Recent recoveries of archaeological ceramics on Santa Isabel, central Solomon Islands
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Carter, M.J.; Roe, D.; Keopo, J.
2012-01-01
Recent field investigations on Santa Isabel in the Central Solomon Islands have revealed the presence of archaeological pottery in both terrestrial and intertidal contexts. Preliminary dating results and comparative stylistic analyses of sherds provide evidence to suggest an antiquity of ceramics in northwest Isabel spanning the late Holocene to the recent historic past. These research outcomes expand the known distribution of pottery within the Solomon Islands and provide new knowledge about the prehistory of Santa Isabel. Here we describe the Santa Isabel ceramics, and suggest several implications of the research for current settlement models of the Solomon Islands and for our understanding of the variability in the archaeological record of mid- to late-Holocene ceramic distribution throughout the region. (author). 24 refs., 7 figs.
Telemedicine in the Solomon Islands: 2006 to 2009.
Martiniuk, Alexandra; Negin, Joel; Hersch, Fred; Dalipanda, Tenneth; Jagilli, Rooney; Houasia, Patrick; Gorringe, Lilijana; Christie, Annie
2011-01-01
Telemedicine has been used in the Solomon Islands since 2000. We used quantitative and qualitative methods to examine telemedicine use in the Solomon Islands from January 2006 to June 2009. During the study period 66 telemedicine cases were submitted to the store and forward telemedicine system being used there. These included orthopaedic, oncology, cardiothoracic, infectious, congenital, gastroenterology and dermatology cases. Most cases (52%) were submitted by doctors at the National Referral Hospital (NRH) in Honiara. The majority of responses came from the NRH (27%). A final, firm recommendation regarding patient diagnosis and/or care was given for 46% of the cases. Interviews were conducted with 23 stakeholders in the Solomon Islands and in Australia to better understand the current and future use of telemedicine. The interviews identified the fragility of the Solomon Islands infrastructure, including the lack of training, as the largest barrier to the future use of telemedicine. The best use of telemedicine appears to be case sharing within the Solomon Islands, with connections to clinicians in other countries as a secondary benefit when particular expertise is required.
Steenis, van C.G.G.J.
1969-01-01
A discussion of the Results of the Royal Society Expedition to the British Solomon Islands Protectorate, 1965. Organized by E.J.H. Corner. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 255 (1969) 185-631, 196 fig. University Printing House, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge. Obtainable through booksellers or direct to the Royal
Solomon Islands School Leaders Readiness for Inclusive Education
Porakari, James; Sevala, Brenda; Miniti, Patrick; Saemane, George; Sharma, Umesh; Forlin, Chris
2015-01-01
The inclusion of students with disabilities was initiated by the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development in the Solomon Islands in 2013. This paper investigates the knowledge, skills, and values of school leaders in public and private schools in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, in regard to providing support for inclusive…
Domestic violence in the Solomon Islands
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mikaela A Ming
2016-01-01
Full Text Available The Solomon Islands has one of the highest rates of family and sexual violence (FSV in the world with 64% of women aged 15-49 have reported physical and/or sexual abuse by a partner. The National Referral Hospital (NRH in the capital, Honiara, is the only tertiary hospital for the country. Our 4-week medical elective at the NRH was spent reflecting on healthcare challenges including FSV, with the aim of identifying cases of FSV and assessing on the current strategies to improve care for victims. Throughout our placement, we encountered many cases of probable FSV, particularly in the Emergency Department and Obstetrics and Gynecology. These patients were often not managed effectively, largely due to time pressures and overcrowding in the hospital. However, we identified a number of strategies, which have recently been implemented in order to help FSV victims in the Solomon Islands. These include strategies within the healthcare setting, in particular, the commencement of FSV reporting within the hospital, and the production of a manual to enable healthcare worker education on the issue. Strategies within the criminal justice system are also in place. These include recent changes in legislation and the work of the volunteer police force, Royal Assist Mission to the Solomon Islands, to improve attitudes toward FSV. These approaches to tackle the problem of FSV are currently in their early stages and have largely stemmed from Western policies and ideals. This report concludes that more time is needed to accurately assess the impact of the current changes before further recommendations are made.
Furusawa, Takuro; Sirikolo, Myknee Qusa; Sasaoka, Masatoshi; Ohtsuka, Ryutaro
2014-01-01
[Background]In Solomon Islands, forests have provided people with ecological services while being affected by human use and protection. This study used a quantitative ethnobotanical analysis to explore the society–forest interaction and its transformation in Roviana, Solomon Islands. We compared local plant and land uses between a rural village and urbanized village. Special attention was paid to how local people depend on biodiversity and how traditional human modifications of forest contrib...
April 2007 Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea Images
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — An earthquake measuring 8.1 struck 345 kilometers northwest of the Solomon Islands' capital Honiara at 0740 local time on 2 April. (2040 GMT 1 April). The earthquake...
Daufanamae, Barbara U; Franklin, Richard C; Eagers, Jackie
2016-01-01
Unintentional injuries (injuries for which there is no evidence of a predetermined intent) are one of the leading causes of death worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Although evidence demonstrates unintentional injuries are preventable it is a public health challenge for many LMICs such as the Solomon Islands. Occupational therapists are well placed to contribute to injury prevention, as they have specialised skills to analyse the accessibility and safety of the environments within which people conduct their daily occupations. While the role of occupational therapy in unintentional injury prevention is well known in high-income countries, it is unfamiliar in LMICs, especially in the Solomon Islands. This integrative review aimed to explore the incidence of common unintentional injuries, and the burden in the Solomon Islands; and explore the potential role of occupational therapy in unintentional injury prevention in the Solomon Islands, based on current activities in LMICs. Articles were reviewed from six databases (Medline, CINAHL, OTDBase, OT Seeker, Scopus and PsychInfo). Five articles met the inclusion criteria for the first objective and 15 articles met the inclusion criteria for the second objective. These articles were thematically analysed where themes and codes associated with the research objectives were extracted and analysed. Unintentional injuries in the Solomon Islands reported in the literature included ocular trauma, falls from fruit trees and coconut palms, and road traffic crashes. Burden of injury reported was mostly associated with loss of productivity. Occupational therapists undertook rehabilitative, biomechanical, neurodevelopmental and educational roles in LMIC, focusing on tertiary and secondary injury prevention. This integrative review suggests that there is limited information regarding injury in the Solomon Islands. However, evidence is available in LMICs to suggest that occupational therapy services can
Neogene displacements in the Solomon Islands Arc
Ridgway, J.
1987-02-01
The geology and present configuration of the Solomon Island arc can be explained in terms of the Neogene displacement of a single linear chain of islands. The central part of an original arc consisting of Bougainville, Choiseul, Santa Ysabel, Guadalcanal and San Cristobal was displaced to the northeast as a consequence of the attempted subduction of the Woodlark spreading system. Malaita arose on the northeastern side of the arc as a result of interaction between the arc and the Pacific Ocean floor and the volcanic islands of the New Georgia group formed to the southwest in response to the subduction of a spreading ridge, thus giving rise to the present double chain structure of the arc.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nichole Georgeou
2017-10-01
Full Text Available This article highlights the challenges of community sustainability in the emerging market economy of Solomon Islands as it grows increasingly reliant on imported foodstuffs. It examines the ways in which Solomon Islanders from neighbouring Savo Island engage with HCM and the opportunities it brings. Using Renzaho and Mellor’s (2010 conceptual framework for analysis of food security assessment we explore the symbiotic relationship that provides food security for those living in and around Honiara city, and income for the mostly subsistence farmers who supply Honiara’s growing population with fresh agricultural produce. Data from five focus groups from three villages on Savo Island reveals the critical importance of income from market sales at the HCM. The article demonstrates the mix of logistical and environmental challenges that confront people when trying to earn money through farming and sales of surplus food.
Piper (Piperaceae) in the Solomon Islands: the climbing species
Gardner, R.O.
2010-01-01
Eleven climbing species of Piper in the Solomon Islands are recognized: P. abbreviatum, P. betle, P. bosnicanum, P. caninum, P. celtidiforme, P. fragile, P. insectifugum (syn. P. austrocaledonicum), P. interruptum, P. macropiper, P. majusculum, and, as the only endemic, P. sclerophloeum, for which a
Why don't things fall apart? : a study of the survival of the Solomon Islands state
Tucker, Alexis Elizabeth
2010-01-01
In the "Fund for Peace Failed State Index of 2009" the Melanesian country of the Solomon Islands was named the "most failed state in Oceania". Since gaining independence from the British in 1978, the small island country has struggled to survive amid economic underdevelopment, political instability, violent civil conflicts, and social dissolution. The contemporary Solomon Islands, a product of European imperial expansion and British colonization, has neither a strong sense of national unity a...
The Solomon Islands tsunami of 6 February 2013 field survey in the Santa Cruz Islands
Fritz, H. M.; Papantoniou, A.; Biukoto, L.; Albert, G.
2013-12-01
On February 6, 2013 at 01:12:27 UTC (local time: UTC+11), a magnitude Mw 8.0 earthquake occurred 70 km to the west of Ndendo Island (Santa Cruz Island) in the Solomon Islands. The under-thrusting earthquake near a 90° bend, where the Australian plate subducts beneath the Pacific plate generated a locally focused tsunami in the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean. The tsunami claimed the lives of 10 people and injured 15, destroyed 588 houses and partially damaged 478 houses, affecting 4,509 people in 1,066 households corresponding to an estimated 37% of the population of Santa Cruz Island. A multi-disciplinary international tsunami survey team (ITST) was deployed within days of the event to document flow depths, runup heights, inundation distances, sediment and coral boulder depositions, land level changes, damage patterns at various scales, performance of the man-made infrastructure and impact on the natural environment. The 19 to 23 February 2013 ITST covered 30 locations on 4 Islands: Ndendo (Santa Cruz), Tomotu Noi (Lord Howe), Nea Tomotu (Trevanion, Malo) and Tinakula. The reconnaissance completely circling Ndendo and Tinakula logged 240 km by small boat and additionally covered 20 km of Ndendo's hard hit western coastline by vehicle. The collected survey data includes more than 80 tsunami runup and flow depth measurements. The tsunami impact peaked at Manoputi on Ndendo's densely populated west coast with maximum tsunami height exceeding 11 m and local flow depths above ground exceeding 7 m. A fast tide-like positive amplitude of 1 m was recorded at Lata wharf inside Graciosa Bay on Ndendo Island and misleadingly reported in the media as representative tsunami height. The stark contrast between the field observations on exposed coastlines and the Lata tide gauge recording highlights the importance of rapid tsunami reconnaissance surveys. Inundation distance and damage more than 500 m inland were recorded at Lata airport on Ndendo Island. Landslides were
Remuneration disparities in Oceania: Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.
Marai, Leo; Kewibu, Vincent; Kinkin, Elly; Peter Peniop, John; Salini, Christian; Kofana, Genesis
2010-10-01
This paper explores the impact of remuneration differences on workers in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. In these countries remunerative differences are linked to government policy (in Papua New Guinea) and job contracts (in the Solomon Islands), and have impacted on industrial relations in both settings (strike action). A total of N = 350 professionals (n = 60 expatriates) from 54 organizations in aid, government, higher education and industry (mean response rate = 36%) responded to an organizational survey form. Remuneration ratios between international and local respondents based on the World Bank's index of purchasing power parity approached 9:1. In both sites staff compared pay and benefits (remuneration) packages: Internationally remunerated staff rated their ability higher than their local counterparts did; locally remunerated groups reported more injustice in remuneration, were more demotivated by the gaps, and were more likely to be thinking about leaving the organization. In-country workshops of N = 40 largely local stakeholders from aid and community organizations plus government ministries considered the survey's findings and recommended: in Solomon Islands, (a) introducing a policy of localization, (b) establishing a remuneration commission (already existent in Papua New Guinea), and (c) reducing the remunerative gap; in Papua New Guinea, (d) reversing the post-Independence "dual pay system" (currently official policy), (e) instituting pay-for-performance, and (f) ensuring the existent localization policy is applied to recruitment, selection, and staff career planning and management.
Building Post-Crisis Capacity in the Solomon Islands
Laura Bailey
2009-01-01
This capacity development brief summarizes the results of a multi-donor team review of four examples of post-crisis capacity development interventions in the Solomon Islands in 2005-08 whose performance was frequently cited as successful by local stakeholders. Although not based on post-project evaluations, the review found a number of patterns and potential lessons: (1) responding to imme...
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
1972-01-01
This Order extends to the British Solomon Islands Protectorate, with the exceptions, adaptations and modificatons specified in the Schedule to the Order, certain provisions of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965, as amended. It is the 1965 Act which implements the provisions of the Paris Convention and the Brussels Supplementary Convention in the United Kingdom. The provisions so extended impose a duty on the nuclear operator to secure that no nuclear occurrence taking place within the territorial limits of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate causes nuclear injury or damage, and relate to the right to compensation for breach of that duty, the bringing and satisfaction of claims and other matters. (NEA) [fr
Emerine Hicks, Rachel
2017-01-01
On the island of Santa Cruz in the Solomon Islands, the Engdewu language is facing imminent language shift because of the increasing use of the lingua franca Solomon Islands Pijin in the community. In this article, I argue that this language shift is occurring because of changes to the social structure in Baemawz, one of the villages where Engdewu…
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Eli Sarnat
2013-01-01
Full Text Available The intent of this paper is to facilitate future research of the Solomon Islands ant fauna by providing the first comprehensively researched species inventory in over 75 years. The species list presented here includes the names of all ant species recorded from the islands that are available in the literature together with specimen records from several museum collections and new records from our 2008 Makira field expedition. All the names of described species presented are valid in accordance with the most recent Formicidae classification. In total, the checklist is composed of 237 species and subspecies (including 30 morphospecies in 59 genera representing nine subfamilies. We report that the recent field expedition added 67 new species records to Makira and 28 new species records to the Solomon Islands. Our research recovered species occurrence records for 32 individual islands and five island groups. The five islands with the highest number of recorded species are: Makira (142 spp., Guadalcanal (107 spp., Malaita (70 spp., Santa Isabel (68 spp., and Rennell (66 spp.. Based on our results, we discuss the taxonomic composition of the archipelago’s ant fauna, which islands are most in need of additional sampling, and the importance of establishing biodiversity baselines before environmental threats such as the invasive ant Wasmannia auropunctata cause irrevocable harm to the native biodiversity.
Cox, Murray P; Mirazón Lahr, Marta
2006-01-01
The Solomon Islands lie in the center of Island Melanesia, bordered to the north by the Bismarck Archipelago and to the south by Vanuatu. The nation's half-million inhabitants speak around 70 languages from two unrelated language groups: Austronesian, a language family widespread in the Pacific and closely related to languages spoken in Island Southeast Asia, and "East Papuan", generally defined as non-Austronesian and distantly related to the extremely diverse Papuan languages of New Guinea. Despite the archipelago's presumed role as a staging post for the settlement of Remote Oceania, genetic research on Solomon Island populations is sparse. We collected paired samples from two regions that have populations speaking Austronesian and Papuan languages, respectively. Here we present Y-chromosome data from these samples, the first from Solomon Islands. We detected five Y-chromosome lineages: M-M106, O-M175, K-M9*, K-M230, and the extremely rare clade, K1-M177. Y-chromosome lineages from Solomon Islands fall within the range of other Island Melanesian populations but display markedly lower haplogroup diversity. From a broad Indo-Pacific perspective, Y-chromosome lineages show partial association with the distribution of language groups: O-M175 is associated spatially with Austronesian-speaking areas, whereas M-M106 broadly correlates with the distribution of Papuan languages. However, no relationship between Y-chromosome lineages and language affiliation was observed on a small scale within Solomon Islands. This pattern may result from a sampling strategy that targeted small communities, where individual Y-chromosome lineages can be fixed or swept to extinction by genetic drift or favored paternal exogamy. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 18:35-50, 2006. (c) 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Solomon Islands School Autonomy and Accountability : SABER Country Report 2013
World Bank
2013-01-01
Education in the Solomon Islands is highly decentralized. While education policy is the sole responsibility of the Ministry of education, school boards are responsible for delivery. The entire organization of the school system is based on checks and balances to ensure accountability. Budgetary autonomy is established. The school board controls the school budget, with input from parents. Pe...
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
1977-12-01
The Solomon Islands have an area of about 30,000 square kilometers. The larger islands are volcanic and contain a small variety of minerals, some of which may eventually be economically recoverable. A large phosphate deposit may also be mined at some future date. Specific geologic information is very difficult to find, but on the basis of what little is available a small potential is deduced to be in Category 2 (l,000 - 10,000 tonnes U). (author
Near-Field Population Response During the 2 April 2007 Solomon Islands Tsunami
McAdoo, B. G.; Moore, A. L.; Baumwoll, J.
2007-12-01
When the magnitude 8.1 earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit the Solomon Islands on 2 April 2007 it killed 52 people. On Ghizo Island, home of the capital of the Western Province, Gizo, waves approaching 4 m in height inundated the south coast villages. Eyewitness accounts supported by geologic data from the offshore coral reef and sediment deposited on land suggest a wave that came in as the shaking stopped as a rapidly-rising tide rather than a turbulent bore- vehicles and houses were floated inland with very little damage. Those that survived in villages affected by the tsunami had indigenous knowledge of prior events, whereas immigrant populations died in higher proportions. While buoy-based early warning systems are necessary to mitigate the effects of teletsunamis, they would have done little good in this near-field environment. In Pailongge, a village of 76 indigenous Solomon Islanders on Ghizo's south coast, there were no deaths. Village elders directed the people inland following the shaking and the almost immediate withdrawal of water from the lagoon, and heads of household made sure that children were accounted for and evacuated. Of the 366 Gilbertese living in Titiana, however, 13 people died, 8 of which were children who were exploring the emptied lagoon. A large proportion of the dead were children (24) as they were likely too weak to swim against the non-bore flow. The Gilbertese migrated from Kiribati in the 1950"s, and had not experienced a major earthquake and tsunami, hence had no cultural memory. In the case of the Solomon Islands tsunami, as was the case in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, indigenous knowledge served the people in the near-field well. In the case of the Indian Ocean where there was 10-20 minutes separation between the time the shaking began and the waves arrived, the combination of an in-place plan and a suitable physical geography allowed the population of Simeulue Island and the Moken people of Thailand to escape before the
The Solomon Islands Tsunami of 6 February 2013 in the Santa Cruz Islands: Field Survey and Modeling
Fritz, Hermann M.; Papantoniou, Antonios; Biukoto, Litea; Albert, Gilly; Wei, Yong
2014-05-01
On February 6, 2013 at 01:12:27 UTC (local time: UTC+11), a magnitude Mw 8.0 earthquake occurred 70 km to the west of Ndendo Island (Santa Cruz Island) in the Solomon Islands. The under-thrusting earthquake near a 90° bend, where the Australian plate subducts beneath the Pacific plate generated a locally focused tsunami in the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean. The tsunami claimed the lives of 10 people and injured 15, destroyed 588 houses and partially damaged 478 houses, affecting 4,509 people in 1,066 households corresponding to an estimated 37% of the population of Santa Cruz Island. A multi-disciplinary international tsunami survey team (ITST) was deployed within days of the event to document flow depths, runup heights, inundation distances, sediment and coral boulder depositions, land level changes, damage patterns at various scales, performance of the man-made infrastructure and impact on the natural environment. The 19 to 23 February 2013 ITST covered 30 locations on 4 Islands: Ndendo (Santa Cruz), Tomotu Noi (Lord Howe), Nea Tomotu (Trevanion, Malo) and Tinakula. The reconnaissance completely circling Ndendo and Tinakula logged 240 km by small boat and additionally covered 20 km of Ndendo's hard hit western coastline by vehicle. The collected survey data includes more than 80 tsunami runup and flow depth measurements. The tsunami impact peaked at Manoputi on Ndendo's densely populated west coast with maximum tsunami height exceeding 11 m and local flow depths above ground exceeding 7 m. A fast tide-like positive amplitude of 1 m was recorded at Lata wharf inside Graciosa Bay on Ndendo Island and misleadingly reported in the media as representative tsunami height. The stark contrast between the field observations on exposed coastlines and the Lata tide gauge recording highlights the importance of rapid tsunami reconnaissance surveys. Inundation distance and damage more than 500 m inland were recorded at Lata airport on Ndendo Island. Landslides were
An outbreak investigation of scrub typhus in Western Province, Solomon Islands, 2014
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Michael Marks
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Objective: To identify the etiology and risk factors of undifferentiated fever in a cluster of patients in Western Province, Solomon Islands, May 2014. Methods: An outbreak investigation with a case control study was conducted. A case was defined as an inpatient in one hospital in Western Province, Solomon Islands with high fever (> 38.5 °C and a negative malaria microscopy test admitted between 1 and 31 May 2014. Asymptomatic controls matched with the cases residentially were recruited in a ratio of 1:2. Serum samples from the subjects were tested for rickettsial infections using indirect micro-immunofluorescence assay. Results: Nine cases met the outbreak case definition. All cases were male. An eschar was noted in five cases (55%, and one developed pneumonitis. We did not identify any environmental factors associated with illness. Serum samples of all five follow-up cases (100% had strong-positive IgG responses to scrub typhus. All but one control (10% had a moderate response against scrub typhus. Four controls had low levels of antibodies against spotted fever group rickettsia, and only one had a low-level response to typhus group rickettsia. Discussion: This outbreak represents the first laboratory-confirmed outbreak of scrub typhus in the Western Province of Solomon Islands. The results suggest that rickettsial infections are more common than currently recognized as a cause of an acute febrile illness. A revised clinical case definition for rickettsial infections and treatment guidelines were developed and shared with provincial health staff for better surveillance and response to future outbreaks of a similar kind.
Pijin at School in Solomon Islands: Language Ideologies and the Nation
Jourdan, Christine
2013-01-01
In this article, I analyze the reasons that have excluded Pijin, the lingua franca of Solomon Islands, South West Pacific, from being used as a medium of instruction, and why this may now become possible. Following a short sociolinguistic sketch, I present the colonial and post-colonial linguistic ideologies that shaped sociolinguistic…
Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Peace Education: Solomon Islands
Maebuta, Jack
2011-01-01
Technical and vocational education and training programs as a form of peace education are examined in this paper. It explores the notion of educating for a culture of peace through refocusing technical and vocational education and training programs on sustainable community development in the Solomon Islands. It further highlights the policy and…
Mesoscale Eddies in the Solomon Sea
Hristova, H. G.; Kessler, W. S.; McWilliams, J. C.; Molemaker, M. J.
2011-12-01
Water mass transformation in the strong equatorward flows through the Solomon Sea influences the properties of the Equatorial Undercurrent and subsequent cold tongue upwelling. High eddy activity in the interior Solomon Sea seen in altimetric sea surface height (SSH) and in several models may provide a mechanism for these transformations. We investigate these effects using a mesoscale (4-km resolution) sigma-coordinate (ROMS) model of the Solomon Sea nested in a basin solution, forced by a repeating seasonal cycle, and evaluated against observational data. The model generates a vigorous upper layer eddy field; some of these are apparently shed as the New Guinea Coastal Undercurrent threads through the complex topography of the region, others are independent of the strong western boundary current. We diagnose the scales and vertical structure of the eddies in different parts of the Solomon Sea to illuminate their generation processes and propagation characteristics, and compare these to observed eddy statistics. Hypotheses tested are that the Solomon Sea mesoscale eddies are generated locally by baroclinic instability, that the eddies are shed as the South Equatorial Current passes around and through the Solomon Island chain, that eddies are generated by the New Guinea Coastal Undercurrent, or that eddies occurring outside of the Solomon Sea propagate into the Solomon Sea. These different mechanisms have different implications for the resulting mixing and property fluxes. They also provide different interpretations for SSH signals observed from satellites (e.g., that will be observed by the upcoming SWOT satellite).
Asugeni, James; MacLaren, David; Massey, Peter D; Speare, Rick
2015-12-01
There is little published research about mental health and climate change in the Pacific, including Solomon Islands. Solomon Islands has one of the highest rates of sea-level rise globally. The aim of this research was to document mental health issues related to sea-level rise for people in East Malaita, Solomon Islands. A cross-sectional study was carried out in six low-lying villages in East Malaita, Solomon Islands. The researcher travelled to villages by dugout canoe. In addition to quantitative, closed-ended questions, open-ended questions with villagers explored individual and community responses to rising sea level. Of 60 people asked, 57 completed the questionnaire. Of these, 90% reported having seen a change in the weather patterns. Nearly all participants reported that sea-level rise is affecting them and their family and is causing fear and worry on a personal and community level. Four themes emerged from the qualitative analysis: experience of physical impacts of climate change; worry about the future; adaptation to climate change; government response needed. Given predictions of ongoing sea-level rise in the Pacific it is essential that more research is conducted to further understand the human impact of climate change for small island states which will inform local, provincial and national-level mental health responses. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2015.
75 FR 18056 - Safety Zone; Fireworks Display, Patuxent River, Solomons Island Harbor, MD
2010-04-09
... the event, and enhancing public and maritime safety. Basis and Purpose Fireworks displays are... promote public and maritime safety during a fireworks display, and to protect mariners transiting the area...-AA00 Safety Zone; Fireworks Display, Patuxent River, Solomons Island Harbor, MD AGENCY: Coast Guard...
Prevalence of soil-transmitted helminths in remote villages in East Kwaio, Solomon Islands
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Humpress Harrington
2015-08-01
Full Text Available Objective: Although soil-transmitted helminths (STH are endemic in Solomon Islands, there are few recent reports on their prevalence. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of STH in residents of remote communities in Solomon Islands. Methods: A cross-sectional convenience-sampled survey of residents of four adjacent villages in Malaita, Solomon Islands was performed in Atoifi and Na’au in April 2011 and in Abitona and Sifilo in April 2012. All residents older than one year were invited to participate, which involved providing a single sample of faeces examined using a modified Kato-Katz technique and completing a questionnaire that asked demographic and STH-related behaviour questions. Results: The overall participation rate was 52.8%, with 402 participants comprising 49.8% males. Hookworm was the predominant STH with only a single case of trichuriasis found in Atoifi. The total prevalence of hookworm was 22.6% (95% confidence interval: 18.6–27.1; the prevalence of hookworm in Abitona, Na’au and Sifilo was 20.0%, 29.9% and 27.4%, respectively, whereas in Atoifi it was 2.3% (P < 0.001. Intensity was low in all villages. Although health behaviours differed significantly between Atoifi and the other three villages, the type of toilet used was the only significant association with hookworm. Discussion: Residents of Atoifi have a relative freedom from STH compared to the other three villages. Rather than a region-wide morbidity control approach, a “one village at a time” approach aiming to eliminate STH and dealing with each village as a separate autonomous unit empowered to manage its own challenges may be a preferred option.
2013-01-01
Background Unmet need for family planning in the Pacific is among the highest in the world. Better understanding of required investments and associated benefits of increased access to family planning in the Pacific may assist prioritisation and funding. Methods We modelled the costs and associated health, demographic and economic impacts of reducing unmet need for family planning between 2010–2025 in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. Baseline data were obtained from census reports, Demographic and Health Surveys, and UN agency reports. Using a demographic modelling program we compared a scenario of “no change in unmet need” with two distinct scenarios: 1) all family planning needs met by 2020; and, 2) all needs met by 2050. Results Meeting family planning needs by 2020 would increase prevalence of modern contraception in 2025 from 36.8 to 65.5% in Vanuatu and 28.5 to 37.6% in the Solomon Islands. Between 2010–2025 the average annual number of unintended pregnancies would decline by 68% in Vanuatu and 50% in the Solomon Islands, and high-risk births would fall by more than 20%, averting 2,573 maternal and infant deaths. Total fertility rates would fall from 4.1 to 2.2 in Vanuatu and 3.5 in the Solomon Islands, contributing to slowed population growth and lower dependency ratios. The direct cost of reducing unmet need by 2020 was estimated to be $5.19 million for Vanuatu and $3.36 million for the Solomon Islands between 2010–2025. Preventing unintended pregnancies would save $112 million in health and education expenditure. Conclusions In small island developing states such as Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, increasing investment in family planning would contribute to improved maternal and infant outcomes and substantial public sector savings. PMID:23758783
Stakeholder Perspectives on Barriers and Facilitators of Inclusive Education in the Solomon Islands
Sharma, Umesh; Loreman, Tim; Simi, Janine
2017-01-01
This paper reports perceived barriers and facilitators of disability-inclusive education, and outcomes of an effective system of inclusive education in the Solomon Islands. Data were gathered from a variety of stakeholder group participants (n = 10) and individual key informants (n = 2), ranging from parents of children with disabilities to…
Jones, Forrest K; Ko, Albert I; Becha, Chris; Joshua, Cynthia; Musto, Jennie; Thomas, Sarah; Ronsse, Axelle; Kirkwood, Carl D; Sio, Alison; Aumua, Audrey; Nilles, Eric J
2016-05-01
Flooding on 1 of the Solomon Islands precipitated a nationwide epidemic of diarrhea that spread to regions unaffected by flooding and caused >6,000 cases and 27 deaths. Rotavirus was identified in 38% of case-patients tested in the city with the most flooding. Outbreak potential related to weather reinforces the need for global rotavirus vaccination.
Transforming communicative spaces: the rhythm of gender in meetings in rural Solomon Islands
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Michelle Dyer
2018-03-01
Full Text Available Women's lack of participation in important decision making is noted as an obstacle to sustainable development in many parts of the world. An initial issue for gender equity in environmental decision making in many developing country contexts is not only women's inclusion but also their substantive participation in decision-making forums. In this article I examine the power structures embedded in the public communicative spaces in a village in the Western Province of Solomon Islands using empirical data in conjunction with ethnographic understanding of gendered meeting styles. The data reveal some reasons why women may be silenced as public political actors. It also raises the potential for development actors to create conceptual space for specific women's ways of meeting and validating women's meeting styles. These findings have implications for encouraging transformative communicative spaces and formats that allow transcendence of socially embedded power structures.
A review of health leadership and management capacity in the Solomon Islands.
Asante, Augustine; Roberts, Graham; Hall, John
2012-04-01
ACCESS AND UTILISATION OF HEALTH CARE: The armed conflict that engulfed the Solomon Islands between 1998 and 2003 significantly disrupted the provision of health care especially in rural and remote areas. There is one doctor for 3,300 people and approximately 13 nurses and midwives for 10,000 people. Despite limitations 87% of people seek health care when sick. FINANCING THE HEALTH SYSTEM: The SIG placed a series of reservations on ministerial goods and services budgets that effectively the budget by 33%, severely impacting provincial budgets and resulting in acquired debts. Shortfalls have been addressed by allocating Health Sector Support Program funds to the provinces to allow services to continue, a strategy that will likely recur, but by which donor support replaces government provision Provincial health accountants have received training in MYOB in 2009 but acquittal systems require higher level accounting skills for reports to be submitted on time to permit the release of subsequent funding tranches. HUMAN RESOURCES FOR HEALTH: The shortage of doctors and specialists is a key challenge. As at December 2010, there were a total of 2,728 health workers in the public sector in Solomon Islands. Staff costs consume on average 55% of provincial health grants Filled Public Service Division staff establishments and budgetary reservations have reduced the ability to meet the salary and wage costs of new graduates. Solomon Islands is currently negotiating to assist Vanuatu in filling its nursing staff vacancies with its surplus The return of 75 Cuban trained medical officers from 2013 presents the management challenge of accessing budget provisions for so many new positions and in funding the infrastructure needed to house, equip and maintain them in service. HEALTH MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE: Provincial health managers are operationally responsive to local needs, managerially responsible to provincial governments, while being concerned with adherence to central MHMS policy
Negin, Joel; Houasia, Patrick; Munamua, Alex B; Leon, David P; Rimon, Mia; Martiniuk, Alexandra LC
2014-01-01
The Solomon Islands has one of the highest rates of domestic violence in the world. This paper is a descriptive case series of all cases of domestic violence presenting to the Solomon Islands National Referral Hospital (NRH) over 18 years. Data were routinely collected from a database of all patients who were treated by NRH general surgery and orthopedic clinicians between 1994 and 2011, inclusive. The total number of cases in the injury database as a result of domestic violence was 387. The average number of cases in the database per year from 1994 to 2011 was 20. There were 6% more female patients (205 of 387; 53%) than male (182 of 387; 47%). Of the cases in which the perpetrator of the violence against a female patient was specified (111 of 205 female cases), 74% (82 of 111) were the patient's husband. Only 5% (5 of 111) of cases in females were inflicted by another female. This analysis provides the best available information on domestic violence cases requiring a visit to a tertiary hospital in a Pacific Island in the specified time period and is undoubtedly an under-estimate of the total cases of domestic violence. Preventing and treating domestic violence in the Solomon Islands and in the Pacific is an important challenge and there is a significant role for secondary and tertiary health services in screening for and preventing domestic violence. PMID:25285254
Carrington, Suzanne; Pillay, Hitendra; Tones, Megan; Nickerson, Julie; Duke, Jennifer; Esibaea, Benedict; Malefoasi, Ambrose; Fa'asala, Casper Joseph
2017-01-01
Inclusive education in general, and disability-inclusive education in particular, is a high-level priority for development work in aid-supported countries. This paper presents a bottom-up process of developing disability-inclusive education policy in one country--the Solomon Islands. It is well understood that the promotion of quality in…
Furusawa, Takuro; Sirikolo, Myknee Qusa; Sasaoka, Masatoshi; Ohtsuka, Ryutaro
2014-01-27
In Solomon Islands, forests have provided people with ecological services while being affected by human use and protection. This study used a quantitative ethnobotanical analysis to explore the society-forest interaction and its transformation in Roviana, Solomon Islands. We compared local plant and land uses between a rural village and urbanized village. Special attention was paid to how local people depend on biodiversity and how traditional human modifications of forest contribute to biodiversity conservation. After defining locally recognized land-use classes, vegetation surveys were conducted in seven forest classes. For detailed observations of daily plant uses, 15 and 17 households were randomly selected in the rural and urban villages, respectively. We quantitatively documented the plant species that were used as food, medicine, building materials, and tools. The vegetation survey revealed that each local forest class represented a different vegetative community with relatively low similarity between communities. Although commercial logging operations and agriculture were both prohibited in the customary nature reserve, local people were allowed to cut down trees for their personal use and to take several types of non-timber forest products. Useful trees were found at high frequencies in the barrier island's primary forest (68.4%) and the main island's reserve (68.3%). Various useful tree species were found only in the reserve forest and seldom available in the urban village. In the rural village, customary governance and control over the use of forest resources by the local people still functioned. Human modifications of the forest created unique vegetation communities, thus increasing biodiversity overall. Each type of forest had different species that varied in their levels of importance to the local subsistence lifestyle, and the villagers' behaviors, such as respect for forest reserves and the semidomestication of some species, contributed to
Ku, C. S.; You, S. H.; Kuo, Y. T.; Huang, B. S.; Wu, Y. M.; Chen, Y. G.; Taylor, F. W.
2015-12-01
A MW 8.1 earthquake occurred on 1 April 2007 in the western Solomon Islands. Following this event, a damaging tsunami was induced and hit the Island Gizo where the capital city of Western Province of Solomon Islands located. Several buildings of this city were destroyed and several peoples lost their lives during this earthquake. However, during this earthquake, no near source seismic instrument has been installed in this region. The seismic evaluations for the aftershock sequence, the possible earthquake early warning and tsunami warning were unavailable. For the purpose of knowing more detailed information about seismic activity in this region, we have installed 9 seismic stations (with Trillium 120PA broadband seismometer and Q330S 24bit digitizer) around the rupture zone of the 2007 earthquake since September of 2009. Within a decade, it has been demonstrated both theoretically and experimentally that the Green's function or impulse response between two seismic stations can be retrieved from the cross-correlation of ambient noise. In this study, 6 stations' observations which are more complete during 2011/10 ~ 2012/12 period, were selected for the purpose of the cross-correlation analysis of ambient seismic noise. The group velocities at period 2-20 seconds of 15 station-pairs were extracted by using multiple filter technique (MFT) method. The analyzed results of this study presented significant results of group velocities with higher frequency contents than other studies (20-60 seconds in usually cases) and opened new opportunities to study the shallow crustal structure of the western Solomon Islands.
The Prevalence of Scabies and Impetigo in the Solomon Islands: A Population-Based Survey.
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Daniel S Mason
2016-06-01
Full Text Available Scabies and impetigo are common, important and treatable skin conditions. Reports from several Pacific island countries show extremely high prevalence of these two conditions, but for many countries, including the Solomon Islands, there is a paucity of epidemiological data.Ten rural villages in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands were included in the study, chosen so that data collection could be integrated with an existing project investigating clinical and serological markers of yaws. All residents were eligible to participate, and 1908 people were enrolled. Participants were interviewed and examined by a paediatric registrar, who recorded relevant demographic information, and made a clinical diagnosis of scabies and/or impetigo, severity and distribution.The total unweighted prevalence of scabies was 19.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 17.5-21.0, and age and gender weighted prevalence 19.2% (95%CI 16.7-21.9. The adult prevalence of scabies was 10.4% (95%CI 8.2-13.2, and the highest prevalence was found in infants < 1 year of age (34.1%, adjusted odds ratio [AOR] compared with adults: 3.6, 95%CI 2.2-6.0 and children aged 1-4 years (25.7%, AOR 2.6, 95%CI 1.7-3.9. Scabies affected two or more body regions in 80.9% of participants, and 4.4% of scabies cases were classified as severe. The total unweighted prevalence of active impetigo was 32.7% (95%CI 30.6-34.8, and age and gender weighted prevalence 26.7% (95%CI 24.2-29.5. The highest prevalence was found in children aged 1-4 years (42.6%, AOR compared with adults: 4.1, 95%CI 2.9-5.8. Scabies infestation was associated with active impetigo infection (AOR 2.0, 95%CI 1.6-2.6; with 41.1% of active impetigo cases also having scabies.Scabies and impetigo are very common in the rural Western Province of the Solomon Islands. Scabies infestation is strongly associated with impetigo. Community control strategies for scabies may reduce the burden of both conditions and their downstream
The Prevalence of Scabies and Impetigo in the Solomon Islands: A Population-Based Survey.
Mason, Daniel S; Marks, Michael; Sokana, Oliver; Solomon, Anthony W; Mabey, David C; Romani, Lucia; Kaldor, John; Steer, Andrew C; Engelman, Daniel
2016-06-01
Scabies and impetigo are common, important and treatable skin conditions. Reports from several Pacific island countries show extremely high prevalence of these two conditions, but for many countries, including the Solomon Islands, there is a paucity of epidemiological data. Ten rural villages in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands were included in the study, chosen so that data collection could be integrated with an existing project investigating clinical and serological markers of yaws. All residents were eligible to participate, and 1908 people were enrolled. Participants were interviewed and examined by a paediatric registrar, who recorded relevant demographic information, and made a clinical diagnosis of scabies and/or impetigo, severity and distribution. The total unweighted prevalence of scabies was 19.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 17.5-21.0), and age and gender weighted prevalence 19.2% (95%CI 16.7-21.9). The adult prevalence of scabies was 10.4% (95%CI 8.2-13.2), and the highest prevalence was found in infants < 1 year of age (34.1%, adjusted odds ratio [AOR] compared with adults: 3.6, 95%CI 2.2-6.0) and children aged 1-4 years (25.7%, AOR 2.6, 95%CI 1.7-3.9). Scabies affected two or more body regions in 80.9% of participants, and 4.4% of scabies cases were classified as severe. The total unweighted prevalence of active impetigo was 32.7% (95%CI 30.6-34.8), and age and gender weighted prevalence 26.7% (95%CI 24.2-29.5). The highest prevalence was found in children aged 1-4 years (42.6%, AOR compared with adults: 4.1, 95%CI 2.9-5.8). Scabies infestation was associated with active impetigo infection (AOR 2.0, 95%CI 1.6-2.6); with 41.1% of active impetigo cases also having scabies. Scabies and impetigo are very common in the rural Western Province of the Solomon Islands. Scabies infestation is strongly associated with impetigo. Community control strategies for scabies may reduce the burden of both conditions and their downstream complications.
Natuzzi, Eileen S.; Joshua, Cynthia; Shortus, Matthew; Reubin, Reginald; Dalipanda, Tenneth; Ferran, Karen; Aumua, Audrey; Brodine, Stephanie
2016-01-01
Extreme weather events are common and increasing in intensity in the southwestern Pacific region. Health impacts from cyclones and tropical storms cause acute injuries and infectious disease outbreaks. Defining population vulnerability to extreme weather events by examining a recent flood in Honiara, Solomon Islands, can help stakeholders and policymakers adapt development to reduce future threats. The acute and subacute health impacts following the April 2014 floods were defined using data obtained from hospitals and clinics, the Ministry of Health and in-country World Health Organization office in Honiara. Geographical information system (GIS) was used to assess morbidity and mortality, and vulnerability of the health system infrastructure and households in Honiara. The April flash floods were responsible for 21 acute deaths, 33 injuries, and a diarrhea outbreak that affected 8,584 people with 10 pediatric deaths. A GIS vulnerability assessment of the location of the health system infrastructure and households relative to rivers and the coastline identified 75% of the health infrastructure and over 29% of Honiara's population as vulnerable to future hydrological events. Honiara, Solomon Islands, is a rapidly growing, highly vulnerable urban Pacific Island environment. Evaluation of the mortality and morbidity from the April 2014 floods as well as the infectious disease outbreaks that followed allows public health specialists and policy makers to understand the health system and populations vulnerability to future shocks. Understanding the negative impacts natural disaster have on people living in urban Pacific environments will help the government as well as development partners in crafting resilient adaptation development. PMID:27091867
New Records and Name Changes for the Orchids in the Solomon Islands
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Tian-Chuan Hsu
2016-03-01
Full Text Available One genus (Anoectochilus and 12 species (Agrostophyllum neoguineense, Anoectochilus papuanus, Arundina graminifolia, Bulbophyllum aemulum, B. bisepalum, B. nubigenum, B. ochroleucum, B. phreatiopse, Corybas solomonensis, Crepidium laevis, Didymoplexis striata, Epipogium roseum of orchids (Orchidaceae are first recorded to the flora of the Solomon Islands during the 2012–2015 field expeditions. Geographic data, ecological and taxonomic notes and illustrations of those species are provided. A new combination (Pinalia oligotricha and a new name (Dendrobium bougainvilleanum are also proposed for fitting recent systematic alterations within Orchidaceae.
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David MacLaren
2015-04-01
Full Text Available Background: Documenting specific knowledge and attitudes about HIV in the culturally diverse nation of Solomon Islands is essential to inform locally targeted public health responses. As part of a large capacity-strengthening project at Atoifi Adventist Hospital in East Kwaio, Solomon Islands, researchers, using a ‘learn-by-doing’ process, worked with participants in public health research methods. Methods: Overall, 43 people attended research capacity building workshops in 2011; eight joined the HIV study group. A cross-sectional survey including semi-structured interviews on HIV was conducted by the group. In February 2014, a hospital administrator was interviewed about how the 2011 study informed local HIV responses. Results: Of the 53 survey participants, 64% self-assessed as having little or no HIV knowledge, but 90% knew HIV could be transmitted between men and women during sex. Less than 50% knew HIV could be transmitted between two men having sex, 45% thought HIV could be transmitted by mosquitoes and 55% agreed condoms help protect from HIV. Most participants reported negative attitudes towards people with HIV. Three years later the health administrator reported ad hoc responses to HIV because of low HIV prevalence, increasing noncommunicable diseases, staff turnover and resource shortages. Discussion: This HIV study was used to strengthen research skills in local health professionals and community members in Solomon Islands. It showed that community members require accurate information about HIV transmission and that entrenched stigma is an issue. Although results provided local evidence for local response, ongoing health system challenges and little local HIV transmission meant HIV services remain rudimentary.
A cultural landscape approach to community-based conservation in Solomon Islands
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Richard K. Walter
2014-12-01
Full Text Available International environmental organizations have an increasing commitment to the development of conservation programs in high-diversity regions where indigenous communities maintain customary rights to their lands and seas. A major challenge that these programs face is the alignment of international conservation values with those of the indigenous communities whose cooperation and support are vital. International environmental organizations are focused on biodiversity conservation, but local communities often have a different range of concerns and interests, only some of which relate to biodiversity. One solution to this problem involves adoption of a cultural landscape approach as the ethical and organizational foundation of the conservation program. In our conservation work in coastal Melanesia, we have developed a cultural landscape approach that involves the construction of a conceptual model of environment that reflects the indigenous perceptions of landscape. This model incorporates cultural, ideational, and spiritual values alongside other ecosystem services and underpins the conservation activities, priorities, and organizational structure of our programs. This cultural landscape model was a reaction to a survey of environmental values conducted by our team in which Solomon Islanders reported far greater interest in conserving cultural heritage sites than any other ecosystem resources. This caused a radical rethinking of community-based conservation programs. The methodologies we adopted are derived from the fields of archaeology and historical anthropology, in which there is an established practice of working through research problems within the framework of indigenous concepts of, and relationship to, landscape. In our work in Isabel Province, Solomon Islands, coastal communities have enthusiastically adopted conservation programs that are based on cultural landscape models that recognize indigenous values. A particularly useful tool is
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Mackenzie Donna O
2011-05-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background In the Solomon Islands, the Malaria Eradication Programmes of the 1970s virtually eliminated the malaria vectors: Anopheles punctulatus and Anopheles koliensis, both late night biting, endophagic species. However, the vector, Anopheles farauti, changed its behaviour to bite early in the evening outdoors. Thus, An. farauti mosquitoes were able to avoid insecticide exposure and still maintain transmission. Thirty years on and the Solomon Islands are planning for intensified malaria control and localized elimination; but little is currently known about the behaviour of the vectors and how they will respond to intensified control. Methods In the elimination area, Temotu Province, standard entomological collection methods were conducted in typical coastal villages to determine the vector, its ecology, biting density, behaviour, longevity, and vector efficacy. These vector surveys were conducted pre-intervention and post-intervention following indoor residual spraying and distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets. Results Anopheles farauti was the only anopheline in Temotu Province. In 2008 (pre-intervention, this species occurred in moderate to high densities (19.5-78.5 bites/person/night and expressed a tendency to bite outdoors, early in the night (peak biting time 6-8 pm. Surveys post intervention showed that there was little, if any, reduction in biting densities and no reduction in the longevity of the vector population. After adjusting for human behaviour, indoor biting was reduced from 57% pre-intervention to 40% post-intervention. Conclusion In an effort to learn from historical mistakes and develop successful elimination programmes, there is a need for implementing complimentary vector control tools that can target exophagic and early biting vectors. Intensified indoor residual spraying and long-lasting insecticide net use has further promoted the early, outdoor feeding behaviour of An. farauti in the Solomon Islands
Oliver, Paul M.; Travers, Scott L; Richmond, Jonathan Q.; Pikacha, Patrick; Fisher, Robert N.
2018-01-01
The islands of East Melanesia have generated key insights into speciation processes and community assembly. However, when and how these islands began to form, emerge and accumulate endemic taxa remains poorly understood. Here, we show that two divergent lineages within the world’s most diverse genus of geckos (Cyrtodactylus) occur in the Solomon Islands. One large-bodied species is nested within a radiation from far eastern New Guinea, with inferred colonization, spread and diversification since the late Miocene. In contrast, a newly sampled and relatively small species with a restricted distribution on Guadalcanal Island is a relict that diverged from extant congeners around the early to mid-Miocene. Similar Miocene divergences from extralimital relatives have been inferred for other endemic bird, bat and lizard lineages in East Melanesia. In contrast, across all lineages (including divergent relictual lineages), there is little evidence for endemic in situ diversification within East Melanesia predating the Pliocene (especially in the Solomon Islands). While some East Melanesian endemic lineages may have origins on progenitor islands during the Miocene or even earlier, current evidence suggests the in situ diversification and assembly of extant biological communities commenced around the end of the Miocene.
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Leach, Foss [Otago Univ., Dunedin (New Zealand). Dept. of Anthropology
1985-01-01
Six obsidian artefacts from the Polynesian outlier of Taumako in the Solomon Islands dating to between 500 and 1000 B.C. were analysed for trace elements by the PIXE-PIGME method. Four are shown to derive from Vanuatu, but the remaining two artefacts do not match any of the known 66 sources in the Pacific region. Continuing difficulties with the methodology of Pacific obsidian sourcing are discussed. 14 refs; 2 tables.
Fillion, Jacob; Weeks, Julius
The Forestry/Natural Resources Sector in the Office of Training and Program Support of the Peace Corps conducted an agroforestry inservice training workshop in Honiara, Solomon Islands, in 1983. Participants included Peace Corps volunteers and their host country national counterparts from six countries of the Pacific Islands and Asia (Western…
Smith, Jason; Tahani, Lloyd; Bobogare, Albino; Bugoro, Hugo; Otto, Francis; Fafale, George; Hiriasa, David; Kazazic, Adna; Beard, Grant; Amjadali, Amanda; Jeanne, Isabelle
2017-11-21
Malaria control remains a significant challenge in the Solomon Islands. Despite progress made by local malaria control agencies over the past decade, case rates remain high in some areas of the country. Studies from around the world have confirmed important links between climate and malaria transmission. This study focuses on understanding the links between malaria and climate in Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, with a view towards developing a climate-based monitoring and early warning for periods of enhanced malaria transmission. Climate records were sourced from the Solomon Islands meteorological service (SIMS) and historical malaria case records were sourced from the National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP). A declining trend in malaria cases over the last decade associated with improved malaria control was adjusted for. A stepwise regression was performed between climate variables and climate-associated malaria transmission (CMT) at different lag intervals to determine where significant relationships existed. The suitability of these results for use in a three-tiered categorical warning system was then assessed using a Mann-Whitney U test. Of the climate variables considered, only rainfall had a consistently significant relationship with malaria in North Guadalcanal. Optimal lag intervals were determined for prediction using R 2 skill scores. A highly significant negative correlation (R = - 0.86, R 2 = 0.74, p malaria transmission periods in January-June. Cross-validation emphasized the suitability of this relationship for forecasting purposes [Formula: see text] as did Mann-Whitney U test results showing that rainfall below or above specific thresholds was significantly associated with above or below normal malaria transmission, respectively. This study demonstrated that rainfall provides the best predictor of malaria transmission in North Guadalcanal. This relationship is thought to be underpinned by the unique hydrological conditions
Burnett, Eleanor; Dalipanda, Tenneth; Ogaoga, Divi; Gaiofa, Jenny; Jilini, Gregory; Halpin, Alison; Dietz, Vance; Date, Kashmira; Mintz, Eric; Hyde, Terri; Wannemuehler, Kathleen; Yen, Catherine
2016-01-01
Background In response to a 2011 cholera outbreak in Papua New Guinea, the Government of the Solomon Islands initiated a cholera prevention program which included cholera disease prevention and treatment messaging, community meetings, and a pre-emptive cholera vaccination campaign targeting 11,000 children aged 1?15 years in selected communities in Choiseul and Western Provinces. Methodology and Principal Findings We conducted a post-vaccination campaign, household-level survey about knowledg...
McAllen, I.; Borgo, E.; Violani, C.
2005-01-01
An attempt is made to reconstruct the trail of a collection of birds from the Solomon Islands to museums in Genoa (Museo Civico di Storia Naturale “G. Doria”, Genova), Turin (Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali, Torino) and Milan (Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Milano), Italy, with the aid of
Social determinants of disability-based disadvantage in Solomon islands.
Gartrell, Alexandra; Jennaway, Megan; Manderson, Lenore; Fangalasuu, Judy; Dolaiano, Simon
2018-04-01
Development discourse widely recognises that disability is the result of economic and social processes and structures that fail to accommodate persons with disabilities. Empirical work on the relationship between disability and poverty however, conceptualize poverty through an economic resource lens in high-income countries. To address this conceptual gap this article uses a social determinants of health perspective to examine how socio-cultural, economic and political contexts shape disability-based disadvantage. This article draws upon ethnographic research and supplementary data collected using rapid assessment techniques in Solomon Islands. Findings suggest that the disability-poverty nexus and inequalities in health, wellbeing and quality of life must be understood within broader patterns of social vulnerability that are institutionalised in landownership and patterns of descent, gendered power relations and disability specific stigmas that preclude social and productive engagement . This article demonstrates how a social determinant of health perspective that closely examines lived experiences of disability provides critical analytical insights into the structural mechanisms that constitute disability-based disadvantage. This article provides foundation knowledge on which policies and further research to promote disability-inclusion and equity can be based.
Social Learning through Participatory Integrated Catchment Risk Assessment in the Solomon Islands
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Suzanne Hoverman
2011-06-01
Full Text Available In developed countries a social learning approach has been shown to support Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM by fostering stakeholders' understanding of system complexity, recognition of mutual dependence, appreciation of others' perspectives, and development of the capacity to work together and to create mutual trust. Much less is known about social learning's potential in less developed small island states, particularly postconflict island states, where integration must navigate prescriptive management, limited resources, widely differing world views, a history of adversarial relationships, and unsuccessful attempts at government-community collaboration. This paper analyzes the transformative aspects of a social learning experience that occurred during research facilitating participatory integrated catchment management in the Pacific. The study elicited community and expert knowledge to create systems understanding to generate and analyze complex scenarios for integrated catchment risk assessment in the Kongulai catchment, Solomon Islands. Separate sequenced and then combined discussions led to facilitated exploration of others' subjective assessment of catchment risks and management options. Issues of transparency, trust, accountability, and mutual responsibility were explored in carefully created discursive spaces, assisted by the immediacy of personal contact and the absence of complex bureaucratic structures. Despite historical difficulties, through the use of bridging individuals, participants were generally able to transcend the constraints of their individual knowledge cultures, expand awareness and appreciation of the complexity of human-environment systems for IWRM, and envisage new opportunities for productively working together in integrated catchment management.
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Landry Losi
2010-08-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency poses a significant impediment to primaquine use for the elimination of liver stage infection with Plasmodium vivax and for gametocyte clearance, because of the risk of life-threatening haemolytic anaemia that can occur in G6PD deficient patients. Although a range of methods for screening G6PD deficiency have been described, almost all require skilled personnel, expensive laboratory equipment, freshly collected blood, and are time consuming; factors that render them unsuitable for mass-screening purposes. Methods A published WST8/1-methoxy PMS method was adapted to assay G6PD activity in a 96-well format using dried blood spots, and used it to undertake population screening within a malaria survey undertaken in Isabel Province, Solomon Islands. The assay results were compared to a biochemical test and a recently marketed rapid diagnostic test. Results Comparative testing with biochemical and rapid diagnostic test indicated that results obtained by filter paper assay were accurate providing that blood spots were assayed within 5 days when stored at ambient temperature and 10 days when stored at 4 degrees. Screening of 8541 people from 41 villages in Isabel Province, Solomon Islands revealed the prevalence of G6PD deficiency as defined by enzyme activity Conclusions The assay enabled simple and quick semi-quantitative population screening in a malaria-endemic region. The study indicated a high prevalence of G6PD deficiency in Isabel Province and highlights the critical need to consider G6PD deficiency in the context of P. vivax malaria elimination strategies in Solomon Islands, particularly in light of the potential role of primaquine mass drug administration.
Community perceptions of mental health needs: a qualitative study in the Solomon Islands
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Silove Derrick
2009-03-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Psychosocial and mental health needs in the aftermath of conflict and disaster have attracted substantial attention. In the Solomon Islands, the conceptualisation of mental health, for several decades regarded by policy makers as primarily a health issue, has broadened and been incorporated into the national development and social policy agendas, reflecting recognition of the impact of conflict and rapid social change on the psychosocial wellbeing of the community as a whole. We sought to understand how mental health and psychosocial wellbeing were seen at the community level, the extent to which these issues were identified as being associated with periods of 'tension', violence and instability, and the availability of traditional approaches and Ministry of Health services to address these problems. Methods This article reports the findings of qualitative research conducted in a rural district on the island of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. Key informant interviews were conducted with community leaders, and focus groups were held with women, men and young people. Wellbeing was defined broadly. Results Problems of common concern included excessive alcohol and marijuana use, interpersonal violence and abuse, teenage pregnancy, and lack of respect and cooperation. Troubled individuals and their families sought help for mental problems from various sources including chiefs, church leaders and traditional healers and, less often, trauma support workers, health clinic staff and police. Substance-related problems presented special challenges, as there were no traditional solutions at the individual or community level. Severe mental illness was also a challenge, with few aware that a community mental health service existed. Contrary to our expectations, conflict-related trauma was not identified as a major problem by the community who were more concerned about the economic and social sequelae of the conflict. Conclusion
Tukana, Andrew; Hedlefs, Robert; Gummow, Bruce
2016-10-01
There have been no surveys of the cattle population for brucellosis in the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) for more than 15 years. This study used disease surveillance as a capacity building training tool and to examine some of the constraints that impede surveillance in PICTs. The study also developed and implemented a series of surveys for detecting antibodies to B. abortus in cattle in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands contributing to OIE requirements. The findings indicated lack of funds, lack of technical capacity, shortage of veterinarians, high turnover of in-country officials and lack of awareness on the impacts of animal diseases on public health that were constraining active disease surveillance. During the development and implementation of the surveys, constraints highlighted were outdated census data on farm numbers and cattle population, lack of funds for mobilisation of officials to carry out the surveys, lack of equipment for collecting and processing samples, lack of staff knowledge on blood sampling, geographical difficulties and security in accessing farms. Some of the reasons why these were constraints are discussed with likely solutions presented. The detection surveys had the objectives of building capacity for the country officials and demonstrating freedom from brucellosis in cattle for PNG, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. PNG, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands all demonstrated freedom from bovine brucellosis in the areas surveyed using the indirect ELISA test. Fiji had an outbreak of brucellosis, and the objective was to determine its distribution and prevalence on untested farms. The Muaniweni district surveyed during the training had a 95 % confidence interval for true prevalence between 1.66 and 5.45 %. The study showed that active disease surveillance could be used as a tool for training officials thus, improves surveillance capacity in resource poor countries.
Diedrich, Amy; Aswani, Shankar
2016-11-01
Pacific Island communities may be vulnerable to negative impacts of economic development, which is often considered a strategy for reducing vulnerability to environmental change. Studies that evaluate potential impacts of economic development in isolated communities may be inaccurate to only focus on asking people to anticipate impacts of phenomena they have had minimal exposure to. We used an open-ended approach to evaluate how communities in the Solomon Islands perceived change, and used this information to anticipate potential impacts of the government's plans to develop tourism. Our results showed mostly negative expectations of change, particularly socio-cultural, which was perceived as being driven by diminishing social capital, foreign influence, and economic development. Despite minimal exposure, locals supported tourism and had more positive expectations of change associated with this activity. Our findings emphasize the need for locally appropriate planning to ensure intended positive impacts of tourism and other forms of economic development.
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Kekuabata Esau
2010-10-01
Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Atoifi Adventist Hospital is a 90 bed general hospital in East Kwaio, Malaita, Solomon Islands providing services to the population of subsistence villagers of the region. Health professionals at the hospital and attached College of Nursing have considerable human capacity and willingness to undertake health research. However they are constrained by limited research experience, training opportunities, research systems, physical infrastructure and access to resources. This brief commentary describes an 'Introduction to Health Research' workshop delivered at Atoifi Adventist Hospital in September 2009 and efforts to move from 'research workshop' to 'research work'. The Approach Using a participatory-action research approach underpinned by decolonising methodologies, staff from Atoifi Adventist Hospital and James Cook University (Queensland, Australia collaboratively designed, implemented and evaluated a health research workshop. Basic health research principles and methods were presented using active learning methodologies. Following the workshop, Atoifi Adventist Hospital and Atoifi College of Nursing staff, other professionals and community members reported an increased awareness and understanding of health research. The formation of a local Research Committee, improved ethics review procedures and the identification of local research mentors followed the week long workshop. The workshop has acted as a catalyst for research activity, increasing structural and human resource capacity for local health professionals and community leaders to engage in research. Discussion and Conclusions Participants from a variety of educational backgrounds participated in, and received benefit from, a responsive, culturally and linguistically accessible health research workshop. Improving health research systems at a remote hospital and aligning these with local and national research agendas is establishing a base to strengthen public health
Vibrio galatheae sp. nov., a novel member of the Vibrionaceae family isolated from the Solomon Sea
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Giubergia, Sonia; Machado, Henrique; Mateiu, Ramona Valentina
2015-01-01
Based on genetic, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic characteristics, a novel species belonging to the genus Vibrio is described. The facultative anaerobic strain S2757T was isolated from a mussel collected in the Solomon Sea (Solomon Islands). Phylogenetic analyses based on sequences of 16S r...
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Michael A. Fisher
2007-01-01
Full Text Available On April 1, 2007, a destructive earthquake (Mw 8.1 and tsunami struck the central Solomon Islands arc in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The earthquake had a thrust-fault focal mechanism and occurred at shallow depth (between 15 km and 25 km beneath the island arc. The combined effects of the earthquake and tsunami caused dozens of fatalities and thousands remain without shelter. We present a preliminary analysis of the Mw-8.1 earthquake and resulting tsunami. Multichannel seismic- reflection data collected during 1984 show the geologic structure of the arc’s frontal prism within the earthquake’s rupture zone. Modeling tsunami-wave propagation indicates that some of the islands are so close to the earthquake epicenter that they were hard hit by tsunami waves as soon as 5 min. after shaking began, allowing people scant time to react.
Influence of development factors on nutritional patterns in the Solomon Islands.
Joseph, F G
1981-01-01
Looks at the general changes brought about by development, and how the nutritional habits of the Solomon Island communities have been affected by development. The development aspirations of Third World countries include the introduction of cash crops for foreign exchange; moving away from subsistence-type economy and self-reliance in feeding one's family to dependence on outside sources; employment of more people at salaried jobs, small industries and factories; and modernization. Many governments view these developmental approaches as a positive way of progressive development, despite the unfavorable changes that they bring. These changes need to be examined and studied by socio-political authorities. Before development, communities throughout the South Pacific islands lived on various root crops, other starches, such as bread fruit and bananas, and a variety of green leaves. Animal fats, oils, butter, and sauces were not used. The cooking process was superior to western methods because the nutrient content of food was preserved. Little meat or milk was eaten because of the absence of edible animals. Protein sources consisted of seafood and occasionally wild or domestic pig. Birds were eaten on some islands. Though no gross malnutrition was observed, studies have shown that dietary intake was borderline and there wre varying degrees of vitamin deficiencies. There was minimal high blood pressure, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, or bowel pathology. Development, however, brought new dietary patterns and cases of malnutrition have been seen. Though the situation is not serious, it is of concern because it is affecting school children. National policies which take into account human factors are needed to begin to solve such dietary problems. Communities should be encouraged to continue producing and consuming tuberous crops and unrefined plant starches. Laws should be created to moderate drinking and advertisements for foreign foods should be restricted. Unless
Marston, Luke; Kelly, Gerard C; Hale, Erick; Clements, Archie C A; Hodge, Andrew; Jimenez-Soto, Eliana
2014-08-18
The goal of malaria elimination faces numerous challenges. New tools are required to support the scale up of interventions and improve national malaria programme capacity to conduct detailed surveillance. This study investigates the cost factors influencing the development and implementation of a spatial decision support system (SDSS) for malaria elimination in the two elimination provinces of Isabel and Temotu, Solomon Islands. Financial and economic costs to develop and implement a SDSS were estimated using the Solomon Islands programme's financial records. Using an ingredients approach, verified by stakeholders and operational reports, total costs for each province were quantified. A budget impact sensitivity analysis was conducted to investigate the influence of variations in standard budgetary components on the costs and to identify potential cost savings. A total investment of US$ 96,046 (2012 constant dollars) was required to develop and implement the SDSS in two provinces (Temotu Province US$ 49,806 and Isabel Province US$ 46,240). The single largest expense category was for computerized equipment totalling approximately US$ 30,085. Geographical reconnaissance was the most expensive phase of development and implementation, accounting for approximately 62% of total costs. Sensitivity analysis identified different cost factors between the provinces. Reduced equipment costs would deliver a budget saving of approximately 10% in Isabel Province. Combined travel costs represented the greatest influence on the total budget in the more remote Temotu Province. This study provides the first cost analysis of an operational surveillance tool used specifically for malaria elimination in the South-West Pacific. It is demonstrated that the costs of such a decision support system are driven by specialized equipment and travel expenses. Such factors should be closely scrutinized in future programme budgets to ensure maximum efficiencies are gained and available resources
Keeping Food on the Table: Human Responses and Changing Coastal Fisheries in Solomon Islands.
Albert, Simon; Aswani, Shankar; Fisher, Paul L; Albert, Joelle
2015-01-01
Globally the majority of commercial fisheries have experienced dramatic declines in stock and catch. Likewise, projections for many subsistence fisheries in the tropics indicate a dramatic decline is looming in the coming decades. In the Pacific Islands coastal fisheries provide basic subsistence needs for millions of people. A decline in fish catch would therefore have profound impacts on the health and livelihoods of these coastal communities. Given the decrease in local catch rates reported for many coastal communities in the Pacific, it is important to understand if fishers have responded to ecological change (either by expanding their fishing range and/or increasing their fishing effort), and if so, to evaluate the costs or benefits of these responses. We compare data from fish catches in 1995 and 2011 from a rural coastal community in Solomon Islands to examine the potentially changing coastal reef fishery at these time points. In particular we found changes in preferred fishing locations, fishing methodology and catch composition between these data sets. The results indicate that despite changes in catch rates (catch per unit effort) between data collected in 2011 and 16 years previously, the study community was able to increase gross catches through visiting fishing sites further away, diversifying fishing methods and targeting pelagic species through trolling. Such insight into local-scale responses to changing resources and/or fisheries development will help scientists and policy makers throughout the Pacific region in managing the region's fisheries in the future.
Keeping Food on the Table: Human Responses and Changing Coastal Fisheries in Solomon Islands.
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Simon Albert
Full Text Available Globally the majority of commercial fisheries have experienced dramatic declines in stock and catch. Likewise, projections for many subsistence fisheries in the tropics indicate a dramatic decline is looming in the coming decades. In the Pacific Islands coastal fisheries provide basic subsistence needs for millions of people. A decline in fish catch would therefore have profound impacts on the health and livelihoods of these coastal communities. Given the decrease in local catch rates reported for many coastal communities in the Pacific, it is important to understand if fishers have responded to ecological change (either by expanding their fishing range and/or increasing their fishing effort, and if so, to evaluate the costs or benefits of these responses. We compare data from fish catches in 1995 and 2011 from a rural coastal community in Solomon Islands to examine the potentially changing coastal reef fishery at these time points. In particular we found changes in preferred fishing locations, fishing methodology and catch composition between these data sets. The results indicate that despite changes in catch rates (catch per unit effort between data collected in 2011 and 16 years previously, the study community was able to increase gross catches through visiting fishing sites further away, diversifying fishing methods and targeting pelagic species through trolling. Such insight into local-scale responses to changing resources and/or fisheries development will help scientists and policy makers throughout the Pacific region in managing the region's fisheries in the future.
King Solomon's Silver? Southern Phoenician Hacksilber Hoards and the Location of Tarshish
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Christine M. Thompson
2013-10-01
Full Text Available Evidence from silver hoards found in Phoenicia is linking Tarshish, the legendary source of King Solomon's silver, to ores in the western Mediterranean. Biblical passages sometimes describe this lost land as a supplier of metals (especially silver to Phoenician sailors who traded in the service of Solomon and Hiram of Tyre in the 10th century BC. Classical authors similarly attribute the mercantile supremacy of the Phoenicians to their command of lucrative supplies of silver in the west, before they colonised the coasts and islands of its metalliferous regions around 800 BC. Conservative rejections of such reports have correctly emphasised a lack of evidence from silver. Lead isotope analyses of silver hoards found in Phoenicia now provide the initial evidence for pre-colonial silver-trade with the west; ore-provenance data correlate with the ancient documents that indicate both Sardinia and Spain as suppliers, and Sardinia as the island of Tarshish.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Green, R.C.; Jones, M.
2007-01-01
The relative age of SE-RF-6, SE-RF-2 and SE-SZ-8, three decorative phase Lapita sites in the Reef/Santa Cruz region of the Outer Easter Islands of Solomon Islands, has been the subject of dispute. A review of the evidence recovered from SE-RF-6 (Ngamanie), in conjunction with a Bayesian calibration model, supports the notion that it postdates the nearby site of SE-RF-2 (Nenumbo). We conclude that the SE-RF-6 represents an occupation of 50 to 100 years duration (compared with 50 or less for SE-RF-2), beginning some time in the interval 2470-2910 BP. (author). 22 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs
Nobody asked the mother: women and maternity on Simbo, western Solomon Islands.
Dureau, C
1993-09-01
This article's focus is on the role of mothers in Simbo, one of the New Georgia islands in the western Solomon Islands. Mother's role is examined from the standpoint of the actual experiences of motherhood and mother's perceptions and reactions to child rearing, child care, burdensome tasks, and social participation. Anthropological studies emphasize non-Western notions of maternity or romanticize the primitive. Obscured in the process is who these women really are. Western feminist accounts of Third World women emphasize the oppression and uniformity of the "natural" mother. This characterization of Simbo women is presented as a single non-Western view and is unrelated to a global vision. Simbo women as mothers feel oppressed and are envious of Western notions of parenting, yet at the same time feel that Western child rearing deprives the child. Maternity is a state of ambivalence, where women feel both love for and oppression by children, spouses, and other women. The tasks and responsibilities of childbearing are more difficult because of increased fertility and changes in social practices. Women without children are viewed with sympathy and mild condescension. Changes in social practices are in part due to the presence of missionaries after 1903 and the over 200 year involvement of the islands in world trading. The most significant impact on women post-Christianity is the change from the emphasis on female-child relationships to male-female relationships. Pre-Christianity, marriage ceremonies stressed equality of spouses and their kin groups. New customs emphasize brideprice and the husband's authority over women's bodies. The change in power affects fertility levels, child care, women's work, and contraception. Men today do less labor relative to women and, when husbands are absent due to temporary labor migration, women may not have any help. The nuclear family is responsible for all labor. Women specifically tend the gardens and house, care for children, and
An outbreak investigation of congenital rubella syndrome in Solomon Islands, 2013
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Kara N Durski
2016-02-01
Full Text Available Introduction: During May 2012, a rubella outbreak was declared in Solomon Islands. A suspected case of congenital rubella syndrome (CRS was reported from one hospital 11 months later in 2013. This report describes the subsequent CRS investigation, findings and measures implemented. Methods: Prospective CRS surveillance was conducted at the newborn nursery, paediatric and post-natal wards, and the paediatric cardiology and ophthalmology clinics of the study hospital from April to July 2013. Retrospective case finding by reviewing medical records was also undertaken to identify additional cases born between January and March 2013 for the same wards and clinics. Cases were identified using established World Health Organization case definitions for CRS. Results: A total of 13 CRS cases were identified, including two laboratory-confirmed, four clinically confirmed and seven suspected cases. Five CRS cases were retrospectively identified, including four suspected and one clinically confirmed case. There was no geospatial clustering of residences. The mothers of the cases were aged between 20 and 36 years. Three of the six mothers available for interview recalled an acute illness with rash during the first trimester of pregnancy. Discussion: Additional CRS cases not captured in this investigation are likely. Caring for CRS cases is a challenge in resource-poor settings. Rubella vaccination is safe and effective and can prevent the serious consequences of CRS. Well-planned and funded vaccination activities can prevent future CRS cases.
Social Dynamics Shaping the Diffusion of Sustainable Aquaculture Innovations in the Solomon Islands
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Jessica Blythe
2017-01-01
Full Text Available Sustainably feeding the world’s growing population represents one of our most significant challenges. Aquaculture is well positioned to make contributions towards this challenge. Yet, the translation of aquaculture production innovations into benefits for rural communities is constrained by a limited understanding of the social dynamics that influence the adoption of new agricultural practices. In this paper, we investigate the factors that shape the spread of small-scale tilapia aquaculture through rural Solomon Islands. Based on diffusion of innovation theory, we focus on three potentially influential factors: (i socio-economic characteristics of adopters; (ii the role of opinion leaders; and (iii characteristics of the innovation. We find that farmers who were wealthier, older, and had more diverse livelihoods were most likely to be adopters. Opinion leaders facilitated the adoption of tilapia aquaculture, but lacked the capacity to provide fundamental knowledge necessary to realize its potential benefits to food security. The paper argues for more explicit attention to the poorest households and makes the case for a deeper engagement with the broader social and institutional contexts that shape the adoption process. Aquaculture interventions that account for these social dynamics are critical for translating production innovations into sustainable benefits to rural communities.
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Kunimitsu Ayano
2009-04-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background The accuracy of malaria case reporting is challenging due to restricted human and material resources in many countries. The reporting often depends on the clinical diagnosis because of the scarcity of microscopic examinations. Particularly, clinical malaria case reporting by primary health care facilities (local clinics, which constitutes the baseline data of surveillance, has never previously been sufficiently evaluated. In order to improve the malaria reporting system to the level required to eventually eliminate this disease, this study estimates the gaps between the records of clinics and government statistics regarding the incidence of clinical malaria, and then also examines some factors that might explain the data discrepancy, including such variables as clinic staffing and record keeping. Methods All medical records for outpatients in 2007, handwritten by nurses, were collected from local clinics in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands. The all-monthly clinical malaria cases were then recalculated. The corresponding monthly data in official statistics were provided by the government. Next, in order to estimate any data discrepancy, the ratio of the cases recorded at clinics to the cases reported to the government was determined on the monthly basis. Finally, the associations between the monthly discrepancy and other variables were evaluated by a multiple regression analysis. Results The mean data discrepancy between the records of clinics and government statistics was 21.2% (n = 96. Significant associations were observed between the discrepancy and the average number of patients (coefficient: 0.05, 95%CI: 0.31, 0.07, illegible handwriting (coefficient: 0.09, 95%CI: 0.04, 0.15, the use of tally sheets (coefficient:-0.38, 95%CI: -0.54, -0.22, and the clinic level (coefficient:-0.48, 95%CI:-0.89,-0.06. Conclusion The findings of this study demonstrate the huge data discrepancy between the records of clinics and
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Richard J Hamilton
Full Text Available The largest rookery for hawksbill turtles in the oceanic South Pacific is the Arnavon Islands, which are located in the Manning Strait between Isabel and Choiseul Province, Solomon Islands. The history of this rookery is one of overexploitation, conflict and violence. Throughout the 1800s Roviana headhunters from New Georgia repeatedly raided the Manning Strait to collect hawksbill shell which they traded with European whalers. By the 1970s the Arnavons hawksbill population was in severe decline and the national government intervened, declaring the Arnavons a sanctuary in 1976. But this government led initiative was short lived, with traditional owners burning down the government infrastructure and resuming intensive harvesting in 1982. In 1991 routine beach monitoring and turtle tagging commenced at the Arnavons along with extensive community consultations regarding the islands' future, and in 1995 the Arnavon Community Marine Conservation Area (ACMCA was established. Around the same time national legislation banning the sale of all turtle products was passed. This paper represents the first analysis of data from 4536 beach surveys and 845 individual turtle tagging histories obtained from the Arnavons between 1991-2012. Our results and the results of others, reveal that many of the hawksbill turtles that nest at the ACMCA forage in distant Australian waters, and that nesting on the Arnavons occurs throughout the year with peak nesting activity coinciding with the austral winter. Our results also provide the first known evidence of recovery for a western pacific hawksbill rookery, with the number of nests laid at the ACMCA and the remigration rates of turtles doubling since the establishment of the ACMCA in 1995. The Arnavons case study provides an example of how changes in policy, inclusive community-based management and long term commitment can turn the tide for one of the most charismatic and endangered species on our planet.
Pre-Deployment Handbook: Solomon Islands
2014-06-01
airport to serve the potential growth of tourism in the Western Province (New Georgia Islands). 131 Ports. There are three international ports...preparing for a patrol it is advisable to include a piece of sports equipment that can easily be used for a 5-10 minute game. • If you suspect a
Barking up the wrong tree: injuries due to falls from trees in Solomon Islands.
Negin, Joel; Vizintin, Pavle; Houasia, Patrick; Martiniuk, Alexandra L C
2014-12-11
To investigate tree-related injuries in Solomon Islands by the types of trees involved, who is affected and the types of injuries caused. Descriptive case series of all cases of injuries related to trees presenting to the National Referral Hospital in Honiara from 1994 to 2011. Data were collected by the attending clinician using a Trauma Epidemiology form, which provides information on age, sex, cause of injury and type of fracture. Number of injuries by tree type, sex and age. Of the 7651 injuries in the database, 1107 (14%) were caused by falls from trees. Falls from coconut trees led to the highest number of injuries, followed by falls from mango, guava, apple and nut trees. Overall, 85% of injuries occurred in individuals aged trees, 77% of patients were aged tree types. Overall, 71% of injuries occurred among males. Of all injuries, 92% were fractures, 3% were dislocations and 5% were non-fracture, non-dislocation injuries. The arm (including wrist, elbow and hand) was the most common location of injury across all tree types. Distal radius fractures in the forearm were particularly common, as were ulna fractures. While mangos and guavas are undeniably delicious, the quest for their flesh can be hazardous. Children will always climb trees, but the search for food among children in lower-income settings may lead to higher rates of injury.
Piper (Piperaceae) in the Philippine Islands: the climbing species
Gardner, R.O.
2006-01-01
Piper in the Philippine Islands is reviewed. Fifteen climbing species are recognized (many fewer than in previous treatments) and distinguished in a key. Most are widely distributed through Malesia, with ranges that end eastwards in the Solomon Islands or Australia. Piper myrmecophilum, the only
McPhail-Bell, Karen; MacLaren, David; Isihanua, Angela; MacLaren, Michelle
2007-09-01
This paper describes a capacity building process undertaken within the HIV/AIDS prevention project of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in the Solomon Islands. ADRA HIV/AIDS has recently reoriented its project structure, moving beyond its awareness raising approach to incorporate health promotion frameworks, theories, strategies and assumptions. These have been used to inform project practice in project planning, delivery and evaluation. This paper shares what has worked and not worked in the capacity building process, including a project evaluation of the initial HIV/AIDS awareness raising project and the application of a number of capacity building strategies, including utilising a volunteer Australian Youth Ambassador for Development (AYAD) funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). Existing and new projects are outlined. The underlying theme is that any capacity building exercise must include structural support (e.g. management, national frameworks) to ensure the incorporation of new initiatives and approaches. With time this enables ownership by counterparts and external partnerships to develop. The presence of an AYAD volunteer has been an effective strategy to achieve this. Reflections from the evaluators, the AYAD volunteer and the HIV/AIDS team are included.
Breakwell, Lucy; Anga, Jenniffer; Dadari, Ibrahim; Sadr-Azodi, Nahad; Ogaoga, Divinal; Patel, Minal
2017-05-15
Monovalent Hepatitis B vaccine (HepB) is heat stable, making it suitable for storage outside cold chain (OCC) at 37°C for 1month. We conducted an OCC project in the Solomon Islands to determine the feasibility of and barriers to national implementation and to evaluate impact on coverage. Healthcare workers at 13 facilities maintained monovalent HepB birth dose (HepB-BD) OCC for up to 28days over 7months. Vaccination data were recorded for children born during the project and those born during 7months before the project. Timely HepB-BD coverage among facility and home births increased from 30% to 68% and from 4% to 24%, respectively. Temperature excursions above 37°C were rare, but vaccine wastage was high and shortages common. Storing HepB OCC can increase HepB-BD coverage in countries with insufficient cold chain capacity or numerous home births. High vaccine wastage and unreliable vaccine supply must be addressed for successful implementation. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Lozano-Cortés, Diego
2014-12-01
Knowledge in the spatial patterns of fish larval dispersal is crucial for the establishment of a sustainable management of fisheries and species conservation. Direct quantification of larval dispersal is a challenging task due to the difficulty associated with larval tracking in the vast ocean. However, genetic approaches can be used to estimate it. Here, I employed genetic markers (microsatellites) as a proxy to determine dispersal patterns and self-recruitment levels using parentage analysis in the bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometapon muricatum) in the Solomon Islands. Tissue samples of 3924 fish (1692 juveniles, 1121 males and 1111 females) were collected from a spear-fishery at the Kia District in Santa Isabel Island. The samples come from three distinct zones with different fishing pressure histories (lightly fished, recently fished, and heavily fished). The mean dispersal distance estimated for the bumphead parrotfish was 36.5 Km (range 4 – 78 Km) and the genetic diversity for the population studied was low in comparison with other reef fishes. The parentage analysis identified 68 parent–offspring relationships, which represents a self-recruitment level of almost 50 %. Most of the recruits were produced in the zone that recently started to be fished and most of these recruits dispersed to the heavily fished zone. Comparisons of genetic diversity and relatedness among adults and juveniles suggested the potential occurrence of sweepstakes reproductive success. These results suggest that management measures must be taken straightaway to assure the sustainability of the spear-fishery. These measures may imply the ban on juveniles fishing in the heavily fished zone and the larger adults in the recently fished zone. Overall, the population dynamics of the studied system seem to be strongly shaped by self-recruitment and sweepstakes reproduction events.
Lozano-Corté s, Diego
2014-01-01
Knowledge in the spatial patterns of fish larval dispersal is crucial for the establishment of a sustainable management of fisheries and species conservation. Direct quantification of larval dispersal is a challenging task due to the difficulty associated with larval tracking in the vast ocean. However, genetic approaches can be used to estimate it. Here, I employed genetic markers (microsatellites) as a proxy to determine dispersal patterns and self-recruitment levels using parentage analysis in the bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometapon muricatum) in the Solomon Islands. Tissue samples of 3924 fish (1692 juveniles, 1121 males and 1111 females) were collected from a spear-fishery at the Kia District in Santa Isabel Island. The samples come from three distinct zones with different fishing pressure histories (lightly fished, recently fished, and heavily fished). The mean dispersal distance estimated for the bumphead parrotfish was 36.5 Km (range 4 – 78 Km) and the genetic diversity for the population studied was low in comparison with other reef fishes. The parentage analysis identified 68 parent–offspring relationships, which represents a self-recruitment level of almost 50 %. Most of the recruits were produced in the zone that recently started to be fished and most of these recruits dispersed to the heavily fished zone. Comparisons of genetic diversity and relatedness among adults and juveniles suggested the potential occurrence of sweepstakes reproductive success. These results suggest that management measures must be taken straightaway to assure the sustainability of the spear-fishery. These measures may imply the ban on juveniles fishing in the heavily fished zone and the larger adults in the recently fished zone. Overall, the population dynamics of the studied system seem to be strongly shaped by self-recruitment and sweepstakes reproduction events.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
1993-07-01
The document contains two parts. The first one stipulates the agreement of Solomon Islands to accept safeguards on all source or special fissionable material in all peaceful nuclear activities within its territory, under its jurisdiction or carried out under its control anywhere, for the exclusive purpose of verifying that such material is not diverted to nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. Part two specifies the procedures to be applied in the implementation of the safeguards provisions of part one
Burnett, Eleanor; Dalipanda, Tenneth; Ogaoga, Divi; Gaiofa, Jenny; Jilini, Gregory; Halpin, Alison; Dietz, Vance; Date, Kashmira; Mintz, Eric; Hyde, Terri; Wannemuehler, Kathleen; Yen, Catherine
2016-08-01
In response to a 2011 cholera outbreak in Papua New Guinea, the Government of the Solomon Islands initiated a cholera prevention program which included cholera disease prevention and treatment messaging, community meetings, and a pre-emptive cholera vaccination campaign targeting 11,000 children aged 1-15 years in selected communities in Choiseul and Western Provinces. We conducted a post-vaccination campaign, household-level survey about knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding diarrhea and cholera in areas targeted and not targeted for cholera vaccination. Respondents in vaccinated areas were more likely to have received cholera education in the previous 6 months (33% v. 9%; p = 0.04), to know signs and symptoms (64% vs. 22%; p = 0.02) and treatment (96% vs. 50%; p = 0.02) of cholera, and to be aware of cholera vaccine (48% vs. 14%; p = 0.02). There were no differences in water, sanitation, and hygiene practices. This pre-emptive OCV campaign in a cholera-naïve community provided a unique opportunity to assess household-level knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding diarrhea, cholera, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). Our findings suggest that education provided during the vaccination campaign may have reinforced earlier mass messaging about cholera and diarrheal disease in vaccinated communities.
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Eleanor Burnett
2016-08-01
Full Text Available In response to a 2011 cholera outbreak in Papua New Guinea, the Government of the Solomon Islands initiated a cholera prevention program which included cholera disease prevention and treatment messaging, community meetings, and a pre-emptive cholera vaccination campaign targeting 11,000 children aged 1-15 years in selected communities in Choiseul and Western Provinces.We conducted a post-vaccination campaign, household-level survey about knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding diarrhea and cholera in areas targeted and not targeted for cholera vaccination. Respondents in vaccinated areas were more likely to have received cholera education in the previous 6 months (33% v. 9%; p = 0.04, to know signs and symptoms (64% vs. 22%; p = 0.02 and treatment (96% vs. 50%; p = 0.02 of cholera, and to be aware of cholera vaccine (48% vs. 14%; p = 0.02. There were no differences in water, sanitation, and hygiene practices.This pre-emptive OCV campaign in a cholera-naïve community provided a unique opportunity to assess household-level knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding diarrhea, cholera, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH. Our findings suggest that education provided during the vaccination campaign may have reinforced earlier mass messaging about cholera and diarrheal disease in vaccinated communities.
The Solomon Sea eddy activity from a 1/36° regional model
Djath, Bughsin; Babonneix, Antoine; Gourdeau, Lionel; Marin, Frédéric; Verron, Jacques
2013-04-01
In the South West Pacific, the Solomon Sea exhibits the highest levels of eddy kinetic energy but relatively little is known about the eddy activity in this region. This Sea is directly influenced by a monsoonal regime and ENSO variability, and occupies a strategical location as the Western Boundary Currents exiting it are known to feed the warm pool and to be the principal sources of the Equatorial UnderCurrent. During their transit in the Solomon Sea, meso-scale eddies are suspected to notably interact and influence these water masses. The goal of this study is to give an exhaustive description of this eddy activity. A dual approach, based both on altimetric data and high resolution modeling, has then been chosen for this purpose. First, an algorithm is applied on nearly 20 years of 1/3° x 1/3° gridded SLA maps (provided by the AVISO project). This allows eddies to be automatically detected and tracked, thus providing some basic eddy properties. The preliminary results show that two main and distinct types of eddies are detected. Eddies in the north-eastern part shows a variability associated with the mean structure, while those in the southern part are associated with generation/propagation processes. However, the resolution of the AVISO dataset is not very well suited to observe fine structures and to match with the numerous islands bordering the Solomon Sea. For this reason, we will confront these observations with the outputs of a 1/36° resolution realistic model of the Solomon Sea. The high resolution numerical model (1/36°) indeed permits to reproduce very fine scale features, such as eddies and filaments. The model is two-way embedded in a 1/12° regional model which is itself one-way embedded in the DRAKKAR 1/12° global model. The NEMO code is used as well as the AGRIF software for model nestings. Validation is realized by comparison with AVISO observations and available in situ data. In preparing the future wide-swath altimetric SWOT mission that is
Howse, Genevieve
2012-09-01
Pacific countries are sovereign nations with distinctive histories, ethnicity, customs, primary resources, economies, and health systems. Despite these and other acknowledged differences, similarities exist in many areas such as geography, legal history, and culture. Many share the experience of colonization, with imported British laws and the subsequent experience of independence. Most Pacific countries are also developing countries. This article broadly describes approaches to legislating in public health in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands and notes common elements in their public health laws, in particular, in relation to administration, allocation of powers and responsibilities, interaction with local government, communicable disease control, and nuisance. The article concludes that many Pacific public health laws could deliver better support for current health policy, more sensitivity to the culture and customs of the region, and better management of public health risk through laws that are better suited to their Pacific environment, easier to understand, more flexible, and more relevant to current health policy.
Adapting postcolonial societies: two case studies from the Pacific island region
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Adrien Rodd
2016-11-01
Full Text Available Sovereign Pacific island states attract little attention from the great powers. They achieved independence peacefully, mostly from the United Kingdom, and have generally maintained functional democratic societies. Nonetheless, some Pacific states have struggled with the political, institutional and economic legacy of colonization. Tensions between indigenous norms and practices and the expectations of a transposed Western model of society have led to crises. This paper focuses on two Pacific Island states, Fiji and the Solomon Islands. The collapse of the state in the Solomons at the turn of this century, and repeated military coups in Fiji, are due in part to the failure of British-derived institutions to be fully accepted. In both these countries, indigenous people have proposed reforms of these inherited models. Nonetheless, as we shall see, the recent rewriting of these two countries’ constitutions has maintained the fundamentals of the Westminster system, and a government by Westernized indigenous élites.
Changes in shifting cultivation systems on small Pacific islands
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Mertz, Ole; Birch-Thomsen, Torben; Elberling, Bo
2012-01-01
The limited information on change in shifting cultivation systems of small islands of the Pacific stands in contrast to increasing evidence of this farming system's demise in other parts of the tropics. Here, we assess changes in agricultural activities during the past 40 years of Bellona Island......, Solomon Islands, where shifting cultivation is still maintained in the traditional way. Fallow length has increased despite population growth due to redistribution of the cultivated area, migration-induced extensification and changes in crops. Productivity of the farming system remains high although...
One-way quantum repeaters with quantum Reed-Solomon codes
Muralidharan, Sreraman; Zou, Chang-Ling; Li, Linshu; Jiang, Liang
2018-05-01
We show that quantum Reed-Solomon codes constructed from classical Reed-Solomon codes can approach the capacity on the quantum erasure channel of d -level systems for large dimension d . We study the performance of one-way quantum repeaters with these codes and obtain a significant improvement in key generation rate compared to previously investigated encoding schemes with quantum parity codes and quantum polynomial codes. We also compare the three generations of quantum repeaters using quantum Reed-Solomon codes and identify parameter regimes where each generation performs the best.
Yamauchi, Taro; Nakazawa, Minato; Ohmae, Hiroshi; Kamei, Kiseko; Sato, Kanae; Bakote'e, Bernard
2010-01-01
This paper describes the health and nutritional status and quality of life (QOL) of suburban villagers in the Solomon Islands 3 y after the 1998-2003 ethnic conflict. Cross-sectional data were obtained from a small community located 50 km east of the capital city (n=206, 87 adults and 119 children). A health survey involving urine analysis, anthropometry, and blood pressure measurements was conducted to assess health and nutritional status and child growth. Simultaneously, 57 non-randomly selected adults participated in the QOL questionnaire survey. Results of anthropometry show that participants had good health and nutritional status (mean BMIs: 22.8 and 21.7 for men and women, respectively) and 73% of boys and 83% of girls were judged `normal body size' based on their BMI values. Urinalysis revealed that 88% of the participants were healthy and indicated that they consumed considerable amounts of purchased food such as rice and tinned meat. These findings suggest that the population's lifestyle had essentially recovered from the ethnic conflict. However, possible consequences of the ethnic conflict on the QOL scores were observed in the environmental domain. This study found a positive association between body fat and QOL. This could be interpreted in terms of the traditionally positive view of large bodies in the South Pacific and as resulting from unstable social conditions prevailing after the ethnic conflict.
Hoy, Damian; Saketa, Salanieta T; Maraka, Roy Roger; Sio, Alison; Wanyeki, Ian; Frison, Pascal; Ogaoga, Divi; Iniakawala, Dennie; Joshua, Cynthia; Duituturaga, Sala; Lepers, Christelle; Roth, Adam; White, Paul; Souares, Yvan
2016-01-01
Mass gatherings pose public health challenges to host countries, as they can cause or exacerbate disease outbreaks within the host location or elsewhere. In July 2012, the 11th Festival of Pacific Arts (FOPA), a mass gathering event involving 22 Pacific island states and territories, was hosted by Solomon Islands. An enhanced syndromic surveillance (ESS) system was implemented for the event. Throughout the capital city, Honiara, 15 sentinel sites were established and successfully took part in the ESS system, which commenced one week before the FOPA (25 June) and concluded eight days after the event (22 July). The ESS involved expanding on the existing syndromic surveillance parameters: from one to 15 sentinel sites, from four to eight syndromes, from aggregated to case-based reporting and from weekly to daily reporting. A web-based system was developed to enable data entry, data storage and data analysis. Towards the end of the ESS period, a focus group discussion and series of key informant interviews were conducted. The ESS was considered a success and played an important role in the early detection of possible outbreaks. For the period of the ESS, 1668 patients with syndrome presentations were received across the 15 sentinel sites. There were no major events of public health significance. Several lessons were learnt that are relevant to ESS in mass gathering scenarios, including the importance of having adequate lead in time for engagement and preparation to ensure appropriate policy and institutional frameworks are put in place.
Butaud, Jean-François
2015-01-01
A new species of Stigmaphyllon (Malpighiaceae) is described: Stigmaphyllonpatricianum-firmenichianum Butaud. It is restricted to the coral islands of Ouvéa, Lifou and Maré in the Loyalty Islands Province (New Caledonia) and is most similar to Stigmaphyllondiscolor (Gand.) C.E.Anderson, known from New Caledonia and Solomon Islands. Previously, plants now known as Stigmaphyllonpatricianum-firmenichianum were included in Stigmaphyllontaomense (Baker f.) C.E.Anderson, endemic to the northern part of Grande-Terre and Belep Islands (New Caledonia). A new circumscription of Stigmaphyllontaomense is proposed. The regional key for New Caledonian species of Stigmaphyllon is updated.
Appreciating Unity in Diversity: An Interview with Andrew Solomon
Peters, Dane L.
2014-01-01
The theme of the AMS 2014 Annual Conference is "Unity in Diversity," a concept that also describes the work of conference keynote speaker Andrew Solomon. Solomon is a writer and lecturer on psychology and politics; winner of the National Book Award; and an activist for LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender] rights, mental health,…
Examples of Mechanism Design : From King Solomon to eBay
De Weerdt, M.M.
2007-01-01
The judgment of king Solomon is an early example of mechanism design. Mechanism design attempts to achieve desired outcomes in situations with self-interested players by setting the rules of the game in a specific way. We will see that the game Solomon proposed would not have worked if the women
Liu, K. Y.
1986-01-01
High-speed decoder intended for use with Reed-Solomon (RS) codes of long code length and high error-correcting capability. Design based on algorithm that includes high-radix Fermat transform procedure, which is most efficient for high speeds. RS code in question has code-word length of 256 symbols, of which 224 are information symbols and 32 are redundant.
Balanced Reed-Solomon codes for all parameters
Halbawi, Wael; Liu, Zihan; Hassibi, Babak
2016-01-01
We construct balanced and sparsest generator matrices for cyclic Reed-Solomon codes with any length n and dimension k. By sparsest, we mean that each row has the least possible number of nonzeros, while balanced means that the number of nonzeros in any two columns differs by at most one. Codes allowing such encoding schemes are useful in distributed settings where computational load-balancing is critical. The problem was first studied by Dau et al. who showed, using probabilistic arguments, that there always exists an MDS code over a sufficiently large field such that its generator matrix is both sparsest and balanced. Motivated by the need for an explicit construction with efficient decoding, the authors of the current paper showed that the generator matrix of a cyclic Reed-Solomon code of length n and dimension k can always be transformed to one that is both sparsest and balanced, when n and k are such that k/n (n-k+1) is an integer. In this paper, we lift this condition and construct balanced and sparsest generator matrices for cyclic Reed-Solomon codes for any set of parameters.
Balanced Reed-Solomon codes for all parameters
Halbawi, Wael
2016-10-27
We construct balanced and sparsest generator matrices for cyclic Reed-Solomon codes with any length n and dimension k. By sparsest, we mean that each row has the least possible number of nonzeros, while balanced means that the number of nonzeros in any two columns differs by at most one. Codes allowing such encoding schemes are useful in distributed settings where computational load-balancing is critical. The problem was first studied by Dau et al. who showed, using probabilistic arguments, that there always exists an MDS code over a sufficiently large field such that its generator matrix is both sparsest and balanced. Motivated by the need for an explicit construction with efficient decoding, the authors of the current paper showed that the generator matrix of a cyclic Reed-Solomon code of length n and dimension k can always be transformed to one that is both sparsest and balanced, when n and k are such that k/n (n-k+1) is an integer. In this paper, we lift this condition and construct balanced and sparsest generator matrices for cyclic Reed-Solomon codes for any set of parameters.
Reed-Solomon error-correction as a software patch mechanism.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Pendley, Kevin D. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
2013-11-01
This report explores how error-correction data generated by a Reed-Solomon code may be used as a mechanism to apply changes to an existing installed codebase. Using the Reed-Solomon code to generate error-correction data for a changed or updated codebase will allow the error-correction data to be applied to an existing codebase to both validate and introduce changes or updates from some upstream source to the existing installed codebase.
Photobacterium galatheae sp. nov., a bioactive bacterium isolated from a mussel in the Solomon Sea
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Machado, Henrique; Giubergia, Sonia; Mateiu, Ramona Valentina
2015-01-01
A novel, Gram-negative marine bacterium, S2753T, was isolated from a mussel of the Solomon Sea, Solomon Islands. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence and whole genome sequence data placed strain S2753T in the genus Photobacterium with the closest relative being Photobacterium halotolerans DSM...... 18316T (97.7 % 16S rRNA gene similarity). Strain S2753T was able to grow from 15 to 40 °C and in NaCl concentrations of 0.5 to 9 % (w/v). The predominant fatty acids were 16 : 1ω7c/16 : 1ω6c (27.9 %), 16 : 0 (22.1 %) and 18 : 1ω7c/8 : 1ω6c (21.4 %). The genomic DNA G+C mol content was 49.5 mol%. Based...... is genomically distinct enough to be considered a novel species. The name Photobacterium galatheae is proposed and the type-strain is S2753T( = LMG 28894T = DSM 100496T)....
One way quantum repeaters with quantum Reed-Solomon codes
Muralidharan, Sreraman; Zou, Chang-Ling; Li, Linshu; Jiang, Liang
2018-01-01
We show that quantum Reed-Solomon codes constructed from classical Reed-Solomon codes can approach the capacity on the quantum erasure channel of $d$-level systems for large dimension $d$. We study the performance of one-way quantum repeaters with these codes and obtain a significant improvement in key generation rate compared to previously investigated encoding schemes with quantum parity codes and quantum polynomial codes. We also compare the three generation of quantum repeaters using quan...
Zachary Solomon's Aggressions In Achieving Apotheosis Depicted In dan Brown's The Lost Symbol
FAIDAH, IRNA NUR
2014-01-01
Keywords: Aggression, Apotheosis, Hierarchy of Needs, The Lost Symbol, Self-Actualization, Zachary Solomon The basic concept of self-actualization is that people tend to be the best that they can be. This phenomenon is also portrayed in Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. The Lost Symbol deals with a character named Zachary Solomon who wants to transform into status of God or it is called as apotheosis. In achieving the apotheosis, Zachary Solomon should satisfy his needs according to Abraham Masl...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Atkinson Jo-An
2012-03-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Successful reduction of malaria transmission to very low levels has made Isabel Province, Solomon Islands, a target for early elimination by 2014. High malaria transmission in neighbouring provinces and the potential for local asymptomatic infections to cause malaria resurgence highlights the need for sub-national tailoring of surveillance interventions. This study contributes to a situational analysis of malaria in Isabel Province to inform an appropriate surveillance intervention. Methods A mixed method study was carried out in Isabel Province in late 2009 and early 2010. The quantitative component was a population-based prevalence survey of 8,554 people from 129 villages, which were selected using a spatially stratified sampling approach to achieve uniform geographical coverage of populated areas. Diagnosis was initially based on Giemsa-stained blood slides followed by molecular analysis using polymerase chain reaction (PCR. Local perceptions and practices related to management of fever and treatment-seeking that would impact a surveillance intervention were also explored using qualitative research methods. Results Approximately 33% (8,554/26,221 of the population of Isabel Province participated in the survey. Only one subject was found to be infected with Plasmodium falciparum (Pf (96 parasites/μL using Giemsa-stained blood films, giving a prevalence of 0.01%. PCR analysis detected a further 13 cases, giving an estimated malaria prevalence of 0.51%. There was a wide geographical distribution of infected subjects. None reported having travelled outside Isabel Province in the previous three months suggesting low-level indigenous malaria transmission. The qualitative findings provide warning signs that the current community vigilance approach to surveillance will not be sufficient to achieve elimination. In addition, fever severity is being used by individuals as an indicator for malaria and a trigger for timely treatment
Buckius, Christine; Albert, Simon; Tibbetts, Ian; Udy, James
2010-05-01
A marked decline in the contribution by Marovo Lagoon to the annual total bêche-de-mer production of the Solomon Islands from 58% in 1989 to 17% in 2003 prompted investigation of their current biomass and diversity. We also assessed changes to critical ecological services and the prospects for population recovery following a fisheries closure. Day time and nocturnal transects revealed a mean abundance of 32.4 (SD = 5.3) low value species per ha (e.g. Holothuria atra, H. edulis, H. coluber and Thelenota anax) and 15.2 (SD = 2.7) high value species per ha (e.g. H. fuscogilva, Actinopyga lecanora, Stichopus hermanni and Thelenota ananas). Following a 17 month closure of the fishery (2005-2007), the abundance of bêche-de-mer was reported by local fisherman to have increased; however, no scientific studies were conducted that can substantiate this community held belief. The current study aimed to document the impact of re-opening the fishery in 2007 and documented a decline in high value species of 9% over a 5 month period following the opening of the fishery, while low value species continued to increase in abundance by 11%, over the same period based on nocturnal surveys. Continued observation of the recovery, post closure, and any subsequent harvest in Marovo will be required to properly understand population dynamics and provide a sustainable harvest plan for bêche-de-mer in the future.
Factors Contributing to the Implementation of Inclusive Education in Pacific Island Countries
Sharma, Umesh; Loreman, Tim; Macanawai, Setareki
2016-01-01
This study reports the outcomes of focus group discussions reflected in presentations of concept maps relating to the implementation of inclusive education in the Pacific based on the views of 39 stakeholders from four countries (Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu). Five themes emerged, with one of the strongest being that of culture,…
Maes, Christophe; Blanke, Bruno
2015-08-15
Contamination of the marine environment by human-made plastic litter is a growing and global problem. Our study attempts to explain the presence of two plastic bottles beached on the Ouvéa Island, in the southwest Pacific Ocean, with trademarks from the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea (PNG). We simulate the oceanic drift tracks and associated transit times with a Lagrangian interpretation of the surface currents of a high-resolution ocean model. Our results show that it takes less than 2-3months for drifting objects to connect these archipelagos (New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and PNG) and highlight the role of the meridional component of the circulation rather than the dominant zonal jets. This study shows that the origin or traceability of trash represent valuable information that can be used to test and, ultimately, improve our understanding of ocean circulation. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
Cancer epidemiology in the pacific islands - past, present and future.
Moore, Malcolm A; Baumann, Francine; Foliaki, Sunia; Goodman, Marc T; Haddock, Robert; Maraka, Roger; Koroivueta, Josefa; Roder, David; Vinit, Thomas; Whippy, Helen J D; Sobue, Tomotaka
2010-01-01
The Pacific Ocean contains approximately 25,000 islands, stretching from Papua New Guinea to Easter Island, populated by mixtures of Melanesians, Micronesians and Polynesians, as well as migrant groups from Asia and Europe. The region encompasses a third of the surface of the earth although it is sparsely populated at a total of around 9 million. With the exception of some of the more populated islands, such as New Zealand and Hawaii, few surveys of chronic diseases have been conducted, but it is increasingly recognized that obesity, diabetes and associated conditions are emerging public health problems and clearly there is a need for cooperation to optimize control. Here we focus on cancer registry and epidemiological findings for Papua New Guinea, the Solomons, Vanuatu, Samoa, New Caledonia, Fiji, Polynesia, French Polynesia, Maori in New Zealand, Native Hawaiians, Micronesia, including Guam, and Aboriginal populations in Australia as assessed by PubMed searches and perusal of the International Agency for Cancer Research descriptive epidemiology database. Overall, the major cancers in males are oral and liver in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, and lung and prostate elsewhere (Fiji being exceptional in demonstrating a predominance of esophageal cancer), whereas in females it is breast and either cervix or lung, depending largely on whether cervical cancer screening program is active. In certain locations thyroid cancer is also very prevalent in females. The similarities and variation point to advantages for collaborative research to provide the evidence-base for effective cancer control programs in the region.
Ku, C. S.; Kuo, Y. T.; Chao, W. A.; You, S. H.; Huang, B. S.; Chen, Y. G.; Taylor, F. W.; Yih-Min, W.
2017-12-01
Two earthquakes, MW 8.1 in 2007 and MW 7.1 in 2010, hit the Western Province of Solomon Islands and caused extensive damage, but motivated us to set up the first seismic network in this area. During the first phase, eight broadband seismic stations (BBS) were installed around the rupture zone of 2007 earthquake. With one-year seismic records, we cross-correlated the vertical component of ambient noise recorded in our BBS and calculated Rayleigh-wave group velocity dispersion curves on inter-station paths. The genetic algorithm to invert one-dimensional crustal velocity model is applied by fitting the averaged dispersion curves. The one-dimensional crustal velocity model is constituted by two layers and one half-space, representing the upper crust, lower crust, and uppermost mantle respectively. The resulted thickness values of the upper and lower crust are 6.4 and 14.2 km, respectively. Shear-wave velocities (VS) of the upper crust, lower crust, and uppermost mantle are 2.53, 3.57 and 4.23 km/s with the VP/VS ratios of 1.737, 1.742 and 1.759, respectively. This first layered crustal velocity model can be used as a preliminary reference to further study seismic sources such as earthquake activity and tectonic tremor.
van Klink, Jeanine M M; Slaghekke, Femke; Balestriero, Marina A; Scelsa, Barbara; Introvini, Paola; Rustico, Mariangela; Faiola, Stefano; Rijken, Monique; Koopman, Hendrik M; Middeldorp, Johanna M; Oepkes, Dick; Lopriore, Enrico
2016-01-01
The preferred treatment for twin-twin transfusion syndrome is fetoscopic laser coagulation of inter-twin vascular anastomoses on the monochorionic placenta. Severe postoperative complications can occur when inter-twin vascular anastomoses remain patent including twin-anemia polycythemia sequence or recurrent twin-twin transfusion syndrome. To minimize the occurrence of residual anastomoses, a modified laser surgery technique, the Solomon technique, was developed in which the entire vascular equator is coagulated. In the Solomon randomized controlled trial (NTR1245), the Solomon technique was associated with a significant reduction in twin-anemia polycythemia sequence and recurrence of twin-twin transfusion syndrome when compared with the standard laser surgery technique. Although a significant improvement in perinatal outcome was shown after the Solomon technique, the clinical importance should also be ascertained with long-term follow-up evaluation of the surviving children. The purpose of this study was to compare the long-term neurodevelopmental outcome in surviving children with twin-twin transfusion syndrome who were included in the Solomon randomized trial and treated with either the Solomon technique or standard laser surgery technique. Routine standardized follow-up evaluation in survivors, at least 2 years after the estimated date of delivery, was performed at 2 of the 5 centers that participated in the Solomon trial: Buzzi Hospital Milan (Italy) and Leiden University Medical Center (The Netherlands). The primary outcome of this follow-up study was survival without long-term neurodevelopmental impairment at age 2 years. Neurodevelopmental impairment was defined as cerebral palsy, cognitive and/or motor development score of neurodevelopmental impairment) was detected in 95 of 141 cases (67%) in the Solomon group and in 99 of 146 cases (68%) in the standard group (P = .92). Neurodevelopmental impairment in long-term survivors who were included for follow
Hardware/Software Co-design Applied to Reed-Solomon Decoding for the DMB Standard
Dam, A.C.; Lammertink, M.G.J.; Rovers, K.C.; Slagman, J.; Wellink, A.M.; Rauwerda, G.K.; Smit, Gerardus Johannes Maria
2006-01-01
This paper addresses the implementation of Reed- Solomon decoding for battery-powered wireless devices. The scope of this paper is constrained by the Digital Media Broadcasting (DMB). The most critical element of the Reed-Solomon algorithm is implemented on two different reconfigurable hardware
Brasseur, P.; Verron, J. A.; Djath, B.; Duran, M.; Gaultier, L.; Gourdeau, L.; Melet, A.; Molines, J. M.; Ubelmann, C.
2014-12-01
The upcoming high-resolution SWOT altimetry satellite will provide an unprecedented description of the ocean dynamic topography for studying sub- and meso-scale processes in the ocean. But there is still much uncertainty on the signal that will be observed. There are many scientific questions that are unresolved about the observability of altimetry at vhigh resolution and on the dynamical role of the ocean meso- and submesoscales. In addition, SWOT data will raise specific problems due to the size of the data flows. These issues will probably impact the data assimilation approaches for future scientific or operational oceanography applications. In this work, we propose to use a high-resolution numerical model of the Western Pacific Solomon Sea as a regional laboratory to explore such observability and dynamical issues, as well as new data assimilation challenges raised by SWOT. The Solomon Sea connects subtropical water masses to the equatorial ones through the low latitude western boundary currents and could potentially modulate the tropical Pacific climate. In the South Western Pacific, the Solomon Sea exhibits very intense eddy kinetic energy levels, while relatively little is known about the mesoscale and submesoscale activities in this region. The complex bathymetry of the region, complicated by the presence of narrow straits and numerous islands, raises specific challenges. So far, a Solomon sea model configuration has been set up at 1/36° resolution. Numerical simulations have been performed to explore the meso- and submesoscales dynamics. The numerical solutions which have been validated against available in situ data, show the development of small scale features, eddies, fronts and filaments. Spectral analysis reveals a behavior that is consistent with the SQG theory. There is a clear evidence of energy cascade from the small scales including the submesoscales, although those submesoscales are only partially resolved by the model. In parallel
Analisa Kinerja Pengkodean Kanal Type Reed Solomon Coding pada Kualitas Transmisi Citra
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Baharuddin
2018-03-01
Full Text Available Dalam sistem telekomunikasi, data multimedia berupa audio, citra, dan video ditransmisikan ke penerima melalui sebuah kanal komunikasi. Pada sistem telekomunikasi yang menggunakan kanal komunikasi wireless, selain pengaruh redaman, gangguan yang paling dominan adalah noise dan fading. Fading dan noise dikanal akan menurunkan kinerja sistem telekomunikasi digital karena dapat menyebabkan terjadinya kesalahan pendeteksian sinyal, sehingga terjadi perubahan bit atau simbol pada sisi penerima. Dengan menerapkan teknik pengkodean kanal tipe Reed Solomon Code pada sisi pengirim dan penerima, maka dapat ditingkatkan kinerja dari sistem komunikasi digital tersebut. Melalui simulasi dalam penelitian ini, telah dianalisa pengaruh penerapan teknik pengkodean kanal Reed Solomon Code pada sistem yang dipengaruhi noise Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN dan fading Rayleigh. Besarnya pengaruh penggunaan dari teknik pengkodean kanal Reed Solomon Code dapat diketahui melalui analisa Bit Error Rate (BER dan Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR. Hasil simulasi dari penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa adanya peningkatan perbaikan sistem dipenerima rata-rata 5dB bila dibandingkan dengan tanpa menggunakan teknik pengkodean kanal Reed Solomon Code.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
DANIEL S. WHITMAN
2008-03-01
Full Text Available This study used a Solomon four-group design to investigate the fakability of a widely used measure of emotional intelligence (EI. Administration instructions (faking/honest-response and testing effects (pre-test/no pre-test were the two conditions (i.e., 2 x 2 examined; two different Solomon four-group designs – one for fake-good instructional treatments and one for fake-bad instructional treatments – were assessed. Participants (n = 300 were randomly assigned to one of the six conditions and results indicate a significant pre-testing effect for fake-bad but not fake-good instructions. However, the interaction of testing and treatment was only significant for fake-good but not fake-bad. As expected, within-subjects designs resulted in higher distortion than between-subjects designs for both fake-good (d-value of 1.08 compared to 0.10 and fake-bad instructions (4.07 vs. 3.56, respectively. Participants were able to fake-bad more than fake-good, irrespective of the design used and scaling effects. Implications for EI assessments are discussed.
Living on the margin: dealing with climate change in remote Pacific islands
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Birk, Thomas Ladegaard Kümmel
In the global debate of climate change the fate of small islands states has played a significant role, in spite of the relatively few people affected. This thesis examines how such islands, here mainly represented by two atoll groups in remote parts of Solomon Islands in the Southwest Pacific, Reef...... Islands and Ontong Java, have been and will be affected, and what adaptation strategies they may employ. An attempt is made to cover a wide range of aspects of this problem field, spanning from climate change itself and its impacts on livelihood activities to decision-making processes and sets of actions......, while current voluntary migration may be claimed to have positive effects on island communities. In order for migration to constitute a viable ‘adaptation option’ in a future situation of increased rate of sea-level rise, certain barriers to migration need to be overcome, however. Theses barriers...
Hejrani, Babak; Tkalčić, Hrvoje; Fichtner, Andreas
2017-07-01
Although both earthquake mechanism and 3-D Earth structure contribute to the seismic wavefield, the latter is usually assumed to be layered in source studies, which may limit the quality of the source estimate. To overcome this limitation, we implement a method that takes advantage of a 3-D heterogeneous Earth model, recently developed for the Australasian region. We calculate centroid moment tensors (CMTs) for earthquakes in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the Solomon Islands. Our method is based on a library of Green's functions for each source-station pair for selected Geoscience Australia and Global Seismic Network stations in the region, and distributed on a 3-D grid covering the seismicity down to 50 km depth. For the calculation of Green's functions, we utilize a spectral-element method for the solution of the seismic wave equation. Seismic moment tensors were calculated using least squares inversion, and the 3-D location of the centroid is found by grid search. Through several synthetic tests, we confirm a trade-off between the location and the correct input moment tensor components when using a 1-D Earth model to invert synthetics produced in a 3-D heterogeneous Earth. Our CMT catalogue for PNG in comparison to the global CMT shows a meaningful increase in the double-couple percentage (up to 70%). Another significant difference that we observe is in the mechanism of events with depth shallower then 15 km and Mw region.
Ford, M.; Becker, J. M.; Merrifield, M. A.
2012-12-01
inundation events, as well as results of a lengthy reef flat wave observation dataset from Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Future impacts of continued sea-level rise are considered on each mode of island inundation and the implications for local response discussed within the context of urbanised atoll islands.
King Solomon's Silver? Southern Phoenician Hacksilber Hoards and the Location of Tarshish
Christine M. Thompson; Sheldon Skaggs
2013-01-01
Evidence from silver hoards found in Phoenicia is linking Tarshish, the legendary source of King Solomon's silver, to ores in the western Mediterranean. Biblical passages sometimes describe this lost land as a supplier of metals (especially silver) to Phoenician sailors who traded in the service of Solomon and Hiram of Tyre in the 10th century BC. Classical authors similarly attribute the mercantile supremacy of the Phoenicians to their command of lucrative supplies of silver in the west, bef...
Rice, R. F.; Hilbert, E. E. (Inventor)
1976-01-01
A space communication system incorporating a concatenated Reed Solomon Viterbi coding channel is discussed for transmitting compressed and uncompressed data from a spacecraft to a data processing center on Earth. Imaging (and other) data are first compressed into source blocks which are then coded by a Reed Solomon coder and interleaver, followed by a convolutional encoder. The received data is first decoded by a Viterbi decoder, followed by a Reed Solomon decoder and deinterleaver. The output of the latter is then decompressed, based on the compression criteria used in compressing the data in the spacecraft. The decompressed data is processed to reconstruct an approximation of the original data-producing condition or images.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Beebe Nigel W
2011-09-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background In 2009, Santa Isabel Province in the Solomon Islands embarked on a malaria elimination programme. However, very little is known in the Province about the anopheline fauna, which species are vectors, their bionomics and how they may respond to intensified intervention measures. The purpose of this study was to provide baseline data on the malaria vectors and to ascertain the possibility of successfully eliminating malaria using the existing conventional vector control measures, such as indoor residual spraying (IRS and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLIN. Methods Entomological surveys were undertaken during October 2009. To determine species composition and distribution larval surveys were conducted across on the whole island. For malaria transmission studies, adult anophelines were sampled using human landing catches from two villages - one coastal and one inland. Results Five Anopheles species were found on Santa Isabel: Anopheles farauti, Anopheles hinesorum, Anopheles lungae, Anopheles solomonis, and Anopheles nataliae. Anopheles hinesorum was the most widespread species. Anopheles farauti was abundant, but found only on the coast. Anopheles punctulatus and Anopheles koliensis were not found. Anopheles farauti was the only species found biting in the coastal village, it was incriminated as a vector in this study; it fed early in the night but equally so indoors and outdoors, and had a low survival rate. Anopheles solomonis was the main species biting humans in the inland village, it was extremely exophagic, with low survival rates, and readily fed on pigs. Conclusion The disappearance of the two major vectors, An. punctulatus and An. koliensis, from Santa Isabel and the predominance of An. hinesorum, a non-vector species may facilitate malaria elimination measures. Anopheles farauti was identified as the main coastal vector with An. solomonis as a possible inland vector. The behaviour of An. solomonis is novel as it has
Decoding Reed-Solomon Codes beyond half the minimum distance
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Høholdt, Tom; Nielsen, Rasmus Refslund
1999-01-01
We describe an efficient implementation of M.Sudan"s algorithm for decoding Reed-Solomon codes beyond half the minimum distance. Furthermore we calculate an upper bound of the probabilty of getting more than one codeword as output...
The Imprisoned Female in Song of Solomon
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
李柳英; 高崇毅
2008-01-01
Song of Solomon(1977) is characterized by the growth of the black male.However, the fate of the black women is still highlighted in this book.Ruth is the protagonist's mother, and she is restrained by the social convention and she lives in misery and despair.She is oppressed by racism and sexism, and she is the representative of the imprisoned black women.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Rasmussen, Kjeld; May, Wilhelm; Birk, Thomas Ladegaard Kümmel
2011-01-01
-physical conditions, economic base and social organization – the exposure, sensitivity and adaptation options of island populations are analyzed. It is argued that the three islands are likely to be very differently affected for reasons related to all three categories of characteristics. Local adaptive capacity...... is likely to be insufficient, especially in the case of Ontong Java (which is an atoll), and economic, social, institutional and political factors, external to the islands, will be of increasing importance....
Preparedness of Pre-Service Teachers for Inclusive Education in the Solomon Islands
Sharma, Umesh; Simi, Janine; Forlin, Chris
2015-01-01
Recent policy changes in the Pacific Islands have seen a strong emphasis on implementing inclusive education. Preparing teachers for this change in education will be essential if they are to have the knowledge, skills and understandings so that they can become inclusive practitioners. Pre-service teacher education will play a critical role in…
Reed-Solomon Codes and the Deep Hole Problem
Keti, Matt
In many types of modern communication, a message is transmitted over a noisy medium. When this is done, there is a chance that the message will be corrupted. An error-correcting code adds redundant information to the message which allows the receiver to detect and correct errors accrued during the transmission. We will study the famous Reed-Solomon code (found in QR codes, compact discs, deep space probes,ldots) and investigate the limits of its error-correcting capacity. It can be shown that understanding this is related to understanding the "deep hole" problem, which is a question of determining when a received message has, in a sense, incurred the worst possible corruption. We partially resolve this in its traditional context, when the code is based on the finite field F q or Fq*, as well as new contexts, when it is based on a subgroup of F q* or the image of a Dickson polynomial. This is a new and important problem that could give insight on the true error-correcting potential of the Reed-Solomon code.
The fast decoding of Reed-Solomon codes using high-radix fermat theoretic transforms
Liu, K. Y.; Reed, I. S.; Truong, T. K.
1976-01-01
Fourier-like transforms over GF(F sub n), where F sub n = 2(2n) + 1 is a Fermat prime, are applied in decoding Reed-Solomon codes. It is shown that such transforms can be computed using high-radix fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithms requiring considerably fewer multiplications than the more usual radix 2 FFT algorithm. A special 256-symbol, 16-symbol-error-correcting, Reed-Solomon (RS) code for space communication-link applications can be encoded and decoded using this high-radix FFT algorithm over GF(F sub 3).
Aswani, Shankar; Vaccaro, Ismael; Abernethy, Kirsten; Albert, Simon; de Pablo, Javier Fernández-López
2015-12-01
Local perceptions of environmental and climate change, as well as associated adaptations made by local populations, are fundamental for designing comprehensive and inclusive mitigation and adaptation plans both locally and nationally. In this paper, we analyze people's perceptions of environmental and climate-related transformations in communities across the Western Solomon Islands through ethnographic and geospatial methods. Specifically, we documented people's observed changes over the past decades across various environmental domains, and for each change, we asked respondents to identify the causes, timing, and people's adaptive responses. We also incorporated this information into a geographical information system database to produce broad-scale base maps of local perceptions of environmental change. Results suggest that people detected changes that tended to be acute (e.g., water clarity, logging intensity, and agricultural diseases). We inferred from these results that most local observations of and adaptations to change were related to parts of environment/ecosystem that are most directly or indirectly related to harvesting strategies. On the other hand, people were less aware of slower insidious/chronic changes identified by scientific studies. For the Solomon Islands and similar contexts in the insular tropics, a broader anticipatory adaptation planning strategy to climate change should include a mix of local scientific studies and local observations of ongoing ecological changes.
‘And God gave Solomon wisdom’: Proficiency in ornithomancy
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Abraham O. Shemesh
2018-04-01
Full Text Available The biblical text accords a great deal of attention to King Solomon’s personal abilities and governmental power. Solomon was described as a judge, poet, constructor and the wisest of all people in the Ancient Near East and Egypt. The current study discusses the interpretation of the midrashim that show how Solomon’s wisdom was manifested in his considerable knowledge of ornithomancy, that is, divination using birds, a practice that was considered as an important wisdom in the ancient world because of its practical applications, particularly in the military sphere. It seems that Solomon’s portrayal as a magician is intended and aimed at emphasising his abilities and his impressive character. Moreover, it may have had the purpose of disproving the conception of Solomon as inferior to his surroundings in this respect and the idea that he or his kingdom could be controlled by nations that command this type of wisdom.
Multi-Trial Guruswami–Sudan Decoding for Generalised Reed–Solomon Codes
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Nielsen, Johan Sebastian Rosenkilde; Zeh, Alexander
2013-01-01
An iterated refinement procedure for the Guruswami–Sudan list decoding algorithm for Generalised Reed–Solomon codes based on Alekhnovich’s module minimisation is proposed. The method is parametrisable and allows variants of the usual list decoding approach. In particular, finding the list...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Petrus Mursanto
2006-11-01
Full Text Available Reed Solomon (RS codes is a mechanism to detect and correct burst of errors in data transmission and storage systems. It provides a solid introduction to foundation mathematical concept of Galois Field algebra and its application. With the development of digital hardware technology, the RS concepts were brought into reality, i.e. the implementation of RS codec chips. This paper presents the development steps of a generic RS encoder using VHDL. The encoder is able to handle generic width of data, variable length of information, number of error as well as variable form of primitive polynomial and generator polynomial used in the system. The design has been implemented for FPGA chip Xilinx XC3S200-5FT256 and has a better performance than commercially available equivalent encoder.
Oliver, Paul M.; Clegg, Jonathan R.; Fisher, Robert N.; Richards, Stephen J.; Taylor, Peter N.; Jocque, Merlijn M. T.
2016-01-01
The East Melanesian Islands have been a focal area for research into island biogeography and community ecology. However, previously undescribed and biogeographically significant new species endemic to this region continue to be discovered. Here we describe a phylogenetically distinct (~20% divergence at the mitochondrial ND2 gene) and biogeographically disjunct new species of gecko in the genus Gehyra, from the Admiralty and St Matthias Islands. Gehyra rohan sp. nov. can be distinguished from all congeners by the combination of its very large size, ring of bright orange scales around the eye, moderate degree of lateral folding on the limbs and body, and aspects of head, body and tail scalation. Molecular data indicate mid to late Miocene divergence of the new species from nearest relatives occurring nearly 2000 kilometres away in Vanuatu and Fiji. Large Gehyra have not been recorded on the intervening large islands of the Bismark Archipelago (New Britain and New Ireland) and the Solomon Islands, suggesting this dispersal pre-dated the current configuration of these islands, extinction in intervening regions, or potentially elements of both. Conversely, low genetic divergence between disjunct samples on Manus and Mussau implies recent overseas dispersal via either natural or anthropogenic means.
Vectorization of Reed Solomon decoding and mapping on the EVP
Kumar, A.; Berkel, van C.H.
2008-01-01
Reed Solomon (RS) codes are used in a variety of (wireless) communication systems. Although commonly implemented in dedicated hardware, this paper explores the mapping of high-throughput RS decoding on vector DSPs. The four modules of such a decoder, viz. Syndrome Computation, Key Equation Solver,
Longitudinal study of appraisal at Three Mile Island: implications for life event research.
Goldsteen, R; Schorr, J K; Goldsteen, K S
1989-01-01
This study tests a path model which indicates the occurrence of appraisal following the accident at Three Mile Island (TMI). The model posits a causal relationship between trust in TMI-related authorities, perceived danger, perceived harm to health, and psychological distress. The implications of the findings for life event research are discussed in terms of the etiological significance of meaning, event consequences, and control.
Power decoding Reed-Solomon codes up to the Johnson radius
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Rosenkilde, Johan Sebastian Heesemann
2018-01-01
Power decoding, or "decoding using virtual interleaving" is a technique for decoding Reed-Solomon codes up to the Sudan radius. Since the method's inception, it has been an open question if it is possible to use this approach to decode up to the Johnson radius - the decoding radius of the Guruswami...
Key-equations for list decoding of Reed-Solomon codes and how to solve them
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Beelen, Peter; Brander, Kristian
2010-01-01
A Reed-Solomon code of length n can be list decoded using the well-known Guruswami-Sudan algorithm. By a result of Alekhnovich (2005) the interpolation part in this algorithm can be done in complexity O(s^4l^4nlog^2nloglogn), where l denotes the designed list size and s the multiplicity parameter....... The parameters l and s are sometimes considered to be constants in the complexity analysis, but for high rate Reed-Solomon codes, their values can be very large. In this paper we will combine ideas from Alekhnovich (2005) and the concept of key equations to get an algorithm that has complexity O(sl^4nlog^2...
Biological invasions on oceanic islands: Implications for island ecosystems and avifauna
Dean E. Pearson
2009-01-01
Biological invasions present a global threat to biodiversity, but oceanic islands are the systems hardest hit by invasions. Islands are generally depauperate in species richness, trophic complexity, and functional diversity relative to comparable mainland ecosystems. This situation results in low biotic resistance to invasion and many empty niches for invaders to...
The effect of sex education on adolescents' use of condoms: applying the Solomon four-group design.
Kvalem, I L; Sundet, J M; Rivø, K I; Eilertsen, D A; Bakketeig, L S
1996-02-01
A school-based sex education program was developed in order to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. A Solomon four-group design, with random assignment to the different conditions, was used to evaluate an intervention based on cognitive social learning theory and social influence theory. The main goal of the intervention was to increase use of condoms. A stratified sample of 124 classes (2,411 students) was drawn at random from all the upper secondary schools (high schools/colleges) in one county in Norway. The results indicate a consistent interaction between pretest and intervention, which seems to have an effect on condom use. Pretest or intervention alone did not contribute to this effect. The interaction effect appeared among the students with few sexual partners. Several possible explanations to the observed interaction effect and the implication for future interventions are discussed.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Loughry, Thomas A. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
2015-02-01
As the volume of data acquired by space-based sensors increases, mission data compression/decompression and forward error correction code processing performance must likewise scale. This competency development effort was explored using the General Purpose Graphics Processing Unit (GPGPU) to accomplish high-rate Rice Decompression and high-rate Reed-Solomon (RS) decoding at the satellite mission ground station. Each algorithm was implemented and benchmarked on a single GPGPU. Distributed processing across one to four GPGPUs was also investigated. The results show that the GPGPU has considerable potential for performing satellite communication Data Signal Processing, with three times or better performance improvements and up to ten times reduction in cost over custom hardware, at least in the case of Rice Decompression and Reed-Solomon Decoding.
Parallel Subspace Subcodes of Reed-Solomon Codes for Magnetic Recording Channels
Wang, Han
2010-01-01
Read channel architectures based on a single low-density parity-check (LDPC) code are being considered for the next generation of hard disk drives. However, LDPC-only solutions suffer from the error floor problem, which may compromise reliability, if not handled properly. Concatenated architectures using an LDPC code plus a Reed-Solomon (RS) code…
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alexandre Ganachaud
2017-06-01
Full Text Available The semi-enclosed Solomon Sea in the southwestern tropical Pacific is on the pathway of a major oceanic circuit connecting the subtropics to the equator via energetic western boundary currents. Waters transiting through this area replenish the Pacific Warm Pool and ultimately feed the equatorial current system, in particular the equatorial undercurrent. In addition to dynamical transformations, water masses undergo nutrient and micronutrient enrichment when coming in contact with the coasts, impacting the productivity of the downstream equatorial region. Broadscale observing systems are not well suited for describing the fine-scale currents and water masses properties in the Solomon Sea, leaving it relatively unexplored. Two multidisciplinary oceanographic cruises were conducted in the Solomon Sea region, the first in July–August 2012 and the second in March 2014, by investigators from France and the United States. The experimental approach combined physical, chemical, geochemical and biogeochemical analyses, providing access to a wide range of space and time scales of the circulation. This collection of data allows describing the fine-scale structure of the currents and the water properties, transformations and mixing from the surface to the sill depth in the Solomon Sea and in the straits connecting it to the equator. Ocean-margin exchanges were documented through a comprehensive sampling of trace elements and isotopes as efficient tracers of natural fertilization processes. As air chemistry is largely impacted by the regional volcanic plumes, rainwater pH was also sampled. Dinitrogen fixation rates were measured and found to be among the highest in the global ocean, highlighting this region as a hot spot of nitrogen fixation. This study provides an overview of the climatic context during both cruises and the physical circulation and water masses properties. It provides a comprehensive description of all measurements made onboard, and
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Asante Augustine D
2012-05-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Cuba has extended its medical cooperation to Pacific Island Countries (PICs by supplying doctors to boost service delivery and offering scholarships for Pacific Islanders to study medicine in Cuba. Given the small populations of PICs, the Cuban engagement could prove particularly significant for health systems development in the region. This paper reviews the magnitude and form of Cuban medical cooperation in the Pacific and analyses its implications for health policy, human resource capacity and overall development assistance for health in the region. Methods We reviewed both published and grey literature on health workforce in the Pacific including health workforce plans and human resource policy documents. Further information was gathered through discussions with key stakeholders involved in health workforce development in the region. Results Cuba formalised its relationship with PICs in September 2008 following the first Cuba-Pacific Islands ministerial meeting. Some 33 Cuban health personnel work in Pacific Island Countries and 177 Pacific island students are studying medicine in Cuba in 2010 with the most extensive engagement in Kiribati, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The cost of the Cuban medical cooperation to PICs comes in the form of countries providing benefits and paying allowances to in-country Cuban health workers and return airfares for their students in Cuba. This has been seen by some PICs as a cheaper alternative to training doctors in other countries. Conclusions The Cuban engagement with PICs, while smaller than engagement with other countries, presents several opportunities and challenges for health system strengthening in the region. In particular, it allows PICs to increase their health workforce numbers at relatively low cost and extends delivery of health services to remote areas. A key challenge is that with the potential increase in the number of medical doctors, once the local students
Massey, Peter D; Asugeni, Rowena; Wakageni, John; Kekeubata, Esau; Maena'aadi, John; Laete'esafi, John; Waneagea, Jackson; Asugeni, Vunivesi; MacLaren, David; Speare, Richard
2015-02-03
In Solomon Islands many people with Tuberculosis (TB) have challenges in accessing services because of socio-cultural, geographic and health service reasons, resulting in delays in TB treatment and low detection rates. The purpose of this project was to (i) develop a local language audio-visual resource (DVD) about TB (ii) share this resource with people in remote villages and (iii) evaluate the process and outcomes. The project involved the development and evaluation of a DVD in local Kwaio language. The DVD included five short videos based on the Australian Respiratory Council TB Education Flipchart. The DVD also included short videos of: traditional music/chanting (ai'imae); drama that presented an allegory of TB; and a short documentary on the redevelopment of the local TB Ward. A mixed-methods approach evaluated changes in TB knowledge and investigated the impact of the DVD. The DVD was recorded and produced in March-June 2013 and screened in 41 villages and hamlets. The pre-post DVD survey was completed by 64% (255/400) of people who viewed the DVD in the villages. Pre-DVD survey responses showed a moderate to high knowledge about TB signs, symptoms and treatment but 76/255 (30%) stated TB was caused by sorcery and 85/255 (33%) incorrectly stated that TB medication should be stopped when a patient feels better. The post-DVD survey showed a significant increase in people in coastal villages reporting (i) a 3-week cough would trigger a medical assessment and (ii) TB is mainly spread through the air. Statements that TB is not caused by sorcery increased post-DVD in both coastal and mountain villages, however belief in sorcery in mountain villages remained high at 20/70 (29%). The local DVD resource was developed within local cultural understandings and oral traditions of Kwaio people. Using modern but accessible DVD technology generated a lot of interest about the disease and the stories. The project evaluation indicates that current delays in seeking treatment
Multidecadal shoreline changes of atoll islands in the Marshall Islands
Ford, M.
2012-12-01
Atoll islands are considered highly vulnerable to the impacts of continued sea level rise. One of the most commonly predicted outcomes of continued sea level rise is widespread and chronic shoreline erosion. Despite the widespread implications of predicted erosion, the decadal scale changes of atoll island shorelines are poorly resolved. The Marshall Islands is one of only four countries where the majority of inhabited land is comprised of reef and atoll islands. Consisting of 29 atolls and 5 mid-ocean reef islands, the Marshall Islands are considered highly vulnerable to the impacts of sea level rise. A detailed analysis of shoreline change on over 300 islands on 10 atolls was undertaken using historic aerial photos (1945-1978) and modern high resolution satellite imagery (2004-2012). Results highlight the complex and dynamic nature of atoll islands, with significant shifts in shoreline position observed over the period of analysis. Results suggest shoreline accretion is the dominant mode of change on the islands studied, often associated with a net increase in vegetated island area. However, considerable inter- and intra-atoll variability exists with regards to shoreline stability. Findings are discussed with respect to island morphodynamics and potential hazard mitigation and planning responses within atoll settings.
The late Quaternary extinction and future resurrection of birds on Pacific islands
Steadman, David W.; Martin, Paul S.
2003-04-01
People have lived on tropical Pacific islands over the past 30,000 years (Bismarcks, Solomons) or 3000 to 1000 years (the rest of Oceania). Their activities have led to the loss of many thousands of populations and as many as 2000 species of birds that probably otherwise would exist today. This extinction event is documented by avian fossils from archaeological (cultural) and paleontological (noncultural) sites from nearly 70 islands in 19 island groups. Extinction of birds in Oceania rivals the late Pleistocene loss of large mammals in North America as the best substantiated rapid extinction episode in the vertebrate fossil record. Some avian extinctions in Oceania occurred within a century or less after human arrival, while others required millennia or even tens of millennia. Any of these time frames is rapid in an evolutionary or geochronological sense. Inter-island differences in the speed and extent of extinction can be explained by variation in abiotic (A), biotic (B), and cultural (C) factors. Levels of extinction on large, near islands can be comparable to those on small, remote islands when C factors (such as high human population density and introduction of invasive plants and animals) override A factors (such as large land area or little isolation) or B factors (such as rich indigenous floras and faunas). An innovative, proactive conservation strategy is needed not only to prevent further extinctions of birds in Oceania, but also to restart evolution of some of the lineages that have suffered the most loss, such as flightless rails. This strategy should focus on islands with ABC traits that retard rather than enhance extinction.
"ON ALGEBRAIC DECODING OF Q-ARY REED-MULLER AND PRODUCT REED-SOLOMON CODES"
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
SANTHI, NANDAKISHORE [Los Alamos National Laboratory
2007-01-22
We consider a list decoding algorithm recently proposed by Pellikaan-Wu for q-ary Reed-Muller codes RM{sub q}({ell}, m, n) of length n {le} q{sup m} when {ell} {le} q. A simple and easily accessible correctness proof is given which shows that this algorithm achieves a relative error-correction radius of {tau} {le} (1-{radical}{ell}q{sup m-1}/n). This is an improvement over the proof using one-point Algebraic-Geometric decoding method given in. The described algorithm can be adapted to decode product Reed-Solomon codes. We then propose a new low complexity recursive aJgebraic decoding algorithm for product Reed-Solomon codes and Reed-Muller codes. This algorithm achieves a relative error correction radius of {tau} {le} {Pi}{sub i=1}{sup m} (1 - {radical}k{sub i}/q). This algorithm is then proved to outperform the Pellikaan-Wu algorithm in both complexity and error correction radius over a wide range of code rates.
Gourdeau, L.; Verron, J.; Chaigneau, A.; Cravatte, S.; Kessler, W.
2017-11-01
Mesoscale activity is an important component of the Solomon Sea circulation that interacts with the energetic low-latitude western boundary currents of the South Tropical Pacific Ocean carrying waters of subtropical origin before joining the equatorial Pacific. Mixing associated with mesoscale activity could explain water mass transformation observed in the Solomon Sea that likely impacts El Niño Southern Oscillation dynamics. This study makes synergetic use of glider data, altimetry, and high-resolution model for exploring mesoscale eddies, especially their vertical structures, and their role on the Solomon Sea circulation. The description of individual eddies observed by altimetry and gliders provides the first elements to characterize the 3-D structure of these tropical eddies, and confirms the usefulness of the model to access a more universal view of such eddies. Mesoscale eddies appear to have a vertical extension limited to the Surface Waters (SW) and the Upper Thermocline Water (UTW), i.e., the first 140-150 m depth. Most of the eddies are nonlinear, meaning that eddies can trap and transport water properties. But they weakly interact with the deep New Guinea Coastal Undercurrent that is a key piece of the equatorial circulation. Anticyclonic eddies are particularly efficient to advect salty and warm SW coming from the intrusion of equatorial Pacific waters at Solomon Strait, and to impact the characteristics of the New Guinea Coastal Current. Cyclonic eddies are particularly efficient to transport South Pacific Tropical Water (SPTW) anomalies from the North Vanuatu Jet and to erode by diapycnal mixing the high SPTW salinity.
The Role of the CMB in Redshift Related Departures from the Gao–Solomon Relation
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Tunnard, R.; Greve, T. R., E-mail: richard.tunnard.13@ucl.ac.uk [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom)
2017-11-01
A strong correlation between the far-IR and HCN(1−0) line luminosities, known as the Gao–Solomon relation, has been observed to hold over more than 10 orders of magnitude in the local universe. Departures from this relation at redshifts ≳1.5 have been interpreted as evidence for increased dense gas star formation efficiency in luminous galaxies during the period of peak of star formation in the history of the universe. We examine whether the offsets from the relation can be explained by the hotter Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) at high redshift, which, due to a loss of contrast against the hotter background, reduces the observable molecular-line flux far more significantly than the far-IR continuum bands. Simple line-of-sight modeling argues for highly significant departures from the Gao–Solomon relation at high redshift for kinetic temperatures ∼15 K, while more complex toy-galaxy models based on NGC 1068 suggest a much weaker effect with the galaxy integrated HCN line flux falling by only 10% at z = 3, within the intrinsic scatter of the relation. We conclude that, while the CMB is unlikely to explain the deviations reported in the literature, it may introduce a second-order effect on the relation by raising the low-luminosity end of the Gao–Solomon relation in cooler galaxies. A similar examination of the CO-IR relation finds tantalizing signs of the CMB having a measurable effect on the integrated CO emission in high-redshift galaxies, but these signs cannot be confirmed with the current data.
The Role of the CMB in Redshift Related Departures from the Gao–Solomon Relation
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Tunnard, R.; Greve, T. R.
2017-01-01
A strong correlation between the far-IR and HCN(1−0) line luminosities, known as the Gao–Solomon relation, has been observed to hold over more than 10 orders of magnitude in the local universe. Departures from this relation at redshifts ≳1.5 have been interpreted as evidence for increased dense gas star formation efficiency in luminous galaxies during the period of peak of star formation in the history of the universe. We examine whether the offsets from the relation can be explained by the hotter Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) at high redshift, which, due to a loss of contrast against the hotter background, reduces the observable molecular-line flux far more significantly than the far-IR continuum bands. Simple line-of-sight modeling argues for highly significant departures from the Gao–Solomon relation at high redshift for kinetic temperatures ∼15 K, while more complex toy-galaxy models based on NGC 1068 suggest a much weaker effect with the galaxy integrated HCN line flux falling by only 10% at z = 3, within the intrinsic scatter of the relation. We conclude that, while the CMB is unlikely to explain the deviations reported in the literature, it may introduce a second-order effect on the relation by raising the low-luminosity end of the Gao–Solomon relation in cooler galaxies. A similar examination of the CO-IR relation finds tantalizing signs of the CMB having a measurable effect on the integrated CO emission in high-redshift galaxies, but these signs cannot be confirmed with the current data.
Historic hydrovolcanism at Deception Island (Antarctica): implications for eruption hazards
Pedrazzi, Dario; Németh, Károly; Geyer, Adelina; Álvarez-Valero, Antonio M.; Aguirre-Díaz, Gerardo; Bartolini, Stefania
2018-01-01
Deception Island (Antarctica) is the southernmost island of the South Shetland Archipelago in the South Atlantic. Volcanic activity since the eighteenth century, along with the latest volcanic unrest episodes in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, demonstrates that the volcanic system is still active and that future eruptions are likely. Despite its remote location, the South Shetland Islands are an important touristic destination during the austral summer. In addition, they host several research stations and three summer field camps. Deception Island is characterised by a Quaternary caldera system with a post-caldera succession and is considered to be part of an active, dispersed (monogenetic), volcanic field. Historical post-caldera volcanism on Deception Island involves monogenetic small-volume (VEI 2-3) eruptions such forming cones and various types of hydrovolcanic edifices. The scientific stations on the island were destroyed, or severely damaged, during the eruptions in 1967, 1969, and 1970 mainly due to explosive activity triggered by the interaction of rising (or erupting) magma with surface water, shallow groundwater, and ice. We conducted a detailed revision (field petrology and geochemistry) of the historical hydrovolcanic post-caldera eruptions of Deception Island with the aim to understand the dynamics of magma-water interaction, as well as characterise the most likely eruptive scenarios from future eruptions. We specifically focused on the Crimson Hill (estimated age between 1825 and 1829), and Kroner Lake (estimated age between 1829 and 1912) eruptions and 1967, 1969, and 1970 events by describing the eruption mechanisms related to the island's hydrovolcanic activity. Data suggest that the main hazards posed by volcanism on the island are due to fallout, ballistic blocks and bombs, and subordinate, dilute PDCs. In addition, Deception Island can be divided into five areas of expected activity due to magma-water interaction, providing additional
Buckley, Hallie R; Kinaston, Rebecca; Halcrow, Siân E; Foster, Aimee; Spriggs, Matthew; Bedford, Stuart
2014-06-01
The Neolithic colonisation of the Pacific islands was one of the most challenging migration events in human history. The regions east of the Solomon Islands were colonised relatively recently by a people known as the Lapita. The Lapita brought with them a 'transported landscape' of domesticated plants and animals that had to be established upon arrival for the survival of these fledgling communities. Colonisation of these previously uninhabited islands was potentially perilous, and could leave colonisers vulnerable to periods of resource stress. The largest cemetery sample of Lapita people from the site of Teouma in Vanuatu offers a unique opportunity to assess the impact of colonisation on the health of pioneering populations. This paper explores the possibility that Teouma people experienced vitamin C deficiency as one of the consequences of the agricultural subsistence practices during the initial phases of island colonisation. Skeletal lesions in infants and adults indicative of scurvy suggest that initial colonisation phases in the Pacific islands involved precarious times involving deficiencies of key nutrients. Colonisation of the Pacific islands may share similar frameworks and problems as periods of subsistence transition in other parts of the world. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Appleyard Bridget
2009-12-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background A key component of the malaria elimination strategy in Solomon Islands (SI is widespread coverage of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs. The success of this strategy is dependent on LLIN acceptability and compliance. There has been unresolved debate among policy makers and donors as to which type of LLIN would be most appropriate for large-scale distribution in SI, and anecdotal reports of a lack of acceptability of certain brands of LLINs. A cluster randomized controlled crossover bed net acceptability and preference trial was therefore carried out from July to September, 2008 to inform policy and to facilitate community engagement and participation in the selection of the most appropriate LLIN for use in SI. Method A three-stage sampling method was used to randomly select the study population from Malaita Province, SI. Three brands of LLINs were assessed in this study: Olyset®, PermaNet® and DuraNet®. Bed net acceptability and preference were evaluated through surveys at three defined time points after short and longer-term trial of each LLIN. Results The acceptability of PermaNet® after short-term use (96.5% was significantly greater than Olyset® (67.3%, p and DuraNet® (69.8%, p . The acceptability of DuraNet® and Olyset® after short-term use was not significantly different at the 5% level. LLINs that were perceived not to prevent mosquito bites were significantly less acceptable than LLINs that were perceived to prevent mosquito bites (OR 0.15; 95%CI 0.03 to 0.6. LLINs that allow a pleasant night's sleep (OR 6.3; 95%CI:3.3-12.3 and have a soft texture (OR 5.7; 95%CI:1.9-20.5 were considered more acceptable than those that did not. Olyset®'s acceptability decreased over time and this was due to net wrinkling/shrinkage after washing resulting in reduced efficiency in preventing mosquito bites. The increase in DuraNet® acceptability was a result of a reduction in minor adverse events following longer-term use
IDRA 2016 Call for Applications Word doc_EN
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)
Carole Labrie
2016-05-18
May 18, 2016 ... Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Maldives, Mauritania, Monserrat, Papua New Guinea, Small. Island States [including Comoros, Mauritius, São Tomé and Principe, Seychelles, Timor-Leste and. Oceania (Cook Islands, Fiji, Nauru, Kiribati, Palau, Marshall Islands, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands,.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nadya Noor Oktarini
2015-12-01
Full Text Available Teknik modulasi multilevel seperti M-ary Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (M-QAM memiliki kelemahan yaitu semakin tinggi level modulasi yang digunakan, maka semakin tinggi pula nilai BER yang dihasilkan. Hal ini menyebabkan kinerja sistem menjadi tidak maksimal karena sistem semakin tidak tahan terhadap noise. Salah satu teknik error control coding yang digunakan untuk mendeteksi kesalahan sekaligus memperbaiki kesalahan yaitu kode Reed Solomon. Kelebihan dari kode Reed Solomon adalah sifatnya yang non-binary artinya data diolah dalam simbol sehingga kemampuan koreksi data lebih banyak. WARP merupakan salah satu jenis dari teknologi SDR yang bisa diprogram untuk membuat prototype sistem komunikasi nirkabel. Pengimplementasian encoder dan decoder reed solomon dengan menggunakan perangkat WARP bertujuan untuk membandingkan modulasi M-QAM dengan dan tanpa kode reed solomon, kemudian mengetahui kinerja code rate yang berbeda pada modulasi M-QAM, serta mengetahui pengaruh besarnya daya pancar dan jarak pada sistem komunikasi. Hasil implementasi terbaik terdapat pada sistem RS (15,9 yang mana dapat memperbaiki kesalahan di semua level modulasi karena memiliki kemampuan koreksi error ganda (t=3 dengan ukuran k yang sama. Dari hasil implementasi juga didapatkan kesimpulan bahwa nilai BER akan semakin besar terhadap bertambahnya jarak antar node untuk daya pancar tetap, ini menandakan jarak sangat mempengaruhi kualitas kinerja suatu sistem komunikasi.
Decoding of interleaved Reed-Solomon codes using improved power decoding
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Puchinger, Sven; Rosenkilde ne Nielsen, Johan
2017-01-01
We propose a new partial decoding algorithm for m-interleaved Reed-Solomon (IRS) codes that can decode, with high probability, a random error of relative weight 1 − Rm/m+1 at all code rates R, in time polynomial in the code length n. For m > 2, this is an asymptotic improvement over the previous...... state-of-the-art for all rates, and the first improvement for R > 1/3 in the last 20 years. The method combines collaborative decoding of IRS codes with power decoding up to the Johnson radius....
Review of finite fields: Applications to discrete Fourier, transforms and Reed-Solomon coding
Wong, J. S. L.; Truong, T. K.; Benjauthrit, B.; Mulhall, B. D. L.; Reed, I. S.
1977-01-01
An attempt is made to provide a step-by-step approach to the subject of finite fields. Rigorous proofs and highly theoretical materials are avoided. The simple concepts of groups, rings, and fields are discussed and developed more or less heuristically. Examples are used liberally to illustrate the meaning of definitions and theories. Applications include discrete Fourier transforms and Reed-Solomon coding.
Ricketts, Christopher J.; Morris, Mark R.; Gentle, Dean; Brown, Michael; Wake, Naomi; Woodward, Emma R.; Clarke, Noel; Latif, Farida; Maher, Eamonn R.
2012-01-01
In order to identify novel candidate tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) implicated in renal cell carcinoma (RCC), we performed genome-wide methylation profiling of RCC using the HumanMethylation27 BeadChips to assess methylation at >14,000 genes. Two hundred and twenty hypermethylated probes representing 205 loci/genes were identified in genomic CpG islands. A subset of TSGs investigated in detail exhibited frequent tumor methylation, promoter methylation associated transcriptional silencing an...
Night Fighters Without Equal, Task Force 39 at Empress Augusta Bay
National Research Council Canada - National Science Library
Fuquea, David
2004-01-01
On the 1st of November 1943, the ships and men of Rear Admiral "Tip" Merrill's Task Force 39 steamed off the west coast of the island of Bougainville, the last island at the northern end of the Solomon Islands chain...
Growth and oil price: A study of causal relationships in small Pacific Island countries
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Jayaraman, T.K. [School of Economics, Faculty of Business and Economics, The University of the South Pacific, Laucala Bay Road, Suva (Fiji); Choong, Chee-Keong [Department of Economics and Finance, Faculty of Business and Finance, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Perak Campus), Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat, 31900 Kampar, Perak Darul Ridzuan (Malaysia)], E-mail: choongck@utar.edu.my
2009-06-15
This paper investigates the nexus between economic growth and oil price in small Pacific Island countries (PICs). Except Papua New Guinea, none of the 14 PICs has fossil any fuel resources. Consequently, the other 13 PICs are totally dependent on oil imports for their economic activities. Since PICs have limited foreign exchange earning capacities, as they have a very narrow range of exports and are highly dependent on foreign aid, high oil prices in recent months have seriously tested their economic resilience. This paper applies the ARDL bounds testing methodology to four selected PICs, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu, which have consistent and reliable time series of data, with a view to assess the impact of oil price on economic growth. The findings are that oil price, gross domestic product and international reserve are cointegrated in all the four PICs. Further, both in the long and short runs, we observe that there is a uni-directional relationship as causality linkage runs only from oil price and international reserves to economic growth. The paper makes some policy recommendations.
Growth and oil price. A study of causal relationships in small Pacific Island countries
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Jayaraman, T.K. [School of Economics, Faculty of Business and Economics, The University of the South Pacific, Laucala Bay Road, Suva (Fiji); Choong, Chee-Keong [Department of Economics and Finance, Faculty of Business and Finance, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Perak Campus), Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat, 31900 Kampar, Perak Darul Ridzuan (Malaysia)
2009-06-15
This paper investigates the nexus between economic growth and oil price in small Pacific Island countries (PICs). Except Papua New Guinea, none of the 14 PICs has fossil any fuel resources. Consequently, the other 13 PICs are totally dependent on oil imports for their economic activities. Since PICs have limited foreign exchange earning capacities, as they have a very narrow range of exports and are highly dependent on foreign aid, high oil prices in recent months have seriously tested their economic resilience. This paper applies the ARDL bounds testing methodology to four selected PICs, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu, which have consistent and reliable time series of data, with a view to assess the impact of oil price on economic growth. The findings are that oil price, gross domestic product and international reserve are cointegrated in all the four PICs. Further, both in the long and short runs, we observe that there is a uni-directional relationship as causality linkage runs only from oil price and international reserves to economic growth. The paper makes some policy recommendations. (author)
Growth and oil price: A study of causal relationships in small Pacific Island countries
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Jayaraman, T.K.; Choong, Chee-Keong
2009-01-01
This paper investigates the nexus between economic growth and oil price in small Pacific Island countries (PICs). Except Papua New Guinea, none of the 14 PICs has fossil any fuel resources. Consequently, the other 13 PICs are totally dependent on oil imports for their economic activities. Since PICs have limited foreign exchange earning capacities, as they have a very narrow range of exports and are highly dependent on foreign aid, high oil prices in recent months have seriously tested their economic resilience. This paper applies the ARDL bounds testing methodology to four selected PICs, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu, which have consistent and reliable time series of data, with a view to assess the impact of oil price on economic growth. The findings are that oil price, gross domestic product and international reserve are cointegrated in all the four PICs. Further, both in the long and short runs, we observe that there is a uni-directional relationship as causality linkage runs only from oil price and international reserves to economic growth. The paper makes some policy recommendations.
High-radix transforms for Reed-Solomon codes over Fermat primes
Liu, K. Y.; Reed, I. S.; Truong, T. K.
1977-01-01
A method is proposed to streamline the transform decoding algorithm for Reed-Solomon (RS) codes of length equal to 2 raised to the power 2n. It is shown that a high-radix fast Fourier transform (FFT) type algorithm with generator equal to 3 on GF(F sub n), where F sub n is a Fermat prime, can be used to decode RS codes of this length. For a 256-symbol RS code, a radix 4 and radix 16 FFT over GF(F sub 3) require, respectively, 30 and 70% fewer modulo F sub n multiplications than the usual radix 2 FFT.
[Trauma surgery in Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS)].
Oberli, H; Martin, C
2017-10-01
The small developing countries in the Pacific are grouped together as Small Island Development States (SIDS) because they face similar problems which they cannot cope with nationally. They are developing countries, so-called low and lower middle income countries (LMIC), are economically weak and the islands of the different nations are widely scattered. Approximately 80% of the 10 million inhabitants live in rural regions. Over 40% of patients in the surgical departments of hospitals are hospitalized for injuries, and this tendency is increasing. Fractures of the upper extremities are relatively more frequent in the Pacific than in the countries of the North. Long distances, lack of possibilities for treatment and lack of transport often cause complications, such as infected open fractures, pseudarthrosis and posttraumatic malformations. There are too few hospitals with sufficiently competent surgeons, anesthetists and obstetricians (SAO) and appropriate equipment. The PIOA was founded in Honiara, Solomon Islands, and offers surgeons of the Pacific SIDS a comprehensive, structured trauma and orthopedic surgery training in their own countries. It lasts 4 years and leads to an M‑Med (orthopaedic surgery) diploma and to a Fellowship of the International College of Surgeons (FICS), which are both recognized by the participating hospitals. It is free for participants. The AOAF is an independent organization with the only aim to enhance trauma surgery capacity in LMICs. The AOAF supports the PIOA program together with the Wyss Medical Foundation. Currently, 18 trainees from 8 Pacific SIDS are participating in the PIOA training program.
Dijkstra, H.H.; Maestrati, P.
2008-01-01
Fifty-two deep-water species of Pectinoidea (37 Propeamussiidae, 1 Entoliidae, 14 Pectinidae) are listed from Norfolk Ridge (11 species), Loyalty Islands (4 species), Fiji Islands (30 species), Tonga (26 species), Solomon Islands (26 species) and the Marquesas archipelago (8 species). All species
Eisenmann, Linda
1997-01-01
A critique of Barbara Miller Solomon's 1985 book "In the Company of Educated Women" identifies its ground-breaking contributions but shows how it limited women's educational history by overemphasizing access to higher education and neglecting wider influences such as economics, women's occupational choices, and women's status in society.…
Multi-population comparison of resource exploitation by island foxes: Implications for conservation
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
B.L. Cypher
2014-12-01
Full Text Available Imperiled island foxes are inherently resource-limited by their insular ecology. We examined food use on all 6 islands where they occur to assess resource exploitation patterns. Over 40 different food items were identified with item use varying among islands. Sixteen items occurred with ≥10% frequency in annual fox diets: deer mice, birds, lizards, beetles, beetle larvae, Jerusalem crickets, silk-spinning sand crickets, grasshoppers, earwigs, snails, and fruits of toyon, manzanita, prickly pear cactus, ice plant, Australian saltbush, and summer holly. Foxes used a diversity of food items with variations among islands attributable to island-specific availabilities. Deer mice in particular appeared to be preferred. Foxes also exhibited extensive use of non-native items, such as ice plant fruits, European snails, and earwigs, and foxes may even be dependent on these items on some islands. To increase food security and promote population stability, we recommend (1 continuing and enhancing habitat restoration efforts on all islands, (2 increasing the abundance of native items in association with any removals of non-native species used by foxes, and (3 monitoring annual trends in abundance of key food items as well as periodic monitoring of item use by foxes to determine functional responses to changes in item availability. Keywords: Channel islands, Endangered species, Food-item selection, Foraging ecology, Island fox, Urocyon littoralis
Warm versus Cold Water Island Tourism: A Review of Policy Implications
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Godfrey Baldacchino
2006-11-01
Full Text Available Not sun, sea, sand but ice, isolation, indigenous people: the critical exploration of extreme tourism in cold water locations has barely started. Cold water island locations tend to have harsh, pristine and fragile natural environments, characterized by wide open spaces. They become contexts for an exceptional and expensive form of vigorous, outdoor, adventure or cultural tourism, and direct encounters with nature. The nature and practices of the tourism industry suggest a more sustainable form of island tourism, very different from what is experienced on the warm, tropical and exotic island stereotype.This paper critically reviews some of the salient contrasts between the ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ versions of island tourism. It discusses how, on many ‘cold water’ island locations, sound strategic management, limited civilian ‘buy in’, low populations and an absence of pluralism in political life, can conspire with climate and relative inaccessibility to limit tourism to a small scale, low-impact industry with a relatively high, locally-retained value added. Some ‘warm water’ islands are trying to follow this model for tourism development, with mixed results.
RAID-6 reed-solomon codes with asymptotically optimal arithmetic complexities
Lin, Sian-Jheng
2016-12-24
In computer storage, RAID 6 is a level of RAID that can tolerate two failed drives. When RAID-6 is implemented by Reed-Solomon (RS) codes, the penalty of the writing performance is on the field multiplications in the second parity. In this paper, we present a configuration of the factors of the second-parity formula, such that the arithmetic complexity can reach the optimal complexity bound when the code length approaches infinity. In the proposed approach, the intermediate data used for the first parity is also utilized to calculate the second parity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first approach supporting the RAID-6 RS codes to approach the optimal arithmetic complexity.
Mola'a Revisited: Reef Panpipes
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
2017-01-01
The first main shoot for the Reef Islands Ethnographic Film Series in the Solomon Islands, in 1996, was seriously affected by the un- expected death of one of the main characters and partners in the project, Alfred Melotu, the paramount chief of the Aiwoo-speaking people on the island of Ngasinue...
The fast decoding of Reed-Solomon codes using Fermat theoretic transforms and continued fractions
Reed, I. S.; Scholtz, R. A.; Welch, L. R.; Truong, T. K.
1978-01-01
It is shown that Reed-Solomon (RS) codes can be decoded by using a fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm over finite fields GF(F sub n), where F sub n is a Fermat prime, and continued fractions. This new transform decoding method is simpler than the standard method for RS codes. The computing time of this new decoding algorithm in software can be faster than the standard decoding method for RS codes.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Braun Michael P.
2016-08-01
rapid evolution from one ancestor into two distinct species within only 800,000 years. For all other taxa a Checkerboard distribution pattern is present. In this complex, 8 taxa are already treated as separate species (del Hoyo et al. 2014. Based on genetic evidence, the following populations are supported to represent phylogenetic units: (1 N New Guinea (haematodus incl. Biak (rosenbergii, Bismarck Archipelago (massena, and New Caledonia (deplanchii; (2 Flores (weberi; (3 E Australia (moluccanus incl. Aru Islands (nigrogularis and S New Guinea (caeruleiceps; (4 N Australia (rubritorquis; (5 Timor 1st lineage (capistratus incl. Sumba (fortis; (6 Bali and Lombok (mitchellii; (7 Sumbawa (forsteni; (8 Timor 2nd lineage (euteles. Those 8 phylogenetic units are not identical to the 8 species listed by del Hoyo et al. (2014. Several populations on smaller islands are under decline, a separate species status may lead to a higher conservation status in both species complexes, which are currently listed as “Least Concern”. Eclectus roratus is currently treated as monospecific. Based on genetic evidence, the following populations are suggested being treated as valid species: (1 Sumba (Eclectus cornelia, (2 Tanimbar Islands (E. riedeli, (3 Moluccas (E. roratus, and (4 New Guinea (E. polychloros incl. Aru Islands (E. aruensis, and Solomon Island (E. solomonensis.
Transform Decoding of Reed-Solomon Codes. Volume I. Algorithm and Signal Processing Structure
1982-11-01
systematic channel co.’e. 1. lake the inverse transform of the r- ceived se, - nee. 2. Isolate the error syndrome from the inverse transform and use... inverse transform is identic l with interpolation of the polynomial a(z) from its n values. In order to generate a Reed-Solomon (n,k) cooce, we let the set...in accordance with the transform of equation (4). If we were to apply the inverse transform of equa- tion (6) to the coefficient sequence of A(z), we
Positioning the Testimony of Job Ben Solomon, An Enslaved African American Muslim
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Muna Sulaiman Al-Badaai
2015-11-01
Full Text Available Ayyub Ben Suleiman Diallo, better known as Job ben Solomon was among thousands of African Muslims enslaved in America. Job was a son of a high Priest from Senegal. He was kidnapped by his African enemy and sold as a slave in the New World in 1731. He worked on a tobacco plantation in Maryland. He ran away and was captured and imprisoned. Job’s literacy in Arabic attracted the attention of the philanthropist James Oglethorpe who helped to free him. In 1733, Job sailed to England and later returned to Africa. Upon Job’s request, Thomas Bluett wrote Some Memoirs of the Life of Job the Son of Solomon (1734. Allan Austin claims in his book African Muslims in Antebellum America: Transatlantic Stories and Spiritual Struggles (1997 that Job might be considered as the “father of African American Literature”. Muhammad Al-Ahari (2006 states that this account “is perhaps the earliest biography of any African-Americans”. However, William Andrews (1988 with other scholars consider the year of 1760 the appearance of slave narrative as genre. What is more, African Muslim slave narratives have been excluded from African American anthologies. Florence Marfo (2009 in her article entitled “African Muslims in African American Literature” discusses some possible reasons for this omission which mostly relate to the perceived identity of enslaved African American Muslims and the absence of an anti-slavery goal in their narratives. This paper aims to position Job’s testimony in the light of arguments made by the other scholars.
Hejazian, M.; Swarzenski, P. W.; Gurdak, J. J.; Odigie, K. O.; Storlazzi, C. D.
2015-12-01
This study compares the hydrogeochemistry of two contrasting atoll groundwater systems in Roi-Namur, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Roi-Namur houses a U.S. Department of Defense military installation and presents an ideal study location where a human impacted aquifer is co-located next to a natural aquifer as part of two artificially conjoined atoll islands. The hydrogeology and geochemistry of carbonate atoll aquifers has been well studied, particularly because of its small, well-defined hydrologic system that allows for relatively precise modeling. However, it is unknown how changes in land-use/land cover and managed aquifer recharge (MAR) alters natural geochemical processes in atoll aquifers. A better understanding of this has implications on groundwater quantity and quality, carbonate dissolution, and best aquifer management practices in the context of rising sea level and saltwater intrusion. Roi has been heavily modified to house military and civilian operations; here, lack of vegetation and managed recharge has increased the volume of potable groundwater and affected the geochemical processes in the freshwater lens and saltwater transition zone. Namur is heavily vegetated and the hydrogeology is indicative of a natural atoll island. A suite of monitoring wells were sampled across both island settings for major ions, nutrients, trace elements, DOC/DIC, δ13C and δ18O/2H isotopes. By modeling geochemical reactions using a conservative mixing approach, we measure deviations from expected reactions and compare the two contrasting settings using derived geochemical profiles through a wide salinity spectrum. Results indicate that groundwater on Namur is more heavily depleted in δ13C and has greater dissolved inorganic carbon, suggesting higher microbial oxidation and greater dissolution within the carbonate aquifer. This suggests MAR and reduction of vegetation makes the groundwater supply on atoll islands more resilient to sea level rise.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Himmelberger, J.J.; Baughman, M.; Ogneva-Himmelberger, Y.A.
1995-01-01
Whether the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository system will adversely impact tourism in southern Nevada is an open question of particular importance to visitor-oriented rural counties bisected by planned waste transportation corridors (highway or rail). As part of one such county's repository impact assessment program, tourism implications of Three Mile Island (TMI) and other major hazard events have been revisited to inform ongoing county-wide socioeconomic assessments and contingency planning efforts. This paper summarizes key research implications of such research as applied to Lincoln County, Nevada. Implications for other rural counties are discussed in light of the research findings
The Foreign Disclosure and Technical Information System (FORDTIS) User Manual
1985-07-01
INDIA 10 BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY IP CLIPPERTON ISLAND IQ UNITED STATES MISCELLANEOUS PACIFIC ISLANDS (obsolete) IR , IRAN IS ISRAEL IT...CARTIER ISLANDS AU AUSTRIA AV ANGUILLA AY ANTARCTICA BA BAHRAIN BB BARBADOS ’ - ’ BC BOTSWANA BD BERMUDA BE BELGIUM BP...BAHAMAS, THE BG BANGLADESH BH BELIZE BL BOLIVIA BM BURMA BN BENIN (formerly DM) BP SOLOMON ISLANDS BQ NAVASSA ISLAND BR BRAZIL BS BASSAS DA INDIA
The Influence of the Number of Different Stocks on the Levy-Levy-Solomon Model
Kohl, R.
The stock market model of Levy, Levy, Solomon is simulated for more than one stock to analyze the behavior for a large number of investors. Small markets can lead to realistic looking prices for one and more stocks. A large number of investors leads to a semi-regular fashion simulating one stock. For many stocks, three of the stocks are semi-regular and dominant, the rest is chaotic. Aside from that we changed the utility function and checked the results.
Himmelberger, Jeffery J.; And Others
1995-01-01
Summarizes key research implications of Three Mile Island and other major hazard events as related to tourism. Examines how the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository system will impact tourism in southern Nevada and other visitor-oriented rural counties bisected by planned waste transportation corridors. (AIM)
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Himmelberger, J.J.; Ogneva-Himmelberger, Y.A. [Clark Univ., Worcester, MA (United States); Baughman, M. [Interech Services Corporation, Carson City, NV (United States)
1995-11-01
Whether the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository system will adversely impact tourism in southern Nevada is an open question of particular importance to visitor-oriented rural counties bisected by planned waste transportation corridors (highway or rail). As part of one such county`s repository impact assessment program, tourism implications of Three Mile Island (TMI) and other major hazard events have been revisited to inform ongoing county-wide socioeconomic assessments and contingency planning efforts. This paper summarizes key research implications of such research as applied to Lincoln County, Nevada. Implications for other rural counties are discussed in light of the research findings. 29 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.
Wolves Recolonizing Islands: Genetic Consequences and Implications for Conservation and Management.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Liivi Plumer
Full Text Available After a long and deliberate persecution, the grey wolf (Canis lupus is slowly recolonizing its former areas in Europe, and the genetic consequences of this process are of particular interest. Wolves, though present in mainland Estonia for a long time, have only recently started to recolonize the country's two largest islands, Saaremaa and Hiiumaa. The main objective of this study was to analyse wolf population structure and processes in Estonia, with particular attention to the recolonization of islands. Fifteen microsatellite loci were genotyped for 185 individuals across Estonia. As a methodological novelty, all putative wolf-dog hybrids were identified and removed (n = 17 from the dataset beforehand to avoid interference of dog alleles in wolf population analysis. After the preliminary filtering, our final dataset comprised of 168 "pure" wolves. We recommend using hybrid-removal step as a standard precautionary procedure not only for wolf population studies, but also for other taxa prone to hybridization. STRUCTURE indicated four genetic groups in Estonia. Spatially explicit DResD analysis identified two areas, one of them on Saaremaa island and the other in southwestern Estonia, where neighbouring individuals were genetically more similar than expected from an isolation-by-distance null model. Three blending areas and two contrasting transition zones were identified in central Estonia, where the sampled individuals exhibited strong local differentiation over relatively short distance. Wolves on the largest Estonian islands are part of human-wildlife conflict due to livestock depredation. Negative public attitude, especially on Saaremaa where sheep herding is widespread, poses a significant threat for island wolves. To maintain the long-term viability of the wolf population on Estonian islands, not only wolf hunting quota should be targeted with extreme care, but effective measures should be applied to avoid inbreeding and minimize conflicts
Winterbottom, Richard; Hoese, Douglass F
2015-03-17
The gobiid genus Trimma currently contains 75 valid species, with another 20-30 known but undescribed species. There are 29 species in Australian waters (six undescribed). This paper describes the six new species, and provides redescriptions of most of the 23 previously described species known from the region, as well as a key for all the species. The six new species are: T. insularum (endemic to Cocos (Keeling) Islands), T. kitrinum (Fiji to Great Barrier Reef), T. meristum (Cape York to the Bismark Archipelago and Fiji), T. pentherum (Great Barrier Reef to Fiji and the South-West Islands of Palau), T. readerae (Australia to Japan), and T. xanthum (Palau to Fiji, Great Barrier Reef to Christmas Island). The following 23 species have been recorded from Australian waters, and most are redescribed here: T. anaima (Comores to Fiji), T. annosum (Maldives to the Phoenix Islands, Taiwan to the southern Great Barrier Reef), T. benjamini (southern Vietnam to the Marshall Islands, Samoa and southern Barrier Reef), T. caesiura (Ryukyus through the Marshall Islands to Samoa and Elizabeth Reef on the Lord Howe Rise), T. capostriatum (New Caledonia to eastern Australia and Papua New Guinea), T. maiandros (Java to the Ryukyus, Marshalls to Great Barrier Reef), T. emeryi (Comores to Ryukyus and Samoa), T. fangi (western South China Sea through to the Solomons), T. flavatrum (Ryukyu Islands to Western Australia and Samoa), T. hoesei (Chagos Archipelago, central Indian Ocean to Palau and Solomons), T. lantana (Australia, Solomons, northern New Guinea, South-West Islands of Palau), T. macrophthalmus (Ryukyu Islands to Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Samoa), T. milta (Taiwan to Western Australia, Society Islands and Hawaii), T. nasa (Sumbawa, Indonesia to Fiji), T. necopinum (northern tip of Cape York to Sydney), T. nomurai (Japan to northern Australia and New Caledonia), T. okinawae (western Thailand to Japan and the Phoenix Islands, north-west Australia to the Great Barrier Reef), T
An Evaluation of the Viles Tok Ples Skul Scheme in the North Solomons Province. ERU Report No. 51.
Delpit, Lisa D.; Kemelfield, Graeme
The local-language-medium schools of North Solomons Province are described and evaluated. The Viles Tok Ples Skuls (VTPS) provide education in both the indigenous languages (tok ples) and English as a means of integrating the past with modern development, as is preferred by the local people. The report contains seven chapters. The first gives the…
Analysis of Iterated Hard Decision Decoding of Product Codes with Reed-Solomon Component Codes
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Justesen, Jørn; Høholdt, Tom
2007-01-01
Products of Reed-Solomon codes are important in applications because they offer a combination of large blocks, low decoding complexity, and good performance. A recent result on random graphs can be used to show that with high probability a large number of errors can be corrected by iterating...... minimum distance decoding. We present an analysis related to density evolution which gives the exact asymptotic value of the decoding threshold and also provides a closed form approximation to the distribution of errors in each step of the decoding of finite length codes....
Hydrologic measurements and implications for tree island formation within Everglades National Park
Bazante, Jose; Jacobi, Gary; Solo-Gabriele, Helena M.; Reed, David; Mitchell-Bruker, Sherry; Childers, Daniel L.; Leonard, Lynn; Ross, Michael
2006-10-01
SummaryTree islands in the Shark River Slough of the Everglades National Park (ENP), in the southern state of Florida in the United States, are part of a wetland system of densely vegetated ridges interspersed within relatively open sloughs. Human alteration of this system has had dramatic negative effects on the landscape of the region and restoration efforts will require adjusting the hydrology of the region to assure the preservation of these important ecologic features. The primary objectives of this study were to document the hydrology in the vicinity of tree islands in ENP by measuring velocities in time and space and by characterizing suspended sediments. The results of such measurements were interpreted with respect to factors that may limit tree island growth. The measurements were conducted in the vicinity of three tree islands known as Black Hammock (BH), Gumbo Limbo (GL), and an unnamed island that was named for this study as Satin Leaf (SL). Acoustical Doppler Velocity (ADV) meters were used for measuring the low velocities of the Everglades water flow. Properties of suspended sediments were characterized through measurements of particle size distribution, turbidity, concentration and particle density. Mean velocities observed at each of the tree islands varied from 0.9 to 1.4 cm/s. Slightly higher mean velocities were observed during the wet season (1.2-1.6 cm/s) versus the dry season (0.8-1.3 cm/s). Maximum velocities of more than 4 cm/s were measured in areas of Cladium jamaicense die-off and at the hardwood hammock (head) of the islands. At the island's head, water is channelized around obstructions such as tree trunks in relatively rapid flow, which may limit the lateral extent of tree island growth. Channelization is facilitated by shade from the tree canopy, which limits the growth of underwater vegetation thereby minimizing the resistance to flow and limiting sediment deposition. Suspended sediment concentrations were low (0.5-1.5 mg/L) at all
Environmental Prime Movers for Prehistoric Colonization of Islands in Remote Oceania
Montenegro, Alvaro; Callaghan, Richard T.; Fitzpatrick, Scott M.
2016-04-01
The peopling of Remote Oceania was one of the last great waves of human migration in the ancient past. Beginning around 3500 BP, peoples from Island Southeast Asia began colonizing western Micronesia, and shortly thereafter ca. 3400 BP, Lapita groups began moving east from Near Oceania (e.g., the Solomons and Bismarck Archipelago) to islands in Eastern Melanesia and West Polynesia, including Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa. It is remarkable that over the next 2500 years, even the most remote islands, known now to represent the distant nodes of the Polynesian triangle (New Zealand, Hawaii, and Easter Island), were eventually visited by Austronesian speakers and their descendants across this seemingly boundless ocean. One of the more enduring questions - and one that has perplexed scholars for decades - is how and when these ancient seafarers were able to develop navigational/wayfinding techniques and seafaring technologies to overcome a number of environmental challenges. This would ultimately help determine what combination of social and environmental stimuli forced or encouraged people to colonize some of the most isolated patches of land on earth. To advance our understanding of ancient Pacific colonization strategies, we integrate seafaring simulation models, ease of eastward travel estimates based on land distribution and wind pattern analysis, and new climatic datasets for precipitation in Micronesia and Polynesia to examine intra-annual variations in wind and precipitation that would have influenced travel. Combined with statistical modeling of winds and currents, we argue that: land distribution could have contributed to the pause in eastward expansion seen at about 3000 BP; simple downwind sailing and downwind sailing during eastward spells are viable navigation strategies for reaching islands to the east; seasonality of eastward winds would facilitate voyage planning and increase chances of success; knowledge of annual and interannual variability
Rhee, Ye-Young; Kim, Kyung-Ju; Kang, Gyeong Hoon
2017-01-15
The concept of a CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) was first introduced by Toyota and Issa to describe a subset of colorectal cancers (CRCs) with concurrent hypermethylation of multiple CpG island loci. The concept of CIMP as a molecular carcinogenesis mechanism was consolidated by the identification of the serrated neoplasia pathway, in which CIMP participates in the initiation and progression of serrated adenomas. Distinct clinicopathological and molecular features of CIMP-high (CIMP-H) CRCs have been characterized, including proximal colon location, older age of onset, female preponderance, and frequent associations of high-level microsatellite instability and BRAF mutations. CIMP-H CRCs arise in sessile or traditional serrated adenomas and thus tend to display the morphological characteristics of serrated adenomas, including epithelial serration, vesicular nuclei, and abundant cytoplasm. Both the frequent association of CIMP and poor prognosis and different responses of CRCs to adjuvant therapy depending on CIMP status indicate clinical implications. In this review, we present an overview of the literature documenting the relevant findings of CIMP-H CRCs and their relationships with the serrated neoplasia pathway.
Puppo, Pamela; Curto, Manuel; Gusmão-Guedes, Joana; Cochofel, Jaqueline; Pérez de Paz, Pedro Luis; Bräuchler, Christian; Meimberg, Harald
2015-08-01
Here we reconstruct the evolutionary history of Micromeria in the Canary Islands using eight nuclear markers. Our results show two centers of diversification for Micromeria, one in the eastern islands Gran Canaria and Lanzarote, the other in the western islands, Tenerife, La Palma and El Hierro. Suggested directions of inter-island colonization are the following: Gran Canaria to Lanzarote and La Gomera; Tenerife to La Palma (from the paleoisland of Teno), to El Hierro (from the younger, central part), and to La Gomera and Madeira (from the paleoislands). Colonization of La Gomera probably occurred several times from Gran Canaria and Tenerife. The taxonomic implications of these results are discussed. Incongruence among the different markers was evaluated and, using next generation sequencing, we investigated if this incongruence is due to gene duplication. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Sargis, Eric J.; Woodman, Neal; Morningstar, Natalie C.; Reese, Aspen T.; Olson, Link E.
2014-01-01
The Mentawai and Batu Island groups off the west coast of Sumatra have a complicated geological and biogeographical history. The Batu Islands have shared a connection with the Sumatran ‘mainland’ during periods of lowered sea level, whereas the Mentawai Islands, despite being a similar distance from Sumatra, have remained isolated from Sumatra, and probably from the Batu Islands as well. These contrasting historical relationships to Sumatra have influenced the compositions of the respective mammalian faunas of these island groups. Treeshrews (Scandentia, Tupaiidae) from these islands have, at various times in their history, been recognized as geographically circumscribed populations of a broadly distributed Tupaia glis, subspecies, or distinct species. We used multivariate analyses of measurements from the skull and hands to compare the island populations from Siberut (Mentawai Islands) and Tanahbala (Batu Islands) with the geographically adjacent species from the southern Mentawai Islands (T. chrysogaster) and Sumatra (T. ferruginea). Results from both the skull and manus of the Siberut population show that it is most similar to T. chrysogaster, whereas the Tanahbala population is more similar to T. ferruginea, confirming predictions based on island history. These results are further corroborated by mammae counts. Based on these lines of evidence, we include the Siberut population in T. chrysogaster and the Tanahbala population in T. ferruginea. Our conclusions expand the known distributions of both the Mentawai and Sumatran species. The larger geographical range of the endangered T. chrysogaster has conservation implications for this Mentawai endemic, so populations and habitat should be re-evaluated on each of the islands it inhabits. However, until such a re-evaluation is conducted, we recommend that the IUCN Red List status of this species be changed from ‘Endangered’ to ‘Data Deficient’.
McIver, Lachlan; Kim, Rokho; Woodward, Alistair; Hales, Simon; Spickett, Jeffery; Katscherian, Dianne; Hashizume, Masahiro; Honda, Yasushi; Kim, Ho; Iddings, Steven; Naicker, Jyotishma; Bambrick, Hilary; McMichael, Anthony J; Ebi, Kristie L
2016-11-01
Between 2010 and 2012, the World Health Organization Division of Pacific Technical Support led a regional climate change and health vulnerability assessment and adaptation planning project, in collaboration with health sector partners, in 13 Pacific island countries-Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. We assessed the vulnerabilities of Pacific island countries to the health impacts of climate change and planned adaptation strategies to minimize such threats to health. This assessment involved a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques. The former included descriptive epidemiology, time series analyses, Poisson regression, and spatial modeling of climate and climate-sensitive disease data, in the few instances where this was possible; the latter included wide stakeholder consultations, iterative consensus building, and expert opinion. Vulnerabilities were ranked using a "likelihood versus impact" matrix, and adaptation strategies were prioritized and planned accordingly. The highest-priority climate-sensitive health risks in Pacific island countries included trauma from extreme weather events, heat-related illnesses, compromised safety and security of water and food, vector-borne diseases, zoonoses, respiratory illnesses, psychosocial ill-health, non-communicable diseases, population pressures, and health system deficiencies. Adaptation strategies relating to these climate change and health risks could be clustered according to categories common to many countries in the Pacific region. Pacific island countries are among the most vulnerable in the world to the health impacts of climate change. This vulnerability is a function of their unique geographic, demographic, and socioeconomic characteristics combined with their exposure to changing weather patterns associated with climate change, the health risks entailed, and the limited capacity
Military Post Office Location List (MPOLL)
1990-02-01
ISLE OF GJ GRENADA IN INDIA GK GUERNSEY 10 BRITISH INDIAN GL GREENLAND OCEAN TERRITORY GO GLORIOSO ISLANDS IP CLIPPERTON ISLAND GP GUADELOUPE IR IRAN GQ...A) BG BANGLADESH BH BELIZE AC ANTIGUA and BARBUDA BL BOLIVIA AF AFGHANISTAN BM BURMA AG ALGERIA BN BENIN AL ALBANIA BP SOLOMON ISLANDS AN ANDORRA BQ...NAVASSA ISLAND AO ANGOLA BR BRAZIL AQ AMERICAN SAMOA BS BASSAS DA INDIA AR ARGENTINA BT BHUTAN AS AUSTRALIA BU BULGARIA AT ASHMORE AND CARTIER
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Vorkamp, Katrin; Strand, Jakob; Christensen, Jan H.
2010-01-01
During the Danish Galathea 3 expedition, bivalve samples were collected at the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Ghana, South Africa, Australia, Solomon Islands, New Zealand, Chile, US Virgin Islands, Boston, Newfoundland and Shetland Islands and analysed for organochlorines and PAHs. Concentration...... in terms of PCB and PAH levels, while other Greenland samples came closest to representing PAH background levels. Several locations had undetectable organochlorine levels, including Hobart and Chile, which had the lowest Sigma PAH concentrations (group the stations...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Karl Peltzer
2015-09-01
Full Text Available This study aimed to investigate the correlations between early initiation (<12 years of smoking cigarettes, alcohol use, and drug use (cannabis with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in school-aged adolescents in four Pacific Island countries in Oceania. The sample included 6540 adolescents (≤13 to ≥16 years old from Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were conducted to assess the association between pre-adolescent substance use initiation and suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Results indicate a prevalence of 25.8% suicidal ideation in the past 12 months (ranging from 17.2% in Vanuatu to 34.7% in Kiribati and 34.9% suicide attempts in the past 12 months (ranging from 23.5% in Vanuatu to 62.0% in Samoa. The prevalence of early cigarette smoking initiation was 15.7%, early alcohol initiation 13.8%, and early drug use initiation was 12.9%. Students who reported pre-adolescent substance use initiation, compared with non-substance users, were more likely reporting suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. The concurrent initiation of cigarette smoking, alcohol, and drug use should be targeted in early prevention programmes in order to prevent possible subsequent suicidal behaviours.
Rasmussen, D.; Buchanan, M. K.; Kopp, R. E.; Oppenheimer, M.
2017-12-01
Sea-level rise (SLR) is magnifying the frequency and severity of flooding in coastal regions. The rate and amount of global-mean SLR is a function of the trajectory of the global mean surface temperature (GMST). Therefore, temperature stabilization targets (e.g., 1.5°C or 2°C, as from the Paris Agreement) have important implications for regulating coastal flood risk. Quantifying the differences in the impact from SLR between these and other GMST stabilization targets is necessary for assessing the benefits and harms of mitigation goals. Low-lying small island nations are particularly vulnerable to inundation and coastal flooding from SLR because building protective and resilient infrastructure may not be physically or economically feasible. For small island nations, keeping GMST below a specified threshold may be the only option for maintaining habitability. Here, we assess differences in the return levels of coastal floods for small island nations between 1.5°C, 2.0°C, and 2.5°C GMST stabilization. We employ probabilistic, localized SLR projections and long-term hourly tide gauge records to construct estimates of local flood risk. We then estimate the number of small island nations' inhabitants at risk for permanent inundation under different GMST stabilization targets.
Solomon M. Hsiang Receives 2013 Science for Solutions Award: Citation
Oppenheimer, Michael
2014-01-01
Solomon Hsiang is representative of a new generation in the geosciences community, whose work spans several disciplines, drawing on methods and concepts from far outside the traditional physical science domain in order to make progress on difficult questions at the intersection of natural science, social science, and public policy. Broadly speaking, by examining how humanity has responded to climate variability and change in the distant and recent past, Sol's research elucidates the question of how humanity may respond to a changing climate in the future. Combining large, independent sets of social science, meteorological, and climatological data and analyzing them with tools more common in microeconomics than natural science, Sol, still at an early stage of his career, has made critical contributions to an incipient revolution in our understanding of the sensitivity and adaptability of humans and their social arrangements to climate variability and change. Such insights will greatly improve the information base from which effective public policy is developed.
First record of Pteridium caudatum (Dennstaedtiaceae) in Old Providence Island, Colombia
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Tobar Vargas, Alexandra; Gavio, Brigitte
2011-01-01
We report for the first time the presence of the invasive fern Pteridium caudatum (L.) Maxon Old Providence Island, Colombia. The species was found as an ornamental plant in house backyard, as well as in the wild in the locality the peak, the best preserved area of the island. We discuss the ecological implications associated to the presence of this species.
International Tourists’ Perceived Sustainability of Jeju Island, South Korea
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Min-Seong Kim
2017-12-01
Full Text Available This study investigated the causal relationships between international tourists’ perceived sustainability of Jeju Island, South Korea and environmentally responsible behavior, revisit intention, and positive word-of-mouth communication. Perceived sustainability was employed as a multidimensional construct comprised of economic, cultural, and environmental aspects. Data were collected from international tourists that visited Jeju Island. The results indicated that environmentally responsible behavior was influenced positively by cultural sustainability, and negatively by environmental sustainability. Revisit intention and positive word-of-mouth communication were significantly affected by the three dimensions of sustainability. Based on the findings, associated implications were suggested for sustainable destination management of Jeju Island.
Fast decoding techniques for extended single-and-double-error-correcting Reed Solomon codes
Costello, D. J., Jr.; Deng, H.; Lin, S.
1984-01-01
A problem in designing semiconductor memories is to provide some measure of error control without requiring excessive coding overhead or decoding time. For example, some 256K-bit dynamic random access memories are organized as 32K x 8 bit-bytes. Byte-oriented codes such as Reed Solomon (RS) codes provide efficient low overhead error control for such memories. However, the standard iterative algorithm for decoding RS codes is too slow for these applications. Some special high speed decoding techniques for extended single and double error correcting RS codes. These techniques are designed to find the error locations and the error values directly from the syndrome without having to form the error locator polynomial and solve for its roots.
Obituary: Philip M. Solomon, 1939-2008
Scoville, Nick
2009-01-01
Philip Solomon, one of the pioneers and leading researchers in molecular astrophysics, died on 30 April 2008 at his apartment on the upper west side of Manhattan after a battle with cancer. His pioneering research included both theoretical and very extensive observational studies of stellar atmospheres, interstellar molecules, high redshift galaxies, and the Earth's stratosphere. Phil was Distinguished Professor at The State University of New York [SUNY], Stony Brook, where he had been since 1974. Phil was born on 29 March 1939 in Manhattan, New York City, to Nat and Betty Solomon. Nat Solomon was a labor organizer and a printer. Phil attended the University of Wisconsin, where he received his BS in 1959 and where he met his future wife Sheila who was studying art. His Ph.D., "On the Role of Light Molecules in Astrophysics," was also from the University of Wisconsin under the guidance of Art Code and Bob Bless. After postdoctoral positions at Princeton and lectureships at Columbia and the University of California, San Diego, Phil spent two years as a Professor at the University of Minnesota. After two years at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, he came to SUNY, Stony Brook, as Professor of Astronomy in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences. In 1988 Phil was selected as a Humboldt Senior Distinguished Scientist, and, in 1999, he was honored with the rank of Distinguished Professor at SUNY. Phil took sabbatical and other leaves at Churchill College and the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge; the Institute for Advanced Study; l'Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris; Institut d'Astrophysique, Paris; and the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimetrique [IRAM], France. Phil published more than 160 papers and supervised seven Ph.D. students. He served on numerous review, visiting, and advisory panels. Phil's first theoretical research focused on opacity and abundance of light molecules such as H2, CO, and CN in stellar atmospheres, but then shifted quickly to the
Scaling of Sweet-Parker reconnection with secondary islands
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Cassak, P. A.; Shay, M. A.; Drake, J. F.
2009-01-01
Sweet-Parker (collisional) magnetic reconnection at high Lundquist number is modified by secondary islands. Daughton et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 065004 (2009)] suggested the Sweet-Parker model governs the fragmented current sheet segments. If true, the reconnection rate would increase by the square root of the number of secondary islands. High Lundquist number resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulations are presented which agree, in a time-averaged sense, with the predicted scaling. This result may have important implications for energy storage before a solar eruption and its subsequent release.
Towards a glacial‐sensitive model of island biogeography
Fernández-Palacios, J.M.; Rijsdijk, K.F.; Norder, S.J.; Otto, R.; de Nascimento, L.; Fernández‐Lugo, S.; Tjørve, E.; Whittaker, R.J.
2016-01-01
Although the role that Pleistocene glacial cycles have played in shaping the present biota of oceanic islands world-wide has long been recognized, their geographical, biogeographical and ecological implications have not yet been fully incorporated within existing biogeographical models. Here we
El plan de cuatro grupos de Solomon : evaluación educativa transhispanoamericana
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Klaus-Dieter Gorenc
2013-09-01
Full Text Available Se aplicaron dos modalidades de talleres de investigación -corta y larga- para habilitar por espacio de diez años a 658 investigadores hispanoamericanos, divididos en 30 grupos. La eficiencia terminal de los talleres fue medida con un diseño de pre y post-test y las diferencias con una prueba t-Student -para muestras dependientes-. Los resultados mostraron que los valores del post-test eran más elevados -p ≤ 0.001- que los del pretest. Contrastando las dos versiones del taller, el promedio del largo fue significantemente mayor -p ≤ 0.001- que el del corto; esto, bajo la tutela de un diseño múltiple de pre y post-test y la prueba t-Student, pero para muestras independientes. Con el diseño de cuatro grupos de Solomon se estableció que el incremento significativo en el conocimiento sobre diseños de investigación no fue intervenido por los factores tratamiento y pretest -interacción- y no se observaron diferencias significativas entre ambas versiones. Two modalities of research design's workshops -long and short- were developed to qualify 658 Hispanamerican research workers, whom were divided into 30 groups, and were applyied along ten years. The terminal efficiency of the workshops was measured with a pre-post-test design and the differences were assessed with a t-test -for dependent samples-. The results showed that the values of the post-test were higher -p ≤ 0.001- than the pretest averages. Contrasting the two workshop versions, the average of the long workshop was significantly higher -p ≤ 0.001- than the short one, by means of a multiple pre-post-test design and the t-test for independent samples. Using Solomon four-group design it was feasible to establish that the significant increase of knowledge about research designs was not influenced by the interaction of the pretest and treatment factors and there was not observed any significant difference between both versions.
Mandal, S.; Satpati, L. N.; Choudhury, B. U.; Sadhu, S.
2018-04-01
The present study assessed climate change vulnerability in agricultural sector of low-lying Sagar Island of Bay of Bengal. Vulnerability indices were estimated using spatially aggregated biophysical and socio-economic parameters by applying principal component analysis and equal weight method. The similarities and differences of outputs of these two methods were analysed across the island. From the integration of outputs and based on the severity of vulnerability, explicit vulnerable zones were demarcated spatially. Results revealed that life subsistence agriculture in 11.8% geographical area (2829 ha) of the island along the western coast falls under very high vulnerable zone (VHVZ VI of 84-99%) to climate change. Comparatively higher values of exposure (0.53 ± 0.26) and sensitivity (0.78 ± 0.14) subindices affirmed that the VHV zone is highly exposed to climate stressor with very low adaptive capacity (ADI= 0.24 ± 0.16) to combat vulnerability to climate change. Hence, food security for a population of >22 thousands comprising >3.7 thousand agrarian households are highly exposed to climate change. Another 17% area comprising 17.5% population covering 20% villages in north-western and eastern parts of the island also falls under high vulnerable (VI= 61%-77%) zone. Findings revealed large spatial heterogeneity in the degree of vulnerability across the island and thus, demands devising area specific planning (adaptation and mitigation strategies) to address the climate change impact implications both at macro and micro levels.
Wearing the crown of Solomon? Chief Justice Roberts and the Affordable Care Act "tax".
Muise, Robert J; Yerushalmi, David
2013-04-01
Attempting to play the role of King Solomon in his PPACA decision, Chief Justice John Roberts split the baby perversely by ruling it was not a tax under the Anti-Injunction Act, which would have likely deprived the Court of jurisdiction to hear this pre-enforcement challenge to the individual mandate, but it was a tax for taxing and spending purposes even though Congress said it was a "penalty" and not a tax. And the Chief Justice had to twist further his "wisdom" to hold that it was not an unconstitutional direct tax, even though that is exactly what it is, if it is a tax in the first instance.
Mount, D. L.; Nahlen, B. L.; Patchen, L. C.; Churchill, F. C.
1989-01-01
Two field-adapted colorimetric methods for measuring the antimalarial drug chloroquine in urine are described. Both are modifications of the method of Saker and Solomons for screening urine for phencyclidine and other drugs of abuse, using the colour reagent tetrabromophenolphthalein ethyl ester. One method is semiquantitative, detecting the presence of chloroquine (Cq) and its metabolites in urine with a 1 microgram/ml detection limit; it is more sensitive and reliable than the commonly used...
The 43rd Infantry Division: Unit Cohesion and Neuropsychiatric Casualties
National Research Council Canada - National Science Library
Fuschak, K
1999-01-01
..., The Solomon Islands, from July to September 1943. The study explores the multiple causes of these casualties, to include ignorance of lessons learned regarding neuropsychiatric casualties in World War I, general unpreparedness, poor training...
Predicting language diversity with complex networks
Gubiec, Tomasz
2018-01-01
We analyze the model of social interactions with coevolution of the topology and states of the nodes. This model can be interpreted as a model of language change. We propose different rewiring mechanisms and perform numerical simulations for each. Obtained results are compared with the empirical data gathered from two online databases and anthropological study of Solomon Islands. We study the behavior of the number of languages for different system sizes and we find that only local rewiring, i.e. triadic closure, is capable of reproducing results for the empirical data in a qualitative manner. Furthermore, we cancel the contradiction between previous models and the Solomon Islands case. Our results demonstrate the importance of the topology of the network, and the rewiring mechanism in the process of language change. PMID:29702699
Adaptation measures for climate change and the urban heat island in Japan's built environment
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Shimoda, Y.
2003-01-01
Climate change scenarios are discussed for Japan with clear implications drawn for the built environment in terms of increased temperatures of 4-5 o C, rising sea levels and subterranean water tables. Research on the impacts and adaptation measures for global warming in Japan is reviewed. One of the most significant impacts of climate change in Japan will exacerbate the existing heat island phenomenon in cities by absorbing increased solar radiation. This will lead to further increases in temperatures in an urban microclimate with negative implications for energy and water consumption, human health and discomfort, and local ecosystems. The current urban heat island phenomenon and its impacts are described. The relationships between climate change and urban heat island impacts are discussed. Potential adaptation measures to those impacts are also discussed and proposed. (author)
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Evelpidou, N.; Karkani, A.; Pirazzoli, P.
2017-01-01
In this paper the tectonic behavior of Leukas and Meganisi islands (Ionian Sea) is examined through underwater research carried out in both islands. A possible Late Holocene correlation between coseismic subsidences is attempted and evidenced by submerged tidal notches in both islands. These subsidence events probably occurred after the uplift that affected the northernmost part of Leukas around 4 to 5ka BP. In conclusion, although the whole area was affected by a similar tectonic strain, certain coseismic events were only recorded in one of the two islands and in some cases they affected only part of the study area.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Evelpidou, N.; Karkani, A.; Pirazzoli, P.
2017-11-01
In this paper the tectonic behavior of Leukas and Meganisi islands (Ionian Sea) is examined through underwater research carried out in both islands. A possible Late Holocene correlation between coseismic subsidences is attempted and evidenced by submerged tidal notches in both islands. These subsidence events probably occurred after the uplift that affected the northernmost part of Leukas around 4 to 5ka BP. In conclusion, although the whole area was affected by a similar tectonic strain, certain coseismic events were only recorded in one of the two islands and in some cases they affected only part of the study area.
South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
1986-02-01
The full text of the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty with its Annexes endorsed on 6 August 1985 by the South Pacific Forum (a body comprising the independent and self-governing countries of the South Pacific, namely Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Nive, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Western Samoa) is presented
South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
1986-02-01
On 6 August 1985 the South Pacific Forum, a body comprising the independent and self-governing countries of the South Pacific (Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Western Samoa), endorsed the text of the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty and opened it for signature [es
South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
1986-02-01
On 6 August 1985 the South Pacific Forum, a body comprising the independent and self-governing countries of the South Pacific (Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Western Samoa), endorsed the text of the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty and opened it for signature [ru
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Martin Thomas
2010-01-01
Full Text Available Tropical forests are rapidly being lost across Southeast Asia and this is predicted to have severe implications for many of the region′s bird species. However, relationships between forest disturbance and avifaunal assemblages remain poorly understood, particularly on small island ecosystems such as those found in the biodiversity ′hotspot′ of Wallacea. This study examines how avifaunal richness varies across a disturbance gradient in a forest reserve on Buton Island, southeast Sulawesi. Particular emphasis is placed upon examining responses in endemic and red-listed species with high conservation importance. Results indicate that overall avian richness increases between primary and 30-year-old regenerating secondary forest and then decreases through disturbed secondary forest, but is highest in cleared farmland. However, high species richness in farmland does not signify high species distinctiveness; bird community composition here differs significantly from that found in forest sites, and is poor in supporting forest specialists and endemic species. Certain large-bodied endemics such as the Knobbed Hornbill (Rhyticeros cassidix appear to be sensitive to moderate disturbance, with populations occurring at greatest density within primary forest. However, overall endemic species richness, as well as that of endemic frugivores and insectivores, is similar in primary and secondary forest types. Results indicate that well-established secondary forest in particular has an important role in supporting species with high conservational importance, possessing community composition similar to that found in primary forest and supporting an equally high richness of endemic species.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Llewellyn Howes
2014-01-01
Full Text Available Attribution License. The current article considers two intertexts of Q 22:28, 30, namely the Psalms of Solomon and the Community Rule found in the first Qumran cave. Each of these documents is examined to understand its view of the restoration of Israel, the messianic age, the apocalyptic end and the final judgement. Additional attention is paid to the way in which these documents draw boundaries around their respective in-groups. By illustrating that these texts foresaw a process of judgement at the apocalyptic end that would entail both the liberation and the condemnation of greater Israel, the current article argues against the popular claim that a wholesale liberation of everyone in Israel was expected during the Second-Temple period. The broader context of this investigation is the attempted refutation of Horsley�s influential claim that, in Q 22:28�30, the verb κρίνω actually means �liberate� and not �judge�.Intradisciplinary and/or�interdisciplinary�implications: By illustrating that these texts foresaw a process of judgement at the apocalyptic end that would entail both the liberation and the condemnation of greater Israel, the current article argues against the popular claim that a wholesale liberation of everyone in Israel was expected during the Second-Temple period.
Lo, C. P.; Quattrochi, Dale A.
2003-01-01
Land use and land cover maps of Atlanta Metropolitan Area in Georgia were produced from Landsat MSS and TM images for 1973,1979,1983,1987,1992, and 1997, spanning a period of 25 years. Dramatic changes in land use and land cover have occurred with loss of forest and cropland to urban use. In particular, low-density urban use, which includes largely residential use, has increased by over 119% between 1973 and 1997. These land use and land cover changes have drastically altered the land surface characteristics. An analysis of Landsat images revealed an increase in surface temperature and a decline in NDVI from 1973 to 1997. These changes have forced the development of a significant urban heat island effect and an increase in ground level ozone production to such an extent, that Atlanta has violated EPA's ozone level standard in recent years. The urban heat island initiated precipitation events that were identified between 1996 and 2000 tended to occur near high-density urban areas but outside the I-285 loop that traverses around the Central Business District, i.e. not in the inner city area, but some in close proximity to the highways. The health implications were investigated by comparing the spatial patterns of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions, the two ingredients that form ozone by reacting with sunlight, with those of rates of cardiovascular and chronic lower respiratory diseases. A clear core-periphery pattern was revealed for both VOC and NOx emissions, but the spatial pattern was more random in the cases of rates of cardiovascular and chronic lower respiratory diseases. Clearly, factors other than ozone pollution were involved in explaining the rates of these diseases. Further research is therefore needed to understand the health geography and its relationship to land use and land cover change as well as urban heat island effect. This paper illustrates the usefulness of a remote sensing approach for this purpose.
CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) in cancer: causes and implications.
Teodoridis, Jens M; Hardie, Catriona; Brown, Robert
2008-09-18
Strong evidence exists for a subgroup of tumours, from a variety of tissue types, exhibiting concordant tumour specific DNA methylation: the "CpG island methylator phenotype" (CIMP). Occurrence of CIMP is associated with a range of genetic and environmental factors, although the molecular causes are not well-understood. Both increased expression and aberrant targeting of DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) could contribute to the occurrence of CIMP. One under-explored area is the possibility that DNA damage may induce or select for CIMP during carcinogenesis or treatment of tumours with chemotherapy. DNA damaging agents can induce DNA damage at guanine rich regions throughout the genome, including CpG islands. This DNA damage can result in stalled DNA synthesis, which will lead to localised increased DNMT1 concentration and therefore potentially increased DNA methylation at these sites. Chemotherapy can select for cells which have increased tolerance to DNA damage due to increased lesion bypass, in some cases by mechanisms which involve inactivation of genes by CpG island methylation. CIMP has been associated with worse patient prognosis, probably due to increased epigenetic plasticity. Therefore, further clinical testing of the diagnostic and prognostic value of the current CIMP markers, as well as increasing our understanding of the molecular causes underlying CIMP are required.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Harris Ivor
2010-09-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Many countries are scaling up malaria interventions towards elimination. This transition changes demands on malaria diagnostics from diagnosing ill patients to detecting parasites in all carriers including asymptomatic infections and infections with low parasite densities. Detection methods suitable to local malaria epidemiology must be selected prior to transitioning a malaria control programme to elimination. A baseline malaria survey conducted in Temotu Province, Solomon Islands in late 2008, as the first step in a provincial malaria elimination programme, provided malaria epidemiology data and an opportunity to assess how well different diagnostic methods performed in this setting. Methods During the survey, 9,491 blood samples were collected and examined by microscopy for Plasmodium species and density, with a subset also examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR and rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs. The performances of these diagnostic methods were compared. Results A total of 256 samples were positive by microscopy, giving a point prevalence of 2.7%. The species distribution was 17.5% Plasmodium falciparum and 82.4% Plasmodium vivax. In this low transmission setting, only 17.8% of the P. falciparum and 2.9% of P. vivax infected subjects were febrile (≥38°C at the time of the survey. A significant proportion of infections detected by microscopy, 40% and 65.6% for P. falciparum and P. vivax respectively, had parasite density below 100/μL. There was an age correlation for the proportion of parasite density below 100/μL for P. vivax infections, but not for P. falciparum infections. PCR detected substantially more infections than microscopy (point prevalence of 8.71%, indicating a large number of subjects had sub-microscopic parasitemia. The concordance between PCR and microscopy in detecting single species was greater for P. vivax (135/162 compared to P. falciparum (36/118. The malaria RDT detected the 12 microscopy and
2013-04-04
Solomon Islands. Fiji has had five military coups in the past twenty-seven years21. In addition, natural disasters (predominantly cyclones) necessitate...to assist with development and relief packages within the Pacific Islands, particularly emergency response to natural disasters . This is where the...secured Apia4. From this genesis, New Zealand and the NZDF have continued to conduct military operations in the South Pacific; from disaster relief
Wenger, Amelia S.; Atkinson, Scott; Santini, Talitha; Falinski, Kim; Hutley, Nicholas; Albert, Simon; Horning, Ned; Watson, James E. M.; Mumby, Peter J.; Jupiter, Stacy D.
2018-04-01
Increasing development in tropical regions provides new economic opportunities that can improve livelihoods, but it threatens the functional integrity and ecosystem services provided by terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems when conducted unsustainably. Given the small size of many islands, communities may have limited opportunities to replace loss and damage to the natural resources upon which they depend for ecosystem service provisioning, thus heightening the need for proactive, integrated management. This study quantifies the effectiveness of management strategies, stipulated in logging codes-of-practice, at minimizing soil erosion and sediment runoff as clearing extent increases, using Kolombangara Island, Solomon Islands as a case study. Further, we examine the ability of erosion reduction strategies to maintain sustainable soil erosion rates and reduce potential downstream impacts to drinking water and environmental water quality. We found that increasing land clearing—even with best management strategies in place—led to unsustainable levels of soil erosion and significant impacts to downstream water quality, compromising the integrity of the land for future agricultural uses, consistent access to clean drinking water, and important downstream ecosystems. Our results demonstrate that in order to facilitate sustainable development, logging codes of practice must explicitly link their soil erosion reduction strategies to soil erosion and downstream water quality thresholds, otherwise they will be ineffective at minimizing the impacts of logging activities. The approach taken here to explicitly examine soil erosion rates and downstream water quality in relation to best management practices and increasing land clearing should be applied more broadly across a range of ecosystems to inform decision-making about the socioeconomic and environmental trade-offs associated with logging, and other types of land use change.
Graham, S. E.; Rodriguez, M.; Rogers, R. D.; Strauch, W.; Hernandez, D.; Demets, C.
2010-12-01
The May 28, 2009 M=7.3 Swan Islands earthquake off the north coast of Honduras caused significant damage in the northern part of the country, including seven deaths. This event, the largest in the region for several decades, ruptured the offshore continuation of the Motagua-Polochic fault system, whose 1976 earthquake (located several hundred kilometers to the southwest of the 2009 epicenter) caused more than 23,000 deaths in Central America and left homeless 20% of Guatemala’s population. We use elastic half-space modeling of coseismic offsets measured at 39 GPS stations in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala to better understand the slip source of the recent Swan Islands earthquake. Measured offsets range from .32 meters at a campaign site near the Motagua fault in northern Honduras to 4 millimeters at five continuous sites in El Salvador. Coulomb stress calculations based on the estimated distribution of coseismic slip will be presented and compared to earthquake focal mechanisms and aftershock locations determined from a portable seismic network that was installed in northern Honduras after the main shock. Implications of the Swan Islands rupture for the seismically hazardous Motagua-Polochic fault system will be described.
Human impacts quantification on the coastal landforms of Gran Canaria Island (Canary Islands)
Ferrer-Valero, Nicolás; Hernández-Calvento, Luis; Hernández-Cordero, Antonio I.
2017-06-01
The coastal areas of the Canary Islands are particularly sensitive to changes, both from a natural perspective and for their potential socio-economic implications. In this paper, the state of conservation of an insular coast is approached from a geomorphological point of view, considering recent changes induced by urban and tourism development. The analysis is applied to the coast of Gran Canaria, a small Atlantic island of volcanic origin, subject to a high degree of human pressure on its coastal areas, especially in recent decades. Currently, much of the economic activity of Gran Canaria is linked to mass tourism, associated with climatic and geomorphological features of the coast. This work is addressed through detailed mapping of coastal landforms across the island (256 km perimeter), corresponding to the period before the urban and tourism development (late 19th century for the island's capital, mid-20th century for the rest of the island) and today. The comparison between the coastal geomorphology before and after the urban and tourism development was established through four categories of human impacts, related to their conservation state: unaltered, altered, semi-destroyed and extinct. The results indicate that 43% of coastal landforms have been affected by human impacts, while 57% remain unaltered. The most affected are sedimentary landforms, namely coastal dunes, palaeo-dunes, beaches and wetlands. Geodiversity loss was also evaluated by applying two diversity indices. The coastal geodiversity loss by total or partial destruction of landforms is estimated at - 15.2%, according to Shannon index (H‧), while it increases to - 32.1% according to an index proposed in this paper. We conclude that the transformations of the coast of Gran Canaria induced by urban and tourism development have heavily affected the most singular coastal landforms (dunes, palaeo-dunes and wetlands), reducing significantly its geodiversity.
Alvarez-Berrios, N.; Parés-Ramos, I.; Gould, W. A.
2017-12-01
The effects of climate change threaten the world's most sensitive agroecosystems and our potential to reach agricultural productivity levels needed to feed a projected global population of 9.7 billion people by 2050. The US Caribbean agriculture is especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, due to the region's frequent exposure to extreme weather events, its geographic and economic scale, shortage of labor force, and rapid urban expansion. Currently, agriculture contributes less than 1% of the island's GDP, and over 80% of the food consumed in the region is imported. Despite low production levels, there is widespread interest in reinvigorating the agricultural sector's contribution to the economy. Local and federal institutions play a major role strengthening the agricultural sector by providing access to incentives, loans, and education for best management practices. However, many of these efforts conform to agricultural systems of larger scale of production and temperate environments. In this study, we explore agricultural incentives programs and their implication for highly diverse, small-scale, and subsistence operations that characterize agricultural systems in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. We analyze records and maps from the USDA Farm Service Agency, to typify participating farms, and to track changes in land cover, farm size, crop diversity, practices, and production levels resulting from their enrollment in such programs. Preliminary results indicate that many incentives programs are not tailored to agricultural tropical systems and prescribe alternatives that exclude traditional farming methods employed in small-scale and subsistence farms (e.g. crop insurance that benefit monoculture over intercropped systems). Moreover, many of the incentives are contradictory in their recommendations (e.g., crop insurance benefit sun-grown coffee production, while best agricultural practices recommend agroforestry with shade-grown coffee
Henry Solomon Wellcome: A philanthropist and a pioneer sponsor of medical research in the Sudan.
Adeel, Ahmed Awad A
2013-01-01
Henry Solomon Wellcome, the famous drug manufacturer had a fascinating association with the Sudan. Besides supporting tropical medicine research in this country, he established an extensive project in the Sudan that aimed at combining archeological excavations, philanthropy and social reform. This article is an archives-based account on this side of Wellcome's association with the Sudan. The article starts with Wellcome's early years in the American Midwest and the evolution of his career and his rise as a world-renowned drug manufacturer. After the battle of Omdurman, Wellcome visited Sudan in 1900 - 1901 where he offered to support the establishment of the research laboratories which later came to be known as the Wellcome Tropical Research Laboratories in Khartoum. He then became directly involved in the planning and running of extensive archeological excavations in the central Sudan. This project served as a field in which Wellcome found an outlet for his philanthropy. More than 4000 labourers were employed in Jebel Moya. Professional archeologists and anatomists were recruited by Wellcome to supervise the work, and all the requirements in terms of equipment were catered for. Wellcome devised a Savings Bank System whereby part of the earnings of each labourer were saved to him till the end of the season. He also introduced one of his innovations: aerial photography using box kite which was used for the first time in archeology. Wellcome made it a rule that no applicant should be turned away. The Camp Commandant had to find suitable work for each applicant, including the handicapped who were assigned to appropriate jobs like mending baskets or cutting grass for building huts. Wellcome's welfare work had a significant impact on the local inhabitants of Jebel Moya. Henry Solomon Wellcome, 1906. Oil painting by Hugh Goldwin Riviere. Credit: Wellcome Library.
Rull, Valentí; Cañellas-Boltà, Núria; Margalef, Olga; Sáez, Alberto; Pla-Rabes, Sergi; Giralt, Santiago
2015-10-01
Easter Island (Rapa Nui) has been considered an example of how societies can cause their own destruction through the overexploitation of natural resources. The flagship of this ecocidal paradigm is the supposed abrupt, island-wide deforestation that occurred about one millennium ago, a few centuries after the arrival of Polynesian settlers to the island. Other hypotheses attribute the forest demise to different causes such as fruit consumption by rats or aridity but the occurrence of an abrupt, island-wide deforestation during the last millennium has become paradigmatic in Rapa Nui. We argue that such a view can be questioned, as it is based on the palynological study of incomplete records, owing to the existence of major sedimentary gaps. Here, we present a multiproxy (pollen, charcoal and geochemistry) study of the Aroi core, the first gap-free sedimentary sequence of the last millennia obtained to date in the island. Our results show changing vegetation patterns under the action of either climatic or anthropogenic drivers, or both, depending on the time interval considered. Palm forests were present in Aroi until the 16th century, when deforestation started, coinciding with fire exacerbation -likely of human origin- and a dry climate. This is the latest deforestation event recorded so far in the island and took place roughly a century before European contact. In comparison to other Easter Island records, this record shows that deforestation was neither simultaneous nor proceeded at the same pace over the whole island. These findings suggest that Easter Island's deforestation was a heterogeneous process in space and time, and highlights the relevance of local catchment traits in the island's environmental and land management history.
Masterson, John P.; Fienen, Michael N.; Thieler, E. Robert; Gesch, Dean B.; Gutierrez, Benjamin T.; Plant, Nathaniel G.
2014-01-01
We used a numerical model to investigate how a barrier island groundwater system responds to increases of up to 60 cm in sea level. We found that a sea-level rise of 20 cm leads to substantial changes in the depth of the water table and the extent and depth of saltwater intrusion, which are key determinants in the establishment, distribution and succession of vegetation assemblages and habitat suitability in barrier islands ecosystems. In our simulations, increases in water-table height in areas with a shallow depth to water (or thin vadose zone) resulted in extensive groundwater inundation of land surface and a thinning of the underlying freshwater lens. We demonstrated the interdependence of the groundwater response to island morphology by evaluating changes at three sites. This interdependence can have a profound effect on ecosystem composition in these fragile coastal landscapes under long-term changing climatic conditions.
Novel Polynomial Basis with Fast Fourier Transform and Its Application to Reed-Solomon Erasure Codes
Lin, Sian-Jheng
2016-09-13
In this paper, we present a fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm over extension binary fields, where the polynomial is represented in a non-standard basis. The proposed Fourier-like transform requires O(h lg(h)) field operations, where h is the number of evaluation points. Based on the proposed Fourier-like algorithm, we then develop the encoding/ decoding algorithms for (n = 2m; k) Reed-Solomon erasure codes. The proposed encoding/erasure decoding algorithm requires O(n lg(n)), in both additive and multiplicative complexities. As the complexity leading factor is small, the proposed algorithms are advantageous in practical applications. Finally, the approaches to convert the basis between the monomial basis and the new basis are proposed.
Effects of DoD Engagements in Collaborative Humanitarian Assistance
2013-09-01
Deidre L. McLay Second Reader Robert F. Dell Chair, Department of Operations Research iv THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK v ABSTRACT...Kiribati, Laos, Malaysia , Maldives, Micronesia, Mongolia, Nepal, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
NONE
2000-12-01
Survey was conducted on the present situation of the introduction of photovoltaic power system and the potential installation in Pacific Island countries. As to the preset situation of the introduction of photovoltaic power system, systems installed in Melanesia were 1,699 sets and 529,450 Wp in capacity. Systems installed in Micronesia were 1,352 sets and 107,224 Wp in capacity. Systems installed in Polynesia were 2,942 sets and 1,171,420 Wp in capacity. By country, the number of those installed in French Polynesia was the largest, 1,749 sets. The number in each of the other countries was approximately 0-500 sets. The amount of the potential installation was calculated from the number of households with no electricity service and the average electricity consumption amount per household. As a result, the amount of the potential installation was 74,328 kWh/d in Papua New Guinea, 11,045 kWh/d in the Fiji Islands, 8,136 kWh/d in the Solomon Islands, 2,870 kWh/d in New Caledonia, and 2,708 kWh/d in Tonga. However, schools, remote health clinics, etc. were excluded in the calculation. Further, all the rural households with no electricity service were converted to those to be served by photovoltaic power system, but in some locations the use of hydroelectric power generation and diesel generator may be more appropriate. (NEDO)
An archaeological sequence for Codfish Island (Whenua Hou), Southland, New Zealand
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Smith, I.; Anderson, A.
2008-01-01
Recent archaeological investigations on Codfish Island, Southland, New Zealand are described. The form and contents of the archaeological deposits along with a series of radiocarbon dates provide the basis for outlining the sequence of human settlement on the island. Initial settlement between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries AD is proposed; there are no strong indications of later prehistoric settlement. The island was reoccupied during the first decade of the nineteenth century by sealing gangs, and from about 1825 to 1850 there was a substantial settlement of former sealers, Maori women and their descendants. Some implications for understanding the colonisation history of New Zealand are considered. (author). 20 refs., 8 figs., 1 tab
Complexity Analysis of Reed-Solomon Decoding over GF without Using Syndromes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Chen Ning
2008-01-01
Full Text Available Abstract There has been renewed interest in decoding Reed-Solomon (RS codes without using syndromes recently. In this paper, we investigate the complexity of syndromeless decoding, and compare it to that of syndrome-based decoding. Aiming to provide guidelines to practical applications, our complexity analysis focuses on RS codes over characteristic-2 fields, for which some multiplicative FFT techniques are not applicable. Due to moderate block lengths of RS codes in practice, our analysis is complete, without big notation. In addition to fast implementation using additive FFT techniques, we also consider direct implementation, which is still relevant for RS codes with moderate lengths. For high-rate RS codes, when compared to syndrome-based decoding algorithms, not only syndromeless decoding algorithms require more field operations regardless of implementation, but also decoder architectures based on their direct implementations have higher hardware costs and lower throughput. We also derive tighter bounds on the complexities of fast polynomial multiplications based on Cantor's approach and the fast extended Euclidean algorithm.
Mortality and cause-of-death reporting and analysis systems in seven pacific island countries
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Carter Karen L
2012-06-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Mortality statistics are essential for population health assessment. Despite limitations in data availability, Pacific Island Countries are considered to be in epidemiological transition, with non-communicable diseases increasingly contributing to premature adult mortality. To address rapidly changing health profiles, countries would require mortality statistics from routine death registration given their relatively small population sizes. Methods This paper uses a standard analytical framework to examine death registration systems in Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu. Results In all countries, legislation on death registration exists but does not necessarily reflect current practices. Health departments carry the bulk of responsibility for civil registration functions. Medical cause-of-death certificates are completed for at least hospital deaths in all countries. Overall, significantly more information is available than perceived or used. Use is primarily limited by poor understanding, lack of coordination, limited analytical skills, and insufficient technical resources. Conclusion Across the region, both registration and statistics systems need strengthening to improve the availability, completeness, and quality of data. Close interaction between health staff and local communities provides a good foundation for further improvements in death reporting. System strengthening activities must include a focus on clear assignment of responsibility, provision of appropriate authority to perform assigned tasks, and fostering ownership of processes and data to ensure sustained improvements. These human elements need to be embedded in a culture of data sharing and use. Lessons from this multi-country exercise would be applicable in other regions afflicted with similar issues of availability and quality of vital statistics.
Institutionalizing Security Force Assistance
2008-05-19
long before current conflicts developed. An Australian Armoured [sic] Corps Officer with experience in both the Solomon Islands and Iraq noted...and the national level policy. Despite some turnover and changes among the senior military and civilian leadership, the underlying tone has not
Half- coalescence of the m/n = 1 magnetic island in Tokamaks
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Bussac, M.N.; Pellat, R.
1986-01-01
We show that a configuration containing an m/n = 1 magnetic island is unstable to an ideal MHD mode. The expected nonlinear implications of this instability could explain the disruptive phase of the classical sawtooth behaviour of Tokamak plasmas
Paleogene stratigraphy of the Solomons Island, Maryland corehole
Gibson, Thomas G.; Bybell, Laurel M.
1994-01-01
Purge and trap capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometry is a rapid, precise, accurate method for determining volatile organic compounds in samples of surface water and ground water. The method can be used to determine 59 selected compounds, including chlorofluorohydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, and halogenated hydrocarbons. The volatile organic compounds are removed from the sample matrix by actively purging the sample with helium. The volatile organic compounds are collected onto a sorbant trap, thermally desorbed, separated by a Megabore gas chromatographic capillary column, ionized by electron impact, and determined by a full-scan quadrupole mass spectrometer. Compound identification is confirmed by the gas chromatographic retention time and by the resultant mass spectrum. Unknown compounds detected in a sample can be tentatively identified by comparing the unknown mass spectrum to reference spectra in the mass-spectra computer-data system library compiled by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Method detection limits for the selected compounds range from 0.05 to 0.2 microgram per liter. Recoveries for the majority of the selected compounds ranged from 80 to 120 percent, with relative standard deviations of less than 10 percent.
Holocene Evolution and Sediment Provenance of Horn Island, Mississippi, USA
Schulze, N.; Wallace, D. J.; Miner, M. D.
2017-12-01
As one of the most stable islands in the Mississippi-Alabama barrier island chain, Horn Island provides critical habitat, plays an important role in regulating estuarine conditions in the Mississippi Sound, and helps to attenuate wave energy and storm surge for the mainland. The provenance of sediments comprising Horn Island is largely unknown and has implications for mode of island genesis and evolution. The existing literature proposes that island chain formation was initiated by bar emergence from a subaqueous spit that grew laterally westward from Dauphin Island in the east. Decelerating sea level rise 4,000 to 5,000 years ago facilitated island formation. This proposed mode of formation is supported by a lone radiocarbon date from lagoonal sediments below Horn Island, suggesting the system formed after 4,615 ± 215 years BP. Rivers supplying suspended sediment include the Mississippi, Pascagoula, Mobile and Apalachicola, but the variable nature of their paths and sediment supply means that Horn Island has received differing amounts of sediment from these proximal rivers throughout the Holocene. To analyze the stratigraphy and sediment characteristics of Horn Island, we will utilize 24 vibracores (up to 6 meters in length) from offshore Horn Island that were obtained by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and 9 onshore drill cores (up to 28 meters in length) from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. High-resolution LiDAR data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2010 will be used to describe modern geomorphic barrier environments. We will employ down-core x-ray diffraction and x-ray fluorescence analyses to identify mineralogical and chemical signatures that potentially correspond to unique signatures of the fluvial sources of proximal rivers. New radiocarbon ages will be used to constrain the timing of island formation and alterations in sediment supply. High-resolution shallow geophysical data will provide
Revison of the Euagathis species (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Agathidinae) from Wallacea and Papua
Achterberg, van C.
2004-01-01
The species of the genus Euagathis Szépligeti, 1900 (Braconidae: Agathidinae) from Wallacea and Papua (including Northeast Australia and Solomon Islands) are revised and keyed. Thirty-three species are recognized, of which 11 are new: Euagathis brevitibialis spec. nov. from Papua New Guinea; E.
The genus Odontofroggatia Ishii (Hymenoptera Chalcidoidea, Pteromalidae Epichrysomallinae)
Wiebes, J.T.
1980-01-01
Descriptions of three new species of Odontofroggatia: corneri (type locality Penang, Malaya; also recorded from Perak, Malaya and from the Solomon Island Ysabel), galili (type locality Ein Geddi, Israel; also recorded from Perak, Malaya) and ishii (type locality Penang, Malaya) are given. For all
Priest, Mark; Almany, Glenn R.; Braun, Camrin D.; Hamilton, Richard J.; Lozano-Corté s, Diego; Saenz Agudelo, Pablo; Berumen, Michael L.
2014-01-01
individuals sampled from the Solomon Islands. The number of alleles ranged from two to ten. Evidence of linkage disequilibrium was found for only one pair of loci (Bm54 and Bm112). Two loci (Bm20 and Bm119) showed significant departure from Hardy
African Journals Online: Namibia
African Journals Online (AJOL)
... Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Self-Pay, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sint Maarten (Dutch part), Slovakia (Slovak Republic), Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Spain ...
African Journals Online: Slovakia (Slovak Republic)
African Journals Online (AJOL)
... Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Self-Pay, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sint Maarten (Dutch part), Slovakia (Slovak Republic), Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Spain ...
African Journals Online: Taiwan
African Journals Online (AJOL)
... Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Self-Pay, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sint Maarten (Dutch part), Slovakia (Slovak Republic), Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Spain ...
Cochrane, K.; Hobday, A. J.; Aswani, S.; Byfield, V.; Dutra, L.; Gasalla, M.; Haward, M.; Paytan, A.; Pecl, G.; Plaganyi-Lloyd, E.; Popova, K.; Salim, S. S.; Savage, C.; Sauer, W.; van Putten, I. E.; Visser, N.; Team, T G
2016-12-01
The GULLS project, `Global learning for local solutions: Reducing vulnerability of marine-dependent coastal communities' has been underway since October 2014. The project has been investigating six regional `hotspots': marine areas experiencing rapid warming. These are south-east Australia, Brazil, India, Solomon Islands, South Africa, and the Mozambique Channel and Madagascar. Rapid warming could be expected to have social, cultural and economic impacts that could affect these countries in different ways and may already be doing so. GULLS has focused on contributing to assessing and reducing the vulnerability of coastal communities and other stakeholders dependent on marine resources and to facilitate adaptation to climate change and variability through an integrated and trans-disciplinary approach. It includes participants from Australia, Brazil, India, Madagascar, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The research programme has been divided into six inter-linked components: ocean models, biological and ecological sensitivity analyses, system models, social vulnerability, policy mapping, and communication and education. This presentation will provide a brief overview of each of these components and describe the benefits that have resulted from the collaborative and transdisciplinary approach of GULLS. Following the standard vulnerability elements of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity, the vulnerabilities of coastal communities and other stakeholders dependent on marine resources in the five hotspots will be compared using a set of indicators derived and populated from results of the research programme. The implications of similarities and differences between the hotspots for adaptation planning and options will be described.
Geodetic Volcano Monitoring Research in Canary Islands: Recent Results
Fernandez, J.; Gonzalez, P. J.; Arjona, A.; Camacho, A. G.; Prieto, J. F.; Seco, A.; Tizzani, P.; Manzo, M. R.; Lanari, R.; Blanco, P.; Mallorqui, J. J.
2009-05-01
The Canarian Archipelago is an oceanic island volcanic chain with a long-standing history of volcanic activity (> 40 Ma). It is located off the NW coast of the African continent, lying over a transitional crust of the Atlantic African passive margin. At least 12 eruptions have been occurred on the islands of Lanzarote, Tenerife and La Palma in the last 500 years. Volcanism manifest predominantly as basaltic strombolian monogenetic activity (whole archipelago) and central felsic volcanism (active only in Tenerife Island). We concentrate our studies in the two most active islands, Tenerife and La Palma. In these islands, we tested different methodologies of geodetic monitoring systems. We use a combination of ground- and space-based techniques. At Tenerife Island, a differential interferometric study was performed to detect areas of deformation. DInSAR detected two clear areas of deformation, using this results a survey-based GPS network was designed and optimized to control those deformations and the rest of the island. Finally, using SBAS DInSAR results weak spatial long- wavelength subsidence signals has been detected. At La Palma, the first DInSAR analysis have not shown any clear deformation, so a first time series analysis was performed detecting a clear subsidence signal at Teneguia volcano, as for Tenerife a GPS network was designed and optimized taking into account stable and deforming areas. After several years of activities, geodetic results served to study ground deformations caused by a wide variety of sources, such as changes in groundwater levels, volcanic activity, volcano-tectonics, gravitational loading, etc. These results proof that a combination of ground-based and space-based techniques is suitable tool for geodetic volcano monitoring in Canary Islands. Finally, we would like to strength that those results could have serious implications on the continuous geodetic monitoring system design and implementation for the Canary Islands which is under
Impact of the urban heat island on residents’ energy consumption: a case study of Qingdao
Ding, Feng; Pang, Huaji; Guo, Wenhui
2018-02-01
This paper examines impact of urban heat island on residents’ energy consumption through comparative analyses of monthly air temperature data observed in Qingdao, Laoshan and Huangdao weather stations. The results show effect of urban heat island is close related with urbanization speed. Recently, effects of urban heat island of Laoshan and Huangdao exceed that of Qingdao, consistent with rapid urbanization in Laoshan and Huangdao. Enhanced effect of urban heat island induces surface air temperature to rise up, further increase electricity energy consumption for air conditioning use in summer and reduce coal consumption for residents heating in winter. Comparing change of residents’ energy consumption in summer and winter, increments in summer are less than reduction in winter. This implicates effect of urban heat island is more obvious in winter than in summer.
Regional approach to the management of fruit flies in the Pacific Island countries and territories
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Allwood, Allan
2000-01-01
Of the 4,500 species of fruit flies (family Tephritidae) world-wide, over 350 species occur in the Pacific region. Of these, at least 25 species are regarded as being of major economic importance to fruit and vegetable production and to international trade within the region. Recognition of the economic importance of fruit flies to horticultural production and trade increased markedly in the 1980s due to the imposition of restrictions on the use of ethylene dibromide (EDB) fumigation by trading partners. This treatment was the mainstay of quarantine treatments for fresh fruits and vegetables susceptible to fruit fly infestations and destined for markets in Australia, New Zealand, USA, Japan and Canada. Small, but economically significant, markets for fresh fruits and vegetables in the Pacific rim countries disappeared because alternative quarantine treatments for EDB fumigation were not available. Countries, such as Cook Islands, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, looked for modern technologies to overcome these constraints to export. As well as quarantine treatment technologies, procedures new to the Pacific Island countries, such as quality assurance systems and quarantine pathways, had to be included into the production and marketing chains. Quarantine surveillance, particularly for exotic fruit flies, became a prerequisite for trade in fresh fruits and vegetables. The emphasis on fruit flies also regionally increased because of the increasing number of incursions of exotic fruit flies into the region over the past 10-12 years. Outbreaks of exotic fruit flies in the Solomon Islands (1984-85), Nauru (1984-85), Northern Australia (1995 and 1998), New Zealand (1996), French Polynesia (1995-96), and Palau (1995-96) demonstrated the vulnerability of the Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) to these incursions. To address the increased threat of introduction of exotic fruit flies through increased tourism and regional travellers, a regional approach to the management
Reversible island nucleation and growth with anomalous diffusion
Sabbar, Ehsan H.; Amar, Jacques G.
2017-10-01
Motivated by recent experiments on submonolayer organic film growth with anomalous diffusion, a general rate-equation (RE) theory of submonolayer island nucleation and growth was developed (Amar and Semaan, 2016) [23], which takes into account the critical island-size i, island fractal dimension df, substrate dimension d, and diffusion exponent μ, and good agreement with simulations was found for the case of irreversible growth corresponding to a critical island-size i = 1 with d = 2 . However, since many experiments correspond to a critical island-size larger than 1, it is of interest to determine if the RE predictions also hold in the case of reversible island nucleation with anomalous diffusion. Here we present the results of simulations of submonolayer growth with i = 2 (d = 2) which were carried out for both the case of superdiffusion (μ > 1) and subdiffusion (μ deposited monomers, excellent agreement is obtained with the predictions of the generalized RE theory for the exponents χ(μ) and χ1(μ) which describe the dependence of the island and monomer densities at fixed coverage on deposition rate F. In addition, the exponents do not depend on whether or not monomers remain superdiffusive or are thermalized (e.g. undergo regular diffusion) after detaching from a dimer. However, we also find that, as was previously found in the case of irreversible growth, the exponent χ only approaches its asymptotic value logarithmically with increasing 1/F. This result has important implications for the interpretation of experiments. Good agreement with the RE theory is also found in the case of subdiffusion for point-islands. However, in the case of ramified islands with subdiffusion and i = 2 , the exponents are significantly higher than predicted due to the fact that monomer capture dominates in the nucleation regime. A modified RE theory which takes this into account is presented, and excellent agreement is found with our simulations.
Aggressive root pathogen Phellinus noxius and implications for western Pacific Islands
Sara M. Ashiglar; Phil G. Cannon; Ned B. Klopfenstein
2015-01-01
Phellinus noxius is an aggressive root rot pathogen affecting tropical and subtropical forests. Causing much damage in tropical Asia, Africa, Taiwan, Japan and the Pacific Islands, its wide host range encompasses more than 200 plant species representing 59 families (Ann et al. 2002). It can devastate agricultural plantations of tea, rubber, cocoa, avocados,...
Santa Cruz thermic plant islanding with local loads
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Nascimento, A R [Light Servicos de Eletricidade SA, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Gomes, Paulo; Almeida, Paulo C. de [ELETROBRAS, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Sereno, Marcos G [FURNAS, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)
1988-12-31
This work looks into the feasibility of implementing a scheme for the islanding of the Santa Cruz Thermic Plant ( Rio de janeiro State) with LIGHT`s (Electric power public utility) loads fed by the Santa Cruz-Jacarepagua trunk connection, considering presently-existing system problems relative to a significant frequency drop when a loss occurs of a large generation block and which causes the blockade scheme of the mentioned Plant to work, thus aggravating the frequency control still further. An analysis is made of such scheme implementation implications on the scheme for islanding a Santa Cruz 84 MW machine to provide supply to the auxiliary services of The Angra dos Reis nuclear plant presently existing in the system. 2 refs., 9 figs.
Elliott, Mark; MacDonald, Morgan C.; Chan, Terence; Kearton, Annika; Shields, Katherine F.; Bartram, Jamie K.; Hadwen, Wade L.
2017-11-01
Global water research and monitoring typically focus on the household's "main source of drinking-water." Use of multiple water sources to meet daily household needs has been noted in many developing countries but rarely quantified or reported in detail. We gathered self-reported data using a cross-sectional survey of 405 households in eight communities of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and five Solomon Islands (SI) communities. Over 90% of households used multiple sources, with differences in sources and uses between wet and dry seasons. Most RMI households had large rainwater tanks and rationed stored rainwater for drinking throughout the dry season, whereas most SI households collected rainwater in small pots, precluding storage across seasons. Use of a source for cooking was strongly positively correlated with use for drinking, whereas use for cooking was negatively correlated or uncorrelated with nonconsumptive uses (e.g., bathing). Dry season water uses implied greater risk of water-borne disease, with fewer (frequently zero) handwashing sources reported and more unimproved sources consumed. Use of multiple sources is fundamental to household water management and feasible to monitor using electronic survey tools. We contend that recognizing multiple water sources can greatly improve understanding of household-level and community-level climate change resilience, that use of multiple sources confounds health impact studies of water interventions, and that incorporating multiple sources into water supply interventions can yield heretofore-unrealized benefits. We propose that failure to consider multiple sources undermines the design and effectiveness of global water monitoring, data interpretation, implementation, policy, and research.
New Ages for Gorgona Island, Colombia: Implications for Previous Petrogenetic and Tectonic Models
Serrano Duran, L.; Lopez Martinez, M.; Ferrari, L.
2007-05-01
The Gorgona Island, located 50 km to the west of the Colombian Pacific coast, is the only known site with Phanerozoic komatiites in the world besides a key element in several reconstruction of the interaction between the Caribbean and the South America Plate. The Gorgona komatiites are part of an igneous complex that also includes picritic basalts and breccias, gabbros and peridotites (dunites and wherlites), and is covered by deformed mid-Eocene and younger underformed marine sediments. Datings of the igneous rocks were only performed on basalts and include an 86 Ma K-Ar age, an 88.9 ± 1.2 Ma weighted mean of four Ar-Ar ages and an 89.2 ± 5.2 Ma Re-Os isochron age from basalts. Gorgona rocks are affected by reverse faulting with a general eastward vergence. The island is the only subaerially exposed part of a NE elongated sliver accreted in a dextral transpressional regime to the South America continental margin between the Late Eocene and the Early Miocene. Petrologic studies found large spread in radiogenic isotopes and incompatible trace element ratios in Gorgona ultramafic rocks, which have been interpreted as requiring at least two different sources of: 1) a depleted mantle responsible for the generation of the komatiites and most basalts, and 2) an enriched mantle responsible for some rarer enriched basalts and picrites. Despite the large compositional and isotopic heterogeneity the most common interpretation is that the Gorgona ultramafic rocks are the product of a single mantle plume, although it has recently proposed that this would be a separate plume from that generating the bulk of the Caribbean plateau at ~90 Ma. Our new study focused on the geochronology of the Gorgona igneous suite as we consider that this tectonically and petrologically complex island is unlike to have such a narrow age range. We attempted to date eight samples of komatiites, basalts and gabbros by Ar-Ar laser step heating. For four of these samples we successfully obtain
Donato, D C; Kauffman, J B; Mackenzie, R A; Ainsworth, A; Pfleeger, A Z
2012-04-30
Management of forest carbon (C) stocks is an increasingly prominent land-use issue. Knowledge of carbon storage in tropical forests is improving, but regional variations are still poorly understood, and this constrains forest management and conservation efforts associated with carbon valuation mechanisms (e.g., carbon markets). This deficiency is especially pronounced in tropical islands and low-lying coastal areas where climate change impacts are expected to be among the most severe. This study presents the first field estimate of island-wide carbon storage in ecosystems of Oceania, with special attention to the regional role of coastal mangroves, which occur on islands and coastal zones throughout the tropics. On two island groups of Micronesia (Yap and Palau), we sampled all above- and belowground C pools, including soil and vegetation, in 24 sites distributed evenly among the three major vegetation structural types: mangroves, upland forests, and open savannas (generally on degraded lands formerly forested). Total C stocks were estimated to be 3.9 and 15.2 Tg C on Yap and Palau, respectively. Mangroves contained by far the largest per-hectare C pools (830-1218 Mg C ha(-1)), with deep organic-rich soils alone storing more C (631-754 Mg C ha(-1)) than all pools combined in upland systems. Despite covering just 12-13% of land area, mangroves accounted for 24-34% of total island C stocks. Savannas (156-203 Mg C ha(-1)) contained significantly lower C stocks than upland forests (375-437 Mg C ha(-1)), suggesting that reforesting savannas where appropriate has high potential for carbon-based funding to aid restoration objectives. For mangroves, these results demonstrate the key role of these systems within the broader context of C storage in island and coastal landscapes. Sustainable management of mangrove forests and their large C stocks is of high importance at the regional scale, and climate change mitigation programs such as REDD+ could play a large role in
Simulation and theory of island growth on stepped substrates
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Pownall, C.D.
1999-10-01
sizes up to i = 20 and through the development of a new semi-analytical simulation combining the results from rate equations with a Monte-Carlo based growth mechanism. The results from these simulations provide further evidence of extremely narrowly distributed gap and island sizes at high critical island size. These results have positive implications for the precision manufacture of nanoscale electronic components using self-organised growth techniques. (author)
EPA's Heat Island Effect Site provides information on heat islands, their impacts, mitigation strategies, related research, a directory of heat island reduction initiatives in U.S. communities, and EPA's Heat Island Reduction Program.
A 'Healthy Islands' framework for climate change in the Pacific.
McIver, Lachlan; Bowen, Kathryn; Hanna, Elizabeth; Iddings, Steven
2017-06-01
Small Pacific Island countries (PICs) are among the most vulnerable countries in the world to the anticipated detrimental health effects of climate change. The assessment of health vulnerabilities and planning adaptation strategies to minimize the impacts of climate change on health tests traditional health governance structures and depends on strong linkages and partnerships between actors involved in these vital processes. This article reviews the actors, processes and contexts of the climate change and health vulnerability assessment and adaptation planning project carried out by the World Health Organization and health sector partners in three island countries in the Micronesian region of the Pacific throughout 2010 and 2011: Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands and Palau. Despite their shared history and cultural characteristics, the findings and implications of this article are considered to have substantial relevance and potential application to other PICs. The modified 'Healthy Islands' framework for climate change and health adaptation presented in this article draws upon real-world experience and governance theory from both the health and climate change literature and, for the first time, places health systems adaptation within the vision for 'Healthy Islands' in the Pacific region. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Paris, Raphael; Wassmer, Patrick; Roger, Jean; Loevenbruck, Anne
2010-05-01
Significant earthquakes occur along the north Algerian and Carboneras faults (e.g. Djijelli 1865, Zemmouri 2003) and they may generate tsunamis in the western Mediterranean Basin and Alboran Sea, where tsunami hazard are poorly documented. The coast of southern Spain and Balearic Islands are densely populated, with touristic areas and important harbors. The 2003 event generated a small tsunami in the Balearic Islands (ships were moved by oscillations during more than 2 hours in some harbors). Reicherter et al. (2009) found evidences of two past tsunamis in lagoon of the Cabo de Gata (near Almeria), which they ascribed to the 1522 earthquake and an earlier event (islands revealed few evidences of past tsunamis. Thin sandy layers with marine bioclasts, possibly deposited by tsunamis, were found in three areas at altitudes always lower than 2m. Boulder clusters were found along the southern coast of Mallorca, but they could have been deposited by storms as well. These investigations are realized in the framework of the MAREMOTI project, funded by the French ANR and leaded by the CEA - DASE. Reicherter, K., Becker-Heidmann, P., 2009. Tsunami deposits in the western Mediterranean: remains of the 1522 Almeria earthquake? Geological Society Special Publications, London, 316, 217-235.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Barr, Norman B.; Ledezma, Lisa A.; Bartels, David W.; Garza, Daniel; Leblanc, Luc; Jose, Michael San; Rubinoff, Daniel; Geib, Scott M.; Fujita, Brian; Kerr, Peter; Hauser, Martin; Gaimari, Stephen
2015-01-01
Population genetic diversity of the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), on the Hawaiian islands of Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii (the Big Island) was estimated using DNA sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene. In total, 932 flies representing 36 sampled sites across the four islands were sequenced for a 1,500-bp fragment of the gene named the C1500 marker. Genetic variation was low on the Hawaiian Islands with >96% of flies having just two haplotypes: C1500- Haplotype 1 (63.2%) or C1500-Haplotype 2 (33.3%). The other 33 flies (3.5%) had haplotypes similar to the two dominant haplotypes. No population structure was detected among the islands or within islands. The two haplotypes were present at similar frequencies at each sample site, suggesting that flies on the various islands can be considered one population. Comparison of the Hawaiian data set to DNA sequences of 165 flies from outbreaks in California between 2006 and 2012 indicates that a single-source introduction pathway of Hawaiian origin cannot explain many of the flies in California. Hawaii, however, could not be excluded as a maternal source for 69 flies. There was no clear geographic association for Hawaiian or non-Hawaiian haplotypes in the Bay Area or Los Angeles Basin over time. This suggests that California experienced multiple, independent introductions from different sources. (author)
Evidence for coral island formation during rising sea level in the central Pacific Ocean
Kench, Paul S.; Owen, Susan D.; Ford, Murray R.
2014-02-01
The timing and evolution of Jabat Island, Marshall Islands, was investigated using morphostratigraphic analysis and radiometric dating. Results show the first evidence of island building in the Pacific during latter stages of Holocene sea level rise. A three-phase model of development of Jabat is presented. Initially, rapid accumulation of coarse sediments on Jabat occurred 4800-4000 years B.P. across a reef flat higher than present level, as sea level continued to rise. During the highstand, island margins and particularly the western margin accreted vertically to 2.5-3.0 m above contemporary ridge elevations. This accumulation phase was dominated by sand-size sediments. Phase three involved deposition of gravel ridges on the northern reef, as sea level fell to present position. Jabat has remained geomorphically stable for the past 2000 years. Findings suggest reef platforms may accommodate the oldest reef islands in atoll systems, which may have profound implications for questions of prehistoric migration through Pacific archipelagos.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Whittaker, Robert James; Fernández-Palacios, José María; Matthews, Thomas J.
2017-01-01
Islands provide classic model biological systems. We review how growing appreciation of geoenvironmental dynamics of marine islands has led to advances in island biogeographic theory accommodating both evolutionary and ecological phenomena. Recognition of distinct island geodynamics permits gener...
Marshall, Sean D G; Moore, Aubrey; Vaqalo, Maclean; Noble, Alasdair; Jackson, Trevor A
2017-10-01
The coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB; Oryctes rhinoceros) is a major pest of coconut and oil palm, but the discovery and release of Oryctes rhinoceros nudivirus (OrNV) in the 1960s and 70s suppressed the pest such that no new invasions of uninfested islands by CRB were reported for over 30years after implementation of the biocontrol programme. Surprisingly, a highly damaging outbreak was reported from Guam (2007), which could not be controlled by OrNV. Subsequently, new invasions have been reported from Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (2009); O'ahu, Hawai'i (2013); and Honiara, Solomon Islands (2015). We have found that all of these outbreaks have been caused by a previously unrecognized haplotype, CRB-G, which appears to be tolerant to OrNV. PCR analysis shows that OrNV is generally present at high incidence in established populations of CRB, but is generally absent from the invasive CRB-G populations. CRB-G from Guam was not susceptible to OrNV infection by oral delivery, but injection of the virus did cause mortality. Further genetic analysis shows that CRB populations can be divided into a number of clades that coincide with the endemic and invasive history of the beetle. Analysis suggests that CRB-G originated in Asia, though the precise location remains to be discovered. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Tenarife Island, Canary Island Archipelago, Atlantic Ocean
1991-01-01
Tenarife Island is one of the most volcanically active of the Canary Island archipelago, Atlantic Ocean, just off the NW coast of Africa, (28.5N, 16.5W). The old central caldera, nearly filled in by successive volcanic activity culminating in two stratocones. From those two peaks, a line of smaller cinder cones extend to the point of the island. Extensive gullies dissect the west side of the island and some forests still remain on the east side.
Kaljee, Linda M.; Pach, Alfred; Thriemer, Kamala; Ley, Benedikt; Ali, Said M.; Jiddawi, Mohamed; Puri, Mahesh; von Seidlein, Lorenz; Deen, Jacqueline; Ochiai, Leon; Wierzba, Thomas; Clemens, John
2013-01-01
Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi (S. Typhi) was estimated to cause over 200,000 deaths and more than 21 million illnesses worldwide, including over 400,000 illnesses in Africa. The current study was conducted in four villages on Pemba Island, Zanzibar, in 2010. We present data on policy makers', health administrators', and village residents' and leaders' perceptions of typhoid fever, and hypothetical and actual health care use among village residents for typhoid fever. Qualitative data provided descriptions of home-based treatment practices and use of western pharmaceuticals, and actual healthcare use for culture-confirmed typhoid fever. Survey data indicate health facility use was associated with gender, education, residency, and perceptions of severity for symptoms associated with typhoid fever. Data have implications for education of policy makers and health administrators, design and implementation of surveillance studies, and community-based interventions to prevent disease outbreaks, decrease risks of complications, and provide information about disease recognition, diagnosis, and treatment. PMID:23208887
Environmental Displacements: The Case of Small Island States
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Marina R. Martins Mattar
2012-09-01
Full Text Available The human displacement caused by adverse weather conditions is, and has been for a long time, a natural strategy to adapt to environmental changes. However, the frequency of natural disasters and the negative impact of climate change have increased significantly affecting a growing number of people. Internal and external tensions caused by large-scale displacements, conflicts generated by resource scarcity, increased spread of diseases and geopolitical reordering are among the consequences linked to this phenomenon. The case of the small island nations that will be submerged by the sea level rise is an extreme example that raises fascinating questions. This article aims at analyzing the links of climate change on the dynamics of migration and exploring legal and political implications and possible solutions, in particular, for the populations from small island nations.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Olivier Cassar
2017-01-01
Full Text Available Human T-Lymphotropic Virus type 1 (HTLV-1 is endemic among people of Melanesian descent in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, and in Indigenous populations from Central Australia. Molecular studies revealed that these Australo-Melanesian strains constitute the highly divergent HTLV-1c subtype. New Caledonia is a French overseas territory located in the Southwest Pacific Ocean. HTLV-1 situation is poorly documented in New Caledonia and the molecular epidemiology of HTLV-1 infection remains unknown.Studying 500 older adults Melanesian natives from New Caledonia, we aim to evaluate the HTLV-1 seroprevalence and to molecularly characterize HTLV-1 proviral strains.Plasma from 262 men and 238 females (age range: 60-96 years old, mean age: 70.5 were screened for anti-HTLV-1 antibodies by particle agglutination (PA and indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA. Serological confirmation was obtained using Western blot assay. DNAs were extracted from peripheral blood buffy coat of HTLV-1 seropositive individuals, and subjected to four series of PCR (LTR-gag; pro-pol; pol-env and tax-LTR. Primers were designed from highly common conserved regions of the major HTLV-1 subtypes to characterize the entire HTLV-1 proviral genome.Among 500 samples, 3 were PA and IFA positive. The overall seroprevalence was 0.6%. The DNA sample from 1 New Caledonian woman (NCP201 was found positive by PCR and the complete HTLV-1 proviral genome (9,033-bp was obtained. The full-length HTLV-1 genomic sequence from a native woman from Vanuatu (EM5, obtained in the frame of our previous studies, was also characterized. Both sequences belonged to the HTLV-1c Australo-Melanesian subtype. The NCP201 strain exhibited 0.3% nucleotide divergence with the EM5 strain from Vanuatu. Furthermore, divergence reached 1.1% to 2.9% with the Solomon and Australian sequences respectively. Phylogenetic analyses on a 522-bp-long fragment of the gp21-env gene showed the existence of two major
Tokarz, Rafal; Sameroff, Stephen; Leon, Maria Sanchez; Jain, Komal; Lipkin, W Ian
2014-02-11
Ticks are implicated as hosts to a wide range of animal and human pathogens. The full range of microbes harbored by ticks has not yet been fully explored. As part of a viral surveillance and discovery project in arthropods, we used unbiased high-throughput sequencing to examine viromes of ticks collected on Long Island, New York in 2013. We detected and sequenced the complete genome of a novel rhabdovirus originating from a pool of Amblyomma americanum ticks. This virus, which we provisionally name Long Island tick rhabdovirus, is distantly related to Moussa virus from Africa. The Long Island tick rhabdovirus may represent a novel species within family Rhabdoviridae.
The genus Podocarpus in the Netherlands Indies
Wasscher, J.
1941-01-01
When delimiting the area to be dealt with in this paper, it appeared, on the one hand, desirable to include some adjacent regions, such as the Malay Peninsula, North Borneo, Eastern New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, and the Solomon Islands; on the other hand the war made it impossible to obtain
NN,
1963-01-01
Walker, F.S.: The forests of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate. A new printing of this book, which never received a very wide distribution, appeared in 1962. It gives a general description of the vegetation, based on 18 months of survey and detailed notes on about 300 species collected by
2010-10-06
....pdf . Comment 6: No action should be taken by NMFS before careful and complete analysis of the impacts... tribal consultation and in March 2010 letters from Shishmaref, King Island, Saint Michael, Solomon, Koyuk... at http://www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/tc/unalakleet/report0210.pdf . A Statement of the Extent To...
1992-01-01
This easterly looking view shows the seven major volcanic islands of the Canary Island chain (28.0N, 16.5W) and offers a unique view of the islands that have become a frequent vacation spot for Europeans. The northwest coastline of Africa, (Morocco and Western Sahara), is visible in the background. Frequently, these islands create an impact on local weather (cloud formations) and ocean currents (island wakes) as seen in this photo.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Fielden, D.; Jacques, J.K.
1997-01-01
Since the first oil shock in 1973, many small islands have not assessed the strategic implications of dependence on oil imports, and have not opted to interfere in their own energy markets. This paper considers the notion of different levels of energy service delivery (by concentrating on local suitability), based on research relating to the Channel Island of Guernsey, and shows that significant energy savings are available. For this energy service delivery approach to be put into effect this paper suggests that a move away from the present laissez-faire supply-based stance will be necessary. Distributed cogeneration is considered in a case situation (using techniques that no small island currently employs) and shows strategic energy conservation solutions to questions no one has yet seriously asked. (author)
Gibbs, James P; Hunter, Elizabeth A; Shoemaker, Kevin T; Tapia, Washington H; Cayot, Linda J
2014-01-01
Restoration of extirpated species via captive breeding has typically relied on population viability as the primary criterion for evaluating success. This criterion is inadequate when species reintroduction is undertaken to restore ecological functions and interactions. Herein we report on the demographic and ecological outcomes of a five-decade-long population restoration program for a critically endangered species of "ecosystem engineer": the endemic Española giant Galapagos tortoise (Chelonoidis hoodensis). Our analysis of complementary datasets on tortoise demography and movement, tortoise-plant interactions and Española Island's vegetation history indicated that the repatriated tortoise population is secure from a strictly demographic perspective: about half of tortoises released on the island since 1975 were still alive in 2007, in situ reproduction is now significant, and future extinction risk is low with or without continued repatriation. Declining survival rates, somatic growth rates, and body condition of repatriates suggests, however, that resources for continued population growth are increasingly limited. Soil stable carbon isotope analyses indicated a pronounced shift toward woody plants in the recent history of the island's plant community, likely a legacy of changes in competitive relations between woody and herbaceous plants induced by now-eradicated feral goats and prolonged absence of tortoises. Woody plants are of concern because they block tortoise movement and hinder recruitment of cactus--a critical resource for tortoises. Tortoises restrict themselves to remnant cactus patches and areas of low woody plant density in the center of the island despite an apparent capacity to colonize a far greater range, likely because of a lack of cactus elsewhere on the island. We conclude that ecosystem-level criteria for success of species reintroduction efforts take much longer to achieve than population-level criteria; moreover, reinstatement of
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
James P Gibbs
Full Text Available Restoration of extirpated species via captive breeding has typically relied on population viability as the primary criterion for evaluating success. This criterion is inadequate when species reintroduction is undertaken to restore ecological functions and interactions. Herein we report on the demographic and ecological outcomes of a five-decade-long population restoration program for a critically endangered species of "ecosystem engineer": the endemic Española giant Galapagos tortoise (Chelonoidis hoodensis. Our analysis of complementary datasets on tortoise demography and movement, tortoise-plant interactions and Española Island's vegetation history indicated that the repatriated tortoise population is secure from a strictly demographic perspective: about half of tortoises released on the island since 1975 were still alive in 2007, in situ reproduction is now significant, and future extinction risk is low with or without continued repatriation. Declining survival rates, somatic growth rates, and body condition of repatriates suggests, however, that resources for continued population growth are increasingly limited. Soil stable carbon isotope analyses indicated a pronounced shift toward woody plants in the recent history of the island's plant community, likely a legacy of changes in competitive relations between woody and herbaceous plants induced by now-eradicated feral goats and prolonged absence of tortoises. Woody plants are of concern because they block tortoise movement and hinder recruitment of cactus--a critical resource for tortoises. Tortoises restrict themselves to remnant cactus patches and areas of low woody plant density in the center of the island despite an apparent capacity to colonize a far greater range, likely because of a lack of cactus elsewhere on the island. We conclude that ecosystem-level criteria for success of species reintroduction efforts take much longer to achieve than population-level criteria; moreover
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Eva Yovita Dwi Utami
2016-11-01
Full Text Available Kode Reed-Solomon (RS dan kode Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem (BCH merupakan kode pengoreksi error yang termasuk dalam jenis kode blok siklis. Kode pengoreksi error diperlukan pada sistem komunikasi untuk memperkecil error pada informasi yang dikirimkan. Dalam makalah ini, disajikan hasil penelitian kinerja BER sistem komunikasi yang menggunakan kode RS, kode BCH, dan sistem yang tidak menggunakan kode RS dan kode BCH, menggunakan modulasi 32-FSK pada kanal Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN, Rayleigh dan Rician. Kemampuan memperkecil error diukur menggunakan nilai Bit Error Rate (BER yang dihasilkan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kode RS seiring dengan penambahan nilai SNR, menurunkan nilai BER yang lebih curam bila dibandingkan sistem dengan kode BCH. Sedangkan kode BCH memberikan keunggulan saat SNR bernilai kecil, memiliki BER lebih baik daripada sistem dengan kode RS.
Pinter, Nicholas; Hardiman, Mark; Scott, Andrew C.; Anderson, R. Scott
2018-01-01
Schumann et al. (2016) presented a field assessment of late Pleistocene to Holocene fluvial sediments preserved in the valleys of Santa Rosa Island, California. This is a rigorous study, based on stratigraphic descriptions of 54 sections and numerous radiocarbon ages. The paper makes important contributions that we would like to highlight, but other parts of the paper rely upon overly simplistic interpretations that lead to misleading conclusions. In one case, a conclusion of the Schumann et al. paper has important management implications for Santa Rosa Island and similar locations, compelling us to discuss and qualify this conclusion.
Complexity Analysis of Reed-Solomon Decoding over GF(2m without Using Syndromes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zhiyuan Yan
2008-06-01
Full Text Available There has been renewed interest in decoding Reed-Solomon (RS codes without using syndromes recently. In this paper, we investigate the complexity of syndromeless decoding, and compare it to that of syndrome-based decoding. Aiming to provide guidelines to practical applications, our complexity analysis focuses on RS codes over characteristic-2 fields, for which some multiplicative FFT techniques are not applicable. Due to moderate block lengths of RS codes in practice, our analysis is complete, without big O notation. In addition to fast implementation using additive FFT techniques, we also consider direct implementation, which is still relevant for RS codes with moderate lengths. For high-rate RS codes, when compared to syndrome-based decoding algorithms, not only syndromeless decoding algorithms require more field operations regardless of implementation, but also decoder architectures based on their direct implementations have higher hardware costs and lower throughput. We also derive tighter bounds on the complexities of fast polynomial multiplications based on Cantor's approach and the fast extended Euclidean algorithm.
Mechanisms driving variability in the ocean forcing of Pine Island Glacier.
Webber, Benjamin G M; Heywood, Karen J; Stevens, David P; Dutrieux, Pierre; Abrahamsen, E Povl; Jenkins, Adrian; Jacobs, Stanley S; Ha, Ho Kyung; Lee, Sang Hoon; Kim, Tae Wan
2017-02-17
Pine Island Glacier (PIG) terminates in a rapidly melting ice shelf, and ocean circulation and temperature are implicated in the retreat and growing contribution to sea level rise of PIG and nearby glaciers. However, the variability of the ocean forcing of PIG has been poorly constrained due to a lack of multi-year observations. Here we show, using a unique record close to the Pine Island Ice Shelf (PIIS), that there is considerable oceanic variability at seasonal and interannual timescales, including a pronounced cold period from October 2011 to May 2013. This variability can be largely explained by two processes: cumulative ocean surface heat fluxes and sea ice formation close to PIIS; and interannual reversals in ocean currents and associated heat transport within Pine Island Bay, driven by a combination of local and remote forcing. Local atmospheric forcing therefore plays an important role in driving oceanic variability close to PIIS.
Kupiainen, Jari
2006-01-01
In the Western Pacific, the People First Network project has since 2001 been building a growing network of rural email stations across the conflict-ridden Solomon Islands. These stations are based on robust technology and consist of solar panels, short-wave radios and compatible modems, laptop computers and printers to provide email communication…
Lingam, Govinda Ishwar; Lingam, Narsamma
2016-01-01
The study explored challenges faced by school leaders in the Pacific nation of Solomon Islands in school-based assessment, and the adequacy of an assessment course to prepare them. A questionnaire including both open and closed-ended questions elicited relevant data from the school leaders. Modelling best practices in school-based assessment was…
Decoding of DBEC-TBED Reed-Solomon codes. [Double-Byte-Error-Correcting, Triple-Byte-Error-Detecting
Deng, Robert H.; Costello, Daniel J., Jr.
1987-01-01
A problem in designing semiconductor memories is to provide some measure of error control without requiring excessive coding overhead or decoding time. In LSI and VLSI technology, memories are often organized on a multiple bit (or byte) per chip basis. For example, some 256 K bit DRAM's are organized in 32 K x 8 bit-bytes. Byte-oriented codes such as Reed-Solomon (RS) codes can provide efficient low overhead error control for such memories. However, the standard iterative algorithm for decoding RS codes is too slow for these applications. The paper presents a special decoding technique for double-byte-error-correcting, triple-byte-error-detecting RS codes which is capable of high-speed operation. This technique is designed to find the error locations and the error values directly from the syndrome without having to use the iterative algorithm to find the error locator polynomial.
2014-01-01
Background Ticks are implicated as hosts to a wide range of animal and human pathogens. The full range of microbes harbored by ticks has not yet been fully explored. Methods As part of a viral surveillance and discovery project in arthropods, we used unbiased high-throughput sequencing to examine viromes of ticks collected on Long Island, New York in 2013. Results We detected and sequenced the complete genome of a novel rhabdovirus originating from a pool of Amblyomma americanum ticks. This virus, which we provisionally name Long Island tick rhabdovirus, is distantly related to Moussa virus from Africa. Conclusions The Long Island tick rhabdovirus may represent a novel species within family Rhabdoviridae. PMID:24517260
Bioactive compounds in bee propolis for drug discovery
Kumazawa, Shigenori
2018-02-01
Propolis is a natural resinous product collected by honeybees. It has been used in folk medicine since ancient times because of its numerous biological properties such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory activities. Studies of the chemical composition of propolis have demonstrated that its compositional variability depends on the source plant. We have studied the chemistry and biological activities of various types of propolis from Apis mellifera. The studies of propolis collected in Brazil, Japan, Korea, the Solomon Island and Senegal are summarized. Brazilian green propolis contained high levels of artepillin C (3,5-diprenyl-4-hydroxycinnamic acid), which has a potent apoptosis-inducing agent as well as an angiogenesis inhibitor. The several phenolic compounds with potent antibacterial activity in Brazilian red propolis were found. The propolis from Okinawa, Japan, contained some prenylflavonoids with antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. The propolis from the Solomon Islands and Hawaii have the same compounds as Okinawan propolis. The propolis from Jeju Island, Korea had the promotion effect on nerve growth factor (NGF) secretion in human glioblastoma T98G cells. The compounds isolated from Senegalese propolis showed high anti-inflammatory activity due to their inhibition of the liposaccharide (LPS)-induced expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS).
Integrating Ecosystem Services and Eco-Security to Assess Sustainable Development in Liuqiu Island
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Han-Shen Chen
2017-06-01
Full Text Available Developing sustainable island tourism must be thoroughly evaluated in consideration of ecological, economic, and social factors on account of the fragility of island ecosystems. This study evaluated the ecological footprint (EF and ecological capacity of Liuqiu Island from 2010 to 2015 using the EF model, establishing an indicator to estimate the value of ecosystem service and eco-security. The empirical results include: (1 the overall value of ecosystem service on Liuqiu Island increased from US$3.75 million in 2010 to US$5.11 million in 2015; (2 the total per capita EF considerably increased from 0.5640 gha/person in 2010 to 4.0845 gha/person in 2015; and (3 the ecological footprint index increased from 0.30 in 2010 to 2.28 in 2015. These findings indicate that island tourism recreational zones gradually increased the pressure on its ecosystem, reduced the eco-security level, and severely damaged the environment, thereby threatening the function and structure of the entire ecosystem. The innovations and contributions of this study is integrating ecological footprint and ecosystem services valuation provide insights into sustainability of an island. The theoretical and practical implications identified in this study should contribute to reducing the gap between research and practice.
Battle Experience; Solomon Islands Actions Information. Bulletin Number 4
1942-11-01
IS SECONDARY TO TOR- PEDOES . THE FOUR DESTROYERS IN THE REAR COULD HAVE BEEN MORE EFFECTIVELY EMPLOYED IN THE VAN CONCENTRATED WITH THE OTHER...PROPERLY. THEY SHOULD BE USED OFFENSIVELY. THEIR TOR PEDOES ARE THEIR PRIMARY WEAPONS AND SHOULD BE USED PROPERLY AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY. Shortly after...is out in guns #4 and #5 but they still have power and battle lighting. All safety links on the torpedoes failed. Three torpedoes slid out of #1
Defying Definition: Rethinking Education Aid Relationships in Solomon Islands
Spratt, Rebecca
2016-01-01
The discourse of aid--its language, structures and practice--powerfully ascribes roles and attributes to those involved in aid relationships such as developed/developing, partner, recipient/donor etcetera. This discourse is driven by a complex system of diverse and often competing ideas, values, actors and relationships, within which individuals…
Foundation Investigation for Ground Based Radar Project-Kwajalein Island, Marshall Islands
1990-04-01
iL_ COPY MISCELLANEOUS PAPER GL-90-5 i iFOUNDATION INVESTIGATION FOR GROUND BASED RADAR PROJECT--KWAJALEIN ISLAND, MARSHALL ISLANDS by Donald E...C!assification) Foundatioa Investigation for Ground Based Radar Project -- Kwajalein Island, Marshall Islands 12. PERSONAL AUTHOR(S) Yule, Donald E...investigation for the Ground Based Radar Project -- Kwajalein Island, Marshall Islands , are presented.- eophysical tests comprised of surface refrac- tion
Population Turnover in Remote Oceania Shortly after Initial Settlement.
Lipson, Mark; Skoglund, Pontus; Spriggs, Matthew; Valentin, Frederique; Bedford, Stuart; Shing, Richard; Buckley, Hallie; Phillip, Iarawai; Ward, Graeme K; Mallick, Swapan; Rohland, Nadin; Broomandkhoshbacht, Nasreen; Cheronet, Olivia; Ferry, Matthew; Harper, Thomas K; Michel, Megan; Oppenheimer, Jonas; Sirak, Kendra; Stewardson, Kristin; Auckland, Kathryn; Hill, Adrian V S; Maitland, Kathryn; Oppenheimer, Stephen J; Parks, Tom; Robson, Kathryn; Williams, Thomas N; Kennett, Douglas J; Mentzer, Alexander J; Pinhasi, Ron; Reich, David
2018-04-02
Ancient DNA from Vanuatu and Tonga dating to about 2,900-2,600 years ago (before present, BP) has revealed that the "First Remote Oceanians" associated with the Lapita archaeological culture were directly descended from the population that, beginning around 5000 BP, spread Austronesian languages from Taiwan to the Philippines, western Melanesia, and eventually Remote Oceania. Thus, ancestors of the First Remote Oceanians must have passed by the Papuan-ancestry populations they encountered in New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, and the Solomon Islands with minimal admixture [1]. However, all present-day populations in Near and Remote Oceania harbor >25% Papuan ancestry, implying that additional eastward migration must have occurred. We generated genome-wide data for 14 ancient individuals from Efate and Epi Islands in Vanuatu from 2900-150 BP, as well as 185 present-day individuals from 18 islands. We find that people of almost entirely Papuan ancestry arrived in Vanuatu by around 2300 BP, most likely reflecting migrations a few hundred years earlier at the end of the Lapita period, when there is also evidence of changes in skeletal morphology and cessation of long-distance trade between Near and Remote Oceania [2, 3]. Papuan ancestry was subsequently diluted through admixture but remains at least 80%-90% in most islands. Through a fine-grained analysis of ancestry profiles, we show that the Papuan ancestry in Vanuatu derives from the Bismarck Archipelago rather than the geographically closer Solomon Islands. However, the Papuan ancestry in Polynesia-the most remote Pacific islands-derives from different sources, documenting a third stream of migration from Near to Remote Oceania. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Tourism as the development driver of Easter Island: the key role of resident perceptions
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Eugenio Figueroa B.
2016-05-01
Full Text Available Residents’ attitudes concerning tourism evolution and impacts in tourism host localities are a crucial determinant of the ability of the tourism sector to develop. Easter Island has recently experienced a tremendous tourism growth, which has nurtured expectations that the tourist sector could become the economic driver of the island. Using fieldwork, interviews and surveys, we investigate residents’ perceptions towards tourism and analyse their implications for the sector’s future development. The survey results show that 96% of residents believe that tourism is important or very important for the island’s economy. We conclude that while residents of Easter Island are aware of tourism’s negative impacts, they support the tourism sector, because they recognize it as the main future driver of the island’s economy. However, due to the current environmental threats and the serious governance problems of the island, it is not clear if further expansion of the tourism sector will be sustainable.
Reconnaissance Survey of the 29 September 2009 Tsunami on Tutuila Island, American Samoa
Fritz, H. M.; Borrero, J. C.; Okal, E.; Synolakis, C.; Weiss, R.; Jaffe, B. E.; Lynett, P. J.; Titov, V. V.; Foteinis, S.; Chan, I.; Liu, P.
2009-12-01
On 29 September, 2009 a magnitude Mw 8.1 earthquake occurred 200 km southwest of American Samoa’s Capital of Pago Pago and triggered a tsunami which caused substantial damage and loss of life in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga. The most recent estimate is that the tsunami caused 189 fatalities, including 34 in American Samoa. This is the highest tsunami death toll on US territory since the 1964 great Alaskan earthquake and tsunami. PTWC responded and issued warnings soon after the earthquake but, because the tsunami arrived within 15 minutes at many locations, was too late to trigger evacuations. Fortunately, the people of Samoa knew to go to high ground after an earthquake because of education and tsunami evacuation exercises initiated throughout the South Pacific after a similar magnitude earthquake and tsunami struck the nearby Solomon Islands in 2007. A multi-disciplinary reconnaissance survey team was deployed within days of the event to document flow depths, runup heights, inundation distances, sediment deposition, damage patterns at various scales, and performance of the man-made infrastructure and impact on the natural environment. The 4 to 11 October 2009 ITST circled American Samoa’s main island Tutuila and the small nearby island of Aunu’u. The American Samoa survey data includes nearly 200 runup and flow depth measurements on Tutuila Island. The tsunami impact peaked with maximum runup exceeding 17 m at Poloa located 1.5 km northeast of Cape Taputapu marking Tutuila’s west tip. A significant variation in tsunami impact was observed on Tutuila. The tsunami runup reached 12 m at Fagasa near the center of the Tutuila’s north coast and 9 m at Tula near Cape Matatula at the east end. Pago Pago, which is near the center of the south coast, represents an unfortunate example of a village and harbor that was located for protection from storm waves but is vulnerable to tsunami waves. The flow patterns inside Pago Pago harbor were characterized based on
Assessing the Social Carrying Capacity of Diving Sites in Mabul Island, Malaysia
Zhang, Liye; Chung, ShanShan
2015-12-01
This study has explored social carrying capacity of an underwater environment based on divers' perceived crowding. Two dimensions were assessed, the number of divers seen and the proximity of diver. Data were obtained from a survey of 132 divers dived in Mabul Island, Malaysia during 2013-2014. Photographs depicting four levels of diver number and four levels of diver proximity in different combinations were shown to the respondents for assessing their acceptability. Between the two variables, the "number of divers" was the most influential factor for divers' perceived crowding. Divers would start to feel unacceptably crowded if 8-9 divers were visible to them at one time. Based on this, it is likely that the use level of diving sites in Mabul Island has already exceeded its social carrying capacity. Implications for future research and diving tourism management for Mabul Island are also discussed in the paper.
Assessing the Social Carrying Capacity of Diving Sites in Mabul Island, Malaysia.
Zhang, Liye; Chung, ShanShan
2015-12-01
This study has explored social carrying capacity of an underwater environment based on divers' perceived crowding. Two dimensions were assessed, the number of divers seen and the proximity of diver. Data were obtained from a survey of 132 divers dived in Mabul Island, Malaysia during 2013-2014. Photographs depicting four levels of diver number and four levels of diver proximity in different combinations were shown to the respondents for assessing their acceptability. Between the two variables, the "number of divers" was the most influential factor for divers' perceived crowding. Divers would start to feel unacceptably crowded if 8-9 divers were visible to them at one time. Based on this, it is likely that the use level of diving sites in Mabul Island has already exceeded its social carrying capacity. Implications for future research and diving tourism management for Mabul Island are also discussed in the paper.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Arianne Reis
2013-11-01
Full Text Available This paper compares and contrasts the management systems and governance structures of two island sites with national and international World Heritage recognition: Lord Howe Island (off the mid-east coast of Australia and Fernando de Noronha (off the north-east coast of Brazil. Using historical and contemporary references, the paper explores the manner in which two distinct approaches to governance are implicated in the daily living of community members, and considers their socioeconomic activities. We use the case of tourism and World Heritage management as examples of the complexities involved in the different forms of governance structures adopted by these two small oceanic islands: similar in nature and official status, but significantly different when the outcomes of their governance practices are analysed. In the final part of the paper, we suggest mechanisms and approaches that can promote sustainable local engagement with island issues.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sia Rosalind Juo Ling
2017-01-01
Full Text Available Haidian Island, which situated at the Northern part of Haikou City of Hainan Province, is an island within a city. Haidian Island is unique in term of it's development which centered around an university, the Hainan University, besides some others important landmarks, such as Haikou city hospital, Baishamen municipal park, Golf Driving Range etc. All commercials, residential, recreational activities etc are planned to serve Hainan University in particular. The study, taking ‘Haidian Island Area Development Control Plan’ as case study, would like to look into the importance of transportation and traffic planning. The study used observation, site investigation and traffic study methods to gather data needed. Firstly the study analyzed the current state of transportation system for Haidian Island in accordance to the Island Development Control plan and Haikou master plan and identified the problems. Then, the study made some recommendations for these problems. The study highlighted the important of non-motorized, cycling and walking as the main transportation system for an education-based island and as supportive to domestic tourism activities found. The transportation planning suggested by the study took ‘green and low-carbon’ approaches considered the role of University as the core activity in the island.
Public sector refraction and spectacle dispensing in low-resource countries of the Western Pacific.
Ramke, Jacqueline; du Toit, Rènée; Palagyi, Anna; Williams, Carmel; Brian, Garry
2008-05-01
Given that uncorrected refractive error is a frequent cause of vision impairment, and that there is a high unmet need for spectacles, an appraisal of public sector arrangements for the correction of refractive error was conducted in eight Pacific Island countries. Mixed methods (questionnaire and semi-structured interviews) were used to collect information from eye care personnel (from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu) attending a regional eye health workshop in 2005. Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu had Vision 2020 eye care plans that included refraction services, but not spectacle provision. There was wide variation in public sector spectacle dispensing services, but, except in Samoa, ready-made spectacles and a full cost recovery pricing strategy were the mainstay. There were no systems for the registration of personnel, nor guidelines for clinical or systems management. The refraction staff to population ratio varied considerably. Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu had the best coverage by services, either fixed or outreach. Most services had little promotional activity or community engagement. To be successful, it would seem that public sector refraction services should answer a real and perceived need, fit within prevailing policy and legislation, value, train, retain and equip employees, be well managed, be accessible and affordable, be responsive to consumers, and provide ongoing good quality outcomes. To this end, a checklist to aid the initiation and maintenance of refraction and spectacle systems in low-resource countries has been constructed.
Should there be an Australian Army Association?
2006-12-15
subscriptions, private donations , and the commercial sales of specialized merchandise. It also determined that a lifetime individual membership would be...following potential sources of income: individual subscriptions, corporate subscriptions, private donations , and the commercial sales of... Armoured Corps RAAF Royal Australian Air Force RAMSI Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands RAN Royal Australian Navy RAR Royal Australian
The Role of MC1R in Speciation & Phylogeny
Offner, Susan
2013-01-01
A point mutation in the MC1R gene, a G-protein-coupled receptor, has been found that could have led to the formation of two subspecies of Solomon Island flycatcher from a single ancestral population. I discuss the many roles that G-protein-coupled receptors play in vertebrate physiology and how one particular point mutation can have enormous…
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Vanessa Gowreesunkar
2015-06-01
Full Text Available While on one hand, social entrepreneurship, as a new movement, is being spearheaded by individuals to make the world a better place, on the other hand, small islands, dominated by Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs seem to have overlooked this emerging concept in their tourism management initiatives. The work of Séraphin (2012 highlighted two important social entrepreneurship schemes in Haiti, but failed to shed light on its relevance and implications for island tourism. Similarly, in Mauritius, the Ministry of Tourism and Leisure is engaged in various tourism management initiatives aligned with the governmental vision called ‘Maurice Ile Durable’ (MID, but, social entrepreneurship is not considered in the tourism plan. With these gaps as foundations, this paper examines the concept of social entrepreneurship and investigates its role in promoting global citizenship in island tourism destination management. Starting with a brief presentation of Mauritius and Haiti as tourism destinations, this paper examines two small islands heavily dependent on tourism. Exploratory in nature, it unfolds with some meaningful observations on the Haitian and Mauritian tourism industries. The paper thereafter develops new insights on the role of social entrepreneurship in island tourism and suggests its merit as a tool for island destination management.
Silva-Rocha, Iolanda; Salvi, Daniele; Sillero, Neftalí; Mateo, Jose A; Carretero, Miguel A
2015-01-01
Biological invasions are a major conservation threat for biodiversity worldwide. Islands are particularly vulnerable to invasive species, especially Mediterranean islands which have suffered human pressure since ancient times. In the Balearic archipelago, reptiles represent an outstanding case with more alien than native species. Moreover, in the last decade a new wave of alien snakes landed in the main islands of the archipelago, some of which were originally snake-free. The identification of the origin and colonization pathways of alien species, as well as the prediction of their expansion, is crucial to develop effective conservation strategies. In this study, we used molecular markers to assess the allochthonous status and the putative origin of the four introduced snake species (Hemorrhois hippocrepis, Malpolon monspessulanus, Macroprotodon mauritanicus and Rhinechis scalaris) as well as ecological niche models to infer their patterns of invasion and expansion based on current and future habitat suitability. For most species, DNA sequence data suggested the Iberian Peninsula as the potential origin of the allochthonous populations, although the shallow phylogeographic structure of these species prevented the identification of a restricted source-area. For all of them, the ecological niche models showed a current low habitat suitability in the Balearic, which is however predicted to increase significantly in the next few decades under climate change scenarios. Evidence from direct observations and spatial distribution of the first-occurrence records of alien snakes (but also lizards and worm lizards) suggest the nursery trade, and in particular olive tree importation from Iberian Peninsula, as the main pathway of introduction of alien reptiles in the Balearic islands. This trend has been reported also for recent invasions in NE Spain, thus showing that olive trees transplantation may be an effective vector for bioinvasion across the Mediterranean. The
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Iolanda Silva-Rocha
Full Text Available Biological invasions are a major conservation threat for biodiversity worldwide. Islands are particularly vulnerable to invasive species, especially Mediterranean islands which have suffered human pressure since ancient times. In the Balearic archipelago, reptiles represent an outstanding case with more alien than native species. Moreover, in the last decade a new wave of alien snakes landed in the main islands of the archipelago, some of which were originally snake-free. The identification of the origin and colonization pathways of alien species, as well as the prediction of their expansion, is crucial to develop effective conservation strategies. In this study, we used molecular markers to assess the allochthonous status and the putative origin of the four introduced snake species (Hemorrhois hippocrepis, Malpolon monspessulanus, Macroprotodon mauritanicus and Rhinechis scalaris as well as ecological niche models to infer their patterns of invasion and expansion based on current and future habitat suitability. For most species, DNA sequence data suggested the Iberian Peninsula as the potential origin of the allochthonous populations, although the shallow phylogeographic structure of these species prevented the identification of a restricted source-area. For all of them, the ecological niche models showed a current low habitat suitability in the Balearic, which is however predicted to increase significantly in the next few decades under climate change scenarios. Evidence from direct observations and spatial distribution of the first-occurrence records of alien snakes (but also lizards and worm lizards suggest the nursery trade, and in particular olive tree importation from Iberian Peninsula, as the main pathway of introduction of alien reptiles in the Balearic islands. This trend has been reported also for recent invasions in NE Spain, thus showing that olive trees transplantation may be an effective vector for bioinvasion across the
Leptospira Species in Feral Cats and Black Rats from Western Australia and Christmas Island.
Dybing, Narelle A; Jacobson, Caroline; Irwin, Peter; Algar, David; Adams, Peter J
2017-05-01
Leptospirosis is a neglected, re-emerging bacterial disease with both zoonotic and conservation implications. Rats and livestock are considered the usual sources of human infection, but all mammalian species are capable of carrying Leptospira spp. and transmitting pathogenic leptospires in their urine, and uncertainty remains about the ecology and transmission dynamics of Leptospira in different regions. In light of a recent case of human leptospirosis on tropical Christmas Island, this study aimed to investigate the role of introduced animals (feral cats and black rats) as carriers of pathogenic Leptospira spp. on Christmas Island and to compare this with two different climatic regions of Western Australia (one island and one mainland). Kidney samples were collected from black rats (n = 68) and feral cats (n = 59) from Christmas Island, as well as feral cats from Dirk Hartog Island (n = 23) and southwest Western Australia (n = 59). Molecular (PCR) screening detected pathogenic leptospires in 42.4% (95% confidence interval 29.6-55.9) of cats and 2.9% (0.4-10.2) of rats from Christmas Island. Sequencing of cat- and rat-positive samples from Christmas Island showed 100% similarity for Leptospira interrogans. Pathogenic leptospires were not detected in cats from Dirk Hartog Island or southwest Western Australia. These findings were consistent with previous reports of higher Leptospira spp. prevalence in tropical regions compared with arid and temperate regions. Despite the abundance of black rats on Christmas Island, feral cats appear to be the more important reservoir species for the persistence of pathogenic L. interrogans on the island. This research highlights the importance of disease surveillance and feral animal management to effectively control potential disease transmission.
Islands and non-islands in native and heritage Korean
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Boyoung eKim
2016-02-01
Full Text Available To a large extent, island phenomena are cross-linguistically invariable, but English and Korean present some striking differences in this domain. English has wh-movement and Korean does not, and while both languages show sensitivity to wh-islands, only English has island effects for adjunct clauses. Given this complex set of differences, one might expect Korean/English bilinguals, and especially heritage Korean speakers (i.e. early bilinguals whose L2 became their dominant language during childhood to be different from native speakers, since heritage speakers have had more limited exposure to Korean, may have had incomplete acquisition and/or attrition, and may show significant transfer effects from the L2. Here we examine islands in heritage speakers of Korean in the U.S. Through a series of four formal acceptability experiments comparing these heritage speakers with native speakers residing in Korea, we show that the two groups are remarkably similar. Both show clear evidence for wh-islands and an equally clear lack of adjunct island effects. Given the very different linguistic environment that the heritage speakers have had since early childhood, this result lends support to the idea that island phenomena are largely immune to environmental influences and stem from deeper properties of the processor and/or grammar. Similarly, it casts some doubt on recent proposals that islands are learned from the input.
Class renormalization: islands around islands
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Meiss, J.D.
1986-01-01
An orbit of 'class' is one that rotates about a periodic orbit of one lower class with definite frequency. This contrasts to the 'level' of a periodic orbit which is the number of elements in its continued fraction expansion. Level renormalization is conventionally used to study the structure of quasi-periodic orbits. The scaling structure of periodic orbits encircling other periodic orbits in area preserving maps is discussed here. Fixed points corresponding to the accumulation of p/q bifurcations are found and scaling exponents determined. Fixed points for q > 2 correspond to self-similar islands around islands. Frequencies of the island boundary circles at the fixed points are obtained. Importance of this scaling for the motion of particles in stochastic regions is emphasized. (author)
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Vinas, Ronaldo; Eff-Darwich, Antonio; Soler, Vicente; Martin-Luis, Maria C.; Quesada, Maria L.; Nuez, Julio de la
2007-01-01
The analysis of temporal and spatial variations in the flux of soil gases across the soil-air interface is a useful tool to study geo-dynamical processes associated with volcanic and/or seismic activity. However, many of these variations are induced by external variables, such as temperature, barometric pressure, rainfall and other meteorological variables. In an attempt to filter out non-endogenous variations in the emissions of gases, the optimal choice of the monitoring sites with numerical filtering techniques based on multi-variate and frequency domain analysis of the time series for gaseous emissions were combined, in the case of radon ( 222 Rn). Monitoring sites are located in underground galleries in the volcanic island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. Since the effect of wind, rainfall and temperature variations are very small inside galleries, a first natural filtering process of external parameters in the emissions of gases was achieved. This new approach has been successfully tested and as a result, the background level for radon emissions at various locations has been defined, by which correlations between gaseous emissions and the volcanic and/or seismic activity could be carried out
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Herranz, María; Thormar, Jonas Gjaldbæk; Benito, Jesús
2012-01-01
A new kinorhynch genus, Meristoderes gen. nov., and two new species from Spain and the Solomon Islands, respectively, are described. The new genus is distinguished from all other genera by the first segment consisting of a closed cuticular ring, and the second segment having partial tergosternal......–9, with conspicuously long bracteate hairs from the posteriormost perforations sites on the segments 3–7 and 3–6, respectively. The new genus Meristoderes gen. nov. is included into the family Echinoderidae Bütschli, 1876 and appears closely related with the genera Cephalorhyncha Adrianov, 1999 and Echinoderes...... a middorsal spine on segment 4 only, ventrolateral tubules on segment 2, lateroventral tubules on segment 5, lateroventral spines on segments 6–9, lateral accessory tubules on segment 8 and subdorsal tubules on segment 10. Both species have a pattern of paraventral perforation site clusters on segments 3...
Micronesian agroforestry: evidence from the past, implications for the future
Marjorie V. C. Falanruw
1993-01-01
Traditional agroforest systems exist throughout Micronesia. The system found on one Micronesian group of islands, Yap, is described and evaluated in ecological terms. Implications for future development of agriculture in Micronesia are discussed and some specific recommendations are given.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Maury, R.C.; Bellon, H.; Jacques, D.; Defant, J.; Joron, J.L.; Mcdermott, F.; Vidal, Ph.
1998-01-01
Neogene and Quaternary lavas from Batan, Babuyan de Claro, Camiguin and Calayan islands (northern Luzon arc) display temporal increases in incompatible elements including Cs, Rb, Ba, K, La, Ce, Th, U, Ta, Hf and Zr from volcanoes older than 3 Ma to younger ones. These enrichments occur either within a single island (Batan) or within an island group (from Calayan to Camiguin and Babuyan). We show that these enrichments result from incompatible element input into the mantle wedge rather than from partial melting or fractionation effects. The fact that highly incompatible elements display temporal enrichment patterns in Batan lavas whatever their chemical properties indicates that hydrous fluids are not the only metasomatic agents operating in the mantle wedge and that slab-derived melts (adakitic magmas) may also be involved. The coupled temporal variation patterns of large ion lithophile elements and Sr-Nd isotopes suggest that the metasomatic budgets beneath the southern group of islands are mainly controlled by hydrous fluids inputs. In contrast, young Batan lavas likely derive from a mantle source mostly metasomatized by adakitic magmas. (authors)
Tuppiap Qeqertaa (Tobias Island): a newly discovered island off northeast Greenland
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Bennike, O.; Mikkelsen, N.; Forsberg, René
2006-01-01
The small island of Tuppiap Qeqertaa, formerly known as Tobias circle divide or Tobias Island, is situated 80 km off the northeast Greenland coast. The island was discovered in 1993 and is approximately 2 km long and 1.5 km wide. Most of the island is covered by an ice cap that rises to 35 in abo...
Diomede Islands, Bering Straight
2008-01-01
The Diomede Islands consisting of the western island Big Diomede (also known as Imaqliq, Nunarbuk or Ratmanov Island), and the eastern island Little Diomede (also known as Krusenstern Island or Inaliq), are two rocky islands located in the middle of the Bering Strait between Russia and Alaska. The islands are separated by an international border and the International Date Line which is approximately 1.5 km from each island; you can look from Alaska into tomorrow in Russia. At the closest land approach between the United States, which controls Little Diomede, and Russia, which controls Big Diomede, they are 3 km apart. Little Diomede Island constitutes the Alaskan City of Diomede, while Big Diomede Island is Russia's easternmost point. The first European to reach the islands was the Russian explorer Semyon Dezhnev in 1648. The text of the 1867 treaty finalizing the sale of Alaska uses the islands to designate the border between the two nations. The image was acquired July 8, 2000, covers an area of 13.5 x 10.8 km, and is located at 65.8 degrees north latitude, 169 degrees west longitude. The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
Sociodemographic Factors Influencing Island Food Consumption in the Pacific Islander Health Study
Baumhofer, Nicole Kau'i
2016-01-01
This dissertation explores the relationships between island food consumption, sociodemographic variables, and cardiovascular risk using data from the Pacific Islander Health Study (PIHS). Chapter 1 explores the associations between self-reported level of island food consumption and key covariates. Island food consumption was modeled using Poisson regression and adjusted for demographic, socioeconomic, and cultural characteristics. Increased Pacific Island cultural affinity was the strongest p...
Paradise Islands? Island States and Environmental Performance
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Sverker C. Jagers
2016-03-01
Full Text Available Island states have been shown to outperform continental states on a number of large-scale coordination-related outcomes, such as levels of democracy and institutional quality. The argument developed and tested in this article contends that the same kind of logic may apply to islands’ environmental performance, too. However, the empirical analysis shows mixed results. Among the 105 environmental outcomes that we analyzed, being an island only has a positive impact on 20 of them. For example, island states tend to outcompete continental states with respect to several indicators related to water quality but not in aspects related to biodiversity, protected areas, or environmental regulations. In addition, the causal factors previously suggested to make islands outperform continental states in terms of coordination have weak explanatory power in predicting islands’ environmental performance. We conclude the paper by discussing how these interesting findings can be further explored.
Herriot-Hatfield, Jennie; Monahan, Amy; Rosenberg, Sarah; Tucker, Bill
2011-01-01
On August 24, 2010, the state of Rhode Island received some outstanding news. Its yearlong, bipartisan effort to develop new policies to spur educational improvement was about to pay off. The state, along with eight others and the District of Columbia, was named a winner of the U.S. Department of Education's Race to the Top grant competition. The…
Energy Vulnerability Assessment for the US Pacific Islands. Technical Appendix 2
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Fesharaki, F.; Rizer, J.P.; Greer, L.S.
1994-05-01
The study, Energy Vulnerability Assessment of the US Pacific Islands, was mandated by the Congress of the United States as stated in House Resolution 776-220 of 1992, Section 1406. The resolution states that the US Secretary of Energy shall conduct a study of the implications of the unique vulnerabilities of the insular areas to an oil supply disruption. Such study shall outline how the insular areas shall gain access to vital oil supplies during times of national emergency. The resolution defines insular areas as the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Palau. The US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are not included in this report. The US Department of Energy (USDOE) has broadened the scope of the study contained in the House Resolution to include emergency preparedness and response strategies which would reduce vulnerability to an oil supply disruption as well as steps to ameliorate adverse economic consequences. This includes a review of alternative energy technologies with respect to their potential for reducing dependence on imported petroleum. USDOE has outlined the four tasks of the energy vulnerability assessment as the following: (1) for each island, determine crude oil and refined product demand/supply, and characterize energy and economic infrastructure; (2) forecast global and regional oil trade flow patterns, energy demand/supply, and economic activities; (3) formulate oil supply disruption scenarios and ascertain the general and unique vulnerabilities of these islands to oil supply disruptions; and (4) outline emergency preparedness and response options to secure oil supplies in the short run, and reduce dependence on imported oil in the longer term.
Energy Vulnerability Assessment for the US Pacific Islands. Technical Appendix 2
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Fesharaki, F.; Rizer, J.P.; Greer, L.S.
1994-05-01
The study, Energy Vulnerability Assessment of the US Pacific Islands, was mandated by the Congress of the United States as stated in House Resolution 776-220 of 1992, Section 1406. The resolution states that the US Secretary of Energy shall conduct a study of the implications of the unique vulnerabilities of the insular areas to an oil supply disruption. Such study shall outline how the insular areas shall gain access to vital oil supplies during times of national emergency. The resolution defines insular areas as the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Palau. The US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are not included in this report. The US Department of Energy (USDOE) has broadened the scope of the study contained in the House Resolution to include emergency preparedness and response strategies which would reduce vulnerability to an oil supply disruption as well as steps to ameliorate adverse economic consequences. This includes a review of alternative energy technologies with respect to their potential for reducing dependence on imported petroleum. USDOE has outlined the four tasks of the energy vulnerability assessment as the following: (1) for each island, determine crude oil and refined product demand/supply, and characterize energy and economic infrastructure; (2) forecast global and regional oil trade flow patterns, energy demand/supply, and economic activities; (3) formulate oil supply disruption scenarios and ascertain the general and unique vulnerabilities of these islands to oil supply disruptions; and (4) outline emergency preparedness and response options to secure oil supplies in the short run, and reduce dependence on imported oil in the longer term
The use of home brew in Pacific Islands countries and territories.
Nosa, Vili; Duffy, Shavonne; Singh, Debbie; Lavelio, Save; Amber, Uma; Homasi-Paelate, Avanoa; Alfred, Julia
2018-01-01
This review examines what is known about the production and use of home brew in the Pacific Islands countries and territories. Data collection involved interviews of 78 men and women from the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Toga, and Tuvalu. The interviews were conducted in 2013 by local interviewers. The questions fell into four key areas: people's history of home-brew consumption, the reasons for home-brew use, the effects of home brew, and people's perceptions about home brew. An open ethnographic approach revealed that males are the main consumers of home brew, that home brew is consumed in private venues by those with low socioeconomic status, and that there are positive and negative outcomes associated with the use of home brew. Finally, policy implications of the findings are included in this article.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Marta Haro Cortés
2008-06-01
Full Text Available This article presents an edition of an unpublished collection of sayings, of Jewish origin, to be found in Manuscript 5644 of the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid, on folios 78V (lxxxv to 84V (lxxxviv. The contents are to be found in the Libro de los buenos proverbios (translated from Arabic into Spanish and Hebrew in the 13th century; in the Pirqué Abot, the only wisdom tractate in the Mishnah; and in the Proverbs of Solomon, part of the Tanakh, i.e. the Hebrew bible. The compilation of the work involved selecting and reorganising materials from various sources, following the editor’s tastes and interests, and giving rise to a new literary product which is a perfect example of the process and techniques involved in the assimilation and transmission of the Jewish wisdom legacy to the Castilian Middle Ages.
Flinders, Ashton F.; Ito, Garrett; Garcia, Michael O.
2010-08-01
New land and marine gravity data reveal two positive residual gravity anomalies in the Northern Hawaiian Islands: one over Kaua'i, the other between the islands of Kaua'i and Ni'ihau. These gravitational highs are similar in size and magnitude to those of other Hawaiian volcanoes, indicating local zones of high-density crust, attributed to olivine cumulates in solidified magma reservoirs. The residual gravity high over Kaua'i is located in the Līhu'e Basin, offset 8-12 km east of Kaua'i's geologically mapped caldera. This offset suggests that the mapped caldera is a collapsed feature later filled in with lava and not the long-term center of Kaua'i shield volcanism. A second residual gravity high, in the submarine channel between Kaua'i and Ni'ihau, marks the volcanic center of the Ni'ihau shield volcano. This second residual gravity anomaly implies that Ni'ihau's eastern boundary extended ˜20 km east of its present location. Through inversion, the residual gravity anomalies were modeled as being produced by two solidified magma reservoirs with average densities of 3100 kg/m3 and volumes between 2470 and 2540 km3. Considering the locations and sizes of the residual gravity anomalies/magma reservoirs, the extent of the two islands' paleoshorelines and potassium-argon dating of shield-stage lavas, we conclude that the two islands were not connected subaerially during their respective shield stages and that Ni'ihau's topographic summit was removed by an eastern flank collapse between 4.3 and 5.6 Ma. Continued constructional volcanism on western Kaua'i likely covered much of the submerged remains of eastern Ni'ihau.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Cutter, S.L.
1984-01-01
This paper specifically examines the relationship between risk cognition and distance from the source of the threat or hazard using an experienced population, the residents in the vicinity of the Three Mile Island plant. Survey data from 1980 and 1982 are used to assess the effect of distance from the plant on the cognition of risk. Risk, as used in this paper, is defined as both an estimate of the likelihood of accidents, frequency of accidents and an evaluation of the future use of nuclear power to generate electricity. It is suggested that residents living closer to the plant will be more aware of the risks that those living farther away. It is also suggested that there will be some differences between the cognition of societal risks from the production of power from nuclear sources and the more salient risks associated with the production of power from the Three Mile Island plant
Researching Pacific island livelihoods:
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Egelund Christensen, Andreas; Mertz, Ole
2010-01-01
on contemporary theories of nissology and conceptual analytical frameworks for island research. Through a review of selected case-study-based island literature on changing livelihoods coming out of the South Pacific, we wish to illustrate and discuss advantages of finding common grounds for small island studies....... The focus is on two dimensions of island livelihood, migration and natural resource management, both of which are significant contributors in making island livelihoods and shaping Pacific seascapes. We argue that there is still a substantial lack of studies targeting small island dynamics that are empirical...
The association between El Niño/Southern Oscillation events and typhoons in the Marshall Islands.
Spennemann, D H; Marschner, I C
1995-09-01
An analysis of the historic record of typhoons in the Marshall Islands has identified a significant association between the occurrence of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation phenomenon (ENSO) and the occurrence of typhoons in the Marshall Islands. Whilst typhoons normally occur further to the east, the warming of the ocean waters around the Marshall Islands, as part of the ENSO phenomenon, generates typhoons further to the west. The results suggest that typhoons are 2.6 times more likely to occur during ENSO years, with a 71 per cent chance of a typhoon striking during an ENSO year, and only a 26 per cent chance of one happening during a non-ENSO year. This has implications for planning and public safety, which the relevant authorities may wish to take note of.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sarah Hamylton
through time. By combining several lines of evidence in a deterministic manner, an assessment of changes in carbonate production is carried out that has tangible geomorphic implications for sediment availability and associated island evolution.
Hamylton, Sarah
2014-01-01
. By combining several lines of evidence in a deterministic manner, an assessment of changes in carbonate production is carried out that has tangible geomorphic implications for sediment availability and associated island evolution.
78 FR 63860 - Amendment of Class D Airspace; Kwajalein Island, Marshall Islands, RMI
2013-10-25
...This action amends the Kwajalein Island Class D airspace description by amending the geographic coordinates for Bucholz Army Airfield (AAF), Kwajalein Island, Marshall Islands, RMI. The Bucholz AAF geographic coordinates information was updated in the Kwajalein Island Class E airspace descriptions in 2011, but was inadvertently overlooked in the Kwajalein Island Class D airspace description. This action ensures the safety of aircraft operating in the Kwajalein Island airspace area. This is an administrative action and does not affect the operating requirements of the airspace.
Stepping-stones to the Edge: Artistic Expressions of Islandness in an Ocean of Islands
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Laurie Brinklow
2013-05-01
Full Text Available Since the earliest of times, islands have captured the artistic imagination—and, often, for the artist who finds his or her muse in being ‘islanded’, the smaller the island the better. Archipelagos offer an ideal setting for artists who take their inspiration from place: on small islands off islands they can experience an intensity of island living they might not otherwise have on a main island: boundedness and connection, isolation and community. This paper examines expressions of islandness by artists who live on islands off islands that are poles apart—‘archipelagos’ of the Canadian North Atlantic and the Great Southern Ocean. It draws upon interviews with those artists and writers to consider the nature of humans’ attachment and attraction to islands, exploring through the lens of phenomenology what Stratford et al. call the “entanglement between and among islands”.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Michael A. Tabak
2015-01-01
Full Text Available Non-native rats (Rattus spp. threaten native island species worldwide. Efforts to eradicate them from islands have increased in frequency and become more ambitious in recent years. However, the long-term success of some eradication efforts has been compromised by the ability of rats, particularly Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus which are good swimmers, to recolonize islands following eradications. In the Falkland Islands, an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, the distance of 250 m between islands (once suggested as the minimum separation distance for an effective barrier to recolonization has shown to be insufficient. Norway rats are present on about half of the 503 islands in the Falklands. Bird diversity is lower on islands with rats and two vulnerable passerine species, Troglodytes cobbi (the only endemic Falkland Islands passerine and Cinclodes antarcticus, have greatly reduced abundances and/or are absent on islands with rats. We used logistic regression models to investigate the potential factors that may determine the presence of Norway rats on 158 islands in the Falkland Islands. Our models included island area, distance to the nearest rat-infested island, island location, and the history of island use by humans as driving variables. Models best supported by data included only distance to the nearest potential source of rats and island area, but the relative magnitude of the effect of distance and area on the presence of rats varied depending on whether islands were in the eastern or western sector of the archipelago. The human use of an island was not a significant parameter in any models. A very large fraction (72% of islands within 500 m of the nearest potential rat source had rats, but 97% of islands farther than 1,000 m away from potential rat sources were free of rats.
Brief communication: Population variation in human maxillary premolar accessory ridges (MxPAR).
Burnett, Scott E; Hawkey, Diane E; Turner, Christy G
2010-02-01
The purpose of this brief communication is to report the results of an analysis of maxillary premolar accessory ridges (MxPAR), a common but understudied accessory ridge that may occur both mesial and distal to the central ridge of the buccal cusp of upper premolars. We developed a new five-grade scoring plaque to better categorize MxPAR variation. Subsequently, we conducted a population analysis of MxPAR frequency in 749 dental casts of South African Indian, American Chinese, Alaskan Eskimo, Tohono O'odham (Papago), Akimel O'odham (Pima), Solomon Islander, South African Bantu, and both American and South African Whites. Northeast Asian and Asian-derived populations exhibited the highest MxPAR frequencies while Indo-European samples (South African Indians, American and South African Whites) exhibited relatively low frequencies. The Solomon Islanders and South African Bantu samples exhibited intermediate frequencies. Our analysis indicates that statistically significant differences in MxPAR frequency exist between major geographic populations. As a result, the MxPAR plaque has now been added to the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System, an important contribution as maxillary premolar traits are underrepresented in analyses of dental morphology. 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
A Large Plasmodium vivax Reservoir and Little Population Structure in the South Pacific.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Cristian Koepfli
Full Text Available The importance of Plasmodium vivax in malaria elimination is increasingly being recognized, yet little is known about its population size and population genetic structure in the South Pacific, an area that is the focus of intensified malaria control.We have genotyped 13 microsatellite markers in 295 P. vivax isolates from four geographically distinct sites in Papua New Guinea (PNG and one site from Solomon Islands, representing different transmission intensities.Diversity was very high with expected heterozygosity values ranging from 0.62 to 0.98 for the different markers. Effective population size was high (12'872 to 19'533 per site. In PNG population structuring was limited with moderate levels of genetic differentiation. F ST values (adjusted for high diversity of markers were 0.14-0.15. Slightly higher levels were observed between PNG populations and Solomon Islands (F ST = 0.16.Low levels of population structure despite geographical barriers to transmission are in sharp contrast to results from regions of low P. vivax endemicity. Prior to intensification of malaria control programs in the study area, parasite diversity and effective population size remained high.
Nan Liu; Qinfeng Guo
2012-01-01
Shrub resource islands are characterized by resources accumulated shrubby areas surrounded by relative barren soils. This research aims to determine resource-use efficiency of native trees species planted on shrub resource islands, and to determine how the planted trees may influence the resource islands in degraded shrublands in South China. Shrub (Rhodomyrtus...
Wall locking and multiple nonlinear states of magnetic islands
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Persson, Mikael; Australian National Univ., Canberra, ACT
1994-01-01
The nonlinear evolution of magnetic islands is analysed in configurations with multiple resonant magnetic surfaces. The existence of multiple nonlinear steady states, is discussed. These are shown to be associated with states where the dynamics around the different rational surfaces are coupled or decoupled and in the presence of a wall of finite resistivity may correspond wall-locked or non-wall-locked magnetic islands. For the case of strong wall stabilization the locking is shown to consist of two different phases. During the first phase the locking of the plasma at the different rational surfaces occurs. Only when the outermost resonant magnetic surface has locked to the inner surfaces can the actual wall locking process take place. Consequently, wall locking, of a global mode, involving more than one rational surface, can be prevented by the decoupling of the resonant magnetic surfaces by plasma rotation. Possible implications on tokamak experiments are discussed. (author)
Governance of Aquatic Agricultural Systems: Analyzing Representation, Power, and Accountability
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Blake D. Ratner
2013-12-01
Full Text Available Aquatic agricultural systems in developing countries face increasing competition from multiple stakeholders over rights to access and use natural resources, land, water, wetlands, and fisheries, essential to rural livelihoods. A key implication is the need to strengthen governance to enable equitable decision making amidst competition that spans sectors and scales, building capacities for resilience, and for transformations in institutions that perpetuate poverty. In this paper we provide a simple framework to analyze the governance context for aquatic agricultural system development focused on three dimensions: stakeholder representation, distribution of power, and mechanisms of accountability. Case studies from Cambodia, Bangladesh, Malawi/Mozambique, and Solomon Islands illustrate the application of these concepts to fisheries and aquaculture livelihoods in the broader context of intersectoral and cross-scale governance interactions. Comparing these cases, we demonstrate how assessing governance dimensions yields practical insights into opportunities for transforming the institutions that constrain resilience in local livelihoods.
33 CFR 80.717 - Tybee Island, GA to St. Simons Island, GA.
2010-07-01
... Island. (j) An east-west line from the southernmost extremity of Sea Island across Goulds Inlet to St... Tybee Island 255° true across Tybee Inlet to the shore of Little Tybee Island south of the entrance to... shoreline across Cabretta Inlet. (g) A north-south line (longitude 81°16.9′ W.) drawn from the south...
Energy Transition Initiative: Island Energy Snapshot - U.S. Virgin Islands (Fact Sheet)
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
2015-03-01
This profile provides a snapshot of the energy landscape of the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) - St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix. The Virgin Islands archipelago makes up the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles and the western island group of the Leeward Islands, forming the border between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
Matheson, Don; Park, Kunhee; Soakai, Taniela Sunia
2017-10-01
Objective Twenty years ago the Pacific's health ministers developed a 'Healthy Islands' vision to lead health development in the subregion. This paper reports on a review of health development over this period and discusses the implications for the attainment of the health related Sustainable Development Goals. Methods The review used qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative review included conducting semi-structured interviews with Pacific Island Government Ministers and officials, regional agencies, health workers and community members. A document review was also conducted. The quantitative review consisted of examining secondary data from regional and global data collections. Results The review found improvement in health indicators, but increasing health inequality between the Pacific and the rest of the world. Many of the larger island populations were unable to reach the health Millennium Development Goals. The 'Healthy Islands' vision remained an inspiration to health ministers and senior officials in the region. However, implementation of the 'Healthy Islands' approach was patchy, under-resourced and un-sustained. Communicable and Maternal and Child Health challenges persist alongside unprecedented levels of non-communicable diseases, inadequate levels of health finance and few skilled health workers as the major impediments to health development for many of the Pacific's countries. Conclusions The current trajectory for health in the Pacific will lead to increasing health inequity with the rest of the world. The challenges to health in the region include persisting communicable disease and maternal and child health threats, unprecedented levels of NCDs, climate change and instability, as well as low economic growth. In order to change the fortunes of this region in the age of the SDGs, a substantial investment in health is required, including in the health workforce, by countries and donors alike. That investment requires a nuanced response
A quantitative account of genomic island acquisitions in prokaryotes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Roos Tom E
2011-08-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Microbial genomes do not merely evolve through the slow accumulation of mutations, but also, and often more dramatically, by taking up new DNA in a process called horizontal gene transfer. These innovation leaps in the acquisition of new traits can take place via the introgression of single genes, but also through the acquisition of large gene clusters, which are termed Genomic Islands. Since only a small proportion of all the DNA diversity has been sequenced, it can be hard to find the appropriate donors for acquired genes via sequence alignments from databases. In contrast, relative oligonucleotide frequencies represent a remarkably stable genomic signature in prokaryotes, which facilitates compositional comparisons as an alignment-free alternative for phylogenetic relatedness. In this project, we test whether Genomic Islands identified in individual bacterial genomes have a similar genomic signature, in terms of relative dinucleotide frequencies, and can therefore be expected to originate from a common donor species. Results When multiple Genomic Islands are present within a single genome, we find that up to 28% of these are compositionally very similar to each other, indicative of frequent recurring acquisitions from the same donor to the same acceptor. Conclusions This represents the first quantitative assessment of common directional transfer events in prokaryotic evolutionary history. We suggest that many of the resident Genomic Islands per prokaryotic genome originated from the same source, which may have implications with respect to their regulatory interactions, and for the elucidation of the common origins of these acquired gene clusters.
Diseases of livestock in the Pacific Islands region: setting priorities for food animal biosecurity.
Brioudes, Aurélie; Warner, Jeffrey; Hedlefs, Robert; Gummow, Bruce
2015-03-01
Most Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) have developing economies and face a critical shortage of veterinarians with limited financial resources allocated to their animal disease surveillance programmes. Thus, animal health authorities have to set priorities for better focusing their scarce resources. The main objective of this study was to identify animal diseases perceived to be of importance by decision makers within selected PICTs, at the regional and national levels, to ensure better targeting of animal health resources. A second objective was to investigate whether the targeted surveillance programmes resulting from this rationalized approach would also benefit the local communities engaged in livestock production. A multi-criteria prioritization process was developed, involving local experts, to score and rank 132 animal diseases based on their priority at the regional and national levels for four PICTs: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, which form part of a regional Food Animal Biosecurity Network. In parallel interviews with farmers and field animal health and production workers were conducted to assess their perception of animal diseases. The list of the top-twenty ranked diseases for the Pacific Islands region shows a mix of endemic zoonotic diseases (such as leptospirosis ranked first; brucellosis third; tuberculosis sixth; and endoparasites and ectoparasites, respectively eleventh and thirteenth) with exotic diseases (such as HPAI ranked second, FMD fifth, and rabies ninth). There were different disease ranking lists for each of the four targeted PICTs, confirming different strategies of disease prevention and control may be required for each country, rather than a regional approach. Interviewed animal health and production workers were unfamiliar with most of the prioritized diseases and a majority acknowledged that they would not be able to recognize clinical signs if outbreaks were to occur in their area
Beaudry, P.; Longpre, M. A.; Wing, B. A.; Bui, T. H.; Stix, J.
2017-12-01
The Earth's mantle contains distinct sulfur reservoirs, which can be probed by sulfur isotope analyses of volcanic rocks and gases. We analyzed the isotopic composition of reduced and oxidized sulfur in a diverse range of volcanically derived materials spanning historical volcanism in the Canary Islands. Our sample set consists of subaerial volcanic tephras from three different islands, mantle and sedimentary xenoliths, as well as lava balloon samples from the 2011-2012 submarine El Hierro eruption and associated crystal separates. This large sample set allows us to differentiate between the various processes responsible for sulfur isotope heterogeneity in the Canary archipelago. Our results define an array in triple S isotope space between the compositions of the MORB and seawater sulfate reservoirs. Specifically, the sulfide values are remarkably homogeneous around d34S = -1 ‰ and D33S = -0.01 ‰, while sulfate values peak at d34S = +4 ‰ and D33S = +0.01 ‰. Lava balloons from the El Hierro eruption have highly enriched sulfate d34S values up to +19.3 ‰, reflecting direct interaction between seawater sulfate and the erupting magma. Several sulfate data points from the island of Lanzarote also trend towards more positive d34S up to +13.8 ‰, suggesting interaction with seawater sulfate-enriched lithologies or infiltration of seawater within the magmatic system. On the other hand, the modal values and relative abundances of S2- and S6+ in crystal separates suggest that the Canary Island mantle source has a d34S around +3 ‰, similar to the S-isotopic composition of a peridotite xenolith from Lanzarote. We infer that the S2- and S6+ modes reflect isotopic equilibrium between those species in the magmatic source, which requires 80 % of the sulfide to become oxidized after melting, consistent with measured S speciation. This 34S enrichment of the source could be due to the recycling of hydrothermally-altered oceanic crust, which has been previously suggested
Impact of the Three Mile Island accident on reactor safety and licensing in Canada
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Harvie, J.D.
1980-06-01
This paper discusses the implications of the accident at Three Mile Island on reactor safety and licensing in Canada. Reactor safety principles which can be learned from, or are reaffirmed by, the accident are reviewed. It is concluded that reactor safety demands a firm commitment to safety by all those involved in the nuclear industry. (auth)
Tectonic setting of the Wooded Island earthquake swarm, eastern Washington
Blakely, Richard J.; Sherrod, Brian L.; Weaver, Craig S.; Rohay, Alan C.; Wells, Ray E.
2012-01-01
Magnetic anomalies provide insights into the tectonic implications of a swarm of ~1500 shallow (~1 km deep) earthquakes that occurred in 2009 on the Hanford site,Washington. Epicenters were concentrated in a 2 km2 area nearWooded Island in the Columbia River. The largest earthquake (M 3.0) had first motions consistent with slip on a northwest-striking reverse fault. The swarm was accompanied by 35 mm of vertical surface deformation, seen in satellite interferometry (InSAR), interpreted to be caused by ~50 mm of slip on a northwest-striking reverse fault and associated bedding-plane fault in the underlying Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG). A magnetic anomaly over exposed CRBG at Yakima Ridge 40 km northwest of Wooded Island extends southeastward beyond the ridge to the Columbia River, suggesting that the Yakima Ridge anticline and its associated thrust fault extend southeastward in the subsurface. In map view, the concealed anticline passes through the earthquake swarm and lies parallel to reverse faults determined from first motions and InSAR data. A forward model of the magnetic anomaly near Wooded Island is consistent with uplift of concealed CRBG, with the top surface swarm and the thrust and bedding-plane faults modeled from interferometry all fall within the northeastern limb of the faulted anticline. Although fluids may be responsible for triggering the Wooded Island earthquake swarm, the seismic and aseismic deformation are consistent with regional-scale tectonic compression across the concealed Yakima Ridge anticline.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
James Liebherr
2012-09-01
Full Text Available Seven species of Mecyclothorax Sharp from Moorea, Society Islands are newly described; M. perraulti sp. n., M. pahere sp. n., M. menemene sp. n., M. mahatahi sp. n., M. popotioaoa sp. n., M. mapo sp. n., and M. fatata sp. n. These constitute the first Mecyclothorax species described from Moorea, and the first carabid beetle species shown to be geographically restricted to that island. Each of the newly described species is most similar to a different species on the island of Tahiti, suggesting that none of the seven Moorean taxa are evolutionary end-products of autochthonous speciation within Moorea. The occurrence of precinctive Mecyclothorax species on both Moorea and Tahiti demonstrates that radiation of Mecyclothorax in the Society Islands has been facilitated by speciation events implicating both islands. Whether this speciation has been preceded by vicariance or dispersal is discussed, with the generality of a dispersal hypothesis tested using information from Society Island Nabidae (Hemiptera. Salient morphological characters for taxa in the Society and Hawaiian Islands are compared to those representing a broad survey of southwest Pacific Mecyclothorax spp. This comparison supports the independent founding of each radiation in the Societies and Hawaii from an Australian ancestral propagule, likely drawn from the ecologically general, geographically widespread M. punctipennis (Macleay.
Water level effects on breaking wave setup for Pacific Island fringing reefs
Becker, J. M.; Merrifield, M. A.; Ford, M.
2014-02-01
The effects of water level variations on breaking wave setup over fringing reefs are assessed using field measurements obtained at three study sites in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Mariana Islands in the western tropical Pacific Ocean. At each site, reef flat setup varies over the tidal range with weaker setup at high tide and stronger setup at low tide for a given incident wave height. The observed water level dependence is interpreted in the context of radiation stress gradients specified by an idealized point break model generalized for nonnormally incident waves. The tidally varying setup is due in part to depth-limited wave heights on the reef flat, as anticipated from previous reef studies, but also to tidally dependent breaking on the reef face. The tidal dependence of the breaking is interpreted in the context of the point break model in terms of a tidally varying wave height to water depth ratio at breaking. Implications for predictions of wave-driven setup at reef-fringed island shorelines are discussed.
46 CFR 7.70 - Folly Island, SC to Hilton Head Island, SC.
2010-10-01
... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Folly Island, SC to Hilton Head Island, SC. 7.70 Section... BOUNDARY LINES Atlantic Coast § 7.70 Folly Island, SC to Hilton Head Island, SC. (a) A line drawn from the...′ W. (Port Royal Sound Lighted Whistle Buoy “2PR”); thence to the easternmost extremity of Hilton Head...
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Burley, D.V.
2012-01-01
Intentional exploration as a systemic and strategic process in the Lapita settlement of Oceania is difficult to identify in archaeological context. An early Lapita site on Vorovoro Island, off the northeast coast of Vanua Levu, Fiji, provides potential insight in this respect. The island has only limited economic resources to support a colonizing group, suggesting a strategic role for Lapita occupation. This role, it is hypothesized, was as a landmark and base for exploration of the northern Vanua Levu coast. Radiocarbon dates indicate this took place contemporaneous with, and probably as an extension of first Lapita settlement in western Viti Levu c. 3000-3100 calBP. (author). 35 refs., 9 figs., 4 tabs.
A ceramic sequence from Roviana Lagoon (New Georgia, Solomon Island)
Sheppard, P.J.; Felgate, M.; Roga, K; Keopo, J.; Walter, R.
1999-01-01
Cet article rend compte d'une mission de reconnaissance archéologique dans le lagon de Roviana par une équipe de l'université d'Auckland, du Musée national (îles Salomon) et du Ministère de la Culture (Province de l'Ouest, îles Salomon). Ce travail a permis la découverte de nombreux sites intertidals dans le lagon avec de la poterie incisée rectilinéaire d'âge Lapita ou directement post-Lapita. Une période caractérisée par de la céramique non décorée est datée d'environ 1450 AD. (Résumé d'aut...
Regional Solutions for Regional Problems: East Timor and Solomon Islands
2012-03-21
perceived Australia in this light and were openly opposed to Australian leadership of the multi- national mission. Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad of...such as Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir , expressed concern over Australia’s forceful responses, regional leaders were broadly supportive and
Fertility Island Formation and Evolution in Dryland Ecosystems
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Luca Ridolfi
2008-06-01
Full Text Available Vast dryland regions around the world are affected by the encroachment of woody vegetation, with important environmental and economical implications. Grassland-to-shrubland conversions are often triggered by disturbance of grassland vegetation, and the consequent formation of barren areas prone to erosion-induced nutrient losses. Inhibition of encroachment by erosion-induced depletion of soil nutrients contributes to the emergence of highly heterogeneous landscapes with shrub-dominated fertility islands surrounded by nutrient-poor bare soil. Here, we develop a process-based simplistic model thataccounts for the two competing processes of resource depletion and shrub encroachment by a non-linear diffusion mechanism. The proposed model is able to generate stable vegetation patterns with the same statistical properties as those observed in areas with well-developed fertility islands. We also show how a subsequent disturbance of shrubland vegetation can shift the dynamics toward states with smaller vegetation biomass. The process of land degradation may then occur through a number of irreversible intermediate transitions associated with losses in ecosystem function.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rodrigo Hucke-Gaete
2014-10-01
Full Text Available The Chilean oceanic islands Easter Island (Rapa Nui and Salas y Gómez Island (Motu Motiro Hiva have received little attention with regards to basic marine mammal investigations. Here we review and update available information on the status of marine mammals in this area from different sources, including published accounts, local interviews and two recent expeditions. We also provide detailed accounts for each confirmed family or species, including historical data from published archaeological studies and whalers' logbooks from the 18th to the 20th centuries. Results indicate that a total of five marine mammal families (Balaenopteridae, Physeteridae, Ziphiidae, Delphinidae and Phocidae have been confirmed within the study area, representing two mammalian orders (Cetartiodactyla and Carnivora. Within these, twelve species are known to occur: blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus, unidentified minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis or B. acutorostrata, humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae, sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus, Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris, Blainville's beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris, false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens, unidentified pilot whale (Globicephala sp., bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus, common dolphin (Delphinus sp., southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina and leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx. We discuss the implications of some of most noteworthy records and make a plea for further studies to improve our knowledge of these top predators in one of the most isolated places in the world.
Integrating ground-penetrating radar and borehole data from a Wadden Sea barrier island
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Nielsen, Lars; Møller, I.; Nielsen, L. H.
2009-01-01
Sea level rise may have large implications for low-gradient barrier coastal systems. This problem motivated an integrated ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and sedimentological study of the Rømø Wadden Sea barrier island. Crossing W-E and N-S-oriented 100 MHz GPR reflection profiles with a total...... island. We document different standard processing steps which lead to increased signal-to-noise ratio, improved resolution and trustworthy GPR-to-borehole correlation. The GPR signals image the subsurface layering with a vertical resolution of ~ 0.2-0.3 m. The penetration depth of the GPR reflection...... conversion of the reflection profiles. The GPR reflections are correlated with sedimentological facies logs, and we test to which extent it is possible to map the architecture of different sedimentary units of the Rømø barrier island based on joint interpretation of the GPR and core data. Detailed...
Troll, V. R.; Klügel, A.; Longpré, M.-A.; Burchardt, S.; Deegan, F. M.; Carracedo, J. C.; Wiesmaier, S.; Kueppers, U.; Dahren, B.; Blythe, L. S.; Hansteen, T. H.; Freda, C.; Budd, D. A.; Jolis, E. M.; Jonsson, E.; Meade, F. C.; Harris, C.; Berg, S. E.; Mancini, L.; Polacci, M.; Pedroza, K.
2012-03-01
A submarine eruption started off the south coast of El Hierro, Canary Islands, on 10 October 2011 and continues at the time of this writing (February 2012). In the first days of the event, peculiar eruption products were found floating on the sea surface, drifting for long distances from the eruption site. These specimens, which have in the meantime been termed "restingolites" (after the close-by village of La Restinga), appeared as black volcanic "bombs" that exhibit cores of white and porous pumice-like material. Since their brief appearance, the nature and origin of these "floating stones" has been vigorously debated among researchers, with important implications for the interpretation of the hazard potential of the ongoing eruption. The "restingolites" have been proposed to be either (i) juvenile high-silica magma (e.g. rhyolite), (ii) remelted magmatic material (trachyte), (iii) altered volcanic rock, or (iv) reheated hyaloclastites or zeolite from the submarine slopes of El Hierro. Here, we provide evidence that supports yet a different conclusion. We have analysed the textures and compositions of representative "restingolites" and compared the results to previous work on similar rocks found in the Canary Islands. Based on their high-silica content, the lack of igneous trace element signatures, the presence of remnant quartz crystals, jasper fragments and carbonate as well as wollastonite (derived from thermal overprint of carbonate) and their relatively high oxygen isotope values, we conclude that "restingolites" are in fact xenoliths from pre-island sedimentary layers that were picked up and heated by the ascending magma, causing them to partially melt and vesiculate. As they are closely resembling pumice in appearance, but are xenolithic in origin, we refer to these rocks as "xeno-pumice". The El Hierro xeno-pumices hence represent messengers from depth that help us to understand the interaction between ascending magma and crustal lithologies beneath the
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
V. R. Troll
2012-03-01
Full Text Available A submarine eruption started off the south coast of El Hierro, Canary Islands, on 10 October 2011 and continues at the time of this writing (February 2012. In the first days of the event, peculiar eruption products were found floating on the sea surface, drifting for long distances from the eruption site. These specimens, which have in the meantime been termed "restingolites" (after the close-by village of La Restinga, appeared as black volcanic "bombs" that exhibit cores of white and porous pumice-like material. Since their brief appearance, the nature and origin of these "floating stones" has been vigorously debated among researchers, with important implications for the interpretation of the hazard potential of the ongoing eruption. The "restingolites" have been proposed to be either (i juvenile high-silica magma (e.g. rhyolite, (ii remelted magmatic material (trachyte, (iii altered volcanic rock, or (iv reheated hyaloclastites or zeolite from the submarine slopes of El Hierro. Here, we provide evidence that supports yet a different conclusion. We have analysed the textures and compositions of representative "restingolites" and compared the results to previous work on similar rocks found in the Canary Islands. Based on their high-silica content, the lack of igneous trace element signatures, the presence of remnant quartz crystals, jasper fragments and carbonate as well as wollastonite (derived from thermal overprint of carbonate and their relatively high oxygen isotope values, we conclude that "restingolites" are in fact xenoliths from pre-island sedimentary layers that were picked up and heated by the ascending magma, causing them to partially melt and vesiculate. As they are closely resembling pumice in appearance, but are xenolithic in origin, we refer to these rocks as "xeno-pumice". The El Hierro xeno-pumices hence represent messengers from depth that help us to understand the interaction between ascending magma and crustal lithologies
Sustainable energy planning for 27 small Danish Islands. Summary report
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
NONE
1997-06-01
A methodology has been developed and implemented, whereby detailed assessment of a few model or archetype islands may be used as basis for subsequent estimation of possibilities for other islands of similar kind, provided certain key data for present day energy consumption are available. A consistent interaction with the population on the model islands has been important in that process. The technical-economical results of the study show, that a number of measures seem cost-effective with the aim of contributing to a sustainable energy supply for the small Danish islands. Most prominent are energy savings for both heat and electricity, grid connected wind turbines for electricity production and collective heat supply, in decreasing order of cost-effectiveness. It has become clear, that an organisational structure based on the cooperative idea is essential for realising this potential. In Denmark this is a strong tradition, recently manifesting itself in the fact, that a majority of Danish wind turbines have been installed in the fram work of cooperative idea is essential for realising this potential. In Denmark this is a strong tradition, recently manifesting itself in the fact, that a majority of Danish wind turbines have been installed in the framework of cooperatives. This means that it is a well proven concept, in Denmark well established in the legal and financial structure including the tax laws. Consequently such energy cooperatives represent the organisational structure recommended by the project also for other sustainable energy initiatives on the small Danish islands. The implication on a European level is that the methodology developed in the project, as well as the concrete recommendations of the project including organisational structures, seem well suited to be applied on a European level in the context of local communities with a strong identity. (LN)
Hamid, Syahibul K.; Teniwut, Wellem A.; Teniwut, Roberto M. K.; Rahantoknam, Meyske A.; Hasyim, Cawalinya L.; Hungan, Marselus
2017-10-01
Kei Islands located inside the coral triangle. Therefore, the biodiversity level on the sea in this area is considered high. United nation has proposed for water that included in the coral triangle has to apply marine protected area (MPA) to preserve the area. The main problem is most of the community especially in Kei Islands have depended on the sea as their sources of the economy even fisheries commodity like fish play a large part on the inflation rate and other prosperity indicators likes school and housing. Also, Kei Islands practice on form local wisdom for owning areal of the sea which calls “petuanan laut” by certain of villages or group of villages in one area. This study aimed to map the cluster of catching fisheries area based on the quantity of fish supply on a local market in Kei Islands and measure each cluster on their support and perspective on Marine Protected Area (MPA). We conducted a focus group discussion and collecting additional data by questionnaires with descriptive and quantitative analysis with logistic regression. The implication of this study can provide a clear view of coastal communities view on MPA program also to identify an area that has marine resources, human resources, and equipment to provide government an empirical view on catching fisheries in Kei Islands to issued better policy to develop fishing industry in Kei Islands.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Eduardo Costa Duarte Ferreira
2013-05-01
Full Text Available Contending and competing geographies are often implicitly involved in archipelagic spaces. Various small island states and territories with multi-island geographies have flourishing tourism industries that presuppose an archipelagic experience: visitors are encouraged to explore and sample different island constituents of the territory. This strategy taps into different tourism niche markets, improves local value added, and shares tourism revenue beyond key nodes and urban centers. The organization of such an important economic activity however often reflects a ‘one-size-fits-all’, tightly coordinated, frequently contrived process that does not necessarily speak to the cultural and biogeographical forms of diversity that reside in the archipelago. This paper offers the notion of archipelago as a new way of rethinking problems and challenges encountered in island tourism, and then assesses the implications of this conceptualization on the representation of ‘the archipelago’ in the Azores, Portugal, and reviews what this approach means and implies for sustainable tourism policy.
Leonard Lardaro
2010-01-01
How can a state like Rhode Island have such a high unemployment rate? This question has been asked often over the past year, especially since at one point, Rhode Island found itself with the dubious distinction of having the highest unemployment rate in the United States. Following that extreme, Rhode Island seemed to settle into a niche where its rank was third nationally.
The lived experience of Pacific Island women with a “big body” size
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nafanua Braginsky
2016-03-01
Full Text Available This phenomenological study explored the lived experience with "big body" size of Pacific Island women who migrated to Hawaii. Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological approach was utilized in this study. A purposive sample included six Pacific Island women. Five of the six women had migrated to Hawaii from the island nations of Micronesia. The sixth participant was a Native Hawaiian who had lived in Micronesia and had returned to Hawaii. The collection and transcription of data were done by the first author. Data were categorized into themes independently by the three authors and bracketing was maintained throughout the study. The women identified the dichotomy of "big body" versus "small body" and the connotation of each body size in how they viewed the world around them. They shared their lifestyle and transitional changes in trying to adapt and ‘fit’ into the new lifestyle in Hawaii. These changes impacted their eating habits and work schedule, level of activity, and financial security. The women identified biopsychosocial concerns in their lives and the need to re-evaluate their "big body" size in relation to their health and physical and psychosocial changes. Implications for future research are to include a diverse representation of women from island countries within the Pacific Basin. The results of this study provided valuable information related to cultural relevance and sensitivity in working with Pacific Island women in managing their health.
Rudiastuti, A. W.; Munawaroh; Setyawan, I. E.; Pramono, G. H.
2018-04-01
Sustainable coastal management is playing an important role in coastal resources conservation, particularly on small islands. Karimata archipelago has unique characteristics and great potential to be developed as a tourism object, one of which is Karimata Island as the largest island and also reserve area. The concept of ecotourism focuses on the ecology conservation, economic benefits, and social life. Ecotourism aims to build sustainable tourism that provides economically viable and social benefits to the community. This study aims to develop coastal management strategy based on ecotourism at Karimata Island. Spatial approaching through coastal type was done. Qualitative descriptive analysis and SWOT are used to develop sustainable management strategies for the coast of Karimata Island, where the opportunities and challenges to the development of coastal ecotourism Karimata Island also included. If this potential is optimally utilized, it can be relied as an economic opportunity for local communities. Structurally shaped coast, marine depositional coast and coast build by organism are several of coastal types found at Karimata Island. Coastal ecosystems inhabited Karimata Island are mangroves, coral reefs, and macro-algae. Karimata Island have not been optimally utilized for tourist destinations. The biggest obstacle encountered is the accessibility from Kalimantan or other island at Karimata islands. Several problems related to the utilization of coastal resources were found such as mangrove and coral reef damage, also regulation that less supportive. The results of this study are expected to provide an overview of solutions for the development of coastal tourism potentials in Karimata Island.
Self-sustained magnetic islands
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Chatenet, J H; Luciani, J F [Ecole Polytechnique, 91 - Palaiseau (France); Garbet, X [Association Euratom-CEA, Centre d` Etudes de Cadarache, 13 - Saint-Paul-lez-Durance (France). Dept. de Recherches sur la Fusion Controlee
1996-06-01
Numerical simulations of a single magnetic island evolution are presented in the regime where the island width is smaller than an ion Larmor radius. It is shown that the island rotation is controlled by particle diffusion due to collisions or a background of microturbulence. As expected from the theory of a stationary island, there exist cases where linearly stable magnetic perturbation are nonlinearly self-sustained. This situation corresponds to large poloidal beta and temperature gradient. The drive is due to diamagnetic frequency effects. However, this situation is not generic, and islands can also decay. It is found that a magnetic island is self-sustained for a negative off-diagonal diffusion coefficient. This case occurs in a tokamak if the inward particle pinch is due to the temperature gradient. (author). 30 refs.
Self-sustained magnetic islands
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Chatenet, J.H.; Luciani, J.F.; Garbet, X.
1996-06-01
Numerical simulations of a single magnetic island evolution are presented in the regime where the island width is smaller than an ion Larmor radius. It is shown that the island rotation is controlled by particle diffusion due to collisions or a background of microturbulence. As expected from the theory of a stationary island, there exist cases where linearly stable magnetic perturbation are nonlinearly self-sustained. This situation corresponds to large poloidal beta and temperature gradient. The drive is due to diamagnetic frequency effects. However, this situation is not generic, and islands can also decay. It is found that a magnetic island is self-sustained for a negative off-diagonal diffusion coefficient. This case occurs in a tokamak if the inward particle pinch is due to the temperature gradient. (author)
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Pearlyn C. Manalo
2015-01-01
Full Text Available This paper presents the first field, geochemical and geophysical information on the recently recognized Early Cretaceous Balud Ophiolitic Complex (BOC in the island of Masbate in the Central Philippines. Mapping of the western limb of the island revealed that only the upper crustal section of the BOC is exposed in this area. Geochemically, the pillow basalts are characterized by transitional mid-oceanic ridge basalt-island arc tholeiitic compositions. Gravity surveys yielded low Bouguer anomaly values that are consistent with the highly dismembered nature of the BOC. Short wavelength, high amplitude magnetic anomalies registered across the study area are attributed to shallow magnetic sources. This is taken to support the model that the ophiolitic complex occurs as thin crustal slivers that are not deeply-rooted in the mantle. Comparing BOC with other ophiolites in the Central Philippines, such as those in the islands of Sibuyan, Leyte and Bohol, suggests the possibility of a common or contiguous source for similarly-aged and geochemically composed crust-mantle sequences in the region.
Reliving Island Life: Staging Stories of the Blasket Islands
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Daithí Kearney
2017-10-01
Full Text Available The Blasket Islands are located off the south-west coast of Ireland. No longer inhabited, the Great Blasket Island and its distinctive culture have been documented by a variety of writers and are celebrated today in an interpretative centre on the mainland and in performances by Siamsa Tíre, The National Folk Theatre of Ireland. “Siamsa” developed from local initiatives in North Kerry during the early 1960s and is located today in Tralee, Co. Kerry. It aims to present Irish folklore and folk culture through the medium of theatre involving music, song, dance and mime but invariably no dialogue. In this paper, I focus on the production Oiléan, based loosely on the stories of the Blasket Islanders, which was initially devised as part of the fiftieth anniversary commemoration of the departure of the last inhabitants of the islands in 2003.
46 CFR 7.85 - St. Simons Island, GA to Little Talbot Island, FL.
2010-10-01
... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false St. Simons Island, GA to Little Talbot Island, FL. 7.85... BOUNDARY LINES Atlantic Coast § 7.85 St. Simons Island, GA to Little Talbot Island, FL. (a) A line drawn from latitude 31°04.1′ N. longitude 81°16.7′ W. (St. Simons Lighted Whistle Buoy “ST S”) to latitude 30...
Adaptive radiation of island plants: Evidence from Aeonium (Crassulaceae) of the Canary Islands
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jorgensen, T.H.; Olesen, J.M.
2001-01-01
evidence that such traits have been acquired through convergent evolution on islands comes from molecular phylogenies; however, direct evidence of their selective value rarely is obtained. The importance of hybridization in the evolution of island plants is also considered as part of a more general......The presence of diverse and species-rich plant lineages on oceanic islands is most often associated with adaptive radiation. Here we discuss the possible adaptive significance of some of the most prominent traits in island plants, including woodiness, monocarpy and sexual dimorphisms. Indirect...... discussion of the mechanisms governing radiations on islands. Most examples are from the Hawaiian and Canarian floras, and in particular from studies on the morphological, ecological and molecular diversification of the genus Aeonium, the largest plant radiation of the Canarian Islands....
2002-01-01
Heron Island is located at the sourthern end of Australia's 2,050 km-long Great Barrier Reef. Surrounded by coral reef and home to over 1000 species of fish, scuba divers and scientists alike are drawn to the island's resort and research station. The true-color image above was taken by Space Imaging's Ikonos satellite with a resolution of 4 meters per pixel-high enough to see individual boats tied up at the small marina. The narrow channel leading from the marina to the ocean was blasted and dredged decades ago, before the island became a national park. Since then the Australian government has implemented conservation measures, such as limiting the number of tourists and removing or recycling, instead of incinerating, all trash. One of the applications of remote sensing data from Ikonos is environmental monitoring, including studies of coral reef health. For more information about the island, read Heron Island. Image by Robert Simmon, based on data copyright Space Imaging
U. S. Strategy for the Far East: Toward the 21st Century
1989-03-31
countries: Indonesia, Malaysia , Thailand, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tonga, Western Samoa, and Kiribati.10 The departure of New Zealand...American demands, a few South Korean firms have opened plants in America: Samsung manufactures TV’s in New Jersey. Another sensitive trade topic is...Pakistan, Malaysia , Hong Kong and India cooperate with the U.S. in our drug war efforts. Burma is the largest producer of opium, but recent domestic
Ford, Murray R.; Kench, Paul S.
2014-06-01
In 1905, a devastating typhoon hit Nadikdik Atoll (5°54‧ N and 172°09‧ E) in the southern Marshall Islands. Evidence suggests that large sections of reef islands on Nadikdik were overwashed and destroyed. Comparison of aerial photographs taken in 1945 and modern satellite imagery provides a unique record of the geomorphic adjustment of islands after the typhoon. Between 1945 and 2010 the vegetated area of islands on Nadikdik grew from 0.74 to 0.90 km2. Observed changes to Nadikdik reef islands manifested through a range of styles and were largely accretionary. Of note, the formation of a new island was tracked from an embryonic deposit to a fully vegetated and stable island over a 61 year period. Similarly, a number of previously discrete islands have agglomerated and formed a single larger island. These changes were rapid and indicate that reef island formation can occur quickly. Evidence suggests that despite the typhoon occurring over a century ago the geomorphic adjustment of islands is still on-going.
Zika virus: A review with oral health implications
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ruchika Khanna
2017-01-01
Full Text Available Zika virus was first isolated in the year 1947 from the blood of sentinel rhesus macaque of Uganda. The virus was introduced in Brazil from Pacific Islands and thereon spread rapidly. It was considered the first infectious disease to have birth defects. This review highlights the transmission, clinical aspects, clinical features, diagnosis, and possible implications of the virus for the dental team.
An indigenous soil classification system for Bellona Island - a raised atoll in the Solomon Islands
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Elberling, Bo; Breuning-Madsen, Henrik; Bruun, Thilde Bech
2010-01-01
One of the challenges of evaluating existing traditional farming systems is to combine local knowledge and modern scientific methods and terminology. This requires an evaluation of indigenous soil classification in modern terms. This paper focuses on an indigenous soil classification system...... perceive the same four out of seven soil types as highly useful for cultivation and rank these soil types similarly according to their suitability for different crops such as yam, watermelon, cassava and sweet potato. It is concluded that the indigenous soil classification is in line with the soil...... production potential and useful for land evaluation on Bellona....
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Birk, Thomas
2014-01-01
aims at critically re-assessing this view by placing climate in the context of a range of other internal and external stressors affecting local livelihoods, including population growth, inadequate land use practices, and lack of economic potential, as well as external factors such as poorly developed...
Talbot, S. S.; Talbot, S.L.; Walker, L.R.
2010-01-01
We studied the vegetation of Kasatochi Island, central Aleutian Islands, to provide a general field assessment regarding the survival of plants, lichens, and fungi following a destructive volcanic eruption that occurred in 2008. Plant community data were analyzed using multivariate methods to explore the relationship between pre- and post-eruption plant cover; 5 major vegetation types were identified: Honckenya peploides beach, Festuca rubra cliff shelf, Lupinus nootkatensisFestuca rubra meadow, Leymus mollis bluff ridge (and beach), and Aleuria aurantia lower slope barrens. Our study provided a very unusual glimpse into the early stages of plant primary succession on a remote island where most of the vegetation was destroyed. Plants that apparently survived the eruption dominated early plant communities. Not surprisingly, the most diverse post-eruption community most closely resembled a widespread pre-eruption type. Microhabitats where early plant communities were found were distinct and apparently crucial in determining plant survival. Comparison with volcanic events in related boreal regions indicated some post-eruption pattern similarities. ?? 2010 Regents of the University of Colorado.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Uyarra, M.C.; Cote, I.M. [East Anglia Univ., Norwich (United Kingdom). Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation; Gill, J.A. [East Anglia Univ., Norwich (United Kingdom). School of Environmental Sciences; Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, Norwich (United Kingdom); Tinch, R.T. [East Anglia Univ., Norwich (United Kingdom). School of Environmental Sciences; Macaulay Land Use Research Inst., Aberdeen (United Kingdom); Viner, D. [East Anglia Univ., Norwich (United Kingdom). Climate Research Unit; Watkinson, A.R. [East Anglia Univ., Norwich (United Kingdom). Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation; East Anglia Univ., Norwich (United Kingdom). School of Environmental Sciences
2005-03-15
Climate change may affect important environmental components of holiday destinations, which might have repercussions for tourism-dependent economies. This study documents the importance of environmental attributes in determining the choice and holiday enjoyment of tourists visiting Bonaire and Barbados, two Caribbean islands with markedly different tourism markets and infrastructure. Three hundred and sixteen and 338 participants from Bonaire and Barbados, respectively, completed standardized questionnaires. Warm temperatures, clear waters and low health risks were the most important environmental features determining holiday destination choice. However, tourists in Bonaire thereafter prioritized marine wildlife attributes (i.e. coral and fish diversity and abundance) over other environmental features, whereas tourists in Barbados exhibited stronger preferences for terrestrial features, particularly beach characteristics. The willingness of tourists to revisit these islands was strongly linked to the state of the preferred environmental attributes. More than 80% of tourists in Bonaire and Barbados would be unwilling to return for the same holiday price in the event, respectively, of coral bleaching as a result of elevated sea surface temperatures and reduced beach area as a result of sea level rise. Climate change might have a significant impact on Caribbean tourism economy through alteration of environmental features important to destination selection. Island-specific management strategies, such as focusing resources on the protection of key marine or terrestrial features, may provide a means of reducing the environmental and economic impacts of climate change. (author)
Bryophytes from Simeonof Island in the Shumagin Islands, southwestern Alaska
Schofield, W.B.; Talbot, S. S.; Talbot, S.L.
2004-01-01
Simeonof Island is located south of the Alaska Peninsula in the hyperoceanic sector of the middle boreal subzone. We examined the bryoflora of Simeonof Island to determine species composition in an area where no previous collections had been reported. This field study was conducted in sites selected to represent the spectrum of environmental variation within Simeonof Island. Data were analyzed using published reports to compare bryophyte distribution patterns at three levels, the Northern Hemisphere, North America, and Alaska. A total of 271 bryophytes were identified: 202 mosses and 69 liverworts. The annotated list of species for Simeonof Island expands the known range for many species and fills distribution gaps within Hulte??n's Western Pacific Coast district. Maps and notes on the distribution of 14 significant distribution records are presented. Compared with bryophyte distribution in the Northern Hemisphere, the bryoflora of Simeonof Island primarily includes taxa of boreal (55%), temperate (20%), arctic (10%), and cosmopolitan (8%) distribution; 6% of the moss flora are western North America endemics. A description of the bryophytes present in the vegetation and habitat types is provided as is a quantitative analysis of the most frequently occurring bryophytes in crowberry heath.
On the form of species–area relationships in habitat islands and true islands
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Matthews, Thomas J.; Guilhaumon, François; Triantis, Kostas A.
2016-01-01
and c vary between different island types. Location: Global. Methods: We used an information theoretic approach to compare the fit of 20 ISAR models to 207 habitat island datasets. Model performance was ranked according to pre-set criteria, including metrics of generality and efficiency. We also fitted......, and was the highest ranked model overall. In general, the more complex models performed badly. Average z-values were significantly lower for habitat island datasets than for true islands, and were higher for mountaintop and urban habitat islands than for other habitat island types. Average c-values were significantly...... multimodel comparisons demonstrated the nonlinear implementation of the power model to be the best overall model and thus to be a sensible choice for general use. As the z-value of the log–log power model varied in relation to ecological and geographical properties of the study systems, caution should...
Island formation without attractive interaction
Jansen, A.P.J.
2008-01-01
We show that adsorbates on surfaces can form islands even if there are no attractive interactions. Instead, strong repulsion between adsorbates at short distances can lead to islands, because such islands increase the entropy of the adsorbates that are not part of the islands. We suggest that this
Gao, Liang; Zhao, Yue; Yang, Zhenyu; Liu, Jianmin; Liu, Xiaochun; Zhang, Shuan-Hong; Pei, Junling
2018-01-01
To reconstruct the paleoposition of the Antarctic Peninsula relative to the South American Plate during the breakup of Gondwana, as well as the opening kinematics of the Drake Passage, we conducted detailed paleomagnetic, rock magnetic, and isotopic chronology studies of Byers Peninsula (Livingston Island) and Fildes Peninsula (King George Island) of the South Shetland Islands. The 40Ar/39Ar ages of the Agate Beach Formation to the Long Hill Formation in Fildes Peninsula range from 56.38 ± 0.2 Ma to 52.42 ± 0.19 Ma. Low natural remanent magnetization/isothermal remanent magnetization ratios, inconsistency with the polarity constrained by the paleomagnetic results and 40Ar/39Ar age constraints, as well as the widespread cation-deficient titanomagnetite and Ti-free magnetite of secondary origin, indicate that the volcanic and sedimentary rocks of Fildes Peninsula were remagnetized at about 55 Ma. Combining our results with previous data from the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula, we calculated the paleopoles for 110 Ma and 55 Ma for the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. The paleomagnetic reconstruction of the relative paleoposition of the Antarctic Peninsula and South America shows that these plates were connected and experienced a southward movement and clockwise rotation from 110 to 55 Ma. Subsequently, southward translation and clockwise rotation of the Antarctic Peninsula between 55 and 27 Ma separated the Antarctic Peninsula and South America, forming the Drake Passage. Northward translation of South America after 27 Ma increased the N-S divergence and increased the distance between the Antarctic Peninsula and the South American Plate.
Uranium hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance of the Solomon NTMS quadrangle, Alaska
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Langfeldt, S.L.; Youngquist, C.A.; D'Andrea, R.F. Jr.; Zinkl, R.J.; Shettel, D.L. Jr.
1981-08-01
This report presents results of a Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) of the Solomon NTMS quadrangle, Alaska. In addition to this abbreviated data release, more complete data are available to the public in machine-readable form through the Grand Junction Office Information System at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Presented in this data release are location data, field analyses, and laboratory analyses of several different sample media. For the sake of brevity, many field site observations have not been included in this volume. These data are, however, available on the magnetic tape. Appendices A and B describe the sample media and summarize the analytical results for each medium. The data were subdivided by one of the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) sorting programs of Zinkl and others into groups of stream sediment and stream water samples. For each group which contains a sufficient number of observations, statistical tables, tables of raw data, and 1:1000000 scale maps of pertinent elements have been included in this report. In addition, maps showing results of multivariate statistical analyses have been included. Further information about the HSSR program in general, or about the LANL portion of the program in particular, can be obtained in quarterly or semiannual program progress reports on open-file at DOE's Technical Library in Grand Junction. Information about the field and analytical procedures used by LANL during sample collection and analysis may be found in any HSSR data release prepared by the LANL and will not be included in this report
Groot, de Alma V.; Oost, Albert P.; Veeneklaas, Roos M.; Lammerts, Evert Jan; Duin, van Willem E.; Wesenbeeck, van Bregje K.
2016-01-01
The Frisian islands (Southern North Sea) have extensive island tails, i.e. the entire downdrift side of an island consisting of salt marshes, dunes, beaches and beach plains, and green beaches. Currently, large parts of these tails are ageing and losing dynamics, partly due to human influence.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Bratic, S.; Krajacic, G.; Duic, N.; Cotar, A.; Jardas, D.
2011-01-01
In order to analyze energy self-sufficient island, example of a smaller island, connected to the power system of a bigger island with an undersea cable, was taken. Mounting substation 10/0,4 is situated on the island and for the moment it provides enough electricity using the medium voltage line. It is assumed that the island is situated on the north part of the Adriatic Sea. The most important problem that occurs on the island is the population drop that occurs for a significant number of years, therefore, life standard needs to be improved, and economic development needs to be encouraged immediately. Local authorities to stimulate sustainable development on the island through different projects, to breath in a new life to the island, open new jobs and attract new people to come live there. Because of the planned development and increase of the population, energy projects, planned as a support to sustainable development, and later achievement of the energy self-sufficiency, is described in this paper. Therefore, Rewisland methodology appliance is described taking into the account three possible scenarios of energy development. Each scenario is calculated until year 2030. Also, what is taken into the account is 100% usage of renewable sources of energy in 2030. Scenario PTV, PP, EE - This scenario includes installation of solar photovoltaic modules and solar thermal collectors on the buildings roofs, as well as well as implementation of energy efficiency on the island (replacement of the street light bulbs with LED lightning, replacement of the old windows and doors on the houses, as well as the installation of the thermal insulation). Scenario PV island - This scenario, similarly to the previous one, includes installation of solar photovoltaic modules and solar thermal collectors an the residential buildings, as well as the 2 MW photovoltaic power plant and ''Green Hotel'', a building that satisfies all of its energy needs completely from renewable energy sources
One million served: Rhode Island`s recycling facility
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Malloy, M.G.
1997-11-01
Rhode Island`s landfill and adjacent materials recovery facility (MRF) in Johnston, both owned by the quasi-public Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corp. (RIRRC, Johnston), serve the entire state. The $12-million recycling facility was built in 1989 next to the state`s sole landfill, the Central Landfill, which accepts only in-state trash. The MRF is operated for RIRRC by New England CRInc. (Hampton, N.H.), a unit of Waste Management, Inc. (WMI, Oak Brook, Ill.). It handles a wide variety of materials, from the usual newspaper, cardboard, and mixed containers to new streams such as wood waste, scrap metal, aseptic packaging (milk and juice boxes), and even textiles. State municipalities are in the process of adding many of these new recyclable streams into their curbside collection programs, all of which feed the facility.
Immigrants, islandness and perceptions of quality-of-life on Prince Edward Island, Canada
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Peter Kitchen
2014-11-01
Full Text Available This paper explores perceptions of immigrant quality-of-life (QOL and islandness in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and compares these perceptions to those of Canadian-born residents of the same provincial capital. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, including a household telephone survey conducted in the summer of 2012 (n=302, focus group interviews with immigrants in late 2012 and observations on preliminary results by the staff of the PEI Association of Newcomers to Canada (PEIANC, the primary immigrant settlement service agency on the island. The analysis of the results suggests that immigrants have a high and undifferentiated assessment of their own QOL, sense of belonging and sense of place compared to Canadian-born islanders; immigrants are also critical of the quality of education and of the range of recreational and cultural events underway on the Island. While they express positive sentiments regarding life on the Island, immigrants still feel excluded from social and economic opportunities.
Last, Peter R; White, William T; Séret, Bernard
2016-02-23
The bluespotted maskray, Neotrygon kuhlii (Müller & Henle, 1841), once thought to be widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, consists of a complex of several species and the type series consists of multiple species; its nomenclature is discussed. A lectotype and paralectotype are designated and the species rediagnosed based on the types and a fresh specimen from Honiara (Solomon Islands), near to the collection locality of the lectotype (Vanikoro, Solomon Islands). Molecular and morphological data provide confirmatory evidence that this maskray is distinct from some other regional forms. Three members of the complex from the Western Pacific identified in earlier studies are confirmed to be new species; Neotrygon australiae sp. nov. (Australia, New Guinea and eastern Indonesia), N. caeruleopunctata sp. nov. (Indian Ocean), and N. orientale sp. nov. (North-West Pacific). These species differ from each other and N. kuhlii in their adult size, anterior angle of the disc, number and distribution of blue spots on the dorsal disc, and other more subtle morphometric and meristic characters. Another largely plain-coloured Neotrygon, also currently misidentified as N. kuhlii, is sympatric with N. orientale sp. nov. in the South China Sea and off Taiwan. Neotrygon varidens (Garman) is resurrected as the valid name for this ray. A key is provided to species of the genus.
Glas, Martin S; Motti, Cherie A; Negri, Andrew P; Sato, Yui; Froscio, Suzanne; Humpage, Andrew R; Krock, Bernd; Cembella, Allan; Bourne, David G
2010-07-01
Cyanobacterial toxins (i.e. microcystins) produced within the microbial mat of coral black band disease (BBD) have been implicated in disease pathogenicity. This study investigated the presence of toxins within BBD lesions and other cyanobacterial patch (CP) lesions, which, in some instances ( approximately 19%), facilitated the onset of BBD, from an outbreak site at Pelorus Island on the inshore, central Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Cyanobacterial species that dominated the biomass of CP and BBD lesions were cultivated and identified, based on morphology and 16S rRNA gene sequences, as Blennothrix- and Oscillatoria-affiliated species, respectively, and identical to cyanobacterial sequences retrieved from previous molecular studies from this site. The presence of the cyanotoxins microcystin, cylindrospermopsin, saxitoxin, nodularin and anatoxin and their respective gene operons in field samples of CP and BBD lesions and their respective culture isolations was tested using genetic (PCR-based screenings), chemical (HPLC-UV, FTICR-MS and LC/MS(n)) and biochemical (PP2A) methods. Cyanotoxins and cyanotoxin synthetase genes were not detected in any of the samples. Cyanobacterial species dominant within CP and BBD lesions were phylogenetically distinct from species previously shown to produce cyanotoxins and isolated from BBD lesions. The results from this study demonstrate that cyanobacterial toxins appear to play no role in the pathogenicity of CP and BBD at this site on the GBR.
Pathogenicity island mobility and gene content.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Williams, Kelly Porter
2013-10-01
Key goals towards national biosecurity include methods for analyzing pathogens, predicting their emergence, and developing countermeasures. These goals are served by studying bacterial genes that promote pathogenicity and the pathogenicity islands that mobilize them. Cyberinfrastructure promoting an island database advances this field and enables deeper bioinformatic analysis that may identify novel pathogenicity genes. New automated methods and rich visualizations were developed for identifying pathogenicity islands, based on the principle that islands occur sporadically among closely related strains. The chromosomally-ordered pan-genome organizes all genes from a clade of strains; gaps in this visualization indicate islands, and decorations of the gene matrix facilitate exploration of island gene functions. A %E2%80%9Clearned phyloblocks%E2%80%9D method was developed for automated island identification, that trains on the phylogenetic patterns of islands identified by other methods. Learned phyloblocks better defined termini of previously identified islands in multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC BAA-2146, and found its only antibiotic resistance island.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kenji Suetsugu
2014-12-01
Full Text Available We found Gastrodia fontinalis T. P. Lin in a bamboo forest from Takeshima Island, which is the northernmost island of the Ryukyu Islands in Japan. This species is apparently rare and was previously considered to be an endemic Taiwanese species. Because there are a few minor differences between the original description and our specimens collected in Takeshima Island, here we report Gastrodia fontinalis from Takeshima Island as the first record outside of Taiwan, with a description of the specimens from Takeshima Island.
Renewable energy islands in Europe
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Oestergaard, Iben [ed.
1998-12-31
This publication includes a compiled presentation of various aspects concerning the possible transformation of some European islands into renewable energy communities and these projects were presented by a selection of pioneer islands at the first European Seminar on Renewable Energy Islands, held on the Danish island of Samsoee, 29-30 June 1998. This issue has increased in importance with the presentation of the ambitious EU-White Paper: `Energy for the future: Renewable Sources of Energy` which was adopted in 1998. One of the key elements of the strategy for an accelerated implementation of renewable energy is to transform 100 localities within Europe into communities which are to be 100% self-sufficient with renewable energy before 2010. In line with this strategy, the Danish Government appointed the island of Samsoe towards the end of 1997 to be the first `official` Danish, renewable energy island. This is to serve as a demonstration project for other local communities, both in Denmark as well as in the rest Europe. Gothland, Madeira, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Arki, Crete, Minorca and Orkney Islands were represented. Environmental advantages of wind, solar and wave power for distant island communities were indicated. Serious savings would be achieved by limitation of fossil fuel import and utilization of local resources. (EG)
Barrier island habitat map and vegetation survey—Dauphin Island, Alabama, 2015
Enwright, Nicholas M.; Borchert, Sinéad M.; Day, Richard H.; Feher, Laura C.; Osland, Michael J.; Wang, Lei; Wang, Hongqing
2017-08-04
Barrier islands are dynamic environments due to their position at the land-sea interface. Storms, waves, tides, currents, and relative sea-level rise are powerful forces that shape barrier island geomorphology and habitats (for example, beach, dune, marsh, and forest). Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Deep Water Horizon oil spill in 2010 are two major events that have affected habitats and natural resources on Dauphin Island, Alabama. The latter event prompted a collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the State of Alabama funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to investigate viable, sustainable restoration options that protect and restore the natural resources of Dauphin Island, Alabama.In order to understand the feasibility and sustainability of various restoration scenarios, it is important to understand current conditions on Dauphin Island. To further this understanding, a detailed 19-class habitat map for Dauphin Island was produced from 1-foot aerial infrared photography collected on December 4, 2015, and lidar data collected in January 2015. We also conducted a ground survey of habitat types, vegetation community structure, and elevations in November and December 2015. These products provide baseline data regarding the ecological and general geomorphological attributes of the area, which can be compared with observations from other dates for tracking changes over time.
33 CFR 80.712 - Morris Island, SC to Hilton Head Island, SC.
2010-07-01
... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Morris Island, SC to Hilton Head..., SC to Hilton Head Island, SC. (a) A line drawn from the easternmost tip of Folley Island to the... easternmost extremity of Hilton Head at latitude 32°13.0′ N. longitude 80°40.1′ W. [CGD 77-118a, 42 FR 35784...
Island dynamics and Minoan expansion in the Aegean: the Kythera Island Project
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Cyprian Broodbank
1999-11-01
Full Text Available In recent years archaeologists have become increasingly interested in the investigation of island societies. At a global level, discoveries in the Pacific, Caribbean, Mediterranean and elsewhere have greatly improved our understanding of the antiquity and dynamics of island life. Now archaeologists at the Institute, together with other colleagues, have embarked on a long-term interdisciplinary study of the island of Kythera in the Aegean.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
J. P. Roux
1992-10-01
Full Text Available The physiography and climate of Inaccessible and Nightingale Islands are briefly discussed. The vegetation and the major plant associations are described. Notes are given on the ecology and distribution of each taxon. Taxa newly recorded for Inaccessible Island include Agrostis goughensis, A.holgateana, A. wacei, Calamagrostis deschampsiiformis, Carex thouarsii var. recurvata, Conyza albida, Elaphoglossum campylolepium and Uncinia meridensis. One species, C. albida, is alien to the Tristan group. Two native ferns Asplenium platybasis var. subnudum and Blechnum australe were found on Nightingale Island for the first time, and the presence of introduced Malus domestica orchards was recorded. Two unidentified taxa were found that may represent new species: Elaphoglossum sp. at Inaccessible Island and Apium sp. at both Inaccessible and Nightingale Islands. The total number of vascular plant species recorded at Inaccessible and Nightingale Islands now stands at 98 and 43, respectively, of which 26 (28% and seven (16% are introduced species. Only Airiplex plebeja and two species of Cotula occur at Nightingale Island but are absent from Inaccessible Island.
World Bank
2015-01-01
This note aims to build understanding of the existing disaster risk financing and insurance (DRFI) tools in use in The Marshall Islands and to identify gaps where potential engagement could further develop financial resilience. The likelihood that a hazardous event will have a significant impact on the Marshall Islands has risen with the increasing levels of population and assets in the urban ...
A man and his island: The island mirror in Michael Crummey’s Sweetland
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Laurie Brinklow
2016-05-01
Full Text Available Between 1946 and 1975, dozens of islands and outports in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador were abandoned as part of a government resettlement policy. Families and communities were torn apart, and a culture and way of life that revolved around the fishery changed irrevocably. The practice, which continues to this day, has been well documented, particularly by artists and writers. Michael Crummey’s 2014 novel Sweetland is a recent iteration. The relationship between humans and place is complex: on an island, with compressed space and a very real boundary that is the ocean, emotional attachments to one’s place are often heightened and distilled. What happens when a person is displaced from his or her island; when bonds of attachment are severed and one’s mirrored double is destroyed? Sweetland offers a fictional lens through which we see an example of a mirrored relationship between an island protagonist and his island setting. Exploring themes of attachment to place, and what Barry Lopez calls a “storied” or “reciprocal” relationship with the land, this paper examines what happens to a man when confronted with leaving an island he knows as deeply as his own body and soul; and how the island reacts.
Island development: Local governance under globalization
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Huei-Min Tsai
2014-12-01
Full Text Available Issues surrounding island development have generated a growing volume of research. What does it mean to develop? How can island communities maintain control over development processes to the benefit of the local economy, rather than seeing economic flows enter and exit the island with little or a primarily negative impact? And how important is local knowledge for edifying local governance and enhancing potentials for innovation in island development? Island histories have repeatedly been forwarded as exemplars and ‘lessons’ for global learning on (unsustainability. To consider these issues, we have selected a number of papers from among the presentations given at the International Geographical Union’s Commission on Islands Conference, Island Development: Local Economy, Culture, Innovation and Sustainability, which took place in the Penghu Archipelago, Taiwan, 1–5 October 2013. These papers serve as examples of how the processes of globalization have penetrated the borders and changed the political and economic structures of islands. They also explore how island-based innovations in science, technology, culture, and formal or informal governance might contribute to sustainable island development.
FFT Algorithm for Binary Extension Finite Fields and Its Application to Reed–Solomon Codes
Lin, Sian Jheng
2016-08-15
Recently, a new polynomial basis over binary extension fields was proposed, such that the fast Fourier transform (FFT) over such fields can be computed in the complexity of order O(n lg(n)), where n is the number of points evaluated in FFT. In this paper, we reformulate this FFT algorithm, such that it can be easier understood and be extended to develop frequency-domain decoding algorithms for (n = 2(m), k) systematic Reed-Solomon (RS) codes over F-2m, m is an element of Z(+), with n-k a power of two. First, the basis of syndrome polynomials is reformulated in the decoding procedure so that the new transforms can be applied to the decoding procedure. A fast extended Euclidean algorithm is developed to determine the error locator polynomial. The computational complexity of the proposed decoding algorithm is O(n lg(n-k)+(n-k)lg(2)(n-k)), improving upon the best currently available decoding complexity O(n lg(2)(n) lg lg(n)), and reaching the best known complexity bound that was established by Justesen in 1976. However, Justesen\\'s approach is only for the codes over some specific fields, which can apply Cooley-Tukey FFTs. As revealed by the computer simulations, the proposed decoding algorithm is 50 times faster than the conventional one for the (2(16), 2(15)) RS code over F-216.
Energy Transition Initiative, Island Energy Snapshot - British Virgin Islands (Fact Sheet)
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
2015-03-01
This profile provides a snapshot of the energy landscape of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), one of three sets of the Virgin Island territories in an archipelago making up the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles.
Taiwan Y-chromosomal DNA variation and its relationship with Island Southeast Asia
2014-01-01
,000 years ago. The branches of the pincer contributed separately to the paternal gene pool of the Philippines and conjointly to the gene pools of Madagascar and the Solomon Islands. The North to South increase in diversity found for Taiwanese Austronesian speaking groups contrasts with observations based on mitochondrial DNA, thus hinting to a differentiated demographic history of men and women in these populations. PMID:24965575
Demographic Ageing on Croatian Islands
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ivo Nejašmić
2013-08-01
Full Text Available This paper analyses the changes in the population structure of the Croatian islands by age, warns of the degree of ageing, provides spatial differentiation of this process and presents perspective of ageing at the level of settlement. Typing of population ageing is based on scores and has seven types. The total island population in 2011 belongs to the type 5 – very old population. Almost a half of the settlements (out of 303 have been affected by the highest levels of ageing (types 6 and 7. It was found that a quarter of island settlements will become “dead villages” in a foreseeable future; most of them are on small islands but also in the interior of larger islands. These are villages decaying in every respect, in which the way of life, as we know it, veins and goes out. The present ageing villagers are their last residents in most cases. Eve¬rything suggests that demographic recovery of the islands is not possible with the forces in situ. It is important to strike a balance between the needs and opportunities in order to successfully organize life on the islands, both small and large ones, and the fact is that there is a continuing disparity, which is especially profound in small islands. A sensitive and selective approach is needed to overcome the unfavourable demographic trends. Therefore it is necessary to respect the particularities of indi¬vidual islands and island groups in devising development strategy. Solutions to the problems must come of the local and wider community in synergy with relevant professional and scientific institutions. However, if the solutions are not found or measures do not give results, if the islands are left to desorganisation and senilisation, a part of the islands will become a wasteland. With regard to the value of this area whose wealth are people in the first place, this would be an intolerable civilization decline.
The Island Smart Energy System and Market
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Ma, Zheng; Billanes, Joy Dalmacio; Jørgensen, Bo Nørregaard
2017-01-01
developing island smart energy systems with the integration of renewable energy resources can increase the energy supply and address the global island energy issues. The island smart energy system operates either in a single-island or in multi-islands. However the island characteristics and influ...
Terrestrial bird population trends on Aguiguan (Goat Island), Mariana Islands
Amidon, Fred; Camp, Richard J.; Marshall, Ann P.; Pratt, Thane K.; Williams, Laura; Radley, Paul; Cruz, Justine B.
2014-01-01
The island of Aguiguan is part of the Mariana archipelago and currently supports populations of four endemic species, including one endemic genus, Cleptornis. Bird population trends since 1982 were recently assessed on the neighbouring islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota indicating declines in some native species. Point-transect surveys were conducted in 2008 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to assess population densities and trends on Aguiguan. Densities for six of the nine native birds—White-throated Ground-dove Gallicolumba xanthonura, Collared Kingfisher Todiramphus chloris, Rufous Fantail Rhipidura rufifrons, Golden White-eye Cleptornis marchei, Bridled White-eye Zosterops conspicillatus and Micronesian Starling Aplonis opaca—and the non-native bird—Island Collared-dove Streptopelia bitorquata—were significantly greater in 2008 than in 1982. No differences in densities were detected among the surveys for Mariana Fruit-dove Ptilinopus roseicapilla, and Micronesian MyzomelaMyzomela rubratra. Three federally and locally listed endangered birds—Nightingale Reed-warbler Acrocephalus luscinius, Mariana Swiftlet Collocalia bartschi, and Micronesian Megapode Megapodius laperous)—were either not detected during the point-transect counts, the surveys were not appropriate for the species, or the numbers of birds detected were too small to estimate densities. The factors behind the increasing trends for some species are unknown but may be related to increased forest cover on the island since 1982. With declining trends for some native species on neighbouring islands, the increasing and stable trends on Aguiguan is good news for forest bird populations in the region, as Aguiguan populations can help support conservation efforts on other islands in the archipelago.
Degradation of mangrove tissues and implications for peat formation in Belizean island forests
Middleton, B.A.; McKee, K.L.
2001-01-01
1. Macrofaunal leaf consumption and degradation of leaves, woody twigs and roots were studied in mangrove island forests on a Belizean island. Factors influencing accumulation of organic matter deposited both above and below ground in this oligotrophic, autochothonous system were assessed. 2. Leaf degradation rates of Rhizophora mangle (red mangrove), Avicennia germinans (black mangrove) and Laguncularia racemosa (white mangrove) measured in mesh bags, were much faster in the lower than the upper intertidal zone. Mass loss was most rapid in A. germinans but zonal effects were much larger than species differences. 3. Exposure to invertebrates such as crabs and amphipods tripled overall rates of leaf litter breakdown. In the lower intertidal, crabs completely consumed some unbagged leaves within 23 days. Crabs also had an effect on some upper intertidal sites, where degradation of leaves placed in artificial burrows was 2.4 times faster than when placed on the soil surface. 4. In contrast to leaves (27??5% remaining after 230 days), roots and woody twigs were highly refractory (40??2% and 51??6% remaining after 584 and 540 days, respectively). Root degradation did not vary by soil depth, zone or species. Twigs of R. mangle and A. germinans degraded faster on the ground than in the canopy, whereas those of L. racemosa were highly resistant to decay regardless of position. 5. Peat formation at Twin Cays has occurred primarily through deposition and slow turnover of mangrove roots, rather than above-ground tissues that are either less abundant (woody twigs) or more readily removed (leaves).
Mendoza Vizcaino, Javier; Sumper, Andreas; Sudrià Andreu, Antoni; Ramirez, J.M.
2016-01-01
The electric generation systems on islands are based generally on fossil fuel. This fact and its supply make the electricity cost higher than in systems used in the continent. In this article, we present a review of the renewable energy generation systems on islands. To do it we analysed 77 islands from 45 different countries. This work will allow us to know how the implementation of renewable energy sources could help these islands in developing a renewable and sustainable energy sector, inc...
Lin, N.; Walker, R. J.; Mcpherron, R. L.; Kivelson, M. G.
1990-01-01
During the 1054 UT CDAW 6 substorm event, two ISEE spacecraft observed dynamic changes in the magnetic field and in the flux of energetic particles in the near-earth plasma sheet. In the substorm growth phase, the magnetic field at both ISEE spacecraft became tail-like. Following expansion phase onset, two small scale magnetic islands were observed moving tailward at a velocity of about 580 km/s. The passage of these two magnetic islands was coincident with bursts of tailward streaming energetic particles. The length of the magnetic loops was estimated to have been about 2 to 3 earth radii while the height of the loops was less than 0.5 earth radii. The magnetic islands were produced by multipoint reconnection processes in the near tail plasma sheet which may have been associated with the formation of the near-earth neutral line and the subsequent formation of a large scale plasmoid. The near-earth neutral line retreated tailward later in the expansion phase, as suggested by the reversal of the streaming of energetic particles.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Frank L. Miller
2003-04-01
Full Text Available The Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi was recognized as 'Threatened' by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada in 1979 and 'Endangered' in 1991. It is the only member of the deer family (Cervidae found on the Queen Elizabeth Islands (QEI of the Canadian High Arctic. The Peary caribou is a significant part of the region's biodiversity and a socially important and economically valuable part of Arctic Canada's natural heritage. Recent microsatellite DNA findings indicate that Peary caribou on the QEI are distinct from caribou on the other Arctic Islands beyond the QEI, including Banks Island. This fact must be kept in mind if any translocation of caribou to the QEI is proposed. The subspecies is too gross a level at which to recognize the considerable diversity that exists between Peary caribou on the QEI and divergent caribou on other Canadian Arctic Islands. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada should take this considerable diversity among these caribou at below the subspecies classification to mind when assigning conservation divisions (units to caribou on the Canadian Arctic Islands. In summer 1961, the first and only nearly range-wide aerial survey of Peary caribou yielded a population estimate on the QEI of 25 845, including about 20% calves. There was a strong preference for range on the western QEI (WEQI, where 94% (24 363 of the estimated caribou occurred on only 24% (ca. 97 000 km2 of the collective island-landmass. By summer 1973, the overall number of Peary caribou on the QEI had decreased markedly and was estimated at about 7000 animals. The following winter and spring (1973-74, the Peary caribou population declined 49% on the WQEI. The estimated number dropping to <3000, with no calves seen by us in summer 1974. Based on estimates from several aerial surveys conducted on the WQEI from 1985 to 1987, the number of Peary caribou on the QEI as a whole was judged to be 3300-3600 or only
CRED Gridded Bathymetry near Laysan Island (100-006), Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — File 100-006b is a 60-m ASCII grid of depth data collected near Laysan Island in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as of May 2003. This grid has been produced as...
CRED Gridded Bathymetry near Lisianski Island (100-001), Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — File 100-001b is a 60-m ASCII grid of depth data collected near Lisianski Island in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as of May 2003. This grid has been produced as...
75 FR 61993 - Amendment of Class E Airspace; Kwajalein Island, Marshall Islands, RMI
2010-10-07
...This action removes the reference to the Kwajalein Tactacial Air Navigation (TACAN) System from the legal description of the Class E airspace areas for Kwajalein Island, Bucholz AAF, Marshall Islands, RMI. The U.S. Army notified the FAA that the Kwajalein TACAN was decommissioned. This action corrects the legal descriptions for the Class E airspace areas in the vicinity of the Marshall Islands.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Paolo Madonia
2015-06-01
Full Text Available Vulcano, the southernmost of the Aeolian island arc (Italy, is characterized by a shallow coastal aquifer resulting from the mixing of seawater, meteoric recharge and volcanogenic fluids. The aquifer has been intensively studied during the last decades, but a comprehensive hydrogeological model has never been developed due to the lack of direct information about the litho-stratigraphic columns of the wells and the depth of water bearing levels. We present and discuss here the time and spatial analysis of water table elevation, temperature and electric conductivity data, acquired during the last 20 years in 33 wells located at Vulcano Island, with the aim of developing a groundwater circulation scheme able to fit the field observations. We retrieved a circulation scheme characterized by an intricate geometry of flow paths driven by horizontal and vertical permeability variations, accounting for the strong variability of geochemical data evidenced in this area by the related scientific literature. Extending these results to a general context, particular care must be taken in approaching the study of aquifers in volcanic islands, because a strong, small spatial scale variability of the hydrogeochemical parameters is expected, and a reliable knowledge of the local conditions is required for developing successful groundwater circulation schemes.
Returning from the Horizon: Introducing Urban Island Studies
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Xavier Barceló Pinya
2015-12-01
Full Text Available Island studies tends to focus on peripheral, isolated, and marginal aspects of island communities, while urban studies has showed scant awareness of islandness: Although many people research cities on islands, there is little tradition of researching island cities or urban archipelagos per se. Island cities (densely populated small islands and population centres of larger islands and archipelagos nevertheless play import cultural, economic, political, and environmental roles on local, regional, and global scales. Many major cities and ports have developed on small islands, and even villages can fulfil important urban functions on lightly populated islands. Island concepts are also deployed to metaphorically describe developments in urban space. The journal Urban Island Studies explores island and urban processes around the world, taking an island approach to urban research and an urban approach to island research.
Barrier island facies models and recognition criteria
Mulhern, J.; Johnson, C. L.
2017-12-01
Barrier island outcrops record transgressive shoreline motion at geologic timescales, providing integral clues to understanding how coastlines respond to rising sea levels. However, barrier island deposits are difficult to recognize. While significant progress has been made in understanding the modern coastal morphodynamics, this insight is not fully leveraged in existing barrier island facies models. Excellent outcrop exposures of the paralic Upper Cretaceous Straight Cliffs Formation of southern Utah provide an opportunity to revise facies models and recognition criteria for barrier island deposits. Preserved barrier islands are composed of three main architectural elements (shorefaces, tidal inlets, and tidal channels) which occur independently or in combination to create larger-scale barrier island deposits. Barrier island shorefaces record progradation, while barrier island tidal inlets record lateral migration, and barrier island tidal channels record aggradation within the tidal inlet. Four facies associations are used to describe and characterize these barrier island architectural elements. Barrier islands occur in association with backarrier fill and internally contain lower and upper shoreface, high-energy upper shoreface, and tidal channel facies. Barrier islands bound lagoons or estuaries, and are distinguished from other shoreface deposits by their internal facies and geometry, association with backbarrier facies, and position within transgressive successions. Tidal processes, in particular tidal inlet migration and reworking of the upper shoreface, also distinguish barrier island deposits. Existing barrier island models highlight the short term heterogeneous and dynamic nature of barrier island systems, yet overlook processes tied to geologic time scales, such as multi-directional motion, erosion, and reworking, and their expressions in preserved barrier island strata. This study uses characteristic outcrop expressions of barrier island successions to
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rangga Restu Prayogo
2016-12-01
Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to study the relationship among destination image, service quality, e-WOM, and revisit intentions in the tourism industry. A questionnaire given to tourists who visit one of the farrest island in western part of Indonesia, Sabang Island and using sampling through the convenience sampling. A structural equation model (SEM test with WarpPLS 3.0 was used to test the relationship between research variables. This research gathered from 150 respondents. The empirical results from PLS-SEM showed that; the destination image positive affect e-WOM and revisit intention; service quality affect e-WOM and revisit intention; e-WOM positive affect to revisit intention tourists. The implications and future research issues were discussed.
H10195: NOS Hydrographic Survey , Solomons Island, Maryland, 1986-03-26
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has the statutory mandate to collect hydrographic data in support of nautical chart compilation for safe...
F00297: NOS Hydrographic Survey , Solomons Island, Maryland, 1987-04-27
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has the statutory mandate to collect hydrographic data in support of nautical chart compilation for safe...
H10193: NOS Hydrographic Survey , Solomons Island, Maryland, 1986-02-07
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has the statutory mandate to collect hydrographic data in support of nautical chart compilation for safe...
F00280: NOS Hydrographic Survey , Solomons Island, Maryland, 1986-04-14
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has the statutory mandate to collect hydrographic data in support of nautical chart compilation for safe...
Gridded multibeam bathymetry of Howland Island, Pacific Remote Island Areas, Central Pacific
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Gridded bathymetry at 40m resolution surrounding Howland Island, within the Pacific Remote Island Areas - Central Pacific Ocean. Bottom coverage was achieved in...
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Hoke, Anderson [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Nelson, Austin [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Miller, Brian [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Chakraborty, Sudipta [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Bell, Frances [SolarCity, San Mateo, CA (United States); McCarty, Michael [SolarCity, San Mateo, CA (United States)
2016-07-01
As PV and other DER systems are connected to the grid at increased penetration levels, island detection may become more challenging for two reasons: 1.) In islands containing many DERs, active inverter-based anti-islanding methods may have more difficulty detecting islands because each individual inverter's efforts to detect the island may be interfered with by the other inverters in the island. 2.) The increasing numbers of DERs are leading to new requirements that DERs ride through grid disturbances and even actively try to regulate grid voltage and frequency back towards nominal operating conditions. These new grid support requirements may directly or indirectly interfere with anti-islanding controls. This report describes a series of tests designed to examine the impacts of both grid support functions and multi-inverter islands on anti-islanding effectiveness. Crucially, the multi-inverter anti-islanding tests described in this report examine scenarios with multiple inverters connected to multiple different points on the grid. While this so-called 'solar subdivision' scenario has been examined to some extent through simulation, this is the first known work to test it using hardware inverters. This was accomplished through the use of power hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) simulation, which allows the hardware inverters to be connected to a real-time transient simulation of an electric power system that can be easily reconfigured to test various distribution circuit scenarios. The anti-islanding test design was a modified version of the unintentional islanding test in IEEE Standard 1547.1, which creates a balanced, resonant island with the intent of creating a highly challenging condition for island detection. Three common, commercially available single-phase PV inverters from three different manufacturers were tested. The first part of this work examined each inverter individually using a series of pure hardware resistive-inductive-capacitive (RLC
Gridded multibeam bathymetry of Baker Island, Pacific Remote Island Areas, Central Pacific
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Gridded bathymetry at 40m resolution surrounding Baker Island, within the Pacific Remote Island Areas - Central Pacific Ocean. Bottom coverage was achieved in depths...
Mount, D L; Nahlen, B L; Patchen, L C; Churchill, F C
1989-01-01
Two field-adapted colorimetric methods for measuring the antimalarial drug chloroquine in urine are described. Both are modifications of the method of Saker and Solomons for screening urine for phencyclidine and other drugs of abuse, using the colour reagent tetrabromophenolphthalein ethyl ester. One method is semiquantitative, detecting the presence of chloroquine (Cq) and its metabolites in urine with a 1 microgram/ml detection limit; it is more sensitive and reliable than the commonly used Dill-Glazko method and is as easy to apply in the field. The second method uses a hand-held, battery-operated filter photometer to quantify Cq and its metabolites with a 2 microgram/ml detection limit and a linear range up to 8 micrograms/ml. The first method was validated in the field using a published quantitative colorimetric method and samples from a malaria study in Nigeria. The second method was validated in the laboratory against high-performance liquid chromatographic results on paired samples from the Nigerian study. Both methods may be used in remote locations where malaria is endemic and no electricity is available.
Vegetation assessment of forests of Pagan Island, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Pratt, Linda W.
2011-01-01
As part of the Marianas Expedition Wildlife Surveys-2010, the forest vegetation of the island of Pagan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), was sampled with a series of systematic plots along 13 transects established for monitoring forest bird populations. Shrubland and grassland were also sampled in the northern half of the island. Data collected were woody plant density, tree diameter at breast height, woody plant density in height classes below 2 m, and ground cover measured with the point-intercept method. Coconut forests (Cocos nucifera) were generally found to have low native tree diversity, little regeneration of trees and shrubs in the forest understory, and little live ground cover. The sole exception was a coconut-dominated forest of the northeast side of the island that exhibited high native tree diversity and a large number of young native trees in the understory. Ironwood (Casuarina equisetifolia) forests on the northern half of the island were nearly monocultures with almost no trees other than ironwood in vegetation plots, few woody plants in the understory, and low ground cover dominated by native ferns. Mixed native forests of both northern and southern sections of the island had a diversity of native tree species in both the canopy and the sparse understory. Ground cover of native forests in the north had a mix of native and alien species, but that of the southern half of the island was dominated by native ferns and woody plants.
Island biogeography of marine organisms
Pinheiro, Hudson T.; Bernardi, Giacomo; Simon, Thiony; Joyeux, Jean-Christophe; Macieira, Raphael M.; Gasparini, João Luiz; Rocha, Claudia; Rocha, Luiz A.
2017-09-01
Studies on the distribution and evolution of organisms on oceanic islands have advanced towards a dynamic perspective, where terrestrial endemicity results from island geographical aspects and geological history intertwined with sea-level fluctuations. Diversification on these islands may follow neutral models, decreasing over time as niches are filled, or disequilibrium states and progression rules, where richness and endemism rise with the age of the archipelago owing to the splitting of ancestral lineages (cladogenesis). However, marine organisms have received comparatively little scientific attention. Therefore, island and seamount evolutionary processes in the aquatic environment remain unclear. Here we analyse the evolutionary history of reef fishes that are endemic to a volcanic ridge of seamounts and islands to understand their relations to island evolution and sea-level fluctuations. We also test how this evolutionary history fits island biogeography theory. We found that most endemic species have evolved recently (Pleistocene epoch), during a period of recurrent sea-level changes and intermittent connectivity caused by repeated aerial exposure of seamounts, a finding that is consistent with an ephemeral ecological speciation process. Similar to findings for terrestrial biodiversity, our data suggest that the marine speciation rate on islands is negatively correlated with immigration rate. However, because marine species disperse better than terrestrial species, most niches are filled by immigration: speciation increases with the random accumulation of species with low dispersal ability, with few opportunities for in situ cladogenesis and adaptive radiation. Moreover, we confirm that sea-level fluctuations and seamount location play a critical role in marine evolution, mainly by intermittently providing stepping stones for island colonization.
Interaction of bootstrap-current-driven magnetic islands
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Hegna, C.C.; Callen, J.D.
1991-10-01
The formation and interaction of fluctuating neoclassical pressure gradient driven magnetic islands is examined. The interaction of magnetic islands produces a stochastic region around the separatrices of the islands. This interaction causes the island pressure profile to be broadened, reducing the island bootstrap current and drive for the magnetic island. A model is presented that describes the magnetic topology as a bath of interacting magnetic islands with low to medium poloidal mode number (m congruent 3-30). The islands grow by the bootstrap current effect and damp due to the flattening of the pressure profile near the island separatrix caused by the interaction of the magnetic islands. The effect of this sporadic growth and decay of the islands (''magnetic bubbling'') is not normally addressed in theories of plasma transport due to magnetic fluctuations. The nature of the transport differs from statistical approaches to magnetic turbulence since the radial step size of the plasma transport is now given by the characteristic island width. This model suggests that tokamak experiments have relatively short-lived, coherent, long wavelength magnetic oscillations present in the steep pressure-gradient regions of the plasma. 42 refs
Some data on the avifauna of the Island of Roti, Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia
Verheijen, J.A.J.
1976-01-01
INTRODUCTION For several years I had been looking for an opportunity to visit the island of Roti (Rotti, Roté, Loté). Junge (1954) mentions that only once an ornithological collection was made in the island, namely by Dr. H. F. C. ten Kate, an ethnologist who visited the island in 1891. Büttikofer
Islanded operation of distribution networks
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
NONE
2005-07-01
This report summarises the results of a study assessing the benefits and risks to distribution network of generator islanding and examining the technical, commercial and regulatory changes required to facilitate the operation of islanding. The background to the study is traced, and details are given of a literature review, the technical criteria for operating sections of the network in islanding mode, and the impact of islanding on trading. Case studies and a detailed implementation plan, data acquisition, and commercial incentives are discussed.
Islanded operation of distribution networks
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
2005-01-01
This report summarises the results of a study assessing the benefits and risks to distribution network of generator islanding and examining the technical, commercial and regulatory changes required to facilitate the operation of islanding. The background to the study is traced, and details are given of a literature review, the technical criteria for operating sections of the network in islanding mode, and the impact of islanding on trading. Case studies and a detailed implementation plan, data acquisition, and commercial incentives are discussed
HYDROGEOLOGICAL RELATIONS ON KARSTIFIED ISLANDS - VIS ISLAND CASE STUDY
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Josip Terzić
2004-12-01
Full Text Available An approach to the hydrogeological investigations on Adriatic islands is presented on the Island of Vis case study. Infiltration, accumulation and discharge of the groundwater occur in karstified rock mass. Hydrogeological relations are mostly a consequence of the geological setting, because of the complete hydrogeologic barrier in Komiža bay, and relative barrier in the area of karst poljes. Significant research was performed in the 1999 – 2000 period aimed of better understanding of hydrogeological relations. These investigations, as well as reinterpretation of some previously known data, included structural geology, hydrogeology, hydrology and hydrochemistry. Approximate rock mass hydraulic conductivity calculation is also shown, as well as level of its usability in such terrain. Based on all these methods, it is possible to conclude that on the Island of Vis there is no saline water present underneath the entire island. There is only a saline water wedge which is formed on the top of relatively impermeable base rock, some few tens of meters under recent sea level. With such a model, and taking in account the hydrological balance, it is possible to conclude that there is possibility of higher amount of groundwater exploitation then it is today (the paper is published in Croatian.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Polido, Alexandra, E-mail: a.polido@campus.fct.unl.pt [CENSE, Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research, Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus da Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica (Portugal); João, Elsa, E-mail: elsa.joao@strath.ac.uk [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Level 5, James Weir Building, 75 Montrose Street, Glasgow G1 1XJ, Scotland (United Kingdom); Ramos, Tomás B., E-mail: tabr@fct.unl.pt [CENSE, Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research, Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus da Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica (Portugal)
2016-02-15
The literature concerning Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) often refers to the importance of context-specific approaches. However, there is a lack of systematised and consistent studies that enhance tailor-made SEA practices and procedures. Small islands are bounded units of study which may help explore SEA theory and practice in special territories. Small islands present particular features and unique values, such as, small size and population, geographic isolation, limited resources and vulnerable ecosystems. Hence, the main goal of this research was to profile SEA practices and procedures in European small islands and provide a background for future research aiming to improve context-specific SEA applications. To achieve this goal, an exploratory case study was developed using Azores (Portugal) and Orkney (Scotland) archipelagos. An analysis of the corresponding mainland was also carried out to contextualise both case studies. The data collection was achieved through a qualitative content analysis of 43 Environmental Reports. The research found that there is not an SEA context-specific approach used within these European small islands, including guidelines, assessment topics, assessment techniques, follow-up and stakeholders engagement. The debate concerning specific approaches to small islands must be re-focused on the enhancement of SEA capacity-building amongst different stakeholders (including decision-makers), on the development and implementation of collaborative approaches, and on the exchange of knowledge and experiences between small islands networks. - Highlights: • Reviewed the differences between the Portuguese and Scottish SEA system • Showed a low integration of SEA specific features in reports of European small islands • Provides background for future SEA research for small islands approaches.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Polido, Alexandra; João, Elsa; Ramos, Tomás B.
2016-01-01
The literature concerning Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) often refers to the importance of context-specific approaches. However, there is a lack of systematised and consistent studies that enhance tailor-made SEA practices and procedures. Small islands are bounded units of study which may help explore SEA theory and practice in special territories. Small islands present particular features and unique values, such as, small size and population, geographic isolation, limited resources and vulnerable ecosystems. Hence, the main goal of this research was to profile SEA practices and procedures in European small islands and provide a background for future research aiming to improve context-specific SEA applications. To achieve this goal, an exploratory case study was developed using Azores (Portugal) and Orkney (Scotland) archipelagos. An analysis of the corresponding mainland was also carried out to contextualise both case studies. The data collection was achieved through a qualitative content analysis of 43 Environmental Reports. The research found that there is not an SEA context-specific approach used within these European small islands, including guidelines, assessment topics, assessment techniques, follow-up and stakeholders engagement. The debate concerning specific approaches to small islands must be re-focused on the enhancement of SEA capacity-building amongst different stakeholders (including decision-makers), on the development and implementation of collaborative approaches, and on the exchange of knowledge and experiences between small islands networks. - Highlights: • Reviewed the differences between the Portuguese and Scottish SEA system • Showed a low integration of SEA specific features in reports of European small islands • Provides background for future SEA research for small islands approaches
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Harper, A.F.A.; Digby, R.B.; Thong, S.P.; Lacey, F.
1978-04-01
In April 1978 a meeting of senior metrication officers convened by the Commonwealth Science Council of the Commonwealth Secretariat, was held in London. The participants were drawn from Australia, Bangladesh, Britain, Canada, Ghana, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Trinidad and Tobago. Among other things, the meeting resolved to develop a set of guidelines to assist countries to change to SI and to compile such guidelines in the form of a working manual
Late Quaternary climate change shapes island biodiversity.
Weigelt, Patrick; Steinbauer, Manuel Jonas; Cabral, Juliano Sarmento; Kreft, Holger
2016-04-07
Island biogeographical models consider islands either as geologically static with biodiversity resulting from ecologically neutral immigration-extinction dynamics, or as geologically dynamic with biodiversity resulting from immigration-speciation-extinction dynamics influenced by changes in island characteristics over millions of years. Present climate and spatial arrangement of islands, however, are rather exceptional compared to most of the Late Quaternary, which is characterized by recurrent cooler and drier glacial periods. These climatic oscillations over short geological timescales strongly affected sea levels and caused massive changes in island area, isolation and connectivity, orders of magnitude faster than the geological processes of island formation, subsidence and erosion considered in island theory. Consequences of these oscillations for present biodiversity remain unassessed. Here we analyse the effects of present and Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) island area, isolation, elevation and climate on key components of angiosperm diversity on islands worldwide. We find that post-LGM changes in island characteristics, especially in area, have left a strong imprint on present diversity of endemic species. Specifically, the number and proportion of endemic species today is significantly higher on islands that were larger during the LGM. Native species richness, in turn, is mostly determined by present island characteristics. We conclude that an appreciation of Late Quaternary environmental change is essential to understand patterns of island endemism and its underlying evolutionary dynamics.
Virtually Impossible: Deleuze and Derrida on the Political Problem of Islands (and Island Studies
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Stewart Williams
2012-11-01
Full Text Available It is commonplace to think of an island as a discreetly bounded unit. Selected writings on islands by the poststructuralist philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Jacques Derrida reveal the island variously to be both real and imaginary, mythological and scientific, but as most problematic when constituted in political terms as an indivisible, sovereign entity. These two thinkers’ more broadly developed concepts of the virtual and the impossible, respectively, are seen to disrupt any assumptions about the fixity and closure of the island polity. Instead they emphasize its actualization through processual relations that can be difficult yet dynamic and decisive in effecting the move from being to becoming-other. As the possibilities for instituting more ethical as well as different political relations open up, the question of island studies remaining in its currently coherent, familiar form is raised for consideration.
Bamboo Diversity in Sumba Island
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
KARSONO
2005-04-01
Full Text Available Bamboo is one of the economic plant which grow widely in the villages and have been used by the local people in the villages. Indonesia has about 10% of the world bamboo, 50% among them was endemic to Indonesia. According Widjaja (2001 Lesser Sunda Island which consists of Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Timor, Sumba and other small island eastern of Flores has 14 bamboo species, however, the information from the Sumba Island was lacking because of lacking data from this area except one species which was proposed by S. Soenarko in 1977 where the type specimens was collected by Iboet 443 in 1925. To fullfill data from the Sumba Island, an exploration to this area has been conducted on July 2003. The observation was done in West Sumba and East Sumba District, especially in two natioal parks at both districts. According to this inventory study in the Sumba Island, there were 10 bamboo species in Sumba Island, 1 species among them (Dinochloa sp. was a new species which has not been collected before, whereas the other species (Dinochloa kostermansiana has a new addition record from this area. The bamboo species in Sumba Island were Bambusa blumeana, Bambusa vulgaris, Dendocalamus asper, Dinochloa kostermansiana, Dinochloa sp., Gigantochloa atter, Nastus reholtumianus, Phyllostachys aurea, Schisotachyum brachycladum and Schizostachyum lima. From 10 recorded species, the genera Dinochloa and Nastus grow wild in the forest, whereas another species grow widly or cultivated in the garden. Furthermore, the genus Dinochloa was the only genus grow climbing. The endemic species found in Sumba Island was Nastus reholttumianus, whereas Dinochloa kostermansiana was also found in Flores Island.
Oak restoration trials: Santa Catalina Island
Lisa Stratton
2002-01-01
Two restoration trials involving four oak species have been implemented as part of a larger restoration program for Catalina Island. In 1997 the Catalina Island Conservancy began an active program of restoration after 50 years of ranching and farming activities on the island. The restoration program includes removing feral goats and pigs island-wide and converting 80...
Sable Island: A heritage to preserve
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Villeneuve, C.
1997-09-01
Sable Island is strategically located on the edge of the teeming fisheries of the Newfoundland Grand Banks and near one of the main sea routes between North America and Europe. It has been the bane of navigators from 1583 onward, with 250 ships running aground, the latest in 1947. Marine productivity around Sable Island is very high owing to the temperature differences between the currents and the adjacent underwater topography. Dolphins and whales abound in the area known as the `Gully`, and there are no fewer than 36 fish species present in the waters surrounding the Island. Approximately 35 per cent of the Island is covered by vegetation which is limited to species adapted to sandy soil containing little organic matter and few nutrients. Some plants, such as the American beachgrass, grow in dense colonies and help to stabilize the dunes. Bird diversity is limited to species adapted to open areas, ponds and the littoral. Some 324 species have been recorded on the Island, but only 25 are known to nest there. The Island is one of world`s most important breeding sites for grey seals where they can be observed in great numbers during mating, whelping and moulting season. Among the many introduced animals only the legendary horses of Sable Island remain to this day. Despite its remoteness and isolation, the Island faces many threats, one of the most worrysome being the erosion of the eastern extremity of the Island during severe winter storms. The Island benefits from its status as a Migratory Bird Sanctuary, and is legally protected under Sable Island Regulations of the Navigation Act.
Islanded operation of distributed networks
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
NONE
2005-07-01
This report summarises the findings of a study to investigate the regulatory, commercial and technical risks and benefits associated with the operation of distributed generation to power an islanded section of distributed network. A review of published literature was carried out, and UK generators were identified who could operate as part of an island network under the existing technical, regulatory, and safety framework. Agreement on case studies for consideration with distributed network operators (DNOs) is discussed as well as the quantification of the risks, benefits and costs of islanding, and the production of a case implementation plan for each case study. Technical issues associated with operating sections of network in islanded mode are described, and impacts of islanding on trading and settlement, and technical and commercial modelling are explored.
Islanded operation of distributed networks
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
2005-01-01
This report summarises the findings of a study to investigate the regulatory, commercial and technical risks and benefits associated with the operation of distributed generation to power an islanded section of distributed network. A review of published literature was carried out, and UK generators were identified who could operate as part of an island network under the existing technical, regulatory, and safety framework. Agreement on case studies for consideration with distributed network operators (DNOs) is discussed as well as the quantification of the risks, benefits and costs of islanding, and the production of a case implementation plan for each case study. Technical issues associated with operating sections of network in islanded mode are described, and impacts of islanding on trading and settlement, and technical and commercial modelling are explored
Oberle, Ferdinand K. J.; Swarzenski, Peter W.; Storlazzi, Curt
2017-04-01
Atoll islands, most of which only average 1-2 meters above today's sea level, provide a tremendous natural laboratory in which to study and better understand the intensifying impacts of high rates of sea-level rise on tropical reef-lined islands globally due to their unique geologic structure and limited water supply. Groundwater resources of atolls are typically minimal due to the low elevation and small surface area of the islands and are also subject to recurring droughts, and more frequent, storm-driven seawater overwash events. Although groundwater is the principal means of freshwater storage on atoll islands and is a major factor in determining the overall sustainability of island communities, hydrological data on how an aquifer will response to changes in sea-level rise or storm-driven overwash remain limited. We here present high-resolution time series hydrogeological and geochemical data to determine the role of the atoll's carbonate geology, land use, and atmospheric and oceanographic forcing in driving coastal groundwater exchange on the island of Roi Namur on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. This information can provide new estimates on the recovery and resilience of coastal groundwater resources on such islands to expected climate change-driven perturbations.
The coastline remote sensing survey for Zhao Shu Island in Xisha Islands based on WorldView-2
Li, Li; Zhong, Chang; Kong, Fanping
2014-11-01
Due to diastrophism, tide action and human activities, the coastline is always in flux. There are lots of coral islands in the south sea of China. Remote sensing survey for the coastline not only can reassert the necessity and importance of coral protection, but also can provide basic data and scientific basis for island ecologic protection, reasonable utilization of land resources. The study area named Zhao Shu Island lies in Jintong Islands of Xisha. It is a coral island which has people inhabited. Using WorldView-2 satellite remote sensing images as data sources we carry out three phases of coastline investigation and monitoring. The satellite data phases are 2002, 2010 and 2013. Firstly, affirm the bands valuable for color composition on the basis of spectral and correlation analysis. Then extract the coastline by a series of image process, such as image correction, fusion, waterline extraction and coastline revision. Finally determine the coastline types and length by artificial interpretation. The results show that the island length is gradually smaller, which means the island area is reducing. The beach bedrock coast in northern island was eroded seriously especially during the period between 2010 and 2013. In addition, the shoal head shape in the western island changed a lot.
Late Quaternary climate change shapes island biodiversity
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Weigelt, Patrick; Steinbauer, Manuel; Cabral, Juliano
2016-01-01
Island biogeographical models consider islands either as geologically static with biodiversity resulting from ecologically neutral immigration–extinction dynamics1, or as geologically dynamic with biodiversity resulting from immigration–speciation–extinction dynamics influenced by changes in island...... sea levels3, 4 and caused massive changes in island area, isolation and connectivity5, orders of magnitude faster than the geological processes of island formation, subsidence and erosion considered in island theory2, 6. Consequences of these oscillations for present biodiversity remain unassessed5, 7...
Ramos, N. T.; Sarmiento, K. J. S.; Maxwell, K. V.; Soberano, O. B.; Dimalanta, C. B.
2017-12-01
The remarkable preservation and extensive distribution of emergent marine terraces in the Philippines allow us to study relative sea level changes and tectonic processes during the Late Quaternary. While higher uplift rates and possible prehistoric coseismic events are recorded by emergent coral reefs facing subduction zones, the central Philippine islands are reported to reflect vertical tectonic stability as they are distant from trenches. To constrain the coastal tectonics of the central Philippine region, we studied emergent sea level indicators along the coasts of northern Cebu Island in Tabuelan, San Remigio, and Bogo City. Upper steps of marine terraces were interpreted from IFSAR-derived DEMs, in which at least two and seven steps were identified along the west (Tabuelan) and east (Bogo) coasts, respectively. In Tabuelan, two extensive terrace steps (TPT) were interpreted with TPT1 at 5-13 m above mean sea level (amsl) and TPT2 at 27-44 m amsl. Five to possibly seven terrace steps (BPT) were delineated in Bogo City with elevations from lowest (BPT1) to highest (BPT7) at BPT1: 4-6 m, BPT2: 12-18 m, BPT3: 27-33 m, BPT4: 39-46 m, BPT5: 59-71 m, BPT6: 80-92 m, and BPT7: 103-108 m amsl. These upper terraces are inferred to be Late Pleistocene in age based on an initial MIS 5e age reported for a 5-m-high terrace in Mactan Island. At some sites, even lower and narrower terrace surfaces were observed, consisting of cemented coral rubble that surround eroded and attached corals. These lower carbonate steps, with elevations ranging from 1 to 3 m amsl, further provide clues on relative sea level changes and long-term tectonic deformation across Cebu Island.
Autumn monitoring of resident avifauna on Guana Island, British Virgin Islands
C.W. Boal; J.M. Wunderle Jr.; W.J. Arendt
2013-01-01
Although the Caribbean region is considered a biodiversity hotspot and a priority for ecological conservation efforts, little information exists on population trends of West Indian landbirds. We combined avian survey data collected from three studies spanning a 16-year period on a small island with a minimal human presence in the British Virgin Islands. Although...
The pacific island health care project.
Person, Donald Ames
2014-01-01
US Associated/Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) include three freely associated states: Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and three Territories: American Samoa, Guam, and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The Pacific Island Health Care Project (PIHCP) provides humanitarian medical referral/consultation/care to >500,000 indigenous people of these remote islands. In the mid-1990s, we developed a simple store-and-forward program to link the USAPI with Tripler Army Medical Center. This application allowed image attachment to email consultations. More than 8000 Pacific Islanders have benefited from the program. Three thousand Pacific Islanders prior to telemedicine (1990-1997) and since store-and-forward telemedicine (1997-present), the PIHCP has helped an additional 5000. Records post dynamically and are stored in an archival database. The PIHCP is the longest running telemedicine program in the world delivering humanitarian medical care. It has bridged the Developing World of the remote Pacific Islands with advanced medical and surgical care available at a major US military teaching hospital. (The opinions expressed here are those of the author and not that of the Army, Department of Defense, or the US Government.).
The Pacific Island Health Care Project
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Donald Ames Person
2014-10-01
Full Text Available Introduction/BackgroundUS Associated/Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI include 3 Freely Associated States: Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and 3 Territories: American Samoa, Guam, and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. ObjectiveThe Pacific Island Health Care Project (PIHCP provides humanitarian medical referral/consultation/care to >500,000 indigenous people of these remote islands. Methods In the mid-1990s, we developed a simple store-and-forward program to link the USAPI with Tripler Army Medical Center (TAMC. This application allowed image attachment to email consultations. ResultsMore than 8000 Pacific Islanders have benefited from the program. 3000 Pacific Islanders prior to telemedicine (1990-1997 and since store-and-forward telemedicine (1997-present, the PIHCP has helped an additional 5000. Records post dynamically and are stored in an archival database. Conclusion The PIHCP is the longest running telemedicine program in the world delivering humanitarian medical care. It has bridged the Developing World of the remote Pacific islands with advanced medical and surgical care available at a major US military teaching hospital.(The opinions expressed here are those of the author and not that of the Army, Department of Defense, or the US Government.
Yaws in the Western Pacific Region: A Review of the Literature
Capuano, Corinne; Ozaki, Masayo
2011-01-01
Until the middle of the 20th century, yaws was highly endemic and considered a serious public health problem in the Western Pacific Region (WPR), leading to intensive control efforts in the 1950s–1960s. Since then, little attention has been paid to its reemergence. Its current burden is unknown. This paper presents the results of an extensive literature review, focusing on yaws in the South Pacific. Available records suggest that the region remains largely free of yaws except for Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. Many clinical cases reported recently were described as “attenuated”; advanced stages are rare. A single intramuscular injection of benzathine penicillin is still effective in curing yaws. In the Pacific, yaws may be amenable to elimination if adequate resources are provided and political commitment revived. A mapping of yaws prevalence in PNG, Solomon, and Vanuatu is needed before comprehensive country-tailored strategies towards yaws elimination can be developed. PMID:22235208
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lucas J. Siegfried
2014-12-01
Full Text Available doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15447/sfews.2014v12iss4art2Water use estimation is central to managing most water problems. To better understand water use in California’s Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, a collaborative, integrated approach was used to predict Delta island diversion, consumption, and return of water on a more detailed temporal and spatial resolution. Fabian Tract and Staten Island were selected for this pilot study based on available data and island accessibility. Historical diversion and return location data, water rights claims, LiDAR digital elevation model data, and Google Earth were used to predict island diversion and return locations, which were tested and improved through ground-truthing. Soil and land-use characteristics as well as weather data were incorporated with the Integrated Water Flow Model Demand Calculator to estimate water use and runoff returns from input agricultural lands. For modeling, the islands were divided into grid cells forming subregions, representing fields, levees, ditches, and roads. The subregions were joined hydrographically to form diversion and return watersheds related to return and diversion locations. Diversions and returns were limited by physical capacities. Differences between initial model and measured results point to the importance of seepage into deeply subsided islands. The capabilities of the models presented far exceeded current knowledge of agricultural practices within the Delta, demonstrating the need for more data collection to enable improvements upon current Delta Island Consumptive Use estimates.
Insular Area energy vulnerability, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands. Technical Appendix 1
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Stern, M.; Willard, E.E.; Efferding, S.
1994-05-01
This report was prepared in response to Section 1406 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (P.L. 192-486). The Act directed the Department of Energy (DOE) to ''conduct a study of the implications of the unique vulnerabilities of the insular areas to an oil supply disruption,'' and to ''outline how the insular areas shall gain access to vital oil supplies during times of national emergency.'' The Act defines the insular areas to be the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean, and Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and Palau in the Pacific. This report is the analysis of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. In the study, ''unique vulnerabilities'' were defined as susceptibility to: (1) more frequent or more likely interruptions of oil supplies compared to the mainland, and/or (2) disproportionately larger or more likely economic losses in the event of an oil supply disruption. In order to asses unique vulnerabilities, the study examined in the insular areas' experience during past global disruptions of oil supplies and during local emergencies caused by natural disasters. The effects of several possible future global disruptions and local emergencies were also analyzed. Analyses were based on historical data, simulations using energy and economic models, and interviews with officials in the insular governments and the energy industry
Insular Area energy vulnerability, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands. Technical Appendix 1
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Stern, M.; Willard, E.E.; Efferding, S. [Ensys Energy & Systems, Inc., Flemington, NJ (United States)
1994-05-01
This report was prepared in response to Section 1406 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (P.L. 192-486). The Act directed the Department of Energy (DOE) to ``conduct a study of the implications of the unique vulnerabilities of the insular areas to an oil supply disruption,`` and to ``outline how the insular areas shall gain access to vital oil supplies during times of national emergency.`` The Act defines the insular areas to be the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean, and Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and Palau in the Pacific. This report is the analysis of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. In the study, ``unique vulnerabilities`` were defined as susceptibility to: (1) more frequent or more likely interruptions of oil supplies compared to the mainland, and/or (2) disproportionately larger or more likely economic losses in the event of an oil supply disruption. In order to asses unique vulnerabilities, the study examined in the insular areas` experience during past global disruptions of oil supplies and during local emergencies caused by natural disasters. The effects of several possible future global disruptions and local emergencies were also analyzed. Analyses were based on historical data, simulations using energy and economic models, and interviews with officials in the insular governments and the energy industry.
Individuals Are Continents; or, Why It's Time to Retire the Island Approach to Addiction.
Tootle, William; Ziegler, James; Singer, Merrill
2015-01-01
Individuals are not island isolates. This is an old insight that finds expression in indigenous worldviews, ancient philosophies, religious doctrine, and modern social theories. Even so, science remains encumbered by the false dichotomies and reductionism inherited from the capitalist revolution and reinforced by the fragmentation of modern life. This same heritage encumbers addiction research and efforts to devise effective interventions. It does so because the island concept at its core filters out the most decisive factors contributing to addiction. We therefore recommend its replacement with what we call the continental concept of the individual, which conceives of society and the natural environment as extensions of individual corporeal bodies. Such a theoretical reorientation has significant implications for intervention research and practice. More specifically, it radically expands the scope of what constitutes a valid intervention in the first place. We call this reorientation the continental approach to drug addiction.
Jones, Andrew; Symposium on Global Environmental Change and Small Islands
2014-01-01
This presentation reviews threats to, and consequences of, current climate and environmental change on tourism destinations. The paper reviews recent published research on the impacts of climate and environmental change and consequences of such on the physical social and economic character of tourism operations using the Maltese Islands as a case. The validity and practicality of management options to tackle the complex nature and juxtaposition between tourism growth, climate and environment ...
An Overview of Geodetic Volcano Research in the Canary Islands
Fernández, José; González, Pablo J.; Camacho, Antonio G.; Prieto, Juan F.; Brú, Guadalupe
2015-11-01
The Canary Islands are mostly characterized by diffuse and scattered volcanism affecting a large area, with only one active stratovolcano, the Teide-Pico Viejo complex (Tenerife). More than 2 million people live and work in the 7,447 km2 of the archipelago, resulting in an average population density three times greater than the rest of Spain. This fact, together with the growth of exposure during the past 40 years, increases volcanic risk with respect previous eruptions, as witnessed during the recent 2011-2012 El Hierro submarine eruption. Therefore, in addition to purely scientific reasons there are economic and population-security reasons for developing and maintaining an efficient volcano monitoring system. In this scenario geodetic monitoring represents an important part of the monitoring system. We describe volcano geodetic monitoring research carried out in the Canary Islands and the results obtained. We consider for each epoch the two main existing constraints: the level of volcanic activity in the archipelago, and the limitations of the techniques available at the time. Theoretical and observational aspects are considered, as well as the implications for operational volcano surveillance. Current challenges of and future perspectives in geodetic volcano monitoring in the Canaries are also presented.
Dunn, Michael J; Jackson, Jennifer A; Adlard, Stacey; Lynnes, Amanda S; Briggs, Dirk R; Fox, Derren; Waluda, Claire M
2016-01-01
We report long-term changes in population size of three species of sympatrically breeding pygoscelid penguins: Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae), chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarctica) and gentoo (Pygoscelis papua ellsworthii) over a 38 year period at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, based on annual counts from selected colonies and decadal all-island systematic counts of occupied nests. Comparing total numbers of breeding pairs over the whole island from 1978/79 to 2015/16 revealed varying fortunes: gentoo penguin pairs increased by 255%, (3.5% per annum), chinstrap penguins declined by 68% (-3.6% per annum) and Adélie penguins declined by 42% (-1.5% per annum). The chinstrap population has declined steadily over the last four decades. In contrast, Adélie and gentoo penguins have experienced phases of population increase and decline. Annual surveys of selected chinstrap and Adélie colonies produced similar trends from those revealed by island-wide surveys, allowing total island population trends to be inferred relatively well. However, while the annual colony counts of chinstrap and Adélie penguins showed a trend consistent in direction with the results from all-island surveys, the magnitude of estimated population change was markedly different between colony wide and all island counts. Annual population patterns suggest that pair numbers in the study areas partly reflect immigration and emigration of nesting birds between different parts of the island. Breeding success for all three species remained broadly stable over time in the annually monitored colonies. Breeding success rates in gentoo and chinstrap penguins were strongly correlated, despite the differing trends in population size. This study shows the importance of effective, standardised monitoring to accurately determine long-term population trajectories. Our results indicate significant declines in the Adélie and chinstrap penguin populations at Signy Island over the last five decades, and a gradual
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Patino, Jairo; Whittaker, Robert J.; Borges, Paulo A.V.
2017-01-01
Aims: The 50th anniversary of the publication of the seminal book, The Theory of Island Biogeography, by Robert H. MacArthur and Edward O. Wilson, is a timely moment to review and identify key research foci that could advance island biology. Here, we take a collaborative horizon-scanning approach...... to identify 50 fundamental questions for the continued development of the field. Location: Worldwide. Methods: We adapted a well-established methodology of horizon scanning to identify priority research questions in island biology, and initiated it during the Island Biology 2016 conference held in the Azores......); global change (5); conservation and management policies (5); and invasive alien species (4). Main conclusions: Collectively, this cross-disciplinary set of topics covering the 50 fundamental questions has the potential to stimulate and guide future research in island biology. By covering fields ranging...
Xu, Liqiang; Liu, Xiaodong; Nie, Yaguang
2016-05-01
Seabird subfossils were collected on three islands of the Xisha Archipelago, South China Sea. Via elemental analysis, we identified that bird guano was a significant source for heavy metals Cu, Zn, and Hg. Cu and Zn levels in these guano samples are comparable to their levels in wildbird feces, but guano Hg was lower than previously reported. Trophic positions significantly impacted transfer efficiency of heavy metals by seabirds. Despite of a common source, trace elements, as well as stable isotopes (i.e., guano δ(13)C and collagen δ(15)N), showed island-specific characteristics. Bird subfossils on larger island had relatively greater metal concentrations and revealed higher trophic positions. Partition of element and isotope levels among the islands suggested that transfer efficacy of seabirds on different islands was different, and bird species were probably unevenly distributed among the islets. Island area is possibly a driving factor for distributions of seabird species.
Pediatrics in the Marshall Islands
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Dungy, C.I.; Morgan, B.C.; Adams, W.H.
1984-01-01
The delivery of health care to children living on isolated island communities presents unique challenges to health professionals. An evolved method of providing longitudinal services to infants and children residing on islands of the Marshall Island chain - a central Pacific portion of the Micronesian archipelago - is presented. The difficulties associated with provision of comprehensive health care in a vast ocean area are discussed
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mario Fernández-Mazuecos
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Population genetic theory holds that oceanic island populations are expected to have lower levels of genetic variation than their mainland counterparts, due to founder effect after island colonization from the continent. Cistus monspeliensis (Cistaceae is distributed in both the Canary Islands and the Mediterranean region. Numerous phylogenetic results obtained in the last years allow performing further phylogeographic analyses in Cistus. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We analyzed sequences from multiple plastid DNA regions in 47 populations of Cistus monspeliensis from the Canary Islands (21 populations and the Mediterranean basin (26 populations. The time-calibrated phylogeny and phylogeographic analyses yielded the following results: (1 a single, ancestral haplotype is distributed across the Mediterranean, whereas 10 haplotypes in the Canary Islands; (2 four haplotype lineages are present in the Canarian Islands; (3 multiple colonization events across the archipelago are inferred; (4 the earliest split of intraspecific lineages occurred in the Early to Middle Pleistocene (<930,000 years BP. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The contrasting pattern of cpDNA variation is best explained by genetic bottlenecks in the Mediterranean during Quaternary glaciations, while the Canarian archipelago acted as a refugium of high levels of genetic diversity. Active colonization across the Canarian islands is supported not only by the distribution of C. monspeliensis in five of the seven islands, but also by our phylogeographic reconstruction in which unrelated haplotypes are present on the same island. Widespread distribution of thermophilous habitats on every island, as those found throughout the Mediterranean, has likely been responsible for the successful colonization of C. monspeliensis, despite the absence of a long-distance dispersal mechanism. This is the first example of a plant species with higher genetic variation among oceanic island
Issues and Tensions in Island Heritage Management: A Case Study of Motuihe Island, New Zealand
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
David Bade
2010-05-01
Full Text Available This paper draws on a New Zealand case study, Motuihe Island, to examine the challenges of conserving cultural heritage in places renowned for natural heritage values. In keeping with the broader trend toward the ecological restoration of islands close to Auckland, Motuihe Island is undergoing conversion into an ecosystem of native flora and fauna. Issues and tensions relating to the management of natural and cultural heritage will be discussed and influencing aspects investigated: the nature/culture dualism, the effect of New Zealand’s history and identity, and the influence of islandness on heritage management.
Perez-Cruz, L.; Urrutia-Fucugauchi, J.; Vazquez-Gutierrez, F.; Carranza-Edwards, A.
2007-12-01
Marine turtles are well known for their navigation ability in the open ocean and fidelity to nesting beaches. Green turtle adult females migrate from foraging areas to island nesting beaches, traveling hundreds or thousands of kilometers each way. The marine turtle breeding in the Galapagos Islands is the Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas agassisi); fairly common throughout the islands but with nesting sites located at Las Bachas (Santa Cruz), Barahona and Quinta Playa (Isabela), Salinas (Baltra), Gardner Bay (Española) and Bartolomé Islet. In order to characterize and to identify the geochemical signature of nesting marine turtle beaches in Galapagos Islands, sedimentological, geochemical and rock magnetic parameters are used. A total of one hundred and twenty sand samples were collected in four beaches to relate compositional characteristics between equivalent areas, these are: Las Bachas, Salinas, Barahona and Quinta Playa. Grain size is evaluated using laser particle analysis (Model Coulter LS 230). Bulk ICP-MS geochemical analysis is performed, following trace elements are analyzed: Al, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Ba, Pb, Fe, Mn, K, Na, Mg, Sr, Ca and Hg; and low-field magnetic susceptibility is measured in all samples at low and high frequencies. Granulometric analysis showed that Barahona and Quinta Playa are characterized for fine grained sands. In contrast, Salinas and Las Bachas exhibit medium to coarse sands. Trace metals concentrations and magnetic susceptibility show different distribution patterns in the beach sands. Calcium is the most abundant element in the samples. In particular, Co, K, and Na show similar concentrations in the four beaches. Las Bachas beach shows highest concentrations of Pb and Hg (maximum values 101.1 and 118.5 mg/kg, respectively), we suggest that the enrichment corresponds to an anthropogenic signal. Salinas beach samples show high concentrations of Fe, V, Cr, Zn, Mn and the highest values of magnetic susceptibility (maximum
Fellers, Gary M.; Drost, Charles A.; Murphey, Thomas G.
2008-01-01
More than 900 individually marked island night lizards (Xantusia riversiana) were captured on San Nicolas Island, California, between 1984 and 2007 as part of an ongoing study to monitor the status of this threatened species. Our data suggest that at least a few lizards are probably more than 20 years old, and one lizard would be 31.5 years old if it grew at an average rate for the population. Ages of 20 and 30 years seem reasonable given the remarkably slow growth during capture intervals of more than a decade for five of the lizards which we estimated to be 20 or more years old. Like other lizards, island night lizard growth rates vary by size, with larger lizards growing more slowly. In general, growth rates were somewhat greater on San Nicolas Island (compared with Santa Barbara Island), and this increase was sustained through all of the intermediate size classes. The higher growth rate may account for the somewhat larger lizards present on San Nicolas Island, although we cannot discount the possibility that night lizards on San Nicolas are merely living longer. The high percentage of small lizards in the Eucalyptus habitat might seem to reflect a healthy population in that habitat, but the high proportion of small lizards appears to be caused by good reproduction in the 1900s and substantially poorer reproduction in subsequent years. The Eucalyptus habitat has dried quite a bit in recent years. Night lizards in the Haplopappus/Grassland habitat have shown an increase in the proportion of larger lizards since 2000. There has also been an increase in the proportion of large lizards in the Rock Cobble habitat at Redeye Beach. However, there are has been some change in habitat with more elephant seals occupying the same area just above the high tide as do the night lizards. Southern alligator lizards and side-blotched lizards are both non-native on San Nicolas Island. Neither lizard causes obvious harm to island night lizards, and management time and effort should
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Fery Kurniawan
2016-04-01
Full Text Available The Indonesian government is currently directing its focus of development on the optimum uses of marine and coastal ecosystem services including the marine and coastal tourism. One of the main locus of coastal and marine tourism is the small islands tourism such as Gili Matra Islands among others. Small islands tourism is one of the favourite touristic activities because the destination provides beauty, exotism, aesthetic and a diversity of natural habitats including the warm, clear and attractive water. Tourism is being considered as a development instrument in order to boost a country’s economy and has become part of the global industry. However, tourism is also one of the actors that is responsible for environmental depletion, due to the constructions of buildings and tourism activities. This paper aims to study the level of vulnerability in small islands to tourism as a basis of integrated small islands management in Indonesian conservation area. The group of islands in this study consists of three islands namely Gili Ayer Island, Gili Meno Island and Gili Trawangan Island (known as Gili Matra Islands that were observed using Small Islands Vulnerability Index (SIVI. The results indicate that Gili Matra Islands have a vulnerability status from low into moderate, ranging from 2.25 to 2.75. Gili Ayer Island has the highest vulnerability with SIVI of 2.75 (Moderate, followed by Gili Meno Island with SIVI of 2.50 (Low and Gili Trawangan Island with SIVI of 2.25 (Low. The driving factor of vulnerability is the intensive utilization of marine tourism activities. Tourism is the sole stress to Gili Matra Island’s ecosystem due to its direct damaging impact and reducing its environmental quality. The vulnerability index which was built from the coastline, coral reef, live coral reef, and development area was applicable to assess the small island’s vulnerability in Indonesia, especially for coral island.
Dendrochronology of Strain-Relaxed Islands
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Merdzhanova, T.; Kiravittaya, S.; Rastelli, A.; Stoffel, M.; Denker, U.; Schmidt, O.G.
2006-01-01
We report on the observation and study of tree-ring structures below dislocated SiGe islands (superdomes) grown on Si(001) substrates. Analogous to the study of tree rings (dendrochronology), these footprints enable us to gain unambiguous information on the growth and evolution of superdomes and their neighboring islands. The temperature dependence of the critical volume for dislocation introduction is measured and related to the composition of the islands. We show clearly that island coalescence is the dominant pathway towards dislocation nucleation at low temperatures, while at higher temperatures anomalous coarsening is effective and leads to the formation of a depletion region around superdomes
Dendrochronology of strain-relaxed islands.
Merdzhanova, T; Kiravittaya, S; Rastelli, A; Stoffel, M; Denker, U; Schmidt, O G
2006-06-09
We report on the observation and study of tree-ring structures below dislocated SiGe islands (superdomes) grown on Si(001) substrates. Analogous to the study of tree rings (dendrochronology), these footprints enable us to gain unambiguous information on the growth and evolution of superdomes and their neighboring islands. The temperature dependence of the critical volume for dislocation introduction is measured and related to the composition of the islands. We show clearly that island coalescence is the dominant pathway towards dislocation nucleation at low temperatures, while at higher temperatures anomalous coarsening is effective and leads to the formation of a depletion region around superdomes.
The Limacidae of the Canary Islands
Regteren Altena, van C.O.
1950-01-01
CONTENTS Introduction............... 3 Systematic survey of the Limacidae of the central and western Canary Islands 5 Biogeographical notes on the Limacidae of the Canary Islands . . . . 21 Alphabetical list of the persons who collected or observed Limacidae in the Canary Islands.............. 31
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Isabel Andrade
2014-10-01
Full Text Available The Easter Island Province (EIP encompasses Easter Island (EI and Salas y Gómez Island (SGI, which are located in the eastern boundary of the south Pacific subtropical gyre. This province is one of the most oligotrophic region in the world ocean with a high degree of endemism and distinguished by having the clearest waters in the world. Issues related to the biophysical coupling that sustains biological production in this region are still poorly understood. Satellite data compiled over a ten year period was used to characterize the spatial and temporal chlorophyll-α (Chl-α variability around the EIP and determine the relationship between Chl-α and several physical forcing. Results shows a clear Chl-α annual cycle around the EIP, with maximum concentration during the austral winter. Chl-α spatial distribution shows a strong zonal dipole over EI that divides the island into two zones: southeast and northwest. Due to its small size and low elevation of SGI, it does not generate a significant local effect in Chl-α concentration, but a Chl-α increase is observed southeast of this island (~2 km associated to a seamount. The mean geostrophic current in the EIP flows eastward, associated with the southeastern boundary of the subtropical gyre. However, recurrent mesoscale eddies traveling northwestward and produce large surface current variability with periods of high velocities in opposite direction. In the spring, wakes of high Chl-α concentration can be observed over EI, associated with the generation and detachment of submesoscale eddies from EI, which could have important biological implications during periods of low regional biological production.
Genomic island excisions in Bordetella petrii
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Levillain Erwan
2009-07-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Among the members of the genus Bordetella B. petrii is unique, since it is the only species isolated from the environment, while the pathogenic Bordetellae are obligately associated with host organisms. Another feature distinguishing B. petrii from the other sequenced Bordetellae is the presence of a large number of mobile genetic elements including several large genomic regions with typical characteristics of genomic islands collectively known as integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs. These elements mainly encode accessory metabolic factors enabling this bacterium to grow on a large repertoire of aromatic compounds. Results During in vitro culture of Bordetella petrii colony variants appear frequently. We show that this variability can be attributed to the presence of a large number of metastable mobile genetic elements on its chromosome. In fact, the genome sequence of B. petrii revealed the presence of at least seven large genomic islands mostly encoding accessory metabolic functions involved in the degradation of aromatic compounds and detoxification of heavy metals. Four of these islands (termed GI1 to GI3 and GI6 are highly related to ICEclc of Pseudomonas knackmussii sp. strain B13. Here we present first data about the molecular characterization of these islands. We defined the exact borders of each island and we show that during standard culture of the bacteria these islands get excised from the chromosome. For all but one of these islands (GI5 we could detect circular intermediates. For the clc-like elements GI1 to GI3 of B. petrii we provide evidence that tandem insertion of these islands which all encode highly related integrases and attachment sites may also lead to incorporation of genomic DNA which originally was not part of the island and to the formation of huge composite islands. By integration of a tetracycline resistance cassette into GI3 we found this island to be rather unstable and to be lost from
CRED Gridded Bathymetry of Necker Island (100-021) in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — File 100-021b is a 60-m ASCII grid of depth data collected near Necker Island in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as of May 2003. This grid has been produced as...
The geology of the Falkland Islands
Aldiss, D.T.; Edwards, E.J.
1999-01-01
This report is complementary to the 1:250 000 scale geological map of the Falkland Islands compiled in 1998. The report and map are products of the Falkland Islands Geological Mapping Project (1996-1998). Geological observation and research in the Islands date from 1764. The Islands were visited during two pioneering scientific cruises in the 19th century. Subsequently, many scientists visited en route to the Antarctic or Patagonia. Geological affinities to other parts of the sout...
Shope, James B.; Storlazzi, Curt; Erikson, Li; Hegermiller, Christie
2016-01-01
Waves are the dominant influence on coastal morphology and ecosystem structure of tropical Pacific islands. Wave heights, periods, and directions for the 21st century were projected using near-surface wind fields from four atmosphere-ocean coupled global climate models (GCM) under representative concentration pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5. GCM-derived wind fields forced the global WAVEWATCH-III wave model to generate hourly time-series of bulk wave parameters around 25 islands in the mid to western tropical Pacific Ocean for historical (1976–2005), mid-, and end-of-century time periods. Extreme significant wave heights decreased (~10.0%) throughout the 21st century under both climate scenarios compared to historical wave conditions and the higher radiative forcing 8.5 scenario displayed a greater and more widespread decrease in extreme significant wave heights compared to the lower forcing 4.5 scenario. An exception was for the end-of-century June–August season. Offshore of islands in the central equatorial Pacific, extreme significant wave heights displayed the largest changes from historical values. The frequency of extreme events during December–February decreased under RCP 8.5, whereas the frequency increased under RCP 4.5. Mean wave directions often rotated more than 30° clockwise at several locations during June–August, which could indicate a weakening of the trade winds’ influence on extreme wave directions and increasing dominance of Southern Ocean swell or eastern shift of storm tracks. The projected changes in extreme wave heights, directions of extreme events, and frequencies at which extreme events occur will likely result in changes to the morphology and sustainability of island nations.
Accident at Three Mile Island: the human dimensions
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sills, D.L.; Wolf, C.P.; Shelanski, V.B.
1982-01-01
A separate abstract was prepared for each of the 19 chapters, divided according to the following Parts: (1) Public Perceptions of Nuclear Energy; (2) Local Responses to Nuclear Plants; (3) Institutional Responsibilities for Nuclear Energy; (4) The Interaction of Social and Technical Systems; and (5) Implications for Public Policy. All of the abstracts will appear in Energy Abstracts for Policy Analysis (EAPA); three will appear in Energy Research Abstracts (ERA). At the request of the President's Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island (the Kemeny Commission), the Social Science Research Council commissioned social scientists to write a series of papers on the human dimensions of the event. This volume includes those papers, in revised and expanded form, and a comprehensive bibliography of published and unpublished social science research on the accident and its aftermath
Matsumura, Yuko; Miyoshi, Emako
2018-01-01
Japan, one of the most famous islander nations in the world, has promoted the development of its remote islands for over 60 years after the Second World War. The target islands and projects for fostering development have been steadily expanded. However, the country is facing serious socio-economic challenges such as aging and recession, resulting in less available funding for preferential treatment to remote islands. Thus, the framework for boosting island development should be reconsidered, ...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Michael J Dunn
Full Text Available We report long-term changes in population size of three species of sympatrically breeding pygoscelid penguins: Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae, chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarctica and gentoo (Pygoscelis papua ellsworthii over a 38 year period at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, based on annual counts from selected colonies and decadal all-island systematic counts of occupied nests. Comparing total numbers of breeding pairs over the whole island from 1978/79 to 2015/16 revealed varying fortunes: gentoo penguin pairs increased by 255%, (3.5% per annum, chinstrap penguins declined by 68% (-3.6% per annum and Adélie penguins declined by 42% (-1.5% per annum. The chinstrap population has declined steadily over the last four decades. In contrast, Adélie and gentoo penguins have experienced phases of population increase and decline. Annual surveys of selected chinstrap and Adélie colonies produced similar trends from those revealed by island-wide surveys, allowing total island population trends to be inferred relatively well. However, while the annual colony counts of chinstrap and Adélie penguins showed a trend consistent in direction with the results from all-island surveys, the magnitude of estimated population change was markedly different between colony wide and all island counts. Annual population patterns suggest that pair numbers in the study areas partly reflect immigration and emigration of nesting birds between different parts of the island. Breeding success for all three species remained broadly stable over time in the annually monitored colonies. Breeding success rates in gentoo and chinstrap penguins were strongly correlated, despite the differing trends in population size. This study shows the importance of effective, standardised monitoring to accurately determine long-term population trajectories. Our results indicate significant declines in the Adélie and chinstrap penguin populations at Signy Island over the last five decades, and a
CpG island mapping by epigenome prediction.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Christoph Bock
2007-06-01
Full Text Available CpG islands were originally identified by epigenetic and functional properties, namely, absence of DNA methylation and frequent promoter association. However, this concept was quickly replaced by simple DNA sequence criteria, which allowed for genome-wide annotation of CpG islands in the absence of large-scale epigenetic datasets. Although widely used, the current CpG island criteria incur significant disadvantages: (1 reliance on arbitrary threshold parameters that bear little biological justification, (2 failure to account for widespread heterogeneity among CpG islands, and (3 apparent lack of specificity when applied to the human genome. This study is driven by the idea that a quantitative score of "CpG island strength" that incorporates epigenetic and functional aspects can help resolve these issues. We construct an epigenome prediction pipeline that links the DNA sequence of CpG islands to their epigenetic states, including DNA methylation, histone modifications, and chromatin accessibility. By training support vector machines on epigenetic data for CpG islands on human Chromosomes 21 and 22, we identify informative DNA attributes that correlate with open versus compact chromatin structures. These DNA attributes are used to predict the epigenetic states of all CpG islands genome-wide. Combining predictions for multiple epigenetic features, we estimate the inherent CpG island strength for each CpG island in the human genome, i.e., its inherent tendency to exhibit an open and transcriptionally competent chromatin structure. We extensively validate our results on independent datasets, showing that the CpG island strength predictions are applicable and informative across different tissues and cell types, and we derive improved maps of predicted "bona fide" CpG islands. The mapping of CpG islands by epigenome prediction is conceptually superior to identifying CpG islands by widely used sequence criteria since it links CpG island detection to
CpG island mapping by epigenome prediction.
Bock, Christoph; Walter, Jörn; Paulsen, Martina; Lengauer, Thomas
2007-06-01
CpG islands were originally identified by epigenetic and functional properties, namely, absence of DNA methylation and frequent promoter association. However, this concept was quickly replaced by simple DNA sequence criteria, which allowed for genome-wide annotation of CpG islands in the absence of large-scale epigenetic datasets. Although widely used, the current CpG island criteria incur significant disadvantages: (1) reliance on arbitrary threshold parameters that bear little biological justification, (2) failure to account for widespread heterogeneity among CpG islands, and (3) apparent lack of specificity when applied to the human genome. This study is driven by the idea that a quantitative score of "CpG island strength" that incorporates epigenetic and functional aspects can help resolve these issues. We construct an epigenome prediction pipeline that links the DNA sequence of CpG islands to their epigenetic states, including DNA methylation, histone modifications, and chromatin accessibility. By training support vector machines on epigenetic data for CpG islands on human Chromosomes 21 and 22, we identify informative DNA attributes that correlate with open versus compact chromatin structures. These DNA attributes are used to predict the epigenetic states of all CpG islands genome-wide. Combining predictions for multiple epigenetic features, we estimate the inherent CpG island strength for each CpG island in the human genome, i.e., its inherent tendency to exhibit an open and transcriptionally competent chromatin structure. We extensively validate our results on independent datasets, showing that the CpG island strength predictions are applicable and informative across different tissues and cell types, and we derive improved maps of predicted "bona fide" CpG islands. The mapping of CpG islands by epigenome prediction is conceptually superior to identifying CpG islands by widely used sequence criteria since it links CpG island detection to their characteristic
CRED Gridded Bathymetry of Nihoa Island (100-025) in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — File 100-025b is a 60-m ASCII grid of depth data collected near Nihoa Island in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as of May 2003. This grid has been produced as part...
South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty; Tratado Sobre La Zona Desnuclearizada Del Pacifico Sur
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
NONE
1986-02-15
On 6 August 1985 the South Pacific Forum, a body comprising the independent and self-governing countries of the South Pacific (Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Western Samoa), endorsed the text of the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty and opened it for signature [Spanish] El 6 de agosto de 1985 el Foro del Pacifico Sur, organo compuesto por los paises independientes y autonomos del Pacifico Sur (Australia, Fiji, Islas Cook, Islas Salomon, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Nueva Zelandia, Papua Nueva Guinea, Samoa Occidental, Tonga, Tuvalu, y Vanuatu), aprobo el texto del Tratado sobre la Zona Desnuclearizada del Pacifico-Sur y lo abrio a la firma.
Equilibrium theory of island biogeography: A review
Angela D. Yu; Simon A. Lei
2001-01-01
The topography, climatic pattern, location, and origin of islands generate unique patterns of species distribution. The equilibrium theory of island biogeography creates a general framework in which the study of taxon distribution and broad island trends may be conducted. Critical components of the equilibrium theory include the species-area relationship, island-...
DeWitt, Nancy T.; Stalk, Chelsea A.; Fredericks, Jake J.; Flocks, James G.; Kelso, Kyle W.; Farmer, Andrew S.; Tuten, Thomas M.; Buster, Noreen A.
2018-04-13
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, conducted bathymetric surveys of the nearshore waters surrounding Ship and Horn Islands, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Mississippi. The objective of this study was to establish base-level elevation conditions around West Ship, East Ship, and Horn Islands and their associated active littoral system prior to restoration activities. These activities include the closure of Camille Cut and the placement of sediment in the littoral zone of East Ship Island. These surveys can be compared with future surveys to monitor sediment migration patterns post-restoration and can also be measured against historic bathymetric datasets to further our understanding of island evolution.The USGS collected 667 line-kilometers (km) of single-beam bathymetry data and 844 line-km of interferometric swath bathymetry data in July 2016 under Field Activity Number 2016-347-FA. Data are provided in three datums: (1) the International Terrestrial Reference Frame of 2000 (ellipsoid height); (2) the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83) CORS96 realization and the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 with respect to the GEOID12B model (orthometric height); and (3) NAD83 (CORS96) and Mean Lower Low Water (tidal datum). Data products, including x,y,zpoint datasets, trackline shapefiles, digital and handwritten Field Activity Collection Systems logs, 50-meter digital elevation model, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee metadata, are available for download.
Jones, Andrew;
2015-01-01
This paper reviews threats to, and consequences of, current climate and environmental change on tourism destinations. The paper reviews recent published research on the impacts of climate and environmental change and consequences of such on the physical social and economic character of tourism operations using the Maltese Islands as a case. The validity and practicality of management options to tackle the complex nature and juxtaposition between tourism growth, climate...
Kuriiwa, Kaoru; Arihara, Hisashi; Chiba, Satoru; Kato, Shoichi; Senou, Hiroshi; Matsuura, Keiichi
2014-01-01
The Zunan Islands are located 360–650 km south of Tokyo, and consist of four uninhabited volcanoes: the Bayonnaise Rocks, the Smith Rocks, Torishima Island and the Sofugan Rock. Although all of the elements of the Zunan Islands are tiny islets and rocks, they form a series of stepping stones for shallow water fishes between the Izu Islands in the north and the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands in the south. We report here the first comprehensive survey of marine fishes in the Zunan Islands. A total o...
Ecology and Evolution: Islands of Change.
Benz, Richard
This book was designed for middle and junior high school science classes and focuses on island biogeography, ecology, and evolution. Sections include: (1) "Galapagos: Frame of Reference"; (2) "Ecology and Islands"; and (3) "Evolution." Nineteen standards-based activities use the Galapagos Islands as a running theme…
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Isabel Banos-González
2016-05-01
Full Text Available An integral dynamic model, in combination with other methods (indicators, policy and scenario analysis, is presented as a tool for sustainability assessment in island socio-ecological systems (SES. The Fuerteventura sustainability model (FSM, tested for the 1996-2011, allows a better understanding of the dynamic interactions between sustainability indicators and other factors of this island. The FSM was first applied to analyse the vulnerability of this island to climate change for the 2012-2025 period; results point to the need for urgent measures to mitigate its effects on some of the analysed indicators. A set of policy measures was then assessed from the behaviour of nine indicators and their sustainability thresholds. Finally, the FSM facilitated the development of a dynamic model of the island of El Hierro, extrapolating the features common to both SES. We propose this to be a useful tool for the quantitative sustainability assessment and the management of real island socio-ecological systems
The Idea of the Archipelago: Contemplating Island Relations
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Elaine Stratford
2013-05-01
Full Text Available Creative, innovative, and timely research on islands and island futures is warranted and pressing, not least because island(ers are poorly served by established tropes of them as subordinate to continents or mainlands. Opportunities exist to provide a more thoroughgoing account of island life and island relations, and the seven papers in this special issue address that task. In works that consider islands in the Timor Sea, the Caribbean, the Pacific, Atlantic and Southern Oceans, and that span several different disciplinary frames—archival-historical, critical theoretical, literary, cultural, geopolitical, sociological and artistic—these papers evidence both the diversity of approach to thinking with the archipelago, and numerous points in common. Among the latter is an understanding that island relations are built on connection, assemblage, mobility, and multiplicity, and a commitment to critically examine the ways in which these entanglements affect and give effect to island life. The models of island relationality brought to light by this collective focus on the archipelago reveal new and diverse connections of island peoples with their physical and cultural environments, and with the world beyond; create spaces for growing resilience, association and engagement; and invite further study.
seal Arctocephaius tropicaiis at Gough Island
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Population increase in the Amsterdam Island fur seal Arctocephaius tropicaiis at Gough Island. M.N. Bester. Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria. Population size of Arctocephalus tropicalis on Gough Island was determined by direct censuses of parts of the coast duro ing the summers of 1974 - 1976 ...
Simple method for calculating island widths
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Cary, J.R.; Hanson, J.D.; Carreras, B.A.; Lynch, V.E.
1989-01-01
A simple method for calculating magnetic island widths has been developed. This method uses only information obtained from integrating along the closed field line at the island center. Thus, this method is computationally less intensive than the usual method of producing surfaces of section of sufficient detail to locate and resolve the island separatrix. This method has been implemented numerically and used to analyze the buss work islands of ATF. In this case the method proves to be accurate to at least within 30%. 7 refs
Williams, S. Jeffress; Foley, Mary K.
2007-01-01
The U.S Army Corps of Engineers, New York District is developing engineering plans, including economic costs and benefits, for storm damage reduction along an 83 mile stretch of the coastal barrier islands and beaches on the south shore of Long Island, NY from Fire Island Inlet east to the Montauk Point headland. The plan, expected to include various alternatives for storm protection and erosion mitigation, is referred to as the Fire Island to Montauk Point Reformulation Plan (FIMP). These plans are expected to follow the Corps of Engineers’ Environmental Operating Principles striving for long term environmental sustainability and balance between environmental protection and protection of human health and property. Fire Island National Seashore (FIIS), a 19,579 acre unit of the National Park System includes a 32 mile long coastal barrier island located within the FIMP project area. A seven-mile section of the park, Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness Area, is also a designated Federal Wilderness Area. The FIIS includes not only the barrier island and sand dunes, but also several islands, sand flats and wetlands landward of the barrier, submerged parts of Great South Bay shoreface, extending approximately 4,000 feet into the bay with the inner shelf region extending approximately 1,000 feet seaward of the Fire Island shoreline. The Fire Island barrier islands, a sand-starved system dominated by highly dynamic processes, are struggling to maintain their integrity in the face of sea-level rise and storms. Adding to the dilemma is that development on the barriers and the mainland has increased greatly during the past 50 years. As such, managers and decision makers in federal agencies, state agencies and local governments are challenged to balance tradeoffs between protection of lives and property, public access and long term conservation of natural habitats and processes and the plants and animals that depend on these habitats. National Park Service (NPS
Mosquito Surveys Carried out On Green Island, Orchid Island, and Penghu Island, Taiwan, in 2003
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hwa-Jen Teng
2005-02-01
Full Text Available Field surveys of mosquitoes were carried out on Green, Orchid, and Penghu Islands in 2003 to ascertain the status of mosquito vectors. Eighteen species of mosquitoes were collected, including three species of Anopheles, four species of Aedes, eight species of Culex, two species of Armigeres, and one species of Malaya. Seventeen previously recorded species were not collected in this study but 11 species collected had not previously been recorded. Ten newly recorded species, An. maculatus, An. takasagoensis, Ae. alcasidi, Ae. lineatopennis, Ae. vexans vexans, Ar. omissus, Cx. vishnui, Cx. halifaxii, Cx. hayashii, and Cx. neomimulus, were collected on Green Island and one previously unrecorded species, Ar. subalbatus, was collected on Orchid Island. Potential vectors An. maculatus and An. sinensis, malaria vectors in Korea and Mainland China, Ae. albopictus, a vector of dengue in Taiwan and West Nile virus in the USA, Cx. vishnui and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Japanese encephalitis vectors in Taiwan, Ae. vexans vexans, an eastern equine encephalitis vector in the USA, and Cx. quinquefasciatus, a vector of filariasis in Taiwan and West Nile virus in the USA, were among the mosquito species collected.
Three Mile Island - a review of the accident and its implications for CANDU safety
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Pannell, R.J.; Campbell, F.R.
1980-03-01
After the accident at the Three Mile Island-2 reactor all Canadian owners of CANDU nuclear power plants were asked by the Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB) to conduct a design review to assess the reliability of feedwater supply to boilers, the availability of backup cooling systems, and the adequacy of routine and emergency operating procedures. The authors studied the available information on the accident and the replies received from licensees. Their report is in three sections: a description of the accident, the authors' opinions of the underlying causes, and recommendations to the AECB regarding what might be done to confirm or improve the safety of CANDU plants
Solomon, Keith R; Stephenson, Gladys L
2017-01-01
This paper is a postscript to the four companion papers in this issue of the Journal (Solomon and Stephenson 2017a , 2017b ; Stephenson and Solomon 2017a , 2017b ). The first paper in the series described the conceptual model and the methods of the QWoE process. The other three papers described the application of the QWoE process to studies on imidacloprid (IMI), clothianidin (CTD), and thiamethoxam (TMX). This postscript was written to summarize the utility of the methods used in the quantitative weight of evidence (QWoE), the overall relevance of the results, and the environmental implications of the findings. Hopefully, this will be helpful to others who wish to conduct QWoEs and use these methods in assessment of risks.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Remillard, A.M.; Hetu, B.; Bernatchez, P.
2015-01-01
to the former presence of permafrost under periglacial conditions. These features truncate Carboniferous sandstone or Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) glacial and glaciomarine diamicts, both overlain by subtidal or coastal units. Six optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and four radiocarbon ages were obtained from......The Magdalen Islands are a valuable terrestrial record, evidencing the complex glacial and periglacial history of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Thirteen structures interpreted as ice-wedge pseudomorphs or composite-wedge casts were observed at four sites on the southern Magdalen Islands and testify...... both host and infilled sedimentary units. These ages provide the first absolute chronological data on these structures, shedding new light on the relationships between glacial and periglacial phases. Our chronostratigraphic data suggest that, after the deglaciation and the emersion of the archipelago...
Setoguchi, H; Watanabe, I
2000-06-01
Hybridization and introgression play important roles in plant evolution, and their occurrence on the oceanic islands provides good examples of plant speciation and diversification. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) and trnL (UAA) 3'exon-trnF (GAA) intergenic spacer (IGS) sequences of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA), and the sequences of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA were examined to investigate the occurrence of gene transfer in Ilex species on the Bonin Islands and the Ryukyu Islands in Japan. A gene phylogeny for the plastid genome is in agreement with the morphologically based taxonomy, whereas the nuclear genome phylogeny clusters putatively unrelated endemics both on the Bonin and the Ryukyu Islands. Intersectional hybridization and nuclear gene flow were independently observed in insular endemics of Ilex on both sets of islands without evidence of plastid introgression. Gene flow observed in these island systems can be explained by ecological features of insular endemics, i.e., limits of distribution range or sympatric distribution in a small land area.
Seed islands driven by turbulence and NTM dynamics
Muraglia, M.; Agullo, O.; Poye, A.; Benkadda, S.; Horton, W.; Dubuit, N.; Garbet, X.; Sen, A.
2014-10-01
Magnetic reconnection is an issue for tokamak plasmas. Growing magnetic islands expel energetic particles from the plasma core leading to high energy fluxes in the SOL and may cause damage to the plasma facing components. The islands grow from seeds from the bootstrap current effects that oppose the negative delta-prime producing nonlinear island growth. Experimentally, the onset of NTM is quantified in terms of the beta parameter and the sawtooth period. Indeed, in experiments, (3;2) NTM magnetic islands are often triggered by sawtooth precursors. However (2;1) magnetic islands can appear without noticeable MHD event and the seed islands origin for the NTM growth is still an open question. Macroscale MHD instabilities (magnetic islands) coexist with micro-scale turbulent fluctuations and zonal flows which impact island dynamics. Nonlinear simulations show that the nonlinear beating of the fastest growing small-scale ballooning interchange modes on a low order rational surface drive a magnetic islands located on the same surface. The island size is found to be controlled by the turbulence level and modifies the NTM threshold and dynamics.
Introduced mammals on Western Indian Ocean islands
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
James C. Russell
2016-04-01
Full Text Available The diversity of introduced mammals and their introduction history varies greatly across the Western Indian Ocean (WIO islands, from ancient introductions in the past millennia on islands off the East coast of Africa where extant terrestrial native mammal communities exist, to very recent invasions in the past decades on islands in the Mascarene archipelago. We compile the distribution of 16 introduced mammal taxa on 28 island groups comprising almost 2000 islands. Through an exhaustive literature review and expert consultation process we recorded all mammal eradications, and species recoveries which could be attributed to introduced mammal eradication or control. All island groups have been invaded by mammals, and invasive cats and rats in particular are ubiquitous, but cultural contingency has also led to regional invasions by other mammals such as lemurs, civets and tenrecs. Mammal eradications have been attempted on 45 islands in the WIO, the majority in the Seychelles and Mauritius, and where successful have resulted in spectacular recovery of species and ecosystems. Invasive mammalian predator eradication or control in association with habitat management has led to improved conservation prospects for at least 24 species, and IUCN red-list down-listing of eight species, in the Mascarene Islands. Future island conservation prioritisation in the region will need to take account of global climate change and predicted sea-level rises and coastal inundation. Greater investment and prioritisation in island conservation in the region is warranted, given its high biodiversity values and the extent of invasions.
Longitudinal analysis of categorical epidemiological data: a study of Three Mile Island.
Fienberg, S E; Bromet, E J; Follmann, D; Lambert, D; May, S M
1985-11-01
The accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in 1979 led to an unprecedented set of events with potentially life threatening implications. This paper focusses on the analysis of a longitudinal study of the psychological well-being of the mothers of young children living within 10 miles of the plant. The initial analyses of the data utilize loglinear/logit model techniques from the contingency table literature, and involve the fitting of a sequence of logit models. The inadequancies of these analyses are noted, and a new class of mixture models for logistic response structures is introduced to overcome the noted shortcomings. The paper includes a brief outline of the methodology relevant for the fitting of these models using the method of maximum likelihood, and then the model is applied to the TMI data. The paper concludes with a discussion of some of the substantive implications of the mixture model analysis.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Des Brisay, C.
2005-01-01
Terasen Gas is pursuing alternatives for the supply of additional natural gas capacity to Vancouver Island. Its subsidiary, Terasen Gas (Vancouver Island) Inc. (TGVI), is responding to the need for delivery of increased gas supply and, is supporting plans for new gas-fired power generation on Vancouver Island. TGVI's proposal for new natural gas capacity involves a combination of compression and pipeline loops as well as the addition of a storage facility for liquefied natural gas (LNG) at Mt. Hayes to help manage price volatility. This presentation outlined the objectives and components of the resource planning process, including demand forecast scenarios and the preferred infrastructure options. tabs., figs
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kamaruzzaman Sopian
2000-01-01
Wind data collected at three east coast islands of Peninsular Malaysia namely Tioman, Redang and Perhentian Island were analyzed for the wind energy potential. The results were presented as Weibull distribution and preliminary analysis indicate that the site at Redang Island have the greatest potential with a mean power density of 85.1 w/m 2 at 10 meters above sea level. (Author)
Carroll, A.; McNamara, D.; Schupp, C.
2009-12-01
Assateague Island National Seashore comprises a long barrier island located off the coasts of Maryland and Virginia. Geological evidence suggests that over recent centuries Assateague Island has steadily transgressed up the continental shelf in response to rising sea level. More recently, the natural barrier island dynamics governing Assateague’s evolution have been altered by human activity in three ways: the construction of a jetty and the subsequent interruption of alongshore sediment transport on the north end of Assateague and both the ongoing and abandoned maintenance of a continuous dune system along portions of Assateague with the concomitant modification to overwash dynamics. It is unclear how these varied human alterations to the natural barrier island dynamics will influence the response of Assateague to climate change induced shifts in forcing such as increased rates of sea level rise and changing storm patterns. We use LIDAR detected morphological data of Assateague Island as initial conditions in an alongshore extended model for barrier island dynamics including beach erosion, island overwash and inlet cutting during storms, and beach accretion, tidal delta growth and dune and vegetation growth between storms to explore the response of the various human altered segments of Assateague Island to forcing changes. Traditional models exploring barrier island evolution contain only cross-shore dynamics therefore lacking important alongshore-spatial dynamics in aeolian and surf zone sediment transport. Results show that including alongshore dynamics alter the steady state of Assateague relative to simulations that only include cross-shore dynamics. Results will also be presented exploring the potential for regime shifts in steady state behavior under various scenarios for the rate of sea level rise and storm climate and varying management strategies.
Terrestrial radiation measurements in Marshall Islands
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gudiksen, P.H.
1978-01-01
With the prospect of habitation in the near future, radiological surveys were undertaken of Enewetak and Bikini Atolls to provide a basis for determining whether or not the atolls can be safely reinhabited. The surveys included all of the forty islands within Enewetak Atoll, but only the two principal islands, Bikini and Eneu Islands, of Bikini Atoll. These atolls were former U.S. nuclear weapons test sites in the Pacific. Integral parts of the surveys were the measurements of the distributions of radioactivity in the soil and the resulting gamma ray exposure rates for external dose estimation. Numerous soil samples were collected from both atolls for analysis by Ge (Li) gamma spectrometry and by wet chemistry techniques. At Enewetak Atoll the gamma exposure rates were measured by TLDs and a helicopter-borne array of Nal detectors, while at Bikini Atoll portable Nal detectors, pressurized ion-chambers, and TLDs were utilized. The predominant species measured in the soil samples collected from both atolls were 90 Sr, 239,240 Pu, 137 Cs and 60 Co with the latter two nuclides being the primary contributors to the gamma-ray exposure rates. The geographical distribution of the exposure rates measured on both atolls, was highly variable ranging from less than 1 μR/h on islands that had not been impacted radiologically by the testing program, to over 100 μR/h near weapon detonation sites. Thus, within Enewetak Atoll, the highest soil activities and gamma-ray exposure rates were measured on the northern islands, where the weapons testing had been most intense. Bikini Island exhibited contamination levels that were considerably higher than those on Eneu Island. Generally, the highest activity levels were observed within the island interiors or in proximity to ground zero sites, and could usually be related to the surrounding vegetation density. The island of Yvonne, within Enewetak Atoll, is the most severely contaminated land area. Particles containing as much as several
Globally threatened vertebrates on islands with invasive species.
Spatz, Dena R; Zilliacus, Kelly M; Holmes, Nick D; Butchart, Stuart H M; Genovesi, Piero; Ceballos, Gerardo; Tershy, Bernie R; Croll, Donald A
2017-10-01
Global biodiversity loss is disproportionately rapid on islands, where invasive species are a major driver of extinctions. To inform conservation planning aimed at preventing extinctions, we identify the distribution and biogeographic patterns of highly threatened terrestrial vertebrates (classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature) and invasive vertebrates on ~465,000 islands worldwide by conducting a comprehensive literature review and interviews with more than 500 experts. We found that 1189 highly threatened vertebrate species (319 amphibians, 282 reptiles, 296 birds, and 292 mammals) breed on 1288 islands. These taxa represent only 5% of Earth's terrestrial vertebrates and 41% of all highly threatened terrestrial vertebrates, which occur in vertebrates was available for 1030 islands (80% of islands with highly threatened vertebrates). Invasive vertebrates were absent from 24% of these islands, where biosecurity to prevent invasions is a critical management tool. On the 76% of islands where invasive vertebrates were present, management could benefit 39% of Earth's highly threatened vertebrates. Invasive mammals occurred in 97% of these islands, with Rattus sp. as the most common invasive vertebrate (78%; 609 islands). Our results provide an important baseline for identifying islands for invasive species eradication and other island conservation actions that reduce biodiversity loss.
North Aegean island landscapes as ecomuseums: the case of Lesvos Island
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Evangelos Pavlis
2017-05-01
Full Text Available The main advantage of the Aegean islands, in generating national, regional, or international competitiveness, compared to the areas on the continental mainland, is their natural and cultural assets, their cultural landscapes. Consequently, the organized utilization of cultural heritage, rich biodiversity, and the unique Aegean landscape, could make the islands attractive as places to live or work and help them fulfill their sustainability goals. Ecomuseums are ‘in situ’ museums, aimed at local communities and managed by them, aiming at the interpretation, protection, utilization, and promotion of natural and cultural assets of a place, and at the economic revival of marginal regions through the combinational development of small-scale tourism, local manufacturing, and primary production sectors. They could function as laboratories of sustainable development. The island of Lesvos has been selected as a case study for such a potential ecomuseum.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Raoni Rebouças
Full Text Available Island Rule postulated that individuals on islands tend to dwarfism when individuals from mainland populations are large and to gigantism when mainland populations present small individuals. There has been much discussion about this rule, but only few studies were carried out aiming to reveal this pattern for anurans. Our study focused on measuring the size of individuals on islands and to find a possible pattern of size modification for insular anurans. Individuals were collected on continental islands, measured and compared to mainland populations. We selected four species with different natural history aspects during these analyses. Island parameters were compared to size of individuals in order to find an explanation to size modification. Three of the four species presented size shifting on islands. Ololygon trapicheiroi and Adenomera marmorata showed dwarfism, Boana albomarginata showed gigantism and in Thoropa miliaris there was no evident size modification. Allometric analysis also revealed differential modification, which might be a result of different selective pressures on islands in respect of mainland populations. Regression model explained most of the size modification in B. albomarginata, but not for the other species. Our results indicate that previous assumptions, usually proposed for mammals from older islands, do not fit to the anurans studied here. We support the assumption that size modification on islands are population-specific. Hence, in B. albomarginata some factor associated to competition, living area and isolation time might likely be responsible for gigantism on islands.
Carr, Stuart C; McWha, Ishbel; Maclachlan, Malcolm; Furnham, Adrian
2010-10-01
Despite the rhetoric of a single global economy, professionals in poorer countries continue to be remunerated differently depending on whether they are compensated at a local vs. international rate. Project ADDUP (Are Development Discrepancies Undermining Performance?) surveyed 1290 expatriate and local professionals (response rate = 47%) from aid, education, government, and business sectors in (1) Island Nations (Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands), (2) landlocked economies (Malaŵi, Uganda), and (3) emerging economies (India, China). Difference in pay was estimated using purchasing power parity, from the World Bank's World Development Indicators 2007. Psychological measures included self-reported pay and benefits (remuneration), self-attributed ability, remuneration comparison, sense of justice in remuneration, remuneration-related motivation, thoughts of turnover and thoughts about international mobility. We included control measures of candour, culture shock, cultural values (horizontal/vertical individualism/collectivism), personality (from the "big five"), job satisfaction and work engagement. Controlling for these and country (small effects) and organization effects (medium), (a) pay ratios between international and local workers exceeded what were perceived to be acceptable pay thresholds among respondents remunerated locally; who also reported a combination of a sense of relative (b) injustice and demotivation; which (c) together with job satisfaction/work engagement predicted turnover and international mobility. These findings question the wisdom of dual salary systems in general, expose and challenge a major contradiction between contemporary development policy and practice, and have a range of practical, organizational, and theoretical implications for poverty reduction work.
Chronic Liver Disease and Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders
... Cancer Asian/Pacific Islander Women Non-Hispanic White Women Asian/Pacific Islander/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio All Sites ... Cancer Asian/Pacific Islander Women Non-Hispanic White Women Asian/Pacific Islander/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio Liver & IBD* ...
Solid waste management on small islands. The case of Green Island, Taiwan
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Chen, M.C.; Ruijs, A.; Wesseler, J. [Environmental Economics and Natural Resources Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 8130, 6700 EW Wageningen (Netherlands)
2005-09-01
Municipalities of small islands have limited capacities for waste disposal. In the case of Green Island, Taiwan, continuing with business as usual would only allow the disposal of waste on the island for another 8 years. Three alternatives for solid waste management (SWM) are compared. The cost-effective solution is the one, which is the most expensive in the short run: continuing business as usual and introducing an incineration plant in the year 2010. The results indicate furthermore that deviations from optimal timing of investment only slightly change average annual costs. In the long run, the municipality can hardly avoid transporting waste to the mainland. By investing in an incineration plant, they can buy additional time to investigate alternative SWM strategies.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — File 100-002b is a 60-m ASCII grid of depth data collected near Lisianski Island and Pioneer Bank in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as of May 2003. This grid has...
Revisiting the Metaphor of the Island: Challenging "World Culture" from an Island Misunderstood
Rappleye, Jeremy
2015-01-01
This article revisits the newly "discovered" island that world culture theorists have repeatedly utilised to explain their theoretical stance, conceptual preferences and methodological approach. Yet, it seeks to (re)connect world culture with the real world by replacing their imagined atoll with a real one--the island-nation of Japan. In…
Fisher, Robert N; Niukula, Jone; Watling, Dick; Harlow, Peter S
2017-06-06
The south Pacific iguanas (Brachylophus) currently have three recognized living species in Fiji. Recent surveys have uncovered more specific variation (morphological and genetic) within the genus and have better defined the geographic ranges of the named species. One of these recent discoveries is a strikingly different iguana from all other island populations in Fiji which is restricted to Gau Island of the Lomaiviti Province. Gau is the fifth largest island in Fiji and maintains excellent upland forests in the higher elevations. We describe this population from Gau Island as a new species, Brachylophus gau sp. nov., in recognition of its type locality.
Fisher, Robert N.; Niukula, Jone; Watling, Dick; Harlow, Peter S.
2017-01-01
The south Pacific iguanas (Brachylophus) currently have three recognized living species in Fiji. Recent surveys have uncovered more specific variation (morphological and genetic) within the genus and have better defined the geographic ranges of the named species. One of these recent discoveries is a strikingly different iguana from all other island populations in Fiji which is restricted to Gau Island of the Lomaiviti Province. Gau is the fifth largest island in Fiji and maintains excellent upland forests in the higher elevations. We describe this population from Gau Island as a new species, Brachylophus gau sp. nov., in recognition of its type locality.
Island forming processes in the Okavango Delta, Botswana
McCarthy, T. S.; Humphries, M. S.; Mahomed, I.; Le Roux, P.; Verhagen, B. Th.
2012-12-01
The Okavango Delta in Botswana is a large (40,000 km2) alluvial fan that is characterised by the presence of numerous tree-covered islands. Thought to originate from the mound-building activities of termites or through fluvial processes associated with development of scroll bars and inverted channels, islands have been shown to play an important role in the structure and functioning of the Delta through the creation of habitat diversity, focusing of nutrients, and disposal of toxic salts. This study investigates the processes responsible for the maintenance and growth of two such islands in the seasonal swamps. Transpiration by vegetation is shown to result in substantial increases in groundwater salinity beneath the islands, contributing to their growth through chemical precipitation. Detailed chemical analyses revealed that the precipitation of magnesian calcite and silica within the island soils contributes 30-40% of the total island volume. Isotopic analyses of carbonate samples show that vegetation plays an important role in providing carbon for carbonate precipitation. Variations in δ13C carbonate values appear to reflect the relative proportion of C3 to C4 plants on the island, with C4 species becoming more dominant toward island centres in response to increases in groundwater salinity. The study suggests that continued island growth is also related to the deposition of aerosols and the accumulation of dust preferentially on islands and possibly to ongoing termite activity. Tall trees that characterise the island margins trap dust carried from the floodplains, resulting particularly in the lateral growth of islands. Islands in the Okavango are considered to be the product of long-term aggradation processes, with the two islands studied estimated to be in the order of tens of thousands of years old.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
1988-08-01
The document reproduces the following statements commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: Statement by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, statements on behalf of the depository Governments and statements on behalf of other Governments (Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Egypt, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Liechtenstein, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Western Samoa and Nordic Countries - Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden)
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
1992-01-01
These books contain summaries of the national reports prepared for the UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, June 1992. Summary reports of the following countries are included: V. 1) Algeria, Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Canada, Chad, China, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Djibouti, Egypt, Fiji, Finland, France, Guinea, Jordan, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Paraguay, Romania, Senegal, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Sweden, Tokelau, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Vanuatu, Western Samoa, Yemen Arab Republic, Yugoslavia. V. 2) Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Central African Republic, Colombia, Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Japan, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Morocco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Oman, Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, Pacific Islands Developing Countries, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Spain, Sudan, Thailand, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Zimbabwe
Elastic energies of coherent germanium islands on silicon
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Vanderbilt, D.; Wickham, L.K.
1991-01-01
Motivated by recent observations of coherent Ge island formation during growth of Ge on Si (100), the authors of this paper have carried out a theoretical study of the elastic energies associated with the evolution of a uniform strained overlayer as it segregates into coherent islands. In the context of a two-dimensional model, the authors have explored the conditions under which coherent islands may be energetically favored over both uniform epitaxial films and dislocated islands. The authors find that if the interface energy (for dislocated islands) is more than about 15% of the surface energy, then there is a range of island sizes for which the coherent island structure is preferred
Rodríguez, Francisco; Fraga, Santiago; Ramilo, Isabel; Rial, Pilar; Figueroa, Rosa Isabel; Riobó, Pilar; Bravo, Isabel
2017-07-01
In the present study the geographical distribution, abundance and composition of Gambierdiscus was described over a 600km longitudinal scale in the Canary Islands. Samples for cell counts, isolation and identification of Gambierdiscus were obtained from five islands (El Hierro, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote). Average densities of Gambierdiscus spp. between 0 and 2200cellsg -1 blot dry weight of macrophyte were recorded. Morphological (light microscopy and SEM techniques) and molecular analyses (LSU and SSU rDNA sequencing of cultures and single cells from the field) of Gambierdiscus was performed. Five Gambierdiscus species (G. australes, G. caribaeus, G. carolinianus, G. excentricus and G. silvae), together with a new putative species (Gambierdiscus ribotype 3) were identified. These results suggest that some cases of CFP in the region could be associated with the accumulation of ciguatoxins in the marine food web acquired from local populations of Gambierdiscus. This unexpected high diversity of Gambierdiscus species in an area which a priori is not under risk of ciguatera, hints at an ancient settlement of Gambierdiscus populations, likely favored by warmer climate conditions in the Miocene Epoch (when oldest current Canary Islands were created), in contrast with cooler present ones. Currently, warming trends associated with climate change could contribute to extend favorable environmental conditions in the area for Gambierdiscus growth especially during winter months. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Shape and coarsening dynamics of strained islands
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Schifani, Guido; Frisch, Thomas; Argentina, Mederic
2016-01-01
and numerically the formation of an equilibrium island using a two-dimensional continuous model. We have found that these equilibrium island-like solutions have a maximum height h_{0} and they sit on top of a flat wetting layer with a thickness h_{w}. We then consider two islands, and we report that they undergo...... and leads to the shrinkage of the smallest island. Once its height becomes smaller than a minimal equilibrium height h_{0}^{*}, its mass spreads over the entire system. Our results pave the way for a future analysis of coarsening of an assembly of islands....