read, D.; Hooker, P.J.

1992-01-01

HMIP has a research programme investigating some naturally radioactive sites as geochemical analogues of radionuclide migration. All of the analogue sites under investigation, both in the U.K. and overseas, are located where elevated uranium concentrations occur naturally. Coordination of the programme is achieved through the UK Natural Analogue Co-ordinating Group (NACG) which has met three times in this reporting period. The NACG is steered by the British Geological Survey. Its purpose is to ensure that the different research projects have an integrated function aimed at increasing our understanding of natural geochemical processes. Effort is also being expended in testing research models which may be used in such assessments. (author)

Study of Chironomidae Natural Populations of the Former Semipalatinsk Test Site Water Bodies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aimanova, K.G.; Blinov, A.G.; Kiknadze, I.I.; Bakhtin, M.M.; Seisebaev, A.T.; Rakhimbaeva, K.T.

1998-01-01

The open water bodies as a component of the biosphere serve as the accumulators of artificial radionuclides generated during the nuclear explosions; therefore their radioactive contamination needs to be registered. The assessment of the environmental radioactive contamination consequences for the natural populations of organisms living in water bodies is of particular importance. Chironomini (Diptera, Chironomidae) play an important role as they are a significant component of water and air biocenoses and provide the self-cleaning of water bodies and food chains of industrial fish and bird. Chironomini have been chosen to be a model for the UNESCO International Program titled 'Man and Biosphere' and are used as the biologic indicator for ecological studies of anthropogenic influence on water bodies. The study of Chironomini natural mutagenic process and its alteration due to the radioactive contamination of water bodies is of extreme scientific interest and can serve as the indicator of the scale of genetic damage of water organisms. This work presents the data on natural populations of Chironomini of former STS water bodies: Shagan Lake, Balapan Lake, the artificial water body on the Karazhyra Coal Field, the backwater near the Shagan River, Balykty col Lake, etc. The analysis of morphology and caryotype of Camptochironomus sp. S (S - larvae have been sampled from the Semipalatinsk Test Site) showed that this is a new species as compared to studied species (C. tentans, C. pallidivittatus) of Camptochironomus subfamily. The caryotype Camptochironomus sp. S differs sharply from the caryotypes of other Camptochironomus species due to its strong hetero chromatization of centromeric discs. The immediate molecular analysis of genome DNA of Camptochironomus sp. S larvae sampled from Shagan Lake was performed: the total DNA of larvae of this species was obtained, nucleonic sequences of genes of cytochrome B (Cyt B) and cytochrome I (COI) were determined using methods of

Environmental assessment for the natural fluctuation of water level in Par Pond and reduced water flow in Steel Creek below L-Lake at the Savannah River Site

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-08-01

The Savannah River Operations Office Strategic Plan directs Savannah River Site (SRS) to find ways to reduce operating costs, and to determine what site infrastructure must be maintained and what infrastructure is surplus. Because of the mission change, L-Lake, Par Pond, and the river water system are no longer needed to support current missions and therefore provide an opportunity for operating cost reduction. If SRS determines that L-Lake, Par Pond, and the river water system are no longer needed to support future missions and are considered surplus, appropriate NEPA documentation will be prepared. The purpose of the proposed action in this Environmental Assessment is to begin an examination of the need for the Site`s river water system by (1) developing data needed to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of further reducing or eliminating the flow demands from the Site`s river water system and; (2) evaluating the potential of reducing operating costs by allowing the water level in Par Pond to fluctuate naturally through reduced pumping. This action also includes reducing the current flow rates from L-Lake to Steel Creek to natural stream flows while maintaining full pool. The recently approved Par Pond CERCLA Interim Action Proposed Plan (IAPP) committed to evaluate in a NEPA document the environmental consequences of this proposed action. This document evaluated the remediation of human health and ecological risks associated with the three year drawdown of Par Pond. Should any of the parameters sampled in the reservoir and streams (e.g., water quality, biota, etc.) exceed established threshold levels during the implementation of the proposed action, water would again be pumped into the reservoir to minimize any impacts by bringing the water level back to an appropriate level about 58.2 m (195 ft).

Web life: Ask Nature

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-01

Ask Nature is a site devoted to biomimicry, an interdisciplinary field in which practitioners study how animals and plants solve problems, and then use those solutions to develop better human technologies.

Site remediation using biological processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lei, J.; Sansregret, J.L.; Cyr, B.; Pouliot, Y.

