Gemini Spectroscopic Survey of Young Intermediate-Mass Star-Forming Regions

Science.gov (United States)

Lundquist, Michael; Kobulnicky, Henry

2018-01-01

The majority of stars form in embedded clusters. Current research into star formation has focused on either high-mass star-forming regions or low-mass star-forming regions. We present the results from a Gemini spectroscopic survey of young intermediate-mass star-forming regions. These are star forming regions selected to produce stars up to but not exceeding 8 solar masses. We obtained spectra of these regions with GNIRS on Gemini North and Flamingos-2 on Gemini South. We also combine this with near-infrared imaging from 2MASS, UKIDSS, and VVV to study the stellar content.

The European Large Area ISO Survey

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oliver, S.; Rowan-Robinson, M.; Alexander, D.M.

2000-01-01

We describe the European Large Area ISO Survey (ELAIS). ELAIS was the largest single Open Time project conducted by ISO, mapping an area of 12 deg(2) at 15 mu m with ISOCAM and at 90 mu m with ISOPHOT. Secondary surveys in other ISO bands were undertaken by the ELAIS team within the fields of the...

Chinese large solar telescopes site survey

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yu

2017-04-01

In order to observe the solar surface with unprecedentedly higher resolution, Chinse solar physics society decided to launch their solar site survey project in 2010 as the first step to look for the best candidate sites for the Chinese next-generation large-aperture solar telescopes, i.e., the 5-8 meter Chinese Giant Solar Telescope, and the 1 meter level coronagraph. We have built two long-term monitoring sites in Daocheng, with altitudes of around 4800 meters above the sea level located in the large Shangri-La mountain area, and we have collected systematic site data since 2014. Clear evidence, including the key parameters of seeing factor, sky brightness and water vapor content, has indicated that the large Shangri-La area owns the potential conditions of excellent seeing level and sufficient amount of clear-sky hours suitable for developing large solar telescopes. We will review the site survey progress and present the preliminary statistical results in this talk.

The CTIO surveys for large redshift quasars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osmer, P.S.

1978-01-01

Lyman α emission in large redshift quasars is readily detectable on slitless spectrograms taken with an objective combination on the 4m telescope. This provides a new survey method, independent of color for finding radio-quiet quasars in large numbers. Surveys by Smith with the Curtis Schmidt and Hoag and Smith with the 4 m telescope, have produced more than 200 candidates with 1.5< z<3.5 and 16< m<21. Spectroscopic observations with the CTIO SIT vidicon system have been carried out for more than 50 of the candidates, with the result that the basic properties of the surveys are known. To date three 16th magnitude quasars with zapproximately2.2 and six quasars with 3.0< z<3.25 have been found. One of the most important uses of the surveys will be the determination of the surface and surface densities of large redshift quasars. A preliminary analysis of the data indicates that the space density of quasars is at least constant, if not increasing, over the interval 1.0< z<3.25. However, the Hoag-Smith sample has only one candidate with z<3.2.(Auth.)

THE SCUBA-2 COSMOLOGY LEGACY SURVEY: MULTIWAVELENGTH COUNTERPARTS TO 10{sup 3} SUBMILLIMETER GALAXIES IN THE UKIDSS-UDS FIELD

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Chian-Chou; Smail, Ian; Ma, Cheng-Jiun; Simpson, James M.; Swinbank, A. Mark [Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy, Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom); Ivison, Rob J.; Arumugam, Vinodiran; Mortlock, Alice; Dunlop, James S.; Michałowski, Michał J. [Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ (United Kingdom); Almaini, Omar; Conselice, Christopher J.; Hartley, Will G. [University of Nottingham, School of Physics and Astronomy, Nottingham, NG7 2RD (United Kingdom); Geach, James E. [Center for Astrophysics Research, Science and Technology Research Institute, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9AB (United Kingdom); Simpson, Chris [Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool Science Park, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF (United Kingdom); Aretxaga, Itziar [Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica (INAOE), Luis Enrique Erro 1, Sta. Ma. Tonantzintla, Puebla (Mexico); Blain, Andrew [Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH (United Kingdom); Chapman, Scott C. [Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, 6310 Coburg Road, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2 (Canada); Farrah, Duncan [Department of Physics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061 (United States); Halpern, Mark [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, 6224 Agricultural Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 (Canada); and others

2016-04-01

We present multiwavelength identifications for the counterparts of 1088 submillimeter sources detected at 850 μm in the SCUBA-2 Cosmology Legacy Survey study of the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey-Ultra-Deep Survey (UDS) field. By utilizing an Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) pilot study on a subset of our bright SCUBA-2 sample as a training set, along with the deep optical–near-infrared (OIR) data available in this field, we develop a novel technique, Optical–IR Triple Color (OIRTC), using z − K, K − [3.6], [3.6] − [4.5] colors to select the candidate submillimeter galaxy (SMG) counterparts. By combining radio identification and the OIRTC technique, we find counterpart candidates for 80% of the Class = 1 ≥ 4σ SCUBA-2 sample, defined as those that are covered by both radio and OIR imaging and the base sample for our scientific analyses. Based on the ALMA training set, we expect the accuracy of these identifications to be 82% ± 20%, with a completeness of 69% ± 16%, essentially as accurate as the traditional p-value technique but with higher completeness. We find that the fraction of SCUBA-2 sources having candidate counterparts is lower for fainter 850 μm sources, and we argue that for follow-up observations sensitive to SMGs with S{sub 850} ≳ 1 mJy across the whole ALMA beam, the fraction with multiple counterparts is likely to be >40% for SCUBA-2 sources at S{sub 850} ≳ 4 mJy. We find that the photometric redshift distribution for the SMGs is well fit by a lognormal distribution, with a median redshift of z = 2.3 ± 0.1. After accounting for the sources without any radio and/or OIRTC counterpart, we estimate the median redshift to be z = 2.6 ± 0.1 for SMGs with S{sub 850} > 1 mJy. We also use this new large sample to study the clustering of SMGs and the far-infrared properties of the unidentified submillimeter sources by stacking their Herschel SPIRE far-infrared emission.

White Dwarfs in the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey Data Release 9

Science.gov (United States)

Tremblay, P.-E.; Leggett, S. K.; Lodieu, N.; Freytag, B.; Bergeron, P.; Kalirai, J. S.; Ludwig, H.-G.

2014-06-01

We have identified 8 to 10 new cool white dwarfs from the Large Area Survey (LAS) Data Release 9 of the United Kingdom InfraRed Telescope (UKIRT) Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS). The data set was paired with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to obtain proper motions and a broad ugrizYJHK wavelength coverage. Optical spectroscopic observations were secured at Gemini Observatory and confirm the degenerate status for eight of our targets. The final sample includes two additional white dwarf candidates with no spectroscopic observations. We rely on improved one-dimensional model atmospheres and new multi-dimensional simulations with CO5BOLD to review the stellar parameters of the published LAS white dwarf sample along with our additional discoveries. Most of the new objects possess very cool atmospheres with effective temperatures below 5000 K, including two pure-hydrogen remnants with a cooling age between 8.5 and 9.0 Gyr, and tangential velocities in the range 40 km s-1 3.0 and 5.0 Gyr. These white dwarfs could be disk remnants with a very high velocity or former halo G stars. We also compare the LAS sample with earlier studies of very cool degenerates and observe a similar deficit of helium-dominated atmospheres in the range 5000 < T eff (K) < 6000. We review the possible explanations for the spectral evolution from helium-dominated toward hydrogen-rich atmospheres at low temperatures.

The WIRED Survey. 2; Infrared Excesses in the SDSS DR7 White Dwarf Catalog

Science.gov (United States)

Debes, John H.; Hoard, D. W.; Wachter, Stefanie; Leisawitz, David T.; Cohen, Martin

2011-01-01

With the launch of the Wide-field Infrar.ed Survey Explorer (WISE), a new era of detecting planetary debris and brown dwarfs (BDs) around white dwarfs (WDs) has begun with the WISE InfraRed Excesses around Degenerates (WIRED) Survey. The WIRED Survey is sensitive to substellar objects and dusty debris around WDs out to distances exceeding 100 pc, well beyond the completeness level of local WDs. In this paper, we present a cross-correlation of the preliminary Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7 (DR7) WD catalog between the WISE, Two-Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS), and SDSS DR7 photometric catalogs. From -18,000 input targets, there are WISE detections comprising 344 "naked" WDs (detection of the WD photosphere only), 1020 candidate WD+M dwarf binaries, 42 candidate WD+BD systems, 52 candidate WD+dust disk systems, and 69 targets with indeterminate infrared excess. We classified all of the detected targets through spectral energy distribution model fitting of the merged optical, near-IR, and WISE photometry. Some of these detections could be the result of contaminating sources within the large (approx. 6") WISE point-spread function; we make a preliminary estimate for the rates of contamination for our WD+BD and WD+disk candidates and provide notes for each target of interest. Each candidate presented here should be confirmed with higher angular resolution infrared imaging or infrared spectroscopy. We also present an overview of the observational characteristics of the detected WDs in the WISE photometric bands, including the relative frequencies of candidate WD+M, WD+BD, and WD+disk systems.

UV-luminous, star-forming hosts of z ˜ 2 reddened quasars in the Dark Energy Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Wethers, C. F.; Banerji, M.; Hewett, P. C.; Lemon, C. A.; McMahon, R. G.; Reed, S. L.; Shen, Y.; Abdalla, F. B.; Benoit-Lévy, A.; Brooks, D.; Buckley-Geer, E.; Capozzi, D.; Carnero Rosell, A.; CarrascoKind, M.; Carretero, J.; Cunha, C. E.; D'Andrea, C. B.; da Costa, L. N.; DePoy, D. L.; Desai, S.; Doel, P.; Flaugher, B.; Fosalba, P.; Frieman, J.; García-Bellido, J.; Gerdes, D. W.; Gruen, D.; Gruendl, R. A.; Gschwend, J.; Gutierrez, G.; Honscheid, K.; James, D. J.; Jeltema, T.; Kuehn, K.; Kuhlmann, S.; Kuropatkin, N.; Lima, M.; Maia, M. A. G.; Marshall, J. L.; Martini, P.; Menanteau, F.; Miquel, R.; Nichol, R. C.; Nord, B.; Plazas, A. A.; Romer, A. K.; Sanchez, E.; Scarpine, V.; Schindler, R.; Schubnell, M.; Sevilla-Noarbe, I.; Smith, M.; Smith, R. C.; Soares-Santos, M.; Sobreira, F.; Suchyta, E.; Tarle, G.; Walker, A. R.

2018-04-01

We present the first rest-frame UV population study of 17 heavily reddened, high-luminosity [E(B - V)QSO ≳ 0.5; Lbol > 1046 erg s-1] broad-line quasars at 1.5 VISTA Hemisphere Survey and UKIDSS Large Area Survey data, from which the reddened quasars were initially identified. We demonstrate that the significant dust reddening towards the quasar in our sample allows host galaxy emission to be detected at the rest-frame UV wavelengths probed by the DES photometry. By exploiting this reddening effect, we disentangle the quasar emission from that of the host galaxy via spectral energy distribution fitting. We find evidence for a relatively unobscured, star-forming host galaxy in at least 10 quasars, with a further three quasars exhibiting emission consistent with either star formation or scattered light. From the rest-frame UV emission, we derive instantaneous, dust-corrected star formation rates (SFRs) in the range 25 < SFRUV < 365 M⊙ yr-1, with an average SFRUV = 130 ± 95 M⊙ yr-1. We find a broad correlation between SFRUV and the bolometric quasar luminosity. Overall, our results show evidence for coeval star formation and black hole accretion occurring in luminous, reddened quasars at the peak epoch of galaxy formation.

Growing up in a megalopolis: environmental effects on galaxy evolution in a supercluster at z ˜ 0.65 in UKIDSS UDS

Science.gov (United States)

Galametz, Audrey; Pentericci, Laura; Castellano, Marco; Mendel, Trevor; Hartley, Will G.; Fossati, Matteo; Finoguenov, Alexis; Almaini, Omar; Beifiori, Alessandra; Fontana, Adriano; Grazian, Andrea; Scodeggio, Marco; Kocevski, Dale D.

2018-04-01

We present a large-scale galaxy structure Cl J021734-0513 at z ˜ 0.65 discovered in the UKIDSS UDS field, made of ˜20 galaxy groups and clusters, spreading over 10 Mpc. We report on a VLT/VIMOS spectroscopic follow-up program that, combined with past spectroscopy, allowed us to confirm four galaxy clusters (M200 ˜ 1014 M⊙) and a dozen associated groups and star-forming galaxy overdensities. Two additional filamentary structures at z ˜ 0.62 and 0.69 and foreground and background clusters at 0.6 groups. The presence of quiescent galaxies in the core of the latter shows that `pre-processing' has already happened before the groups fall into their more massive neighbours. Our spectroscopy allows us to derive spectral index measurements e.g. emission/absorption line equivalent widths, strength of the 4000 Å break, valuable to investigate the star formation history of structure members. Based on these line measurements, we select a population of `post-starburst' galaxies. These galaxies are preferentially found within the virial radius of clusters, supporting a scenario in which their recent quenching could be prompted by gas stripping by the dense intracluster medium. We derive stellar age estimates using Markov Chain Monte Carlo-based spectral fitting for quiescent galaxies and find a correlation between ages and colours/stellar masses which favours a top-down formation scenario of the red sequence. A catalogue of ˜650 redshifts in UDS is released alongside the paper (via MNRAS online data).

Large Scale Survey Data in Career Development Research

Science.gov (United States)

Diemer, Matthew A.

2008-01-01

Large scale survey datasets have been underutilized but offer numerous advantages for career development scholars, as they contain numerous career development constructs with large and diverse samples that are followed longitudinally. Constructs such as work salience, vocational expectations, educational expectations, work satisfaction, and…

78 FR 70015 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Large Pelagic Fishing Survey

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-22

... Collection; Comment Request; Large Pelagic Fishing Survey AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric... effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies... Pelagics Headboat Survey (LPHS) component. Increase the annual Large Pelagics Telephone Survey (LPTS...

Optimal sampling designs for large-scale fishery sample surveys in Greece

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. BAZIGOS

2007-12-01

The paper deals with the optimization of the following three large scale sample surveys: biological sample survey of commercial landings (BSCL, experimental fishing sample survey (EFSS, and commercial landings and effort sample survey (CLES.

White dwarfs in the UKIRT infrared deep sky survey data release

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tremblay, P.-E.; Kalirai, J. S.; Leggett, S. K.; Lodieu, N.; Freytag, B.; Bergeron, P.; Ludwig, H.-G.

2014-01-01

We have identified 8 to 10 new cool white dwarfs from the Large Area Survey (LAS) Data Release 9 of the United Kingdom InfraRed Telescope (UKIRT) Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS). The data set was paired with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to obtain proper motions and a broad ugrizYJHK wavelength coverage. Optical spectroscopic observations were secured at Gemini Observatory and confirm the degenerate status for eight of our targets. The final sample includes two additional white dwarf candidates with no spectroscopic observations. We rely on improved one-dimensional model atmospheres and new multi-dimensional simulations with CO5BOLD to review the stellar parameters of the published LAS white dwarf sample along with our additional discoveries. Most of the new objects possess very cool atmospheres with effective temperatures below 5000 K, including two pure-hydrogen remnants with a cooling age between 8.5 and 9.0 Gyr, and tangential velocities in the range 40 km s –1 ≤v tan ≤ 60 km s –1 . They are likely thick disk 10-11 Gyr old objects. In addition, we find a resolved double degenerate system with v tan ∼ 155 km s –1 and a cooling age between 3.0 and 5.0 Gyr. These white dwarfs could be disk remnants with a very high velocity or former halo G stars. We also compare the LAS sample with earlier studies of very cool degenerates and observe a similar deficit of helium-dominated atmospheres in the range 5000 < T eff (K) < 6000. We review the possible explanations for the spectral evolution from helium-dominated toward hydrogen-rich atmospheres at low temperatures.

Large Whale Biology Survey (DE9908, EK500)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The large whale biology survey primarily focuses on right whales in the coastal and continental shelf areas, with the following objectives: 1) Develop a better...

Progress of site survey for large solar telescopes in western China

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yu; Song, Tengfei; Zhang, Xuefei; Liu, Shunqing; Zhao, Mingyu; Tian, Zhanjun; Miao, Yuhu; Li, Hongbo; Huang, Jing; Su, Baoyu; Lu, Yongyin; Li, Xiaobo; Song, Qiwu

Excellent sites are necessary for developing and installing ground-based large telescopes. For very-high-resolution solar observations, it had been unclear whether there exist good candidate sites in the west areas in China, including the Tibetan Plateau and the Pamirs Plateau. The project of solar site survey for the next-generation large solar telescopes, i.e., the Chinese Giant Solar Telescope (CGST) and the large coronagraph, has been launched since 2011. Based on the close collaboration among Chinese solar society and the scientists from NSO, HAO and other institutes, we have successfully developed the standard instruments for solar site survey and applied them to more than 50 different sites distributed in Xinjiang, Tibet, Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan and Ningxia provinces. We have built two long-term monitoring sites in Tibet and the large Shangri-La to take systematic site data. Clear evidence, including the key parameters of seeing factor, sky brightness and water vapor content, has indicated that a few potential sites in the large Tibetan areas should obtain the excellent astronomical conditions for our purpose to develop CGST and large coronagraph. We introduce the fresh site survey results in this report.

SEDS: THE SPITZER EXTENDED DEEP SURVEY. SURVEY DESIGN, PHOTOMETRY, AND DEEP IRAC SOURCE COUNTS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashby, M. L. N.; Willner, S. P.; Fazio, G. G.; Huang, J.-S.; Hernquist, L.; Hora, J. L.; Arendt, R.; Barmby, P.; Barro, G.; Faber, S.; Guhathakurta, P.; Bell, E. F.; Bouwens, R.; Cattaneo, A.; Croton, D.; Davé, R.; Dunlop, J. S.; Egami, E.; Finlator, K.; Grogin, N. A.

2013-01-01

The Spitzer Extended Deep Survey (SEDS) is a very deep infrared survey within five well-known extragalactic science fields: the UKIDSS Ultra-Deep Survey, the Extended Chandra Deep Field South, COSMOS, the Hubble Deep Field North, and the Extended Groth Strip. SEDS covers a total area of 1.46 deg 2 to a depth of 26 AB mag (3σ) in both of the warm Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) bands at 3.6 and 4.5 μm. Because of its uniform depth of coverage in so many widely-separated fields, SEDS is subject to roughly 25% smaller errors due to cosmic variance than a single-field survey of the same size. SEDS was designed to detect and characterize galaxies from intermediate to high redshifts (z = 2-7) with a built-in means of assessing the impact of cosmic variance on the individual fields. Because the full SEDS depth was accumulated in at least three separate visits to each field, typically with six-month intervals between visits, SEDS also furnishes an opportunity to assess the infrared variability of faint objects. This paper describes the SEDS survey design, processing, and publicly-available data products. Deep IRAC counts for the more than 300,000 galaxies detected by SEDS are consistent with models based on known galaxy populations. Discrete IRAC sources contribute 5.6 ± 1.0 and 4.4 ± 0.8 nW m –2 sr –1 at 3.6 and 4.5 μm to the diffuse cosmic infrared background (CIB). IRAC sources cannot contribute more than half of the total CIB flux estimated from DIRBE data. Barring an unexpected error in the DIRBE flux estimates, half the CIB flux must therefore come from a diffuse component.

SWFSC/MMTD: Collaborative Large Whale Survey (CLaWS) 2015

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Collaborative Large Whale Survey is a joint field effort by Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) and Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC). The 4-month...

AGN Populations in Large-volume X-Ray Surveys: Photometric Redshifts and Population Types Found in the Stripe 82X Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Ananna, Tonima Tasnin; Salvato, Mara; LaMassa, Stephanie; Urry, C. Megan; Cappelluti, Nico; Cardamone, Carolin; Civano, Francesca; Farrah, Duncan; Gilfanov, Marat; Glikman, Eilat; Hamilton, Mark; Kirkpatrick, Allison; Lanzuisi, Giorgio; Marchesi, Stefano; Merloni, Andrea; Nandra, Kirpal; Natarajan, Priyamvada; Richards, Gordon T.; Timlin, John

2017-11-01

Multiwavelength surveys covering large sky volumes are necessary to obtain an accurate census of rare objects such as high-luminosity and/or high-redshift active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Stripe 82X is a 31.3 X-ray survey with Chandra and XMM-Newton observations overlapping the legacy Sloan Digital Sky Survey Stripe 82 field, which has a rich investment of multiwavelength coverage from the ultraviolet to the radio. The wide-area nature of this survey presents new challenges for photometric redshifts for AGNs compared to previous work on narrow-deep fields because it probes different populations of objects that need to be identified and represented in the library of templates. Here we present an updated X-ray plus multiwavelength matched catalog, including Spitzer counterparts, and estimated photometric redshifts for 5961 (96% of a total of 6181) X-ray sources that have a normalized median absolute deviation, σnmad=0.06, and an outlier fraction, η = 13.7%. The populations found in this survey and the template libraries used for photometric redshifts provide important guiding principles for upcoming large-area surveys such as eROSITA and 3XMM (in X-ray) and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (optical).

DISCOVERING BRIGHT QUASARS AT INTERMEDIATE REDSHIFTS BASED ON OPTICAL/NEAR-INFRARED COLORS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Xue-Bing; Zuo, Wenwen; Yang, Jinyi; Yang, Qian; Wang, Feige

2013-01-01

The identification of quasars at intermediate redshifts (2.2 < z < 3.5) has been inefficient in most previous quasar surveys since the optical colors of quasars are similar to those of stars. The near-IR K-band excess technique has been suggested to overcome this difficulty. Our recent study also proposed to use optical/near-IR colors for selecting z < 4 quasars. To verify the effectiveness of this method, we selected a list of 105 unidentified bright targets with i ≤ 18.5 from the quasar candidates of SDSS DR6 with both SDSS ugriz optical and UKIDSS YJHK near-IR photometric data, which satisfy our proposed Y – K/g – z criterion and have photometric redshifts between 2.2 and 3.5 estimated from the nine-band SDSS-UKIDSS data. We observed 43 targets with the BFOSC instrument on the 2.16 m optical telescope at Xinglong station of the National Astronomical Observatory of China in the spring of 2012. We spectroscopically identified 36 targets as quasars with redshifts between 2.1 and 3.4. The high success rate of discovering these quasars in the SDSS spectroscopic surveyed area further demonstrates the robustness of both the Y – K/g – z selection criterion and the photometric redshift estimation technique. We also used the above criterion to investigate the possible stellar contamination rate among the quasar candidates of SDSS DR6, and found that the rate is much higher when selecting 3 < z < 3.5 quasar candidates than when selecting lower redshift candidates (z < 2.2). The significant improvement in the photometric redshift estimation when using the nine-band SDSS-UKIDSS data over the five-band SDSS data is demonstrated and a catalog of 7727 unidentified quasar candidates in SDSS DR6 selected with optical/near-IR colors and having photometric redshifts between 2.2 and 3.5 is provided. We also tested the Y – K/g – z selection criterion with the recently released SDSS-III/DR9 quasar catalog and found that 96.2% of 17,999 DR9 quasars with UKIDSS Y- and K

Avian surveys of large geographical areas: A systematic approach

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, J.M.; Jacobi, J.D.; Ramsey, F.L.

1981-01-01

A multidisciplinary team approach was used to simultaneously map the distribution of birds, selected food items, and major vegetation types in 34,000- to 140,000-ha tracts in native Hawaiian forests. By using a team approach, large savings in time can be realized over attempts to conduct similar surveys of smaller scope, and a systems approach to management problems is made easier. The methods used in survey design, training observers, and documenting bird numbersand habitat descriptions are discussed in detail.

Multiband Study of Radio Sources of the RCR Catalogue with Virtual Observatory Tools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhelenkova O. P.

2012-09-01

Full Text Available We present early results of our multiband study of the RATAN Cold Revised (RCR catalogue obtained from seven cycles of the “Cold” survey carried with the RATAN-600 radio telescope at 7.6 cm in 1980-1999, at the declination of the SS 433 source. We used the 2MASS and LAS UKIDSS infrared surveys, the DSS-II and SDSS DR7 optical surveys, as well as the USNO-B1 and GSC-II catalogues, the VLSS, TXS, NVSS, FIRST and GB6 radio surveys to accumulate information about the sources. For radio sources that have no detectable optical candidate in optical or infrared catalogues, we additionally looked through images in several bands from the SDSS, LAS UKIDSS, DPOSS, 2MASS surveys and also used co-added frames in different bands. We reliably identified 76% of radio sources of the RCR catalogue. We used the ALADIN and SAOImage DS9 scripting capabilities, interoperability services of ALADIN and TOPCAT, and also other Virtual Observatory (VO tools and resources, such as CASJobs, NED, Vizier, and WSA, for effective data access, visualization and analysis. Without VO tools it would have been problematic to perform our study.

[Review of occupational hazard census and large-scale surveys in sixty years in China].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Tao; Li, Chao-lin; Wang, Huan-qiang

2010-11-01

To compare and analyze the all previous censuses and large-scale surveys on occupational hazard in China, draw lessons from the past, and try to provide references for the development of census or surveys on the occupational hazard in the new period. A literature retrieval had been performed mainly on the occupational hazard census and large-scale surveys since the founding of People's Republic of China. Only the survey items carried on a national scale were selected. Some keywords were drawn from these items such as survey time, survey scope, industries, occupational diseases and the rate of examination, organization and technical director, methods and so on. The outcomes and experiences were summarized. Since the founding of People's Republic of China, there were seven occupational hazard census and large-scale surveys carried in China, three of them were about silicosis or pneumoconiosis, two of them were about poison and carcinogens, one was about noise, another one was about the township industrial enterprises. Leadership attention was the fundamental guarantee of the success of the survey, sound occupational health management organizations were the base, collaborative relationship with each other was an import factor, and only the interdisciplinary team, scientific design, quality control and incentive mechanism could assure the quality of the survey. The survey should be designed and carried out according to industries.

Solar System science with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Lynne; Brown, Mike; Ivezić, Zeljko; Jurić, Mario; Malhotra, Renu; Trilling, David

2015-11-01

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST; http://lsst.org) will be a large-aperture, wide-field, ground-based telescope that will survey half the sky every few nights in six optical bands from 320 to 1050 nm. It will explore a wide range of astrophysical questions, ranging from performing a census of the Solar System, to examining the nature of dark energy. It is currently in construction, slated for first light in 2019 and full operations by 2022.The LSST will survey over 20,000 square degrees with a rapid observational cadence, to typical limiting magnitudes of r~24.5 in each visit (9.6 square degree field of view). Automated software will link the individual detections into orbits; these orbits, as well as precisely calibrated astrometry (~50mas) and photometry (~0.01-0.02 mag) in multiple bandpasses will be available as LSST data products. The resulting data set will have tremendous potential for planetary astronomy; multi-color catalogs of hundreds of thousands of NEOs and Jupiter Trojans, millions of asteroids, tens of thousands of TNOs, as well as thousands of other objects such as comets and irregular satellites of the major planets.LSST catalogs will increase the sample size of objects with well-known orbits 10-100 times for small body populations throughout the Solar System, enabling a major increase in the completeness level of the inventory of most dynamical classes of small bodies and generating new insights into planetary formation and evolution. Precision multi-color photometry will allow determination of lightcurves and colors, as well as spin state and shape modeling through sparse lightcurve inversion. LSST is currently investigating survey strategies to optimize science return across a broad range of goals. To aid in this investigation, we are making a series of realistic simulated survey pointing histories available together with a Python software package to model and evaluate survey detections for a user-defined input population. Preliminary

Characterizing unknown systematics in large scale structure surveys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agarwal, Nishant; Ho, Shirley; Myers, Adam D.; Seo, Hee-Jong; Ross, Ashley J.; Bahcall, Neta; Brinkmann, Jonathan; Eisenstein, Daniel J.; Muna, Demitri; Palanque-Delabrouille, Nathalie; Yèche, Christophe; Pâris, Isabelle; Petitjean, Patrick; Schneider, Donald P.; Streblyanska, Alina; Weaver, Benjamin A.

2014-01-01

Photometric large scale structure (LSS) surveys probe the largest volumes in the Universe, but are inevitably limited by systematic uncertainties. Imperfect photometric calibration leads to biases in our measurements of the density fields of LSS tracers such as galaxies and quasars, and as a result in cosmological parameter estimation. Earlier studies have proposed using cross-correlations between different redshift slices or cross-correlations between different surveys to reduce the effects of such systematics. In this paper we develop a method to characterize unknown systematics. We demonstrate that while we do not have sufficient information to correct for unknown systematics in the data, we can obtain an estimate of their magnitude. We define a parameter to estimate contamination from unknown systematics using cross-correlations between different redshift slices and propose discarding bins in the angular power spectrum that lie outside a certain contamination tolerance level. We show that this method improves estimates of the bias using simulated data and further apply it to photometric luminous red galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey as a case study

Characterizing unknown systematics in large scale structure surveys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Agarwal, Nishant; Ho, Shirley [McWilliams Center for Cosmology, Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (United States); Myers, Adam D. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071 (United States); Seo, Hee-Jong [Berkeley Center for Cosmological Physics, LBL and Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Ross, Ashley J. [Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 3FX (United Kingdom); Bahcall, Neta [Princeton University Observatory, Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Brinkmann, Jonathan [Apache Point Observatory, P.O. Box 59, Sunspot, NM 88349 (United States); Eisenstein, Daniel J. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Muna, Demitri [Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Palanque-Delabrouille, Nathalie; Yèche, Christophe [CEA, Centre de Saclay, Irfu/SPP, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Pâris, Isabelle [Departamento de Astronomía, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 36-D, Santiago (Chile); Petitjean, Patrick [Université Paris 6 et CNRS, Institut d' Astrophysique de Paris, 98bis blvd. Arago, 75014 Paris (France); Schneider, Donald P. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Streblyanska, Alina [Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC), E-38200 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain); Weaver, Benjamin A., E-mail: nishanta@andrew.cmu.edu [Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, New York University, New York, NY 10003 (United States)

2014-04-01

Photometric large scale structure (LSS) surveys probe the largest volumes in the Universe, but are inevitably limited by systematic uncertainties. Imperfect photometric calibration leads to biases in our measurements of the density fields of LSS tracers such as galaxies and quasars, and as a result in cosmological parameter estimation. Earlier studies have proposed using cross-correlations between different redshift slices or cross-correlations between different surveys to reduce the effects of such systematics. In this paper we develop a method to characterize unknown systematics. We demonstrate that while we do not have sufficient information to correct for unknown systematics in the data, we can obtain an estimate of their magnitude. We define a parameter to estimate contamination from unknown systematics using cross-correlations between different redshift slices and propose discarding bins in the angular power spectrum that lie outside a certain contamination tolerance level. We show that this method improves estimates of the bias using simulated data and further apply it to photometric luminous red galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey as a case study.

The ESO Diffuse Interstellar Bands Large Exploration Survey (EDIBLES) . I. Project description, survey sample, and quality assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, Nick L. J.; Cami, Jan; Farhang, Amin; Smoker, Jonathan; Monreal-Ibero, Ana; Lallement, Rosine; Sarre, Peter J.; Marshall, Charlotte C. M.; Smith, Keith T.; Evans, Christopher J.; Royer, Pierre; Linnartz, Harold; Cordiner, Martin A.; Joblin, Christine; van Loon, Jacco Th.; Foing, Bernard H.; Bhatt, Neil H.; Bron, Emeric; Elyajouri, Meriem; de Koter, Alex; Ehrenfreund, Pascale; Javadi, Atefeh; Kaper, Lex; Khosroshadi, Habib G.; Laverick, Mike; Le Petit, Franck; Mulas, Giacomo; Roueff, Evelyne; Salama, Farid; Spaans, Marco

2017-10-01

The carriers of the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) are largely unidentified molecules ubiquitously present in the interstellar medium (ISM). After decades of study, two strong and possibly three weak near-infrared DIBs have recently been attributed to the C60^+ fullerene based on observational and laboratory measurements. There is great promise for the identification of the over 400 other known DIBs, as this result could provide chemical hints towards other possible carriers. In an effort tosystematically study the properties of the DIB carriers, we have initiated a new large-scale observational survey: the ESO Diffuse Interstellar Bands Large Exploration Survey (EDIBLES). The main objective is to build on and extend existing DIB surveys to make a major step forward in characterising the physical and chemical conditions for a statistically significant sample of interstellar lines-of-sight, with the goal to reverse-engineer key molecular properties of the DIB carriers. EDIBLES is a filler Large Programme using the Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph at the Very Large Telescope at Paranal, Chile. It is designed to provide an observationally unbiased view of the presence and behaviour of the DIBs towards early-spectral-type stars whose lines-of-sight probe the diffuse-to-translucent ISM. Such a complete dataset will provide a deep census of the atomic and molecular content, physical conditions, chemical abundances and elemental depletion levels for each sightline. Achieving these goals requires a homogeneous set of high-quality data in terms of resolution (R 70 000-100 000), sensitivity (S/N up to 1000 per resolution element), and spectral coverage (305-1042 nm), as well as a large sample size (100+ sightlines). In this first paper the goals, objectives and methodology of the EDIBLES programme are described and an initial assessment of the data is provided.

Sampling strategy for a large scale indoor radiation survey - a pilot project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strand, T.; Stranden, E.

1986-01-01

Optimisation of a stratified random sampling strategy for large scale indoor radiation surveys is discussed. It is based on the results from a small scale pilot project where variances in dose rates within different categories of houses were assessed. By selecting a predetermined precision level for the mean dose rate in a given region, the number of measurements needed can be optimised. The results of a pilot project in Norway are presented together with the development of the final sampling strategy for a planned large scale survey. (author)

A Green Bank Telescope Survey of Large Galactic H II Regions

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, L. D.; Armentrout, W. P.; Luisi, Matteo; Bania, T. M.; Balser, Dana S.; Wenger, Trey V.

2018-02-01

As part of our ongoing H II Region Discovery Survey (HRDS), we report the Green Bank Telescope detection of 148 new angularly large Galactic H II regions in radio recombination line (RRL) emission. Our targets are located at a declination of δ > -45^\\circ , which corresponds to 266^\\circ > {\\ell }> -20^\\circ at b=0^\\circ . All sources were selected from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer Catalog of Galactic H II Regions, and have infrared angular diameters ≥slant 260\\prime\\prime . The Galactic distribution of these “large” H II regions is similar to that of the previously known sample of Galactic H II regions. The large H II region RRL line width and peak line intensity distributions are skewed toward lower values, compared with that of previous HRDS surveys. We discover seven sources with extremely narrow RRLs 100 {pc}, making them some of the physically largest known H II regions in the Galaxy. This survey completes the HRDS H II region census in the Northern sky, where we have discovered 887 H II regions and more than doubled the size of the previously known census of Galactic H II regions.

Cosmology with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope: an overview

Science.gov (United States)

Zhan, Hu; Tyson, J. Anthony

2018-06-01

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) is a high étendue imaging facility that is being constructed atop Cerro Pachón in northern Chile. It is scheduled to begin science operations in 2022. With an ( effective) aperture, a novel three-mirror design achieving a seeing-limited field of view, and a 3.2 gigapixel camera, the LSST has the deep-wide-fast imaging capability necessary to carry out an survey in six passbands (ugrizy) to a coadded depth of over 10 years using of its observational time. The remaining of the time will be devoted to considerably deeper and faster time-domain observations and smaller surveys. In total, each patch of the sky in the main survey will receive 800 visits allocated across the six passbands with exposure visits. The huge volume of high-quality LSST data will provide a wide range of science opportunities and, in particular, open a new era of precision cosmology with unprecedented statistical power and tight control of systematic errors. In this review, we give a brief account of the LSST cosmology program with an emphasis on dark energy investigations. The LSST will address dark energy physics and cosmology in general by exploiting diverse precision probes including large-scale structure, weak lensing, type Ia supernovae, galaxy clusters, and strong lensing. Combined with the cosmic microwave background data, these probes form interlocking tests on the cosmological model and the nature of dark energy in the presence of various systematics. The LSST data products will be made available to the US and Chilean scientific communities and to international partners with no proprietary period. Close collaborations with contemporaneous imaging and spectroscopy surveys observing at a variety of wavelengths, resolutions, depths, and timescales will be a vital part of the LSST science program, which will not only enhance specific studies but, more importantly, also allow a more complete understanding of the Universe through different windows.

Large Synoptic Survey Telescope: From Science Drivers to Reference Design

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ivezic, Z.; Axelrod, T.; Brandt, W.N.; Burke, D.L.; Claver, C.F.; Connolly, A.; Cook, K.H.; Gee, P.; Gilmore, D.K.; Jacoby, S.H.; Jones, R.L.; Kahn, S.M.; Kantor, J.P.; Krabbendam, V.; Lupton, R.H.; Monet, D.G.; Pinto, P.A.; Saha, A.; Schalk, T.L.; Schneider, D.P.; Strauss, Michael A.; /Washington U., Seattle, Astron. Dept. /LSST Corp. /Penn State U., Astron. Astrophys. /KIPAC, Menlo Park /NOAO, Tucson /LLNL, Livermore /UC, Davis /Princeton U., Astrophys. Sci. Dept. /Naval Observ., Flagstaff /Arizona U., Astron. Dept. - Steward Observ. /UC, Santa Cruz /Harvard U. /Johns Hopkins U. /Illinois U., Urbana

2011-10-14

In the history of astronomy, major advances in our understanding of the Universe have come from dramatic improvements in our ability to accurately measure astronomical quantities. Aided by rapid progress in information technology, current sky surveys are changing the way we view and study the Universe. Next-generation surveys will maintain this revolutionary progress. We focus here on the most ambitious survey currently planned in the visible band, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). LSST will have unique survey capability in the faint time domain. The LSST design is driven by four main science themes: constraining dark energy and dark matter, taking an inventory of the Solar System, exploring the transient optical sky, and mapping the Milky Way. It will be a large, wide-field ground-based system designed to obtain multiple images covering the sky that is visible from Cerro Pachon in Northern Chile. The current baseline design, with an 8.4 m (6.5 m effective) primary mirror, a 9.6 deg{sup 2} field of view, and a 3,200 Megapixel camera, will allow about 10,000 square degrees of sky to be covered using pairs of 15-second exposures in two photometric bands every three nights on average. The system is designed to yield high image quality, as well as superb astrometric and photometric accuracy. The survey area will include 30,000 deg{sup 2} with {delta} < +34.5{sup o}, and will be imaged multiple times in six bands, ugrizy, covering the wavelength range 320-1050 nm. About 90% of the observing time will be devoted to a deep-wide-fast survey mode which will observe a 20,000 deg{sup 2} region about 1000 times in the six bands during the anticipated 10 years of operation. These data will result in databases including 10 billion galaxies and a similar number of stars, and will serve the majority of science programs. The remaining 10% of the observing time will be allocated to special programs such as Very Deep and Very Fast time domain surveys. We describe how the

Large Synoptic Survey Telescope: From science drivers to reference design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivezić Ž.

2008-01-01

Full Text Available In the history of astronomy, major advances in our understanding of the Universe have come from dramatic improvements in our ability to accurately measure astronomical quantities. Aided by rapid progress in information technology, current sky surveys are changing the way we view and study the Universe. Next- generation surveys will maintain this revolutionary progress. We focus here on the most ambitious survey currently planned in the visible band, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST. LSST will have unique survey capability in the faint time domain. The LSST design is driven by four main science themes: constraining dark energy and dark matter, taking an inventory of the Solar System, exploring the transient optical sky, and mapping the Milky Way. It will be a large, wide-field ground-based system designed to obtain multiple images covering the sky that is visible from Cerro Pachon in Northern Chile. The current baseline design, with an 8.4 m (6.5 m effective primary mirror, a 9.6 deg2 field of view, and a 3,200 Megapixel camera, will allow about 10,000 square degrees of sky to be covered using pairs of 15-second exposures in two photometric bands every three nights on average. The system is designed to yield high image quality, as well as superb astrometric and photometric accuracy. The survey area will include 30,000 deg2 with δ < +34.5◦ , and will be imaged multiple times in six bands, ugrizy, covering the wavelength range 320-1050 nm. About 90% of the observing time will be devoted to a deep- wide-fast survey mode which will observe a 20,000 deg2 region about 1000 times in the six bands during the anticipated 10 years of operation. These data will result in databases including 10 billion galaxies and a similar number of stars, and will serve the majority of science programs. The remaining 10% of the observing time will be allocated to special programs such as Very Deep and Very Fast time domain surveys. We describe how the LSST

Large Synoptic Survey Telescope: From Science Drivers To Reference Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivezić, Ž.

2008-06-01

Full Text Available In the history of astronomy, major advances in our understanding of the Universe have come from dramatic improvements in our ability to accurately measure astronomical quantities. Aided by rapid progress in information technology, current sky surveys are changing the way we view and study the Universe. Next-generation surveys will maintain this revolutionary progress. We focus here on the most ambitious survey currently planned in the visible band, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST. LSST will have unique survey capability in the faint time domain. The LSST design is driven by four main science themes: constraining dark energy and dark matter, taking an inventory of the Solar System, exploring the transient optical sky, and mapping the Milky Way. It will be a large, wide-field ground-based system designed to obtain multiple images covering the sky that is visible from Cerro Pach'{o}n in Northern Chile. The current baseline design, with an 8.4, m (6.5, m effective primary mirror, a 9.6 deg$^2$ field of view, and a 3,200 Megapixel camera, will allow about 10,000 square degrees of sky to be covered using pairs of 15-second exposures in two photometric bands every three nights on average. The system is designed to yield high image quality, as well as superb astrometric and photometric accuracy. The survey area will include 30,000 deg$^2$ with $delta<+34.5^circ$, and will be imaged multiple times in six bands, $ugrizy$, covering the wavelength range 320--1050 nm. About 90\\% of the observing time will be devoted to a deep-wide-fast survey mode which will observe a 20,000 deg$^2$ region about 1000 times in the six bands during the anticipated 10 years of operation. These data will result in databases including 10 billion galaxies and a similar number of stars, and will serve the majority of science programs. The remaining 10\\% of the observing time will be allocated to special programs such as Very Deep and Very Fast time domain surveys. We

Sex ratio and time to pregnancy: analysis of four large European population surveys

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Joffe, Mike; Bennett, James; Best, Nicky

2007-01-01

To test whether the secondary sex ratio (proportion of male births) is associated with time to pregnancy, a marker of fertility. Design Analysis of four large population surveys. Setting Denmark and the United Kingdom. Participants 49 506 pregnancies.......To test whether the secondary sex ratio (proportion of male births) is associated with time to pregnancy, a marker of fertility. Design Analysis of four large population surveys. Setting Denmark and the United Kingdom. Participants 49 506 pregnancies....

The future of primordial features with large-scale structure surveys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Xingang; Namjoo, Mohammad Hossein; Dvorkin, Cora; Huang, Zhiqi; Verde, Licia

2016-01-01

Primordial features are one of the most important extensions of the Standard Model of cosmology, providing a wealth of information on the primordial Universe, ranging from discrimination between inflation and alternative scenarios, new particle detection, to fine structures in the inflationary potential. We study the prospects of future large-scale structure (LSS) surveys on the detection and constraints of these features. We classify primordial feature models into several classes, and for each class we present a simple template of power spectrum that encodes the essential physics. We study how well the most ambitious LSS surveys proposed to date, including both spectroscopic and photometric surveys, will be able to improve the constraints with respect to the current Planck data. We find that these LSS surveys will significantly improve the experimental sensitivity on features signals that are oscillatory in scales, due to the 3D information. For a broad range of models, these surveys will be able to reduce the errors of the amplitudes of the features by a factor of 5 or more, including several interesting candidates identified in the recent Planck data. Therefore, LSS surveys offer an impressive opportunity for primordial feature discovery in the next decade or two. We also compare the advantages of both types of surveys.

The future of primordial features with large-scale structure surveys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Xingang; Namjoo, Mohammad Hossein [Institute for Theory and Computation, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Dvorkin, Cora [Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Huang, Zhiqi [School of Physics and Astronomy, Sun Yat-Sen University, 135 Xingang Xi Road, Guangzhou, 510275 (China); Verde, Licia, E-mail: xingang.chen@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: dvorkin@physics.harvard.edu, E-mail: huangzhq25@sysu.edu.cn, E-mail: mohammad.namjoo@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: liciaverde@icc.ub.edu [ICREA and ICC-UB, University of Barcelona (IEEC-UB), Marti i Franques, 1, Barcelona 08028 (Spain)

2016-11-01

Primordial features are one of the most important extensions of the Standard Model of cosmology, providing a wealth of information on the primordial Universe, ranging from discrimination between inflation and alternative scenarios, new particle detection, to fine structures in the inflationary potential. We study the prospects of future large-scale structure (LSS) surveys on the detection and constraints of these features. We classify primordial feature models into several classes, and for each class we present a simple template of power spectrum that encodes the essential physics. We study how well the most ambitious LSS surveys proposed to date, including both spectroscopic and photometric surveys, will be able to improve the constraints with respect to the current Planck data. We find that these LSS surveys will significantly improve the experimental sensitivity on features signals that are oscillatory in scales, due to the 3D information. For a broad range of models, these surveys will be able to reduce the errors of the amplitudes of the features by a factor of 5 or more, including several interesting candidates identified in the recent Planck data. Therefore, LSS surveys offer an impressive opportunity for primordial feature discovery in the next decade or two. We also compare the advantages of both types of surveys.

Survey of large-scale solar water heaters installed in Taiwan, China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chang Keh-Chin; Lee Tsong-Sheng; Chung Kung-Ming [Cheng Kung Univ., Tainan (China); Lien Ya-Feng; Lee Chine-An [Cheng Kung Univ. Research and Development Foundation, Tainan (China)

2008-07-01

Almost all the solar collectors installed in Taiwan, China were used for production of hot water for homeowners (residential systems), in which the area of solar collectors is less than 10 square meters. From 2001 to 2006, there were only 39 large-scale systems (defined as the area of solar collectors being over 100 m{sup 2}) installed. Their utilization purposes are for rooming house (dormitory), swimming pool, restaurant, and manufacturing process. A comprehensive survey of those large-scale solar water heaters was conducted in 2006. The objectives of the survey were to asses the systems' performance and to have the feedback from the individual users. It is found that lack of experience in system design and maintenance are the key factors for reliable operation of a system. For further promotion of large-scale solar water heaters in Taiwan, a more compressive program on a system design for manufacturing process should be conducted. (orig.)

The European Large-Area ISO Survey (ELAIS): the final band-merged catalogue

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rowan-Robinson, M.; Lari, C.; Perez-Fournon, I.

2004-01-01

We present the final band-merged European Large-Area ISO Survey (ELAIS) Catalogue at 6.7, 15, 90 and 175 mum, and the associated data at U, g', r', i', Z, J, H, K and 20 cm. The origin of the survey, infrared and radio observations, data-reduction and optical identifications are briefly reviewed...

VizieR Online Data Catalog: HerMES Large Mode Survey catalogue (Asboth+, 2016)

Science.gov (United States)

Asboth, V.; Conley, A.; Sayers, J.; Bethermin, M.; Chapman, S. C.; Clements, D. L.; Cooray, A.; Dannerbauer, H.; Farrah, D.; Glenn, J.; Golwala, S. R.; Halpern, M.; Ibar, E.; Ivison, R. J.; Maloney, P. R.; Marques-Chaves, R.; Martinez-Navajas, P. I.; Oliver, S. J.; Perez-Fournon, I.; Riechers, D. A.; Rowan-Robinson, M.; Scott, D.; Siegel, S. R.; Vieira, J. D.; Viero, M.; Wang, L.; Wardlow, J.; Wheeler, J.

2018-01-01

The HerMES Large Mode Survey (HeLMS) consists of a large area shallow observation of an equatorial field at wavelengths of 250, 350 and 500um, obtained using the SPIRE aboard the Herschel Space Observatory. HeLMS is an extension of HerMES (Oliver et al., 2012MNRAS.424.1614O, Cat. VIII/95 and VIII/103), a 'wedding cake' type survey containing small and deep maps and larger shallower observations of different fields. HeLMS covers about 302deg2 of the sky, making it the largest area observed in the HerMES. The HeLMS field spans 23h14mlarge overlap with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey;s Stripe 82 field (Abazajian et al., 2009ApJS..182..543A), one of the most highly observed areas of the sky, with extensive multiwavelength ancillary data coverage. The equatorial area has the advantage that it can be observed from almost any ground-based telescope site in the world. (1 data file).

The ESO Diffuse Interstellar Band Large Exploration Survey (EDIBLES)

Science.gov (United States)

Cami, J.; Cox, N. L.; Farhang, A.; Smoker, J.; Elyajouri, M.; Lallement, R.; Bacalla, X.; Bhatt, N. H.; Bron, E.; Cordiner, M. A.; de Koter, A..; Ehrenfreund, P.; Evans, C.; Foing, B. H.; Javadi, A.; Joblin, C.; Kaper, L.; Khosroshahi, H. G.; Laverick, M.; Le Petit, F..; Linnartz, H.; Marshall, C. C.; Monreal-Ibero, A.; Mulas, G.; Roueff, E.; Royer, P.; Salama, F.; Sarre, P. J.; Smith, K. T.; Spaans, M.; van Loon, J. T..; Wade, G.

2018-03-01

The ESO Diffuse Interstellar Band Large Exploration Survey (EDIBLES) is a Large Programme that is collecting high-signal-to-noise (S/N) spectra with UVES of a large sample of O and B-type stars covering a large spectral range. The goal of the programme is to extract a unique sample of high-quality interstellar spectra from these data, representing different physical and chemical environments, and to characterise these environments in great detail. An important component of interstellar spectra is the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs), a set of hundreds of unidentified interstellar absorption lines. With the detailed line-of-sight information and the high-quality spectra, EDIBLES will derive strong constraints on the potential DIB carrier molecules. EDIBLES will thus guide the laboratory experiments necessary to identify these interstellar “mystery molecules”, and turn DIBs into powerful diagnostics of their environments in our Milky Way Galaxy and beyond. We present some preliminary results showing the unique capabilities of the EDIBLES programme.

PHOTOMETRIC REDSHIFTS FOR QUASARS IN MULTI-BAND SURVEYS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brescia, M.; Mercurio, A. [INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte, via Moiariello 16, I-80131 Napoli (Italy); Cavuoti, S.; Longo, G. [Department of Physics, University Federico II, via Cinthia 6, I-80126 Napoli (Italy); D' Abrusco, R., E-mail: brescia@oacn.inaf.it [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

2013-08-01

The Multi Layer Perceptron with Quasi Newton Algorithm (MLPQNA) is a machine learning method that can be used to cope with regression and classification problems on complex and massive data sets. In this paper, we give a formal description of the method and present the results of its application to the evaluation of photometric redshifts for quasars. The data set used for the experiment was obtained by merging four different surveys (Sloan Digital Sky Survey, GALEX, UKIDSS, and WISE), thus covering a wide range of wavelengths from the UV to the mid-infrared. The method is able (1) to achieve a very high accuracy, (2) to drastically reduce the number of outliers and catastrophic objects, and (3) to discriminate among parameters (or features) on the basis of their significance, so that the number of features used for training and analysis can be optimized in order to reduce both the computational demands and the effects of degeneracy. The best experiment, which makes use of a selected combination of parameters drawn from the four surveys, leads, in terms of {Delta}z{sub norm} (i.e., (z{sub spec} - z{sub phot})/(1 + z{sub spec})), to an average of {Delta}z{sub norm} = 0.004, a standard deviation of {sigma} = 0.069, and a median absolute deviation, MAD = 0.02, over the whole redshift range (i.e., z{sub spec} {<=} 3.6), defined by the four-survey cross-matched spectroscopic sample. The fraction of catastrophic outliers, i.e., of objects with photo-z deviating more than 2{sigma} from the spectroscopic value, is <3%, leading to {sigma} = 0.035 after their removal, over the same redshift range. The method is made available to the community through the DAMEWARE Web application.

The Transition to Large-scale Cosmic Homogeneity in the WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Scrimgeour, Morag; Davis, T.; Blake, C.; James, B.; Poole, G. B.; Staveley-Smith, L.; Dark Energy Survey, WiggleZ

2013-01-01

The most fundamental assumption of the standard cosmological model (ΛCDM) is that the universe is homogeneous on large scales. This is clearly not true on small scales, where clusters and voids exist, and some studies seem to suggest that galaxies follow a fractal distribution up to very large scales 200 h-1 Mpc or more), whereas the ΛCDM model predicts transition to homogeneity at scales of ~100 h-1 Mpc. Any cosmological measurements made below the scale of homogeneity (such as the power spectrum) could be misleading, so it is crucial to measure the scale of homogeneity in the Universe. We have used the WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey to make the largest volume measurement to date of the transition to homogeneity in the galaxy distribution. WiggleZ is a UV-selected spectroscopic survey of ~200,000 luminous blue galaxies up to z=1, made with the Anglo-Australian Telescope. We have corrected for survey incompleteness using random catalogues that account for the various survey selection criteria, and tested the robustness of our results using a suite of fractal mock catalogues. The large volume and depth of WiggleZ allows us to probe the transition of the galaxy distribution to homogeneity on large scales and over several epochs, and see if this is consistent with a ΛCDM prediction.

Exploring Milkyway Halo Substructures with Large-Area Sky Surveys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Ting [Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)

2016-01-01

Over the last two decades, our understanding of the Milky Way has been improved thanks to large data sets arising from large-area digital sky surveys. The stellar halo is now known to be inhabited by a variety of spatial and kinematic stellar substructures, including stellar streams and stellar clouds, all of which are predicted by hierarchical Lambda Cold Dark Matter models of galaxy formation. In this dissertation, we first present the analysis of spectroscopic observations of individual stars from the two candidate structures discovered using an M-giant catalog from the Two Micron All-Sky Survey. The follow-up observations show that one of the candidates is a genuine structure which might be associated with the Galactic Anticenter Stellar Structure, while the other one is a false detection due to the systematic photometric errors in the survey or dust extinction in low Galactic latitudes. We then presented the discovery of an excess of main sequence turn-off stars in the direction of the constellations of Eridanus and Phoenix from the first-year data of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) – a five-year, 5,000 deg2 optical imaging survey in the Southern Hemisphere. The Eridanus-Phoenix (EriPhe) overdensity is centered around l ~ 285° and b ~ -60° and the Poisson significance of the detection is at least 9σ. The EriPhe overdensity has a cloud-like morphology and the extent is at least ~ 4 kpc by ~ 3 kpc in projection, with a heliocentric distance of about d ~ 16 kpc. The EriPhe overdensity is morphologically similar to the previously-discovered Virgo overdensity and Hercules-Aquila cloud. These three overdensities lie along a polar plane separated by ~ 120° and may share a common origin. In addition to the scientific discoveries, we also present the work to improve the photometric calibration in DES using auxiliary calibration systems, since the photometric errors can cause false detection in first the halo substructure. We present a detailed description of the two

Large Astronomical Surveys, Catalogs and Databases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mickaelian A. M.

2012-09-01

Full Text Available We review the status of all-sky and large astronomical surveys and their catalogued data over the whole range of electromagnetic spectrum, from gamma-ray to radio, such as ROSAT in X-ray, GALEX in UV, SDSS and several POSS1/2 based catalogs (APM, MAPS, USNO, GSC in optical, 2MASS and WISE in NIR, IRAS and AKARI in MIR/FIR, NVSS and FIRST in radio range and others. Present astronomical archives contain billions of objects, Galactic as well as extragalactic, and the vast amount of data in them permit new studies and discoveries. Cross-correlations result in revealing new objects and new samples. Very often, dozens of thousands of sources hide a few very interesting ones that are needed to be discovered by comparison of various physical characteristics. Most of the modern databases currently provide VO access to the stored information. This permits not only open access but also fast analysis and managing of these data.

Comparison of the large-scale radon risk map for southern Belgium with results of high resolution surveys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, H.-C.; Charlet, J.M.; Poffijn, A.

2000-01-01

A large-scale radon survey consisting of long-term measurements in about 5200 singe-family houses in the southern part of Belgium was carried from 1995 to 1999. A radon risk map for the region was produced using geostatistical and GIS approaches. Some communes or villages situated within high risk areas were chosen for detailed surveys. A high resolution radon survey with about 330 measurements was performed in half part of the commune of Burg-Reuland. Comparison of radon maps on quite different scales shows that the general Rn risk map has similar pattern as the radon map for the detailed study area. Another detailed radon survey in the village of Hatrival, situated in a high radon area, found very high proportion of houses with elevated radon concentrations. The results of this detailed survey are comparable to the expectation for high risk areas on the large-scale radon risk map. The good correspondence between the findings of the general risk map and the analysis of the limited detailed surveys, suggests that the large-scale radon risk map is likely reliable. (author)

The Gould's Belt very large array survey. III. The Orion region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kounkel, Marina; Hartmann, Lee [Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, 500 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Loinard, Laurent; Ortiz-León, Gisela N.; Rodríguez, Luis F.; Pech, Gerardo; Rivera, Juana L. [Centro de Radiostronomía y Astrofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Morelia 58089 (Mexico); Mioduszewski, Amy J. [National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 1003 Lopezville Road, Socorro, NM 87801 (United States); Dzib, Sergio A. [Max Planck Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); Torres, Rosa M. [Instituto de Astronomía y Meteorología, Universidad de Guadalajara, Avenida Vallarta No. 2602, Col. Arcos Vallarta, CP 44130, Guadalajara, Jalisco (Mexico); Boden, Andrew F. [Division of Physics, Math and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Evans, Neal J. II [Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, C1400, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Briceño, Cesar [Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory, Casilla 603, La Serena (Chile); Tobin, John [National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States)

2014-07-20

We present results from a high-sensitivity (60 μJy), large-scale (2.26 deg{sup 2}) survey obtained with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array as part of the Gould's Belt Survey program. We detected 374 and 354 sources at 4.5 and 7.5 GHz, respectively. Of these, 148 are associated with previously known young stellar objects (YSOs). Another 86 sources previously unclassified at either optical or infrared wavelengths exhibit radio properties that are consistent with those of young stars. The overall properties of our sources at radio wavelengths such as their variability and radio to X-ray luminosity relation are consistent with previous results from the Gould's Belt Survey. Our detections provide target lists for follow-up Very Long Baseline Array radio observations to determine their distances as YSOs are located in regions of high nebulosity and extinction, making it difficult to measure optical parallaxes.

Measures of large-scale structure in the CfA redshift survey slices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Lapparent, V.; Geller, M.J.; Huchra, J.P.

1991-01-01

Variations of the counts-in-cells with cell size are used here to define two statistical measures of large-scale clustering in three 6 deg slices of the CfA redshift survey. A percolation criterion is used to estimate the filling factor which measures the fraction of the total volume in the survey occupied by the large-scale structures. For the full 18 deg slice of the CfA redshift survey, f is about 0.25 + or - 0.05. After removing groups with more than five members from two of the slices, variations of the counts in occupied cells with cell size have a power-law behavior with a slope beta about 2.2 on scales from 1-10/h Mpc. Application of both this statistic and the percolation analysis to simulations suggests that a network of two-dimensional structures is a better description of the geometry of the clustering in the CfA slices than a network of one-dimensional structures. Counts-in-cells are also used to estimate at 0.3 galaxy h-squared/Mpc the average galaxy surface density in sheets like the Great Wall. 46 refs

Automation of Survey Data Processing, Documentation and Dissemination: An Application to Large-Scale Self-Reported Educational Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Shim, Eunjae; Shim, Minsuk K.; Felner, Robert D.

Automation of the survey process has proved successful in many industries, yet it is still underused in educational research. This is largely due to the facts (1) that number crunching is usually carried out using software that was developed before information technology existed, and (2) that the educational research is to a great extent trapped…

AKARI INFRARED CAMERA SURVEY OF THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD. II. THE NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPIC CATALOG

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimonishi, Takashi; Onaka, Takashi; Kato, Daisuke; Sakon, Itsuki; Ita, Yoshifusa; Kawamura, Akiko; Kaneda, Hidehiro

2013-01-01

We performed a near-infrared spectroscopic survey toward an area of ∼10 deg 2 of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) with the infrared satellite AKARI. Observations were carried out as part of the AKARI Large-area Survey of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LSLMC). The slitless multi-object spectroscopic capability of the AKARI/IRC enabled us to obtain low-resolution (R ∼ 20) spectra in 2-5 μm for a large number of point sources in the LMC. As a result of the survey, we extracted about 2000 infrared spectra of point sources. The data are organized as a near-infrared spectroscopic catalog. The catalog includes various infrared objects such as young stellar objects (YSOs), asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, supergiants, and so on. It is shown that 97% of the catalog sources have corresponding photometric data in the wavelength range from 1.2 to 11 μm, and 67% of the sources also have photometric data up to 24 μm. The catalog allows us to investigate near-infrared spectral features of sources by comparison with their infrared spectral energy distributions. In addition, it is estimated that about 10% of the catalog sources are observed at more than two different epochs. This enables us to study a spectroscopic variability of sources by using the present catalog. Initial results of source classifications for the LSLMC samples are presented. We classified 659 LSLMC spectra based on their near-infrared spectral features by visual inspection. As a result, it is shown that the present catalog includes 7 YSOs, 160 C-rich AGBs, 8 C-rich AGB candidates, 85 O-rich AGBs, 122 blue and yellow supergiants, 150 red super giants, and 128 unclassified sources. Distributions of the classified sources on the color-color and color-magnitude diagrams are discussed in the text. Continuous wavelength coverage and high spectroscopic sensitivity in 2-5 μm can only be achieved by space observations. This is an unprecedented large-scale spectroscopic survey toward the LMC in the near

THE SPITZER -HETDEX EXPLORATORY LARGE-AREA SURVEY

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Papovich, C.; Shipley, H. V.; Mehrtens, N.; Lanham, C.; DePoy, D. L.; Kawinwanichakij, L. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX, 77843-4242 (United States); Lacy, M. [North American ALMA Science Center, NRAO Headquarters, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States); Ciardullo, R.; Gronwall, C. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Finkelstein, S. L.; Drory, N.; Gebhardt, K.; Hill, G. J.; Jogee, S. [Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Bassett, R. [International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, University of Western Australia, 7 Fairway, Crawley, WA 6009 (Australia); Behroozi, P. [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Blanc, G. A. [Departamento de Astronomía, Universidad de Chile, Camino del Observatorio 1515, Las Condes, Santiago (Chile); Jong, R. S. de [Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP), An der Sternwarte 16, D-14482 Potsdam (Germany); Gawiser, E. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 136 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854 (United States); Hopp, U., E-mail: papovich@physics.tamu.edu, E-mail: papovich@tamu.edu [Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik, D-85741, Garching (Germany); and others

2016-06-01

We present post-cryogenic Spitzer imaging at 3.6 and 4.5 μ m with the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) of the Spitzer /HETDEX Exploratory Large-Area (SHELA) survey. SHELA covers ≈24 deg{sup 2} of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey “Stripe 82” region, and falls within the footprints of the Hobby–Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) and the Dark Energy Survey. The HETDEX blind R ∼ 800 spectroscopy will produce ∼200,000 redshifts from the Ly α emission for galaxies in the range 1.9 <  z  < 3.5, and an additional ∼200,000 redshifts from the [O ii] emission for galaxies at z  < 0.5. When combined with deep ugriz images from the Dark Energy Camera, K -band images from NEWFIRM, and other ancillary data, the IRAC photometry from Spitzer will enable a broad range of scientific studies of the relationship between structure formation, galaxy stellar mass, halo mass, the presence of active galactic nuclei, and environment over a co-moving volume of ∼0.5 Gpc{sup 3} at 1.9 <  z  < 3.5. Here, we discuss the properties of the SHELA IRAC data set, including the data acquisition, reduction, validation, and source catalogs. Our tests show that the images and catalogs are 80% (50%) complete to limiting magnitudes of 22.0 (22.6) AB mag in the detection image, which is constructed from the weighted sum of the IRAC 3.6 and 4.5 μ m images. The catalogs reach limiting sensitivities of 1.1  μ Jy at both 3.6 and 4.5 μ m (1 σ , for R = 2″ circular apertures). As a demonstration of the science, we present IRAC number counts, examples of highly temporally variable sources, and galaxy surface density profiles of rich galaxy clusters. In the spirit of the Spitzer Exploratory programs, we provide all of the images and catalogs as part of the publication.

THE SPITZER -HETDEX EXPLORATORY LARGE-AREA SURVEY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Papovich, C.; Shipley, H. V.; Mehrtens, N.; Lanham, C.; DePoy, D. L.; Kawinwanichakij, L.; Lacy, M.; Ciardullo, R.; Gronwall, C.; Finkelstein, S. L.; Drory, N.; Gebhardt, K.; Hill, G. J.; Jogee, S.; Bassett, R.; Behroozi, P.; Blanc, G. A.; Jong, R. S. de; Gawiser, E.; Hopp, U.

2016-01-01

We present post-cryogenic Spitzer imaging at 3.6 and 4.5 μ m with the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) of the Spitzer /HETDEX Exploratory Large-Area (SHELA) survey. SHELA covers ≈24 deg 2 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey “Stripe 82” region, and falls within the footprints of the Hobby–Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) and the Dark Energy Survey. The HETDEX blind R ∼ 800 spectroscopy will produce ∼200,000 redshifts from the Ly α emission for galaxies in the range 1.9 <  z  < 3.5, and an additional ∼200,000 redshifts from the [O ii] emission for galaxies at z  < 0.5. When combined with deep ugriz images from the Dark Energy Camera, K -band images from NEWFIRM, and other ancillary data, the IRAC photometry from Spitzer will enable a broad range of scientific studies of the relationship between structure formation, galaxy stellar mass, halo mass, the presence of active galactic nuclei, and environment over a co-moving volume of ∼0.5 Gpc 3 at 1.9 <  z  < 3.5. Here, we discuss the properties of the SHELA IRAC data set, including the data acquisition, reduction, validation, and source catalogs. Our tests show that the images and catalogs are 80% (50%) complete to limiting magnitudes of 22.0 (22.6) AB mag in the detection image, which is constructed from the weighted sum of the IRAC 3.6 and 4.5 μ m images. The catalogs reach limiting sensitivities of 1.1  μ Jy at both 3.6 and 4.5 μ m (1 σ , for R = 2″ circular apertures). As a demonstration of the science, we present IRAC number counts, examples of highly temporally variable sources, and galaxy surface density profiles of rich galaxy clusters. In the spirit of the Spitzer Exploratory programs, we provide all of the images and catalogs as part of the publication.

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope as a Near-Earth Object discovery machine

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, R. Lynne; Slater, Colin T.; Moeyens, Joachim; Allen, Lori; Axelrod, Tim; Cook, Kem; Ivezić, Željko; Jurić, Mario; Myers, Jonathan; Petry, Catherine E.

2018-03-01

Using the most recent prototypes, design, and as-built system information, we test and quantify the capability of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) to discover Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) and Near-Earth Objects (NEOs). We empirically estimate an expected upper limit to the false detection rate in LSST image differencing, using measurements on DECam data and prototype LSST software and find it to be about 450 deg-2. We show that this rate is already tractable with current prototype of the LSST Moving Object Processing System (MOPS) by processing a 30-day simulation consistent with measured false detection rates. We proceed to evaluate the performance of the LSST baseline survey strategy for PHAs and NEOs using a high-fidelity simulated survey pointing history. We find that LSST alone, using its baseline survey strategy, will detect 66% of the PHA and 61% of the NEO population objects brighter than H = 22 , with the uncertainty in the estimate of ± 5 percentage points. By generating and examining variations on the baseline survey strategy, we show it is possible to further improve the discovery yields. In particular, we find that extending the LSST survey by two additional years and doubling the MOPS search window increases the completeness for PHAs to 86% (including those discovered by contemporaneous surveys) without jeopardizing other LSST science goals (77% for NEOs). This equates to reducing the undiscovered population of PHAs by additional 26% (15% for NEOs), relative to the baseline survey.

Survey of red stars in the direction of the large Magellanic cloud

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bappu, M.K.V.; Parthasarathy, M.; Scaria, K.K.

1977-01-01

A survey of red stars in the direction of the Large Magellanic Cloud using the technique of ultra-low dispersion spectroscopy is presented. A listing of the red stars in the 30 Doradus region is given for which finding charts and coordinates on the Hodge-Wright Atlas charts are provided. (author)

Large Survey Database: A Distributed Framework for Storage and Analysis of Large Datasets

Science.gov (United States)

Juric, Mario

2011-01-01

The Large Survey Database (LSD) is a Python framework and DBMS for distributed storage, cross-matching and querying of large survey catalogs (>10^9 rows, >1 TB). The primary driver behind its development is the analysis of Pan-STARRS PS1 data. It is specifically optimized for fast queries and parallel sweeps of positionally and temporally indexed datasets. It transparently scales to more than >10^2 nodes, and can be made to function in "shared nothing" architectures. An LSD database consists of a set of vertically and horizontally partitioned tables, physically stored as compressed HDF5 files. Vertically, we partition the tables into groups of related columns ('column groups'), storing together logically related data (e.g., astrometry, photometry). Horizontally, the tables are partitioned into partially overlapping ``cells'' by position in space (lon, lat) and time (t). This organization allows for fast lookups based on spatial and temporal coordinates, as well as data and task distribution. The design was inspired by the success of Google BigTable (Chang et al., 2006). Our programming model is a pipelined extension of MapReduce (Dean and Ghemawat, 2004). An SQL-like query language is used to access data. For complex tasks, map-reduce ``kernels'' that operate on query results on a per-cell basis can be written, with the framework taking care of scheduling and execution. The combination leverages users' familiarity with SQL, while offering a fully distributed computing environment. LSD adds little overhead compared to direct Python file I/O. In tests, we sweeped through 1.1 Grows of PanSTARRS+SDSS data (220GB) less than 15 minutes on a dual CPU machine. In a cluster environment, we achieved bandwidths of 17Gbits/sec (I/O limited). Based on current experience, we believe LSD should scale to be useful for analysis and storage of LSST-scale datasets. It can be downloaded from http://mwscience.net/lsd.

Conducting a large, multi-site survey about patients’ views on broad consent: challenges and solutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maureen E. Smith

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background As biobanks play an increasing role in the genomic research that will lead to precision medicine, input from diverse and large populations of patients in a variety of health care settings will be important in order to successfully carry out such studies. One important topic is participants’ views towards consent and data sharing, especially since the 2011 Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM, and subsequently the 2015 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM were issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS and Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP. These notices required that participants consent to research uses of their de-identified tissue samples and most clinical data, and allowing such consent be obtained in a one-time, open-ended or “broad” fashion. Conducting a survey across multiple sites provides clear advantages to either a single site survey or using a large online database, and is a potentially powerful way of understanding the views of diverse populations on this topic. Methods A workgroup of the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE Network, a national consortium of 9 sites (13 separate institutions, 11 clinical centers supported by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI that combines DNA biorepositories with electronic medical record (EMR systems for large-scale genetic research, conducted a survey to understand patients’ views on consent, sample and data sharing for future research, biobank governance, data protection, and return of research results. Results Working across 9 sites to design and conduct a national survey presented challenges in organization, meeting human subjects guidelines at each institution, and survey development and implementation. The challenges were met through a committee structure to address each aspect of the project with representatives from all sites. Each committee’s output was integrated into the overall survey plan. A

Disclosure Control using Partially Synthetic Data for Large-Scale Health Surveys, with Applications to CanCORS

OpenAIRE

Loong, Bronwyn; Zaslavsky, Alan M.; He, Yulei; Harrington, David P.

2013-01-01

Statistical agencies have begun to partially synthesize public-use data for major surveys to protect the confidentiality of respondents’ identities and sensitive attributes, by replacing high disclosure risk and sensitive variables with multiple imputations. To date, there are few applications of synthetic data techniques to large-scale healthcare survey data. Here, we describe partial synthesis of survey data collected by CanCORS, a comprehensive observational study of the experiences, treat...

The European large area ISO survey - III. 90-mu m extragalactic source counts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Efstathiou, A.; Oliver, S.; Rowan-Robinson, M.

2000-01-01

We present results and source counts at 90 mum extracted from the preliminary analysis of the European Large Area ISO Survey (ELAIS). The survey covered about 12 deg(2) of the sky in four main areas and was carried out with the ISOPHOT instrument onboard the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO...... or small groups of galaxies, suggesting that the sample may include a significant fraction of luminous infrared galaxies. The source counts extracted from a reliable subset of the detected sources are in agreement with strongly evolving models of the starburst galaxy population....

Spitzer sage survey of the large magellanic cloud. II. Evolved stars and infrared color-magnitude diagrams

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Blum, R. D.; Mould, J. R.; Olsen, K. A.; Frogel, J. A.; Meixner, M.; Markwick-Kemper, F.; Indebetouw, R.; Whitney, B.; Meade, M.; Babler, B.; Churchwell, E. B.; Gordon, K.; Engelbracht, C.; For, B. -Q.; Misselt, K.; Vijh, U.; Leitherer, C.; Volk, K.; Points, S.; Reach, W.; Hora, J. L.; Bernard, J. -P.; Boulanger, F.; Bracker, S.; Cohen, M.; Fukui, Y.; Gallagher, J.; Gorjian, V.; Harris, J.; Kelly, D.; Kawamura, A.; Latter, W. B.; Madden, S.; Mizuno, A.; Mizuno, N.; Oey, M. S.; Onishi, T.; Paladini, R.; Panagia, N.; Perez-Gonzalez, P.; Shibai, H.; Sato, S.; Smith, L.; Staveley-Smith, L.; Tielens, A.G.G.M; Ueta, T.; Van Dyk, S.; Zaritsky, D.; Werner, M.J.

Color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) are presented for the Spitzer SAGE (Surveying the Agents of a Galaxy's Evolution) survey of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). IRAC and MIPS 24 mu m epoch 1 data are presented. These data represent the deepest, widest mid-infrared CMDs of their kind ever produced in

The NuSTAR Extragalactic Surveys: Source Catalog and the Compton-thick Fraction in the UDS Field

Science.gov (United States)

Masini, A.; Civano, F.; Comastri, A.; Fornasini, F.; Ballantyne, D. R.; Lansbury, G. B.; Treister, E.; Alexander, D. M.; Boorman, P. G.; Brandt, W. N.; Farrah, D.; Gandhi, P.; Harrison, F. A.; Hickox, R. C.; Kocevski, D. D.; Lanz, L.; Marchesi, S.; Puccetti, S.; Ricci, C.; Saez, C.; Stern, D.; Zappacosta, L.

2018-03-01

We present the results and the source catalog of the NuSTAR survey in the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey (UDS) field, bridging the gap in depth and area between NuSTAR’s ECDFS and COSMOS surveys. The survey covers a ∼0.6 deg2 area of the field for a total observing time of ∼1.75 Ms, to a half-area depth of ∼155 ks corrected for vignetting at 3–24 keV, and reaching sensitivity limits at half-area in the full (3–24 keV), soft (3–8 keV), and hard (8–24 keV) bands of 2.2 × 10‑14 erg cm‑2 s‑1, 1.0 × 10‑14 erg cm‑2 s‑1, and 2.7 × 10‑14 erg cm‑2 s‑1, respectively. A total of 67 sources are detected in at least one of the three bands, 56 of which have a robust optical redshift with a median of ∼ 1.1. Through a broadband (0.5–24 keV) spectral analysis of the whole sample combined with the NuSTAR hardness ratios, we compute the observed Compton-thick (CT; N H > 1024 cm‑2) fraction. Taking into account the uncertainties on each N H measurement, the final number of CT sources is 6.8 ± 1.2. This corresponds to an observed CT fraction of 11.5% ± 2.0%, providing a robust lower limit to the intrinsic fraction of CT active galactic nuclei and placing constraints on cosmic X-ray background synthesis models.

Use of models in large-area forest surveys: comparing model-assisted, model-based and hybrid estimation

Science.gov (United States)

Goran Stahl; Svetlana Saarela; Sebastian Schnell; Soren Holm; Johannes Breidenbach; Sean P. Healey; Paul L. Patterson; Steen Magnussen; Erik Naesset; Ronald E. McRoberts; Timothy G. Gregoire

2016-01-01

This paper focuses on the use of models for increasing the precision of estimators in large-area forest surveys. It is motivated by the increasing availability of remotely sensed data, which facilitates the development of models predicting the variables of interest in forest surveys. We present, review and compare three different estimation frameworks where...

DISCOVERING THE MISSING 2.2 < z < 3 QUASARS BY COMBINING OPTICAL VARIABILITY AND OPTICAL/NEAR-INFRARED COLORS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Xuebing; Wang Ran; Bian Fuyan; Jiang Linhua; Fan Xiaohui; Schmidt, Kasper B.

2011-01-01

The identification of quasars in the redshift range 2.2 < z < 3 is known to be very inefficient because the optical colors of such quasars are indistinguishable from those of stars. Recent studies have proposed using optical variability or near-infrared (near-IR) colors to improve the identification of the missing quasars in this redshift range. Here we present a case study combining both methods. We select a sample of 70 quasar candidates from variables in Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Stripe 82, which are non-ultraviolet excess sources and have UKIDSS near-IR public data. They are clearly separated into two parts on the Y - K/g - z color-color diagram, and 59 of them meet or lie close to a newly proposed Y - K/g - z selection criterion for z < 4 quasars. Of these 59 sources, 44 were previously identified as quasars in SDSS DR7, and 35 of them are quasars at 2.2 < z < 3. We present spectroscopic observations of 14 of 15 remaining quasar candidates using the Bok 2.3 m telescope and the MMT 6.5 m telescope, and successfully identify all of them as new quasars at z = 2.36-2.88. We also apply this method to a sample of 643 variable quasar candidates with SDSS-UKIDSS nine-band photometric data selected from 1875 new quasar candidates in SDSS Stripe 82 given by Butler and Bloom based on the time-series selections, and find that 188 of them are probably new quasars with photometric redshifts at 2.2 < z < 3. Our results indicate that the combination of optical variability and optical/near-IR colors is probably the most efficient way to find 2.2 < z < 3 quasars and is very helpful for constructing a complete quasar sample. We discuss its implications for ongoing and upcoming large optical and near-IR sky surveys.

Application for surveying technology for the alignment of large optical systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bauke, W.

1984-01-01

Precise alignment of optical elements in large optical systems is difficult if many elements are positioned such that direct alignment or boresighting becomes impossible. A practical approach is to identify discrete optical path segments and align these using standard surveying or optical-tooling instrumentation. One simply has to develop an alignment theory in which the alignment optical path duplicates or closely approximates the optical path of the operational device. The surveying instruments can then be used to simulate the optical input beams to the system segments to be aligned. Auxiliary targets and reflectors may be added, and the alignment procedure may be augmented by standard optical test instrumentation and techniques. Examples are given using theodolites, transits, and levels with autocollimating capability and micrometer adaptors to perform boresighting and autocollimation techniques on segments of the optical train of the Antares Laser Fusion System at Los Alamos National Laboratory

Getting leverage on inflation with a large photometric redshift survey

CERN Document Server

Basse, Tobias; Hannestad, Steen; Wong, Yvonne Y Y

2015-01-01

We assess the potential of a future large-volume photometric redshift survey to constrain observational inflationary parameters using three large-scale structure observables: the angular shear and galaxy power spectra, and the cluster mass function measured through weak lensing. When used in combination with Planck-like CMB measurements, we find that the spectral index n_s can be constrained to a 1 sigma precision of up to 0.0025. The sensitivity to the running of the spectral index can potentially improve to 0.0017, roughly a factor of five better than the present 1 sigma~constraint from Planck and auxiliary CMB data, allowing us to test the assumptions of the slow-roll scenario with unprecedented accuracy. Interestingly, neither CMB+shear nor CMB+galaxy nor CMB+clusters alone can achieve this level of sensitivity; it is the combined power of all three probes that conspires to break the different parameter degeneracies inherent in each type of observations. We make our forecast software publicly available vi...

Indicators to examine quality of large scale survey data: an example through district level household and facility survey.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kakoli Borkotoky

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Large scale surveys are the main source of data pertaining to all the social and demographic indicators, hence its quality is also of great concern. In this paper, we discuss the indicators used to examine the quality of data. We focus on age misreporting, incompleteness and inconsistency of information; and skipping of questions on reproductive and sexual health related issues. In order to observe the practical consequences of errors in a survey; the District Level Household and Facility Survey (DLHS-3 is used as an example dataset. METHODS: Whipple's and Myer's indices are used to identify age misreporting. Age displacements are identified by estimating downward and upward transfers for women from bordering age groups of the eligible age range. Skipping pattern is examined by recording the responses to the questions which precede the sections on birth history, immunization, and reproductive and sexual health. RESULTS: The study observed errors in age reporting, in all the states, but the extent of misreporting differs by state and individual characteristics. Illiteracy, rural residence and poor economic condition are the major factors that lead to age misreporting. Female were excluded from the eligible age group, to reduce the duration of interview. The study further observed that respondents tend to skip questions on HIV/RTI and other questions which follow a set of questions. CONCLUSION: The study concludes that age misreporting, inconsistency and incomplete response are three sources of error that need to be considered carefully before drawing conclusions from any survey. DLHS-3 also suffers from age misreporting, particularly for female in the reproductive ages. In view of the coverage of the survey, it may not be possible to control age misreporting completely, but some extra effort to probe a better answer may help in improving the quality of data in the survey.

The use of test scores from large-scale assessment surveys: psychometric and statistical considerations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henry Braun

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Economists are making increasing use of measures of student achievement obtained through large-scale survey assessments such as NAEP, TIMSS, and PISA. The construction of these measures, employing plausible value (PV methodology, is quite different from that of the more familiar test scores associated with assessments such as the SAT or ACT. These differences have important implications both for utilization and interpretation. Although much has been written about PVs, it appears that there are still misconceptions about whether and how to employ them in secondary analyses. Methods We address a range of technical issues, including those raised in a recent article that was written to inform economists using these databases. First, an extensive review of the relevant literature was conducted, with particular attention to key publications that describe the derivation and psychometric characteristics of such achievement measures. Second, a simulation study was carried out to compare the statistical properties of estimates based on the use of PVs with those based on other, commonly used methods. Results It is shown, through both theoretical analysis and simulation, that under fairly general conditions appropriate use of PV yields approximately unbiased estimates of model parameters in regression analyses of large scale survey data. The superiority of the PV methodology is particularly evident when measures of student achievement are employed as explanatory variables. Conclusions The PV methodology used to report student test performance in large scale surveys remains the state-of-the-art for secondary analyses of these databases.

The Large Area Radio Galaxy Evolution Spectroscopic Survey (LARGESS): survey design, data catalogue and GAMA/WiggleZ spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Ching, John H. Y.; Sadler, Elaine M.; Croom, Scott M.; Johnston, Helen M.; Pracy, Michael B.; Couch, Warrick J.; Hopkins, A. M.; Jurek, Russell J.; Pimbblet, K. A.

2017-01-01

We present the Large Area Radio Galaxy Evolution Spectroscopic Survey (LARGESS), a spectroscopic catalogue of radio sources designed to include the full range of radio AGN populations out to redshift z ˜ 0.8. The catalogue covers ˜800 deg2 of sky, and provides optical identifications for 19 179 radio sources from the 1.4 GHz Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-cm (FIRST) survey down to an optical magnitude limit of Imod point-like objects are included, and no colour cuts are applied. In collaboration with the WiggleZ and Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) spectroscopic survey teams, we have obtained new spectra for over 5000 objects in the LARGESS sample. Combining these new spectra with data from earlier surveys provides spectroscopic data for 12 329 radio sources in the survey area, of which 10 856 have reliable redshifts. 85 per cent of the LARGESS spectroscopic sample are radio AGN (median redshift z = 0.44), and 15 per cent are nearby star-forming galaxies (median z = 0.08). Low-excitation radio galaxies (LERGs) comprise the majority (83 per cent) of LARGESS radio AGN at z < 0.8, with 12 per cent being high-excitation radio galaxies (HERGs) and 5 per cent radio-loud QSOs. Unlike the more homogeneous LERG and QSO sub-populations, HERGs are a heterogeneous class of objects with relatively blue optical colours and a wide dispersion in mid-infrared colours. This is consistent with a picture in which most HERGs are hosted by galaxies with recent or ongoing star formation as well as a classical accretion disc.

The ROSAT All-Sky Survey view of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC)

Science.gov (United States)

Pietsch, W.; Denner, K.; Kahabka, P.; Pakull, M.; Schaeidt, S.

1996-01-01

During the Rosat all sky survey, centered on the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), 516 X-ray sources were detected. The field was covered from July 1990 to January 1991. The X-ray parameters of the sources, involving position, count rates, hardness ratios, extent, and time variability during the observations, are discussed. Identifications with objects from optical, radio and infrared wavelength allow the LMC candidates to be separated from the foreground stars and the background objects.

Requirements and concept design for large earth survey telescope for SEOS

Science.gov (United States)

Mailhot, P.; Bisbee, J.

1975-01-01

The efforts of a one year program of Requirements Analysis and Conceptual Design for the Large Earth Survey Telescope for the Synchronous Earth Observatory Satellite is summarized. A 1.4 meter aperture Cassegrain telescope with 0.6 deg field of view is shown to do an excellent job in satisfying the observational requirements for a wide range of earth resources and meteorological applications. The telescope provides imagery or thermal mapping in ten spectral bands at one time in a field sharing grouping of linear detector arrays. Pushbroom scanning is accomplished by spacecraft slew.

A Survey for Spectroscopic Binaries in a Large Sample of G Dwarfs

Science.gov (United States)

Udry, S.; Mayor, M.; Latham, D. W.; Stefanik, R. P.; Torres, G.; Mazeh, T.; Goldberg, D.; Andersen, J.; Nordstrom, B.

For more than 5 years now, the radial velocities for a large sample of G dwarfs (3,347 stars) have been monitored in order to obtain an unequaled set of orbital parameters for solar-type stars (~400 orbits, up to now). This survey provides a considerable improvement on the classical systematic study by Duquennoy and Mayor (1991; DM91). The observational part of the survey has been carried out in the context of a collaboration between the Geneva Observatory on the two coravel spectrometers for the southern sky and CfA at Oakridge and Whipple Observatories for the northern sky. As a first glance at these new results, we will address in this contribution a special aspect of the orbital eccentricity distribution, namely the disappearance of the void observed in DM91 for quasi-circular orbits with periods larger than 10 days.

Aerial radiation survey techniques for efficient characterization of large areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sydelko, T.; Riedhauser, S.

2006-01-01

Full text: Accidental or intentional releases of radioactive isotopes over potentially very large surface areas can pose serious health risks to humans and ecological receptors. Timely and appropriate responses to these releases depend upon rapid and accurate characterization of impacted areas. These characterization efforts can be adversely impacted by heavy vegetation, rugged terrain, urban environments, and the presence of unknown levels of radioactivity. Aerial survey techniques have proven highly successful in measuring gamma emissions from radiological contaminates of concern quickly, efficiently, and safely. Examples of accidental releases include the unintentional distribution of uranium mining ores during transportation, the loss of uranium processing and waste materials, unintentional nuclear power plant emissions into the atmosphere, and the distribution of isotopes during major flooding events such as the one recently occurring in New Orleans. Intentional releases have occurred during the use of deleted uranium ammunition test firing and war time use by military organizations. The threat of radiological dispersion device (dirty bomb) use by terrorists is currently a major concern of many major cities worldwide. The U.S. Department of Energy, in cooperation with its Remote Sensing Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory, has developed a sophisticated aerial measurement system for identifying the locations, types, and quantities of gamma emitting radionuclides over extremely large areas. Helicopter mounted Nal detectors are flown at low altitude and constant speed along parallel paths measuring the full spectrum of gamma activity. Analytical procedures are capable of distinguishing between radiological contamination and changes in natural background emissions. Mapped and tabular results of these accurate, timely and cost effective aerial gamma radiation surveys can be used to assist with emergency response actions, if necessary, and to focus more

EXPECTED LARGE SYNOPTIC SURVEY TELESCOPE (LSST) YIELD OF ECLIPSING BINARY STARS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prsa, Andrej; Pepper, Joshua; Stassun, Keivan G.

2011-01-01

In this paper, we estimate the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) yield of eclipsing binary stars, which will survey ∼20,000 deg 2 of the southern sky during a period of 10 years in six photometric passbands to r ∼ 24.5. We generate a set of 10,000 eclipsing binary light curves sampled to the LSST time cadence across the whole sky, with added noise as a function of apparent magnitude. This set is passed to the analysis-of-variance period finder to assess the recoverability rate for the periods, and the successfully phased light curves are passed to the artificial-intelligence-based pipeline ebai to assess the recoverability rate in terms of the eclipsing binaries' physical and geometric parameters. We find that, out of ∼24 million eclipsing binaries observed by LSST with a signal-to-noise ratio >10 in mission lifetime, ∼28% or 6.7 million can be fully characterized by the pipeline. Of those, ∼25% or 1.7 million will be double-lined binaries, a true treasure trove for stellar astrophysics.

Implementation of a Computerized Tablet-Survey in an Adolescent Large-Scale, School-Based Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Delk, Joanne; Harrell, Melissa B; Fakhouri, Tala H I; Muir, Katelyn A; Perry, Cheryl L

2017-07-01

Computerized surveys present many advantages over paper surveys. However, school-based adolescent research questionnaires still mainly rely on paper-and-pencil surveys as access to computers in schools is often not practical. Tablet-assisted self-interviews (TASI) present a possible solution, but their use is largely untested. This paper presents a method for and our experiences with implementing a TASI in a school setting. A TASI was administered to 3907 middle and high school students from 79 schools. The survey assessed use of tobacco products and exposure to tobacco marketing. To assess in-depth tobacco use behaviors, the TASI employed extensive skip patterns to reduce the number of not-applicable questions that nontobacco users received. Pictures were added to help respondents identify the tobacco products they were being queried about. Students were receptive to the tablets and required no instructions in their use. None were lost, stolen, or broken. Item nonresponse, unanswered questions, was a pre-administration concern; however, 92% of participants answered 96% or more of the questions. This method was feasible and successful among a diverse population of students and schools. It generated a unique dataset of in-depth tobacco use behaviors that would not have been possible through a paper-and-pencil survey. © 2017, American School Health Association.

The European Large Area ISO Survey - IV. The preliminary 90-mu m luminosity function

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Serjeant, S.; Efstathiou, A.; Oliver, S.

2001-01-01

We present the luminosity function of 90-mum-selected galaxies from the European Large Area ISO Survey (ELAIS), extending to z = 0.3. Their luminosities are in the range 10(9)

What Puts Women at Risk of Violence from Their Husbands? Findings from a Large, Nationally Representative Survey in Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Yuksel-Kaptanoglu, Ilknur; Turkyilmaz, Ahmet Sinan; Heise, Lori

2012-01-01

A large, nationally representative, cross-sectional survey was conducted in Turkey in 2008. In this survey, which used the WHO (World Health Organization) study module on violence, information about lifetime and current violence (past 12 months) was obtained using weighted, stratified, and multistage cluster sampling. This article describes…

Surveying Future Surveys

Science.gov (United States)

Carlstrom, John E.

2016-06-01

The now standard model of cosmology has been tested and refined by the analysis of increasingly sensitive, large astronomical surveys, especially with statistically significant millimeter-wave surveys of the cosmic microwave background and optical surveys of the distribution of galaxies. This talk will offer a glimpse of the future, which promises an acceleration of this trend with cosmological information coming from new surveys across the electromagnetic spectrum as well as particles and even gravitational waves.

Near-Earth Object Orbit Linking with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Vereš, Peter; Chesley, Steven R.

2017-07-01

We have conducted a detailed simulation of the ability of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) to link near-Earth and main belt asteroid detections into orbits. The key elements of the study were a high-fidelity detection model and the presence of false detections in the form of both statistical noise and difference image artifacts. We employed the Moving Object Processing System (MOPS) to generate tracklets, tracks, and orbits with a realistic detection density for one month of the LSST survey. The main goals of the study were to understand whether (a) the linking of near-Earth objects (NEOs) into orbits can succeed in a realistic survey, (b) the number of false tracks and orbits will be manageable, and (c) the accuracy of linked orbits would be sufficient for automated processing of discoveries and attributions. We found that the overall density of asteroids was more than 5000 per LSST field near opposition on the ecliptic, plus up to 3000 false detections per field in good seeing. We achieved 93.6% NEO linking efficiency for H< 22 on tracks composed of tracklets from at least three distinct nights within a 12 day interval. The derived NEO catalog was comprised of 96% correct linkages. Less than 0.1% of orbits included false detections, and the remainder of false linkages stemmed from main belt confusion, which was an artifact of the short time span of the simulation. The MOPS linking efficiency can be improved by refined attribution of detections to known objects and by improved tuning of the internal kd-tree linking algorithms.

National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Towed-diver Surveys of Large-bodied Fishes of the Marianas since 2014

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The towed-diver method is used to conduct surveys of large-bodied (> 50 cm) fishes in the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific...

National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Towed-diver Surveys of Large-bodied Fishes of American Samoa in 2015

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The towed-diver method is used to conduct surveys of large-bodied (> 50 cm) fishes in the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific...

Assessment of Systematic Chromatic Errors that Impact Sub-1% Photometric Precision in Large-Area Sky Surveys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, T. S. [et al.

2016-05-27

Meeting the science goals for many current and future ground-based optical large-area sky surveys requires that the calibrated broadband photometry is stable in time and uniform over the sky to 1% precision or better. Past surveys have achieved photometric precision of 1-2% by calibrating the survey's stellar photometry with repeated measurements of a large number of stars observed in multiple epochs. The calibration techniques employed by these surveys only consider the relative frame-by-frame photometric zeropoint offset and the focal plane position-dependent illumination corrections, which are independent of the source color. However, variations in the wavelength dependence of the atmospheric transmission and the instrumental throughput induce source color-dependent systematic errors. These systematic errors must also be considered to achieve the most precise photometric measurements. In this paper, we examine such systematic chromatic errors using photometry from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) as an example. We define a natural magnitude system for DES and calculate the systematic errors on stellar magnitudes, when the atmospheric transmission and instrumental throughput deviate from the natural system. We conclude that the systematic chromatic errors caused by the change of airmass in each exposure, the change of the precipitable water vapor and aerosol in the atmosphere over time, and the non-uniformity of instrumental throughput over the focal plane, can be up to 2% in some bandpasses. We compare the calculated systematic chromatic errors with the observed DES data. For the test sample data, we correct these errors using measurements of the atmospheric transmission and instrumental throughput. The residual after correction is less than 0.3%. We also find that the errors for non-stellar objects are redshift-dependent and can be larger than those for stars at certain redshifts.

Google Street View as an alternative method to car surveys in large-scale vegetation assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Deus, Ernesto; Silva, Joaquim S; Catry, Filipe X; Rocha, Miguel; Moreira, Francisco

2015-10-01

Car surveys (CS) are a common method for assessing the distribution of alien invasive plants. Google Street View (GSV), a free-access web technology where users may experience a virtual travel along roads, has been suggested as a cost-effective alternative to car surveys. We tested if we could replicate the results from a countrywide survey conducted by car in Portugal using GSV as a remote sensing tool, aiming at assessing the distribution of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. wildlings on roadsides adjacent to eucalypt stands. Georeferenced points gathered along CS were used to create road transects visible as lines overlapping the road in GSV environment, allowing surveying the same sampling areas using both methods. This paper presents the results of the comparison between the two methods. Both methods produced similar models of plant abundance, selecting the same explanatory variables, in the same hierarchical order of importance and depicting a similar influence on plant abundance. Even though the GSV model had a lower performance and the GSV survey detected fewer plants, additional variables collected exclusively with GSV improved model performance and provided a new insight into additional factors influencing plant abundance. The survey using GSV required ca. 9 % of the funds and 62 % of the time needed to accomplish the CS. We conclude that GSV may be a cost-effective alternative to CS. We discuss some advantages and limitations of GSV as a survey method. We forecast that GSV may become a widespread tool in road ecology, particularly in large-scale vegetation assessments.

Automated Stellar Classification for Large Surveys with EKF and RBF Neural Networks

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Ling Bai; Ping Guo; Zhan-Yi Hu

2005-01-01

An automated classification technique for large size stellar surveys is proposed. It uses the extended Kalman filter as a feature selector and pre-classifier of the data, and the radial basis function neural networks for the classification.Experiments with real data have shown that the correct classification rate can reach as high as 93%, which is quite satisfactory. When different system models are selected for the extended Kalman filter, the classification results are relatively stable. It is shown that for this particular case the result using extended Kalman filter is better than using principal component analysis.

The Use of Online Social Networks by Polish Former Erasmus Students: A Large-Scale Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Bryla, Pawel

2014-01-01

There is an increasing role of online social networks in the life of young Poles. We conducted a large-scale survey among Polish former Erasmus students. We have received 2450 completed questionnaires from alumni of 115 higher education institutions all over Poland. 85.4% of our respondents reported they kept in touch with their former Erasmus…

UTILIZING TYPE Ia SUPERNOVAE IN A LARGE, FAST, IMAGING SURVEY TO CONSTRAIN DARK ENERGY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zentner, Andrew R.; Bhattacharya, Suman

2009-01-01

We study the utility of a large sample of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) that might be observed in an imaging survey that rapidly scans a large fraction of the sky for constraining dark energy. We consider both the information contained in the traditional luminosity distance test as well as the spread in Ia SN fluxes at fixed redshift induced by gravitational lensing. As would be required from an imaging survey, we include a treatment of photometric redshift uncertainties in our analysis. Our primary result is that the information contained in the mean distance moduli of SNe Ia and the dispersion of SN Ia distance moduli complement each other, breaking a degeneracy between the present dark energy equation of state and its time variation without the need for a high-redshift (z ∼> 0.8) SN sample. Including lensing information also allows for some internal calibration of photometric redshifts. To address photometric redshift uncertainties, we present dark energy constraints as a function of the size of an external set of spectroscopically observed SNe that may be used for redshift calibration, N spec . Depending upon the details of potentially available, external SN data sets, we find that an imaging survey can constrain the dark energy equation of state at the epoch where it is best constrained w p , with a 1σ error of σ(w p ) ∼ 0.03-0.09. In addition, the marginal improvement in the error σ(w p ) from an increase in the spectroscopic calibration sample drops once N spec ∼ a few x 10 3 . This result is important because it is of the order of the size of calibration samples likely to be compiled in the coming decade and because, for samples of this size, the spectroscopic and imaging surveys individually place comparable constraints on the dark energy equation of state. In all cases, it is best to calibrate photometric redshifts with a set of spectroscopically observed SNe with relatively more objects at high redshift (z ∼> 0.5) than the parent sample of

THE 31 DEG{sup 2} RELEASE OF THE STRIPE 82 X-RAY SURVEY: THE POINT SOURCE CATALOG

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

LaMassa, Stephanie M.; Urry, C. Megan; Ananna, Tonima; Civano, Francesca; Marchesi, Stefano; Pecoraro, Robert [Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Physics Department, P.O. Box 208120, New Haven, CT 06520 (United States); Cappelluti, Nico; Comastri, Andrea; Brusa, Marcella [INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, via Ranzani 1, I-40127 Bologna (Italy); Böhringer, Hans; Chon, Gayoung [Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Glikman, Eilat [Department of Physics, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753 (United States); Richards, Gordon [Department of Physics, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (United States); Cardamone, Carie [Department of Math and Science, Wheelock College, 200 Riverway, Boston, MA 02215 (United States); Farrah, Duncan [Department of Physics MC 0435, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 850 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061 (United States); Gilfanov, Marat [Max-Planck Institut für Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, Postfach 1317, D-85741 Garching (Germany); Green, Paul [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Komossa, S. [Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); Lira, Paulina [Departamento de Astronomia, Universidad de Chile, Camino del Observatorio 1515, Santiago (Chile); Makler, Martin [Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Fisicas, Rua Dr Xavier Sigaud 150, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 22290-180 (Brazil); and others

2016-02-01

We release the next installment of the Stripe 82 X-ray survey point-source catalog, which currently covers 31.3 deg{sup 2} of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Stripe 82 Legacy field. In total, 6181 unique X-ray sources are significantly detected with XMM-Newton (>5σ) and Chandra (>4.5σ). This catalog release includes data from XMM-Newton cycle AO 13, which approximately doubled the Stripe 82X survey area. The flux limits of the Stripe 82X survey are 8.7 × 10{sup −16} erg s{sup −1} cm{sup −2}, 4.7 × 10{sup −15} erg s{sup −1} cm{sup −2}, and 2.1 × 10{sup −15} erg s{sup −1} cm{sup −2} in the soft (0.5–2 keV), hard (2–10 keV), and full bands (0.5–10 keV), respectively, with approximate half-area survey flux limits of 5.4 × 10{sup −15} erg s{sup −1} cm{sup −2}, 2.9 × 10{sup −14} erg s{sup −1} cm{sup −2}, and 1.7 × 10{sup −14} erg s{sup −1} cm{sup −2}. We matched the X-ray source lists to available multi-wavelength catalogs, including updated matches to the previous release of the Stripe 82X survey; 88% of the sample is matched to a multi-wavelength counterpart. Due to the wide area of Stripe 82X and rich ancillary multi-wavelength data, including coadded SDSS photometry, mid-infrared WISE coverage, near-infrared coverage from UKIDSS and VISTA Hemisphere Survey, ultraviolet coverage from GALEX, radio coverage from FIRST, and far-infrared coverage from Herschel, as well as existing ∼30% optical spectroscopic completeness, we are beginning to uncover rare objects, such as obscured high-luminosity active galactic nuclei at high-redshift. The Stripe 82X point source catalog is a valuable data set for constraining how this population grows and evolves, as well as for studying how they interact with the galaxies in which they live.

M Stars in the TW Hydra Association: A Chandra Large Program Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Punzi, Kristina; Kastner, Joel; Principe, David; Stelzer, Beate; Gorti, Uma; Pascucci, Illaria; Argiroffi, Costanza

2018-01-01

We have conducted a Cycle 18 Chandra Large Program survey of very cool members of the $\\sim$ 8 Myr-old TW Hydra Association (TWA) to extend our previous study of the potential connections between M star disks and X-rays (Kastner et al. 2016, AJ, 152, 3) to the extreme low-mass end of the stellar initial mass function. The spectral types of our targets extend down to the M/L borderline. Thus we can further investigate the potential connection between the intense X-ray emission from young, low-mass stars and the lifetimes of their circumstellar planet-forming discs, as well as better constrain the age at which coronal activity declines for stellar masses approaching the H-burning limit of $\\sim$ 0.08 M$_{\\odot}$. We present preliminary results from the Cycle 18 survey, including X-ray detection statistics and measurements of relative X-ray luminosities and coronal (X-ray) temperatures for those TWA stars detected by Chandra. This research is supported by SAO/CXC grant GO7-18002A and NASA Astrophysics Data Analysis program grants NNX12AH37G and NNX16AG13G to RIT.

National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Towed-diver Surveys of Large-bodied Fishes of the Hawaiian Archipelago in 2016

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The towed-diver method is used to conduct surveys of large-bodied (> 50 cm) fishes in the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific...

Convolutional neural networks for transient candidate vetting in large-scale surveys

Science.gov (United States)

Gieseke, Fabian; Bloemen, Steven; van den Bogaard, Cas; Heskes, Tom; Kindler, Jonas; Scalzo, Richard A.; Ribeiro, Valério A. R. M.; van Roestel, Jan; Groot, Paul J.; Yuan, Fang; Möller, Anais; Tucker, Brad E.

2017-12-01

Current synoptic sky surveys monitor large areas of the sky to find variable and transient astronomical sources. As the number of detections per night at a single telescope easily exceeds several thousand, current detection pipelines make intensive use of machine learning algorithms to classify the detected objects and to filter out the most interesting candidates. A number of upcoming surveys will produce up to three orders of magnitude more data, which renders high-precision classification systems essential to reduce the manual and, hence, expensive vetting by human experts. We present an approach based on convolutional neural networks to discriminate between true astrophysical sources and artefacts in reference-subtracted optical images. We show that relatively simple networks are already competitive with state-of-the-art systems and that their quality can further be improved via slightly deeper networks and additional pre-processing steps - eventually yielding models outperforming state-of-the-art systems. In particular, our best model correctly classifies about 97.3 per cent of all 'real' and 99.7 per cent of all 'bogus' instances on a test set containing 1942 'bogus' and 227 'real' instances in total. Furthermore, the networks considered in this work can also successfully classify these objects at hand without relying on difference images, which might pave the way for future detection pipelines not containing image subtraction steps at all.

SED fitting with MCMC: methodology and application to large galaxy surveys

Science.gov (United States)

Acquaviva, Viviana; Gawiser, Eric; Guaita, Lucia

2012-08-01

We present GalMC (Acquaviva et al. 2011), our publicly available Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm for SED fitting, show the results obtained for a stacked sample of Lyman Alpha Emitting galaxies at z ~ 3, and discuss the dependence of the inferred SED parameters on the assumptions made in modeling the stellar populations. We also introduce SpeedyMC, a version of GalMC based on interpolation of pre-computed template libraries. While the flexibility and number of SED fitting parameters is reduced with respect to GalMC, the average running time decreases by a factor of 20,000, enabling SED fitting of each galaxy in about one second on a 2.2GHz MacBook Pro laptop, and making SpeedyMC the ideal instrument to analyze data from large photometric galaxy surveys.

ASSESSMENT OF SYSTEMATIC CHROMATIC ERRORS THAT IMPACT SUB-1% PHOTOMETRIC PRECISION IN LARGE-AREA SKY SURVEYS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, T. S.; DePoy, D. L.; Marshall, J. L.; Boada, S.; Mondrik, N.; Nagasawa, D. [George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); Tucker, D.; Annis, J.; Finley, D. A.; Kent, S.; Lin, H.; Marriner, J.; Wester, W. [Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, P.O. Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510 (United States); Kessler, R.; Scolnic, D. [Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Bernstein, G. M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (United States); Burke, D. L.; Rykoff, E. S. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States); James, D. J.; Walker, A. R. [Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Casilla 603, La Serena (Chile); Collaboration: DES Collaboration; and others

2016-06-01

Meeting the science goals for many current and future ground-based optical large-area sky surveys requires that the calibrated broadband photometry is both stable in time and uniform over the sky to 1% precision or better. Past and current surveys have achieved photometric precision of 1%–2% by calibrating the survey’s stellar photometry with repeated measurements of a large number of stars observed in multiple epochs. The calibration techniques employed by these surveys only consider the relative frame-by-frame photometric zeropoint offset and the focal plane position-dependent illumination corrections, which are independent of the source color. However, variations in the wavelength dependence of the atmospheric transmission and the instrumental throughput induce source color-dependent systematic errors. These systematic errors must also be considered to achieve the most precise photometric measurements. In this paper, we examine such systematic chromatic errors (SCEs) using photometry from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) as an example. We first define a natural magnitude system for DES and calculate the systematic errors on stellar magnitudes when the atmospheric transmission and instrumental throughput deviate from the natural system. We conclude that the SCEs caused by the change of airmass in each exposure, the change of the precipitable water vapor and aerosol in the atmosphere over time, and the non-uniformity of instrumental throughput over the focal plane can be up to 2% in some bandpasses. We then compare the calculated SCEs with the observed DES data. For the test sample data, we correct these errors using measurements of the atmospheric transmission and instrumental throughput from auxiliary calibration systems. The residual after correction is less than 0.3%. Moreover, we calculate such SCEs for Type Ia supernovae and elliptical galaxies and find that the chromatic errors for non-stellar objects are redshift-dependent and can be larger than those for

Surveys of Online Information Service in Large Public Libraries.

Science.gov (United States)

Woy, James B.

1983-01-01

Reports results of 1983 survey of 25 public libraries and 1981 survey of 11 public libraries, both of which focused on facets of online information services--user fees, databases, documentation, equipment, miscellaneous services, and subject areas searched. The 1983 questionnaire and seven sources are appended. (EJS)

Authors’ perspectives on academic publishing: initial observations from a large-scale global survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Basil D’Souza

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Authors are at the heart of academic publishing, but their voices are underrepresented in discussions about improving the academic publishing system. To understand the viewpoints of authors on various aspects of academic publishing and the challenges they face, we developed a large-scale survey entitled “Author perspectives on the academic publishing process” and made it available in December 2016. The survey has received 8,795 responses; this paper is based on the interim results drawn from 5,293 survey responses, and presents some interesting and thought-provoking trends that were observed in the authors’ responses, such as their interpretation of plagiarism and decisive factors in journal selection, as well as their thoughts on what needs to change in the publishing system for it to be more author-friendly. Some of the most important findings of the survey were: (1 the majority of the authors found manuscript preparation to be the most challenging task in the publication process, (2 the impact factor of a journal was reported to be the most important consideration for journal selection, (3 most authors found journal guidelines to be incomplete, (4 major gaps existed in author-journal communication, and (5 although awareness of ethics was high, awareness of good publication practice standards was low. Moreover, more than half of the participants indicated that among areas for improvement in the publishing system, they would like to see changes in the time it takes to publish a paper, the peer review process, and the fairness and objectivity of the publication process. These findings indicate the necessity of making the journal publication process more author-centered and smoothing the way for authors to get published.

ASGARD: A LARGE SURVEY FOR SLOW GALACTIC RADIO TRANSIENTS. I. OVERVIEW AND FIRST RESULTS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Williams, Peter K. G.; Bower, Geoffrey C.; Croft, Steve; Keating, Garrett K.; Law, Casey J.; Wright, Melvyn C. H., E-mail: pwilliams@astro.berkeley.edu [Department of Astronomy, B-20 Hearst Field Annex 3411, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411 (United States)

2013-01-10

Searches for slow radio transients and variables have generally focused on extragalactic populations, and the basic parameters of Galactic populations remain poorly characterized. We present a large 3 GHz survey performed with the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) that aims to improve this situation: ASGARD, the ATA Survey of Galactic Radio Dynamism. ASGARD observations spanned two years with weekly visits to 23 deg{sup 2} in two fields in the Galactic plane, totaling 900 hr of integration time on science fields and making it significantly larger than previous efforts. The typical blind unresolved source detection limit was 10 mJy. We describe the observations and data analysis techniques in detail, demonstrating our ability to create accurate wide-field images while effectively modeling and subtracting large-scale radio emission, allowing standard transient-and-variability analysis techniques to be used. We present early results from the analysis of two pointings: one centered on the microquasar Cygnus X-3 and one overlapping the Kepler field of view (l = 76 Degree-Sign , b = +13. Degree-Sign 5). Our results include images, catalog statistics, completeness functions, variability measurements, and a transient search. Out of 134 sources detected in these pointings, the only compellingly variable one is Cygnus X-3, and no transients are detected. We estimate number counts for potential Galactic radio transients and compare our current limits to previous work and our projection for the fully analyzed ASGARD data set.

Validation of a short qualitative food frequency list used in several German large scale surveys.

Science.gov (United States)

Winkler, G; Döring, A

1998-09-01

Our study aimed to test the validity of a short, qualitative food frequency list (FFL) used in several German large scale surveys. In the surveys of the MONICA project Augsburg, the FFL was used in randomly selected adults. In 1984/85, a dietary survey with 7-day records (DR) was conducted within the subsample of men aged 45 to 64 (response 70%). The 899 DR were used to validate the FFL. Mean weekly food intake frequency and mean daily food intake were compared and Spearman rank order correlation coefficients and classification into tertiles with values of the statistic Kappa were calculated. Spearman correlations range between 0.15 for the item "Other sweets (candies, compote)" and 0.60 for the items "Curds, yoghurt, sour milk", "Milk including butter milk" and "Mineral water"; values for statistic Kappa vary between 0.04 ("White bread, brown bread, crispbread") and 0.41 ("Flaked oats, muesli, cornflakes" and "milk including butter milk"). With the exception of two items, FFL data can be used for analysis on group level. Analysis on individual level should be done with caution. It seems, as if some food groups are generally easier to ask for in FFL than others.

Probing cosmology with the homogeneity scale of the Universe through large scale structure surveys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ntelis, Pierros

2017-01-01

This thesis exposes my contribution to the measurement of homogeneity scale using galaxies, with the cosmological interpretation of results. In physics, any model is characterized by a set of principles. Most models in cosmology are based on the Cosmological Principle, which states that the universe is statistically homogeneous and isotropic on a large scales. Today, this principle is considered to be true since it is respected by those cosmological models that accurately describe the observations. However, while the isotropy of the universe is now confirmed by many experiments, it is not the case for the homogeneity. To study cosmic homogeneity, we propose to not only test a model but to test directly one of the postulates of modern cosmology. Since 1998 the measurements of cosmic distances using type Ia supernovae, we know that the universe is now in a phase of accelerated expansion. This phenomenon can be explained by the addition of an unknown energy component, which is called dark energy. Since dark energy is responsible for the expansion of the universe, we can study this mysterious fluid by measuring the rate of expansion of the universe. The universe has imprinted in its matter distribution a standard ruler, the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) scale. By measuring this scale at different times during the evolution of our universe, it is then possible to measure the rate of expansion of the universe and thus characterize this dark energy. Alternatively, we can use the homogeneity scale to study this dark energy. Studying the homogeneity and the BAO scale requires the statistical study of the matter distribution of the universe at large scales, superior to tens of Mega-parsecs. Galaxies and quasars are formed in the vast over densities of matter and they are very luminous: these sources trace the distribution of matter. By measuring the emission spectra of these sources using large spectroscopic surveys, such as BOSS and eBOSS, we can measure their positions

Sleep Bruxism-Tooth Grinding Prevalence, Characteristics and Familial Aggregation: A Large Cross-Sectional Survey and Polysomnographic Validation

Science.gov (United States)

Khoury, Samar; Carra, Maria Clotilde; Huynh, Nelly; Montplaisir, Jacques; Lavigne, Gilles J.

2016-01-01

Study Objectives: Sleep bruxism (SB) is characterized by tooth grinding and jaw clenching during sleep. Familial factors may contribute to the occurrence of SB. This study aims are: (1) revisit the prevalence and characteristics of SB in a large cross-sectional survey and assess familial aggregation of SB, (2) assess comorbidity such as insomnia and pain, (3) compare survey data in a subset of subjects diagnosed using polysomnography research criteria. Methods: A sample of 6,357 individuals from the general population in Quebec, Canada, undertook an online survey to assess the prevalence of SB, comorbidities, and familial aggregation. Data on familial aggregation were compared to 111 SB subjects diagnosed using polysomnography. Results: Regularly occurring SB was reported by 8.6% of the general population, decreases with age, without any gender difference. SB awareness is concomitant with complaints of difficulties maintaining sleep in 47.6% of the cases. A third of SB positive probands reported pain. A 2.5 risk ratio of having a first-degree family member with SB was found in SB positive probands. The risk of reporting SB in first-degree family ranges from 1.4 to 2.9 with increasing severity of reported SB. Polysomnographic data shows that 37% of SB subjects had at least one first-degree relative with reported SB with a relative risk ratio of 4.625. Conclusions: Our results support the heritability of SB-tooth grinding and that sleep quality and pain are concomitant in a significant number of SB subjects. Citation: Khoury S, Carra MC, Huynh N, Montplaisir J, Lavigne GJ. Sleep bruxism-tooth grinding prevalence, characteristics and familial aggregation: a large cross-sectional survey and polysomnographic validation. SLEEP 2016;39(11):2049–2056. PMID:27568807

Galaxy masses in large surveys: Connecting luminous and dark matter with weak lensing and kinematics

Science.gov (United States)

Reyes, Reinabelle

2011-01-01

Galaxy masses are difficult to determine because light traces stars and gas in a non-trivial way, and does not trace dark matter, which extends well beyond the luminous regions of galaxies. In this thesis, I use the most direct probes of dark matter available---weak gravitational lensing and galaxy kinematics---to trace the total mass in galaxies (and galaxy clusters) in large surveys. In particular, I use the large, homogeneous dataset from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), which provides spectroscopic redshifts for a large sample of galaxies at z ≲ 0.2 and imaging data to a depth of r < 22. By combining complementary probes, I am able to obtain robust observational constraints that cannot be obtained from any single technique alone. First, I use weak lensing of galaxy clusters to derive an optimal optical tracer of cluster mass, which was found to be a combination of cluster richness and the luminosity of the brightest cluster galaxy. Next, I combine weak lensing of luminous red galaxies with redshift distortions and clustering measurements to derive a robust probe of gravity on cosmological scales. Finally, I combine weak lensing with the kinematics of disk galaxies to constrain the total mass profile over several orders of magnitude. I derive a minimal-scatter relation between disk velocity and stellar mass (also known as the Tully-Fisher relation) that can be used, by construction, on a similarly-selected lens sample. Then, I combine this relation with halo mass measurements from weak lensing to place constraints on the ratio of the optical to virial velocities, as well as the ratio of halo to stellar masses, both as a function of stellar mass. These results will serve as inputs to and constraints on disk galaxy formation models, which will be explored in future work.

National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Towed-diver Surveys of Large-bodied Fishes of the Pacific Remote Island Areas since 2014

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The towed-diver method is used to conduct surveys of large-bodied (> 50 cm) fishes in the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific...

Interview Survey Results and Analysis on New Trends in Open Innovation in Large Japanese Corporations (Japanese)

OpenAIRE

MOTOHASHI Kazuyuki; UEDA Yoji; MINO Motoyasu

2012-01-01

Japanese firms, having to face global innovation competition and business reorganization targeting emerging markets in the world, are actively engaged in open innovation. In this paper, an interview survey conducted on nine large Japanese manufacturers provides the new trends in open and global innovation. They include (1) establishment of a dedicated function of open innovation, (2) open approach for the whole process of new business development, (3) strategic alliance activities, (4) collab...

Digital Archiving of People Flow by Recycling Large-Scale Social Survey Data of Developing Cities

Science.gov (United States)

Sekimoto, Y.; Watanabe, A.; Nakamura, T.; Horanont, T.

2012-07-01

Data on people flow has become increasingly important in the field of business, including the areas of marketing and public services. Although mobile phones enable a person's position to be located to a certain degree, it is a challenge to acquire sufficient data from people with mobile phones. In order to grasp people flow in its entirety, it is important to establish a practical method of reconstructing people flow from various kinds of existing fragmentary spatio-temporal data such as social survey data. For example, despite typical Person Trip Survey Data collected by the public sector showing the fragmentary spatio-temporal positions accessed, the data are attractive given the sufficiently large sample size to estimate the entire flow of people. In this study, we apply our proposed basic method to Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) PT data pertaining to developing cities around the world, and we propose some correction methods to resolve the difficulties in applying it to many cities and stably to infrastructure data.

Statistical searches for microlensing events in large, non-uniformly sampled time-domain surveys: A test using palomar transient factory data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Price-Whelan, Adrian M.; Agüeros, Marcel A. [Department of Astronomy, Columbia University, 550 W 120th Street, New York, NY 10027 (United States); Fournier, Amanda P. [Department of Physics, Broida Hall, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (United States); Street, Rachel [Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, Inc., 6740 Cortona Drive, Suite 102, Santa Barbara, CA 93117 (United States); Ofek, Eran O. [Benoziyo Center for Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot (Israel); Covey, Kevin R. [Lowell Observatory, 1400 West Mars Hill Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (United States); Levitan, David; Sesar, Branimir [Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Laher, Russ R.; Surace, Jason, E-mail: adrn@astro.columbia.edu [Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, Mail Stop 314-6, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)

2014-01-20

Many photometric time-domain surveys are driven by specific goals, such as searches for supernovae or transiting exoplanets, which set the cadence with which fields are re-imaged. In the case of the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF), several sub-surveys are conducted in parallel, leading to non-uniform sampling over its ∼20,000 deg{sup 2} footprint. While the median 7.26 deg{sup 2} PTF field has been imaged ∼40 times in the R band, ∼2300 deg{sup 2} have been observed >100 times. We use PTF data to study the trade off between searching for microlensing events in a survey whose footprint is much larger than that of typical microlensing searches, but with far-from-optimal time sampling. To examine the probability that microlensing events can be recovered in these data, we test statistics used on uniformly sampled data to identify variables and transients. We find that the von Neumann ratio performs best for identifying simulated microlensing events in our data. We develop a selection method using this statistic and apply it to data from fields with >10 R-band observations, 1.1 × 10{sup 9} light curves, uncovering three candidate microlensing events. We lack simultaneous, multi-color photometry to confirm these as microlensing events. However, their number is consistent with predictions for the event rate in the PTF footprint over the survey's three years of operations, as estimated from near-field microlensing models. This work can help constrain all-sky event rate predictions and tests microlensing signal recovery in large data sets, which will be useful to future time-domain surveys, such as that planned with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.

Catalogue of antibiotic resistome and host-tracking in drinking water deciphered by a large scale survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Liping; Li, Bing; Jiang, Xiao-Tao; Wang, Yu-Lin; Xia, Yu; Li, An-Dong; Zhang, Tong

2017-11-28

Excesses of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), which are regarded as emerging environmental pollutants, have been observed in various environments. The incidence of ARGs in drinking water causes potential risks to human health and receives more attention from the public. However, ARGs harbored in drinking water remain largely unexplored. In this study, we aimed at establishing an antibiotic resistome catalogue in drinking water samples from a wide range of regions and to explore the potential hosts of ARGs. A catalogue of antibiotic resistome in drinking water was established, and the host-tracking of ARGs was conducted through a large-scale survey using metagenomic approach. The drinking water samples were collected at the point of use in 25 cities in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, South Africa, Singapore and the USA. In total, 181 ARG subtypes belonging to 16 ARG types were detected with an abundance range of 2.8 × 10 -2 to 4.2 × 10 -1 copies of ARG per cell. The highest abundance was found in northern China (Henan Province). Bacitracin, multidrug, aminoglycoside, sulfonamide, and beta-lactam resistance genes were dominant in drinking water. Of the drinking water samples tested, 84% had a higher ARG abundance than typical environmental ecosystems of sediment and soil. Metagenomic assembly-based host-tracking analysis identified Acidovorax, Acinetobacter, Aeromonas, Methylobacterium, Methyloversatilis, Mycobacterium, Polaromonas, and Pseudomonas as the hosts of ARGs. Moreover, potential horizontal transfer of ARGs in drinking water systems was proposed by network and Procrustes analyses. The antibiotic resistome catalogue compiled using a large-scale survey provides a useful reference for future studies on the global surveillance and risk management of ARGs in drinking water. .

Annual Omnibus Survey: A survey of life in Qatar 2014

OpenAIRE

Diop, Abdoulaye; Gengler, Justin John; Khan, Mohammad N.; Traugott, Michael; Elawad, Elmogiera Fadlallh; Al Ansari, Majed; Le, Kien T.; El-Maghraby, Engi; Elkassem, Rima Charbaji; Qutteina, Yara; Al Khulaifi, Buthaina; Nasrallah, Catherine; Al Subaey, Mohammed; Mustafa, Semsia Al-Ali; Alqassass, Haneen

2015-01-01

This Executive Summary presents the highlights of the 2014 Omnibus survey, the fourth in a series of Omnibus surveys since 2010. The surveys were carried out by the Social and Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI) of Qatar University. Each Omnibus survey interviews a large and representative sample of Qatari citizens, resident expatriates and laborers. In these surveys, we asked a number of questions covering several topics of importance to Qatari society, including their ...

WILL THE LARGE SYNOPTIC SURVEY TELESCOPE DETECT EXTRA-SOLAR PLANETESIMALS ENTERING THE SOLAR SYSTEM?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moro-Martin, Amaya; Turner, Edwin L.; Loeb, Abraham

2009-01-01

Planetesimal formation is a common by-product of the star formation process. Taking the dynamical history of the solar system as a guideline-in which the planetesimal belts were heavily depleted due to gravitational perturbation with the giant planets-and assuming similar processes have taken place in other planetary systems, one would expect the interstellar space to be filled with extra-solar planetesimals. However, not a single one of these objects has been detected so far entering the solar system, even though it would clearly be distinguishable from a solar system comet due to its highly hyperbolic orbit. The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will provide wide coverage maps of the sky to a very high sensitivity, ideal to detect moving objects like comets, both active and inactive. In anticipation of these observations, we estimate how many inactive 'interstellar comets' might be detected during the duration of the survey. The calculation takes into account estimates (from observations and models) of the number density of stars, the amount of solids available to form planetesimals, the frequency of planet and planetesimal formation, the efficiency of planetesimal ejection, and the possible size distribution of these small bodies.

Aerial radiation survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pradeep Kumar, K.S.

1998-01-01

Aerial gamma spectrometry surveys are the most effective, comprehensive and preferred tool to delimit the large area surface contamination in a radiological emergency either due to a nuclear accident or following a nuclear strike. The airborne survey apart from providing rapid and economical evaluation of ground contamination over large areas due to larger ground clearance and higher speed, is the only technique to overcome difficulties posed by ground surveys of inaccessible region. The aerial survey technique can also be used for searching of lost radioactive sources, tracking of radioactive plume and generation of background data on the Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) of nuclear installations

Survey of large protein complexes D. vulgaris reveals great structural diversity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Han, B.-G.; Dong, M.; Liu, H.; Camp, L.; Geller, J.; Singer, M.; Hazen, T. C.; Choi, M.; Witkowska, H. E.; Ball, D. A.; Typke, D.; Downing, K. H.; Shatsky, M.; Brenner, S. E.; Chandonia, J.-M.; Biggin, M. D.; Glaeser, R. M.

2009-08-15

An unbiased survey has been made of the stable, most abundant multi-protein complexes in Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough (DvH) that are larger than Mr {approx} 400 k. The quaternary structures for 8 of the 16 complexes purified during this work were determined by single-particle reconstruction of negatively stained specimens, a success rate {approx}10 times greater than that of previous 'proteomic' screens. In addition, the subunit compositions and stoichiometries of the remaining complexes were determined by biochemical methods. Our data show that the structures of only two of these large complexes, out of the 13 in this set that have recognizable functions, can be modeled with confidence based on the structures of known homologs. These results indicate that there is significantly greater variability in the way that homologous prokaryotic macromolecular complexes are assembled than has generally been appreciated. As a consequence, we suggest that relying solely on previously determined quaternary structures for homologous proteins may not be sufficient to properly understand their role in another cell of interest.

National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Towed-diver Surveys of Large-bodied Fishes of the Hawaiian Archipelago in 2016 (NCEI Accession 0157567)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The towed-diver method is used to conduct surveys of large-bodied (> 50 cm) fishes in the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific...

ASPECT: A spectra clustering tool for exploration of large spectral surveys

Science.gov (United States)

in der Au, A.; Meusinger, H.; Schalldach, P. F.; Newholm, M.

2012-11-01

Context. Analysing the empirical output from large surveys is an important challenge in contemporary science. Difficulties arise, in particular, when the database is huge and the properties of the object types to be selected are poorly constrained a priori. Aims: We present the novel, semi-automated clustering tool ASPECT for analysing voluminous archives of spectra. Methods: The heart of the program is a neural network in the form of a Kohonen self-organizing map. The resulting map is designed as an icon map suitable for the inspection by eye. The visual analysis is supported by the option to blend in individual object properties such as redshift, apparent magnitude, or signal-to-noise ratio. In addition, the package provides several tools for the selection of special spectral types, e.g. local difference maps which reflect the deviations of all spectra from one given input spectrum (real or artificial). Results: ASPECT is able to produce a two-dimensional topological map of a huge number of spectra. The software package enables the user to browse and navigate through a huge data pool and helps them to gain an insight into underlying relationships between the spectra and other physical properties and to get the big picture of the entire data set. We demonstrate the capability of ASPECT by clustering the entire data pool of ~6 × 105 spectra from the Data Release 4 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). To illustrate the results regarding quality and completeness we track objects from existing catalogues of quasars and carbon stars, respectively, and connect the SDSS spectra with morphological information from the GalaxyZoo project. Code is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/547/A115

A survey and experimental comparison of distributed SPARQL engines for very large RDF data

KAUST Repository

Abdelaziz, Ibrahim; Harbi, Razen; Khayyat, Zuhair; Kalnis, Panos

2017-01-01

Distributed SPARQL engines promise to support very large RDF datasets by utilizing shared-nothing computer clusters. Some are based on distributed frameworks such as MapReduce; others implement proprietary distributed processing; and some rely on expensive preprocessing for data partitioning. These systems exhibit a variety of trade-offs that are not well-understood, due to the lack of any comprehensive quantitative and qualitative evaluation. In this paper, we present a survey of 22 state-of-the-art systems that cover the entire spectrum of distributed RDF data processing and categorize them by several characteristics. Then, we select 12 representative systems and perform extensive experimental evaluation with respect to preprocessing cost, query performance, scalability and workload adaptability, using a variety of synthetic and real large datasets with up to 4.3 billion triples. Our results provide valuable insights for practitioners to understand the trade-offs for their usage scenarios. Finally, we publish online our evaluation framework, including all datasets and workloads, for researchers to compare their novel systems against the existing ones.

A survey and experimental comparison of distributed SPARQL engines for very large RDF data

KAUST Repository

Abdelaziz, Ibrahim

2017-10-19

Distributed SPARQL engines promise to support very large RDF datasets by utilizing shared-nothing computer clusters. Some are based on distributed frameworks such as MapReduce; others implement proprietary distributed processing; and some rely on expensive preprocessing for data partitioning. These systems exhibit a variety of trade-offs that are not well-understood, due to the lack of any comprehensive quantitative and qualitative evaluation. In this paper, we present a survey of 22 state-of-the-art systems that cover the entire spectrum of distributed RDF data processing and categorize them by several characteristics. Then, we select 12 representative systems and perform extensive experimental evaluation with respect to preprocessing cost, query performance, scalability and workload adaptability, using a variety of synthetic and real large datasets with up to 4.3 billion triples. Our results provide valuable insights for practitioners to understand the trade-offs for their usage scenarios. Finally, we publish online our evaluation framework, including all datasets and workloads, for researchers to compare their novel systems against the existing ones.

Explaining health care expenditure variation: large-sample evidence using linked survey and health administrative data.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellis, Randall P; Fiebig, Denzil G; Johar, Meliyanni; Jones, Glenn; Savage, Elizabeth

2013-09-01

Explaining individual, regional, and provider variation in health care spending is of enormous value to policymakers but is often hampered by the lack of individual level detail in universal public health systems because budgeted spending is often not attributable to specific individuals. Even rarer is self-reported survey information that helps explain this variation in large samples. In this paper, we link a cross-sectional survey of 267 188 Australians age 45 and over to a panel dataset of annual healthcare costs calculated from several years of hospital, medical and pharmaceutical records. We use this data to distinguish between cost variations due to health shocks and those that are intrinsic (fixed) to an individual over three years. We find that high fixed expenditures are positively associated with age, especially older males, poor health, obesity, smoking, cancer, stroke and heart conditions. Being foreign born, speaking a foreign language at home and low income are more strongly associated with higher time-varying expenditures, suggesting greater exposure to adverse health shocks. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

DIGITAL ARCHIVING OF PEOPLE FLOW BY RECYCLING LARGE-SCALE SOCIAL SURVEY DATA OF DEVELOPING CITIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Sekimoto

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Data on people flow has become increasingly important in the field of business, including the areas of marketing and public services. Although mobile phones enable a person's position to be located to a certain degree, it is a challenge to acquire sufficient data from people with mobile phones. In order to grasp people flow in its entirety, it is important to establish a practical method of reconstructing people flow from various kinds of existing fragmentary spatio-temporal data such as social survey data. For example, despite typical Person Trip Survey Data collected by the public sector showing the fragmentary spatio-temporal positions accessed, the data are attractive given the sufficiently large sample size to estimate the entire flow of people. In this study, we apply our proposed basic method to Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA PT data pertaining to developing cities around the world, and we propose some correction methods to resolve the difficulties in applying it to many cities and stably to infrastructure data.

Managing Astronomy Research Data: Data Practices in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Large Synoptic Survey Telescope Projects

Science.gov (United States)

Sands, Ashley Elizabeth

2017-01-01

Ground-based astronomy sky surveys are massive, decades-long investments in scientific data collection. Stakeholders expect these datasets to retain scientific value well beyond the lifetime of the sky survey. However, the necessary investments in knowledge infrastructures for managing sky survey data are not yet in place to ensure the long-term…

A survey of modelling methods for high-fidelity wind farm simulations using large eddy simulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Breton, Simon-Philippe; Sumner, J.; Sørensen, Jens Nørkær

2017-01-01

surveys the most common schemes available to model the rotor, atmospheric conditions and terrain effects within current state-of-the-art LES codes, of which an overview is provided. A summary of the experimental research data available for validation of LES codes within the context of single and multiple......Large eddy simulations (LES) of wind farms have the capability to provide valuable and detailed information about the dynamics of wind turbine wakes. For this reason, their use within the wind energy research community is on the rise, spurring the development of new models and methods. This review...

VizieR Online Data Catalog: VLT/SINFONI observations of MIPSGAL "bubbles" (Silva+, 2017)

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, K. M.; Flagey, N.; Noriega-Crespo, A.; Carey, S.; Ingallinera, A.

2018-04-01

Data were acquired in service mode during UT 2014 May 23-June 7 using VLT/SINFONI observations. We used two of SINFONI's four gratings providing spectral resolutions R=3000 and 4000 in the H and K bands, respectively, with the field of view of 8" by 8" (without adaptive optics). The targets are 55 MIPSGAL "bubbles" (MBs) that have not been previously classified as PNe, whose central sources were unidentified at the time of the Period 93 Call for Proposals (UT 2013 October 01), and appeared to contain at least one potential central source detected in the near-IR images of the Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS, Skrutskie et al. 2006, Cat. VII/233) or the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS, Warren et al. 2007MNRAS.381.1400W). (5 data files).

Disclosure control using partially synthetic data for large-scale health surveys, with applications to CanCORS.

Science.gov (United States)

Loong, Bronwyn; Zaslavsky, Alan M; He, Yulei; Harrington, David P

2013-10-30

Statistical agencies have begun to partially synthesize public-use data for major surveys to protect the confidentiality of respondents' identities and sensitive attributes by replacing high disclosure risk and sensitive variables with multiple imputations. To date, there are few applications of synthetic data techniques to large-scale healthcare survey data. Here, we describe partial synthesis of survey data collected by the Cancer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance (CanCORS) project, a comprehensive observational study of the experiences, treatments, and outcomes of patients with lung or colorectal cancer in the USA. We review inferential methods for partially synthetic data and discuss selection of high disclosure risk variables for synthesis, specification of imputation models, and identification disclosure risk assessment. We evaluate data utility by replicating published analyses and comparing results using original and synthetic data and discuss practical issues in preserving inferential conclusions. We found that important subgroup relationships must be included in the synthetic data imputation model, to preserve the data utility of the observed data for a given analysis procedure. We conclude that synthetic CanCORS data are suited best for preliminary data analyses purposes. These methods address the requirement to share data in clinical research without compromising confidentiality. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Liquid metal fast breeder reactor steam generator survey of the consequences of large scale sodium water reaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vambenepe, G.

1978-01-01

The ''Retona'' three-dimensional hydrodynamic computing code is being developed by Electricity de France to survey the consequences, on the very plant, of a large scale sodium water reaction in liquid metal steam generators. In this communication, the heat-exchanger geometry is schematized and the problem solving process briefly described under assumed simplifying hypotheses. The application of the results to the Creusot-Loire steam generator selected for Super-Phenix are given as an example. (author)

The Perceptions and Views on Family Interaction and Relationships of Middle Children from Large Families: An Informal Mini Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Elena C. Thomas

In Adler's Theory of Individual Psychology the significance of birth order position in the family constellation depends on the interpretation given to it by the child, which in turn influences his character. This study surveyed the perceptions of middle children in large families. Subjects (N=13) were middle children in families of more than five…

How many hours do you usually work? An analysis of the working hours questions in 26 large-scale surveys in 6 countries and the European Union.

OpenAIRE

Dragstra, A.; Tijdens, K.

2004-01-01

This paper reviews how working hours are asked in 26 large-scale surveys in 6 countries plus the European Union. Four dimensions of working time were investigated, notably number of working hours, timing of work, predictability and control over hours, and commuting time. Although almost all questionnaires ask for hours worked, the terminology varies largely. In only half of the cases a reference period is taken into account and in half the reasons for working more/less in the survey week than...

A critical review of field techniques employed in the survey of large woody debris in river corridors: a central European perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Máčka, Zdeněk; Krejčí, Lukáš; Loučková, Blanka; Peterková, Lucie

2011-10-01

In forested watersheds, large woody debris (LWD) is an integral component of river channels and floodplains. Fallen trees have a significant impact on physical and ecological processes in fluvial ecosystems. An enormous body of literature concerning LWD in river corridors is currently available. However, synthesis and statistical treatment of the published data are hampered by the heterogeneity of methodological approaches. Likewise, the precision and accuracy of data arising out of published surveys have yet to be assessed. For this review, a literature scrutiny of 100 randomly selected research papers was made to examine the most frequently surveyed LWD variables and field procedures. Some 29 variables arose for individual LWD pieces, and 15 variables for wood accumulations. The literature survey revealed a large variability in field procedures for LWD surveys. In many studies (32), description of field procedure proved less than adequate, rendering the results impossible to reproduce in comparable fashion by other researchers. This contribution identifies the main methodological problems and sources of error associated with the mapping and measurement of the most frequently surveyed variables of LWD, both as individual pieces and in accumulations. The discussion stems from our own field experience with LWD survey in river systems of various geomorphic styles and types of riparian vegetation in the Czech Republic in the 2004-10 period. We modelled variability in terms of LWD number, volume, and biomass for three geomorphologically contrasting river systems. The results appeared to be sensitive, in the main, to sampling strategy and prevailing field conditions; less variability was produced by errors of measurement. Finally, we propose a comprehensive standard field procedure for LWD surveyors, including a total of 20 variables describing spatial position, structural characteristics and the functions and dynamics of LWD. However, resources are only rarely

A survey of large scale gamma irradiators in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smyth, R.C.; Simmons, R.C.; Dougherty, D.K.

1987-01-01

NUS Corporation (NUS) was contracted by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to perform a survey of Cs-137 and Co-60 irradiators in the US. The results of this survey, in the form of matrix listings of irradiators and their specifications, are included in subsequent sections of this report. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will use the survey results as a preliminary guide for potential use in regionalized food irradiation research. The survey was limited to the identification of operable irradiators which are owned and/or operated by private industry, educational institutions, and government facilities. To the extent available, specific information for each unit was included in the report. This information includes radioactive material, chemical matrix of fuel, containment capsule material and form, curies per capsule and total activity, sample chamber size, and irradiator availability

Study of depression influencing factors with zero-inflated regression models in a large-scale population survey

OpenAIRE

Xu, Tao; Zhu, Guangjin; Han, Shaomei

2017-01-01

Objectives The number of depression symptoms can be considered as count data in order to get complete and accurate analyses findings in studies of depression. This study aims to compare the goodness of fit of four count outcomes models by a large survey sample to identify the optimum model for a risk factor study of the number of depression symptoms. Methods 15 820 subjects, aged 10 to 80 years old, who were not suffering from serious chronic diseases and had not run a high fever in the past ...

Global repeat discovery and estimation of genomic copy number in a large, complex genome using a high-throughput 454 sequence survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Varala Kranthi

2007-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Extensive computational and database tools are available to mine genomic and genetic databases for model organisms, but little genomic data is available for many species of ecological or agricultural significance, especially those with large genomes. Genome surveys using conventional sequencing techniques are powerful, particularly for detecting sequences present in many copies per genome. However these methods are time-consuming and have potential drawbacks. High throughput 454 sequencing provides an alternative method by which much information can be gained quickly and cheaply from high-coverage surveys of genomic DNA. Results We sequenced 78 million base-pairs of randomly sheared soybean DNA which passed our quality criteria. Computational analysis of the survey sequences provided global information on the abundant repetitive sequences in soybean. The sequence was used to determine the copy number across regions of large genomic clones or contigs and discover higher-order structures within satellite repeats. We have created an annotated, online database of sequences present in multiple copies in the soybean genome. The low bias of pyrosequencing against repeat sequences is demonstrated by the overall composition of the survey data, which matches well with past estimates of repetitive DNA content obtained by DNA re-association kinetics (Cot analysis. Conclusion This approach provides a potential aid to conventional or shotgun genome assembly, by allowing rapid assessment of copy number in any clone or clone-end sequence. In addition, we show that partial sequencing can provide access to partial protein-coding sequences.

Atmospheric stellar parameters for large surveys using FASMA, a new spectral synthesis package

Science.gov (United States)

Tsantaki, M.; Andreasen, D. T.; Teixeira, G. D. C.; Sousa, S. G.; Santos, N. C.; Delgado-Mena, E.; Bruzual, G.

2018-02-01

In the era of vast spectroscopic surveys focusing on Galactic stellar populations, astronomers want to exploit the large quantity and good quality of data to derive their atmospheric parameters without losing precision from automatic procedures. In this work, we developed a new spectral package, FASMA, to estimate the stellar atmospheric parameters (namely effective temperature, surface gravity and metallicity) in a fast and robust way. This method is suitable for spectra of FGK-type stars in medium and high resolution. The spectroscopic analysis is based on the spectral synthesis technique using the radiative transfer code, MOOG. The line list is comprised of mainly iron lines in the optical spectrum. The atomic data are calibrated after the Sun and Arcturus. We use two comparison samples to test our method, (i) a sample of 451 FGK-type dwarfs from the high-resolution HARPS spectrograph; and (ii) the Gaia-ESO benchmark stars using both high and medium resolution spectra. We explore biases in our method from the analysis of synthetic spectra covering the parameter space of our interest. We show that our spectral package is able to provide reliable results for a wide range of stellar parameters, different rotational velocities, different instrumental resolutions and for different spectral regions of the VLT-GIRAFFE spectrographs, used amongst others for the Gaia-ESO survey. FASMA estimates stellar parameters in less than 15 m for high-resolution and 3 m for medium-resolution spectra. The complete package is publicly available to the community.

Large-Scale Star Formation-Driven Outflows at 13D-HST Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Lundgren, Britt; Brammer, G.; Van Dokkum, P. G.; Bezanson, R.; Franx, M.; Fumagalli, M.; Momcheva, I. G.; Nelson, E.; Skelton, R.; Wake, D.; Whitaker, K. E.; da Cunha, E.; Erb, D.; Fan, X.; Kriek, M.; Labbe, I.; Marchesini, D.; Patel, S.; Rix, H.; Schmidt, K.; van der Wel, A.

2013-01-01

We present evidence of large-scale outflows from three low-mass star-forming galaxies observed at z=1.24, z=1.35 and z=1.75 in the 3D-HST Survey. Each of these galaxies is located within a projected physical distance of 60 kpc around the sight line to the quasar SDSS J123622.93+621526.6, which exhibits well-separated strong (W>0.8A) MgII absorption systems matching precisely to the redshifts of the three galaxies. We derive the star formation surface densities from the H-alpha emission in the WFC3 G141 grism observations for the galaxies and find that in each case the star formation surface density well-exceeds 0.1 solar mass / yr / kpc^2, the typical threshold for starburst galaxies in the local Universe. From a small but complete parallel census of the 0.650.8A MgII covering fraction of star-forming galaxies at 10.4A MgII absorbing gas around star-forming galaxies may evolve from 2 to the present, consistent with recent observations of an increasing collimation of star formation-driven outflows with time from 3.

Can Internet surveys help us understanding allergic disorders? - results from a large survey in urticaria in Greece.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalogeromitros, D; Psaltopoulou, T; Makris, M; Koti, I; Chliva, C; Stefanadi, E; Hatziagelaki, E; Maurer, M

2011-05-01

Urticaria is often underdiagnosed and/or undertreated. We have conducted an Internet-based study to record epidemiological and clinical features as well as therapeutic interventions for urticaria in a large sample of patients in Greece. A standard anonymous questionnaire was posted for a 3-month period on 'http://www.in.gr', a Greek popular Internet portal. Each individual participated only once. Participants were screened for the presence or history of urticaria by two key questions and were then asked to provide information on symptomatology and management. A total of 12 396 subjects voluntarily responded to the survey, of which 8440 (5136 females) who reported to have or had urticaria, were finally analysed. A total of 4780 (56.6%) had experienced weals only, 507 (6.0%) angio-oedema only and 3018 (35.8%) both. Weals and angio-oedema were found to be more common in women; 2761(57.8%) and 277(54.6%), respectively. Age of onset significantly correlated with disease duration; a 1% higher possibility of longer duration of urticaria exists (more than 6 weeks compared with less than 6 weeks) for each additional year of age of onset after controlling for gender. Patients with chronic urticaria had increased mean age compared with those reporting the acute form (35.04 vs. 33.88 years, P < 0.001). Dermatologists were the most frequently visited specialists and the most common treatments were antihistamines and topical preparations. The self-reported eliciting factors of urticaria were as follows: physical stimuli (approximately 25%), psychological distress (17.2%), direct contact to metals or chemicals (14.5%), foods and drugs (10%), whereas a third of the participants could not identify any trigger.   Internet surveys can be a useful tool for screening the general population for common allergic disorders, such as urticaria. © 2010 The Authors. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology © 2010 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.

SpS1-Preparing for the harvest from large infrared surveys

Science.gov (United States)

Padgett, Deborah L.

2010-11-01

During the past decade, there has been a revolution in the availability of multi-wavelength astronomical surveys. From the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS), astronomical research based on publicly accessible datasets is becoming standard practice in the community. Beginning with the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) mission, infrared surveys have played a critical role in stellar astronomy by identifying cool and dusty stars worthy of spectroscopic characterization. IRAS' four photometric bands at 12, 25, 60, and 100 μm were ideal for detecting dusty circumstellar material. All-sky surveys like IRAS reveal the brightest members of each class of rare objects, optimizing their follow-up strategy. The case of debris disks around main sequence stars demonstrates this utility. IRAS detected dust disks around four nearby stars, Beta Pictoris, Fomalhaut, Epsilon Eridani, and Vega. The “Fabulous Four” remain the best studied debris disks, despite hundreds of additional examples discovered by the Spitzer Space Telescope. In the nearly 30 years since IRAS was launched, its highly reliable catalog of just 250000 sources, modest by modern standards, with arcminute scale resolution and 0.3 - 1 Jy sensitivity, has generated over 10,000 references in ADS. This is a success story by any measure.

A Polar Rover for Large-Scale Scientific Surveys: Design, Implementation and Field Test Results

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuqing He

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Exploration of polar regions is of great importance to scientific research. Unfortunately, due to the harsh environment, most of the regions on the Antarctic continent are still unreachable for humankind. Therefore, in 2011, the Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE launched a project to design a rover to conduct large-scale scientific surveys on the Antarctic. The main challenges for the rover are twofold: one is the mobility, i.e., how to make a rover that could survive the harsh environment and safely move on the uneven, icy and snowy terrain; the other is the autonomy, in that the robot should be able to move at a relatively high speed with little or no human intervention so that it can explore a large region in a limit time interval under the communication constraints. In this paper, the corresponding techniques, especially the polar rover's design and autonomous navigation algorithms, are introduced in detail. Subsequently, an experimental report of the fields tests on the Antarctic is given to show some preliminary evaluation of the rover. Finally, experiences and existing challenging problems are summarized.

Practical Bias Correction in Aerial Surveys of Large Mammals: Validation of Hybrid Double-Observer with Sightability Method against Known Abundance of Feral Horse (Equus caballus) Populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Lubow, Bruce C; Ransom, Jason I

2016-01-01

Reliably estimating wildlife abundance is fundamental to effective management. Aerial surveys are one of the only spatially robust tools for estimating large mammal populations, but statistical sampling methods are required to address detection biases that affect accuracy and precision of the estimates. Although various methods for correcting aerial survey bias are employed on large mammal species around the world, these have rarely been rigorously validated. Several populations of feral horses (Equus caballus) in the western United States have been intensively studied, resulting in identification of all unique individuals. This provided a rare opportunity to test aerial survey bias correction on populations of known abundance. We hypothesized that a hybrid method combining simultaneous double-observer and sightability bias correction techniques would accurately estimate abundance. We validated this integrated technique on populations of known size and also on a pair of surveys before and after a known number was removed. Our analysis identified several covariates across the surveys that explained and corrected biases in the estimates. All six tests on known populations produced estimates with deviations from the known value ranging from -8.5% to +13.7% and corrected by our statistical models. Our results validate the hybrid method, highlight its potentially broad applicability, identify some limitations, and provide insight and guidance for improving survey designs.

EFFECT OF MEASUREMENT ERRORS ON PREDICTED COSMOLOGICAL CONSTRAINTS FROM SHEAR PEAK STATISTICS WITH LARGE SYNOPTIC SURVEY TELESCOPE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bard, D.; Chang, C.; Kahn, S. M.; Gilmore, K.; Marshall, S. [KIPAC, Stanford University, 452 Lomita Mall, Stanford, CA 94309 (United States); Kratochvil, J. M.; Huffenberger, K. M. [Department of Physics, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124 (United States); May, M. [Physics Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973 (United States); AlSayyad, Y.; Connolly, A.; Gibson, R. R.; Jones, L.; Krughoff, S. [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Ahmad, Z.; Bankert, J.; Grace, E.; Hannel, M.; Lorenz, S. [Department of Physics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907 (United States); Haiman, Z.; Jernigan, J. G., E-mail: djbard@slac.stanford.edu [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 (United States); and others

2013-09-01

We study the effect of galaxy shape measurement errors on predicted cosmological constraints from the statistics of shear peak counts with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). We use the LSST Image Simulator in combination with cosmological N-body simulations to model realistic shear maps for different cosmological models. We include both galaxy shape noise and, for the first time, measurement errors on galaxy shapes. We find that the measurement errors considered have relatively little impact on the constraining power of shear peak counts for LSST.

The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula survey

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Markova, N.; Evans, C.J.; Bastian, N.; Beletsky, Y.; Bestenlehner, J.; Brott, I.; Cantiello, M.; Carraro, G.; Clark, J.S.; Crowther, P.A.; de Koter, A.; de Mink, S.E.; Doran, E.; Dufton, P.L.; Dunstall, P.; Gieles, M.; Graefener, G.; Henault-Brunet, V.; Herrero, A.; Howarth, I.D.; Langer, N.; Lennon, D.J.; Maiz-Appellaniz, J.; Najarro, F.; Puls, J.; Sana, H.A.A.; Simon-Diaz, S.; Smartts, S.J.; Stroud, V.E.; Taylor, W.D.; van Loon, J.T.; Vink, J.S.; Walborn, N.R.

2011-01-01

The Tarantula survey is an ESO Large Programme which has obtained multi- epochs spectroscopy of over 800 massive stars in the 30 Dor region in the Large Magelanic Cloud. Here we briefly describe the main drivers of the survey and the observational material derived.

On Survey Data Analysis in Corporate Finance

OpenAIRE

Serita, Toshio

2008-01-01

Recently, survey data analysis has emerged as a new method for testing hypotheses andfor clarifying the relative importance of different factors in corporate finance decisions. This paper investigates the advantages and drawbacks of survey data analysis, methodology of survey data analysis such as questionnaire design, and analytical methods for survey data, incomparison with traditional large sample analysis. We show that survey data analysis does not replace traditional large sample analysi...

The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Evans, C.J.; Bastian, N.; Beletsky, Y.; Brott, I.; Cantiello, M.; Clark, J.S.; Crowther, P.A.; de Koter, A.; de Mink, S.E.; Dufton, P.L.; Dunstall, P.; Gieles, M.; Gräfener, G.; Hénault-Brunet, V.; Herrero, A.; Howarth, I.D.; Langer, N.; Lennon, D.J.; Maíz Apellániz, J.; Markova, N.; Najarro, F.; Puls, J.; Sana, H.; Simón-Díaz, S.; Smartt, S.J.; Stroud, V.E.; Taylor, W.D.; Trundle, C.; van Loon, J.T.; Vink, J.S.; Walborn, N.R.

2010-01-01

The Tarantula Survey is an ambitious ESO Large Programme that has obtained multi-epoch spectroscopy of over 1000 massive stars in the 30 Doradus region in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Here, we introduce the scientific motivations of the survey and give an overview of the observational sample.

Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Towed-diver Surveys of Large-bodied Fishes of the U.S. Pacific Reefs from 2000 to 2012

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The towed-diver method is used to conduct surveys of large-bodied (> 50 cm) fishes in the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific...

Ownership Characteristics and Access to Finance: Evidence from a Survey of Large Privatised Companies in Hungary and Poland

OpenAIRE

Isachenkova, N.; Mickiewicz, T.

2003-01-01

We examine financial constraints and forms of finance used for investment, by analysing survey data on 157 large privatised companies in Hungary and Poland for the period 1998 - 2000. The Bayesian analysis using Gibbs sampling is carried out to obtain inferences about the sample companies' access to finance from a model for categorical outcome. By applying alternative measures of financial constraints we find that foreign companies, companies that are part of domestic industrial groups and en...

Mass Functions of the Active Black Holes in Distant Quasars from the Large Bright Quasar Survey, the Bright Quasar Survey, and the Color-Selected Sample of the SDSS Fall Equatorial Stripe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vestergaard, Marianne; Osmer, Patrick S.

2009-01-01

We present mass functions of distant actively accreting supermassive black holes residing in luminous quasars discovered in the Large Bright Quasar Survey, the Bright Quasar Survey, and the Fall Equatorial Stripe of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The quasars cover a wide range of redshifts (0...... functions at similar redshifts based on the SDSS Data Release 3 quasar catalog presented by Vestergaard et al. We see clear evidence of cosmic downsizing in the comoving space density distribution of active black holes in the LBQS sample alone. In forthcoming papers, further analysis, comparison......, and discussion of these mass functions will be made with other existing black hole mass functions, notably that based on the SDSS DR3 quasar catalog. We present the relationships used to estimate the black hole mass based on the MgII emission line; the relations are calibrated to the Hbeta and CIV relations...

Research on the Application of Rapid Surveying and Mapping for Large Scare Topographic Map by Uav Aerial Photography System

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Z.; Song, Y.; Li, C.; Zeng, F.; Wang, F.

2017-08-01

Rapid acquisition and processing method of large scale topographic map data, which relies on the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) low-altitude aerial photogrammetry system, is studied in this paper, elaborating the main work flow. Key technologies of UAV photograph mapping is also studied, developing a rapid mapping system based on electronic plate mapping system, thus changing the traditional mapping mode and greatly improving the efficiency of the mapping. Production test and achievement precision evaluation of Digital Orth photo Map (DOM), Digital Line Graphic (DLG) and other digital production were carried out combined with the city basic topographic map update project, which provides a new techniques for large scale rapid surveying and has obvious technical advantage and good application prospect.

PSYM-WIDE: A Survey for Large-separation Planetary-mass Companions to Late Spectral Type Members of Young Moving Groups

Science.gov (United States)

Naud, Marie-Eve; Artigau, Étienne; Doyon, René; Malo, Lison; Gagné, Jonathan; Lafrenière, David; Wolf, Christian; Magnier, Eugene A.

2017-09-01

We present the results of a direct imaging survey for very large separation (>100 au), low-mass companions around 95 nearby young K5-L5 stars and brown dwarfs. They are high-likelihood candidates or confirmed members of the young (≲150 Myr) β Pictoris and AB Doradus moving groups (ABDMG) and the TW Hya, Tucana-Horologium, Columba, Carina, and Argus associations. Images in I\\prime and z\\prime filters were obtained with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) on Gemini South to search for companions down to an apparent magnitude of z\\prime ˜ 22-24 at separations ≳20″ from the targets and in the remainder of the wide 5.‧5 × 5.‧5 GMOS field of view. This allowed us to probe the most distant region where planetary-mass companions could be gravitationally bound to the targets. This region was left largely unstudied by past high-contrast imaging surveys, which probed much closer-in separations. This survey led to the discovery of a planetary-mass (9-13 {M}{Jup}) companion at 2000 au from the M3V star GU Psc, a highly probable member of ABDMG. No other substellar companions were identified. These results allowed us to constrain