1995-01-01

The main process used in the bioremediation of contaminated sites is the microbial degradation and mineralization of pollutants. The bioengineering processes developed and applied by the company to optimize the microbial degradation are described and full scale case studies are reviewed. In each case, the site characteristics (type of contaminants, nature of soil, geographic location, etc.) and the results obtained are presented. The selected projects cover different bioremediation techniques (biopile, bioventing and air sparging), different contaminants (PAH, PCP, hydrocarbons) and different types of industrial sites (former gas work plant, petroleum depot, refinery, etc.)

The Weaponization of Social Media

Science.gov (United States)

2016-06-10

ancestors.”4 While the concepts of this movement date to the earliest days of the Islamic faith, it was codified, at least in part, by Egyptian reformers...worship of sacred holy shrines and tombs .19 The Islamic State considers these holy sites as idolatry and not pure or correct Islam, which is used as

Implementation of a monitoring protocol for the natural attenuation of soil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Setier, J.C.; Pornain, J.L.; Millette, D.; Perie, F.; Deschenes, L.; Samson, R.

2005-01-01

Large quantities of hydrocarbons are extracted, produced, refined, and transported each year. Despite environmental procedures that are used in industry, the risk of environmental degradation cannot be avoided. Furthermore, aging installations can also present residual contamination. Some of these sites must be decontaminated to residual levels of soil contaminants that are established through discussions with national authorities. These levels are set with respect to the intended use of the site. For several years now, the evaluation of the risk of a contaminant in a particular environment must take into account land use. For certain sites that do not present direct risks for the surrounding environment, natural attenuation offers an interesting alternative to costly remediation strategies. In order to determine whether natural attenuation is a technique suited for soil restoration, TOTAL Exploration Production launched a research project on natural attenuation in 1997. By natural attenuation, we refer to all the processes that act to reduce the concentrations of contaminants in soil (i.e. biotic and abiotic mechanisms). The research project consists of two main components: - The development of decision-making tools designed to evaluate the potential for natural attenuation of hydrocarbons. These software programs, named SITE I and SITE II and developed by the Industrial Chair in Site Remediation and Management of the Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal take into account microbial and biotic processes involved the natural attenuation of contaminants in groundwater (SITE I) and soil (SITE II). - The set-up of a pilot-scale demonstration of natural attenuation in soils within the vadose zone at a refinery belonging to the TOTAL group. This pilot project, done in collaboration with the NSERC Industrial Chair in Site Remediation and Management of the Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, has the following objectives : 1. Evaluation of the feasibility of natural attenuation as

Environmental Modeling, The Natural Filter Wetland Priority layers identify priority wetland restoration sites by subwatershed. Land use, hydrology, soil, and landscape characteristics were analyzed to rank opportunities with high nutrient removal potential., Published in 2014, Smaller than 1:100000 scale, Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Education | GIS Inventory — Environmental Modeling dataset current as of 2014. The Natural Filter Wetland Priority layers identify priority wetland restoration sites by subwatershed. Land use,...

Rancang Bangun Game “Mrajan Bali” Sebagai Media Pembelajaran Berbasis Android

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I Putu Wirawan

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Bali is famous for having a lot of sacred building which was built as a symbol of manifestation of the God Almighty according to the beliefs of Hindus. The sacred building was built accordance to the rules of sacred building of Hindus in Bali. Bali's sacred buildings is one of the Balinese culture that it's existence need to be preserved. The goal of this game design is to introduce the sacred buildings in Bali by creating an educational game that can provide learning about sacred building in Bali as well as an entertainment media which can be use by the user. Game is built on Android application as an operating system with Drag and Drop game method in which the user compose the attributes of a sacred building with a predetermined time. Game designed have two steps of quest that is, Quest one Mrajan Alit and Quest two Mrajan Agung, Quest one has four Levels and Quest two has nine levels of game, as well as having information about Mrajan Bali in Gallery. The main focus of the game is to be able to introduce the names of sacred buildings, how to construct sacred buildings and to know the layout of a sacred building and it's attributes through information and games on the game according to the rules Hindus in Bali. Based on the results of the questionnaire showed that 82.5% of respondents said assessment is very good for the musty Graphic Visual and ratings 90% of respondents expressed very well for entertainment aspect.

Historical and Retrospective Survey of Monitored Natural Attenuation: A Line of Inquiry Supporting Monitored Natural Attenuation and Enhanced Passive Remediation of Chlorinated Solvents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

LOONEY, BB.

2004-01-01

As requested by the Savannah River Technology Center, Groundwater Services, Inc. (GSI), has conducted a historical analysis of Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) application at chlorinated solvent sites. The objective of the analysis was to document trends, characteristics, successes, and barriers in the use of MNA as a remedy at chlorinated solvent sites. The analysis consisted of the following: (1) a review of recent literature regarding application of natural attenuation at chlorinated solvent sites, (2) a review of regulatory and industry guidance directing evaluation and implementation of MNA as a remedy at chlorinated solvent sites, and (3) a historical survey distributed to MNA experts, which requested data relating to the evaluation and implementation of MNA at chlorinated solvent sites

Ancient Greek Calendars

Science.gov (United States)

Hannah, Robert

Greek festival calendars were in origin lunar, eventually being aligned with the sun through various lunisolar intercalary cycles. Each city-state had its own calendar, whose month names have some, little, or no similarity with those of other city-states. These names often reflect gods or festivals held in their honor in a given month, so there is an explicitly sacred character to the calendar. New Year's Day could also differ from one state to another, but generally began with the sighting of the first new moon after one of the four tropical points. Even the introduction of the Roman Julian calendar brought little uniformity to the eastern Greek calendars. The calendar is one of the elements which can assist in understanding the siting of Greek sacred structures.

Pervasive hitchhiking at coding and regulatory sites in humans.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James J Cai

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Much effort and interest have focused on assessing the importance of natural selection, particularly positive natural selection, in shaping the human genome. Although scans for positive selection have identified candidate loci that may be associated with positive selection in humans, such scans do not indicate whether adaptation is frequent in general in humans. Studies based on the reasoning of the MacDonald-Kreitman test, which, in principle, can be used to evaluate the extent of positive selection, suggested that adaptation is detectable in the human genome but that it is less common than in Drosophila or Escherichia coli. Both positive and purifying natural selection at functional sites should affect levels and patterns of polymorphism at linked nonfunctional sites. Here, we search for these effects by analyzing patterns of neutral polymorphism in humans in relation to the rates of recombination, functional density, and functional divergence with chimpanzees. We find that the levels of neutral polymorphism are lower in the regions of lower recombination and in the regions of higher functional density or divergence. These correlations persist after controlling for the variation in GC content, density of simple repeats, selective constraint, mutation rate, and depth of sequencing coverage. We argue that these results are most plausibly explained by the effects of natural selection at functional sites -- either recurrent selective sweeps or background selection -- on the levels of linked neutral polymorphism. Natural selection at both coding and regulatory sites appears to affect linked neutral polymorphism, reducing neutral polymorphism by 6% genome-wide and by 11% in the gene-rich half of the human genome. These findings suggest that the effects of natural selection at linked sites cannot be ignored in the study of neutral human polymorphism.

Management Implications for the Most Attractive Scenic Sites along the Andalusia Coast (SW Spain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexis Mooser

2018-04-01

Full Text Available A coastal scenery assessment was carried out at 50 sites along the 910 km long Andalusia coast (SW Spain using a checklist of 26 natural and human parameters, parameter weighting matrices, and fuzzy logic. A scenic classification was utilised that can rate sites as Class I (natural areas of great scenic beauty to Class V (urbanised areas of poor scenic interest, but, for this study, only natural sites of great scenic value were investigated; 41 sites were included in Class I, 9 in Class II and, apart from four, all of the sites were under some feature of protection—managed by the Andalusia Environmental Agency (RENPA, in Spanish. Sites belong to the Natural Park Cabo de Gata-Nijar (24% of sites, the Natural Park of Gibraltar Strait (18%, the Natural Place Acantilado de Maro-Cerro Gordo (12%, and the Natural and National parks of Doñana (8%. Results obtained by means of scenic evaluation constitute a sound scientific basis for any envisaged management plan for investigated coastal areas preservation/conservation and responsible future developments, especially for natural protected areas, which represent the most attractive coastal tourist destinations. With respect to natural parameters, excellent scenic values appeared to be linked to the geological setting and the presence of mountainous landscapes related to the Betic Chain. Human parameters usually show good scores because null or extremely reduced human impacts are recorded, but, at places, conflicts arose between conservation and recreational activities because visitors are often interested in beach activities more so than ecotourism. Low scores of human parameters were often related to litter presence or the unsuitable emplacement of utilities, such as informative panels, litter bins, etc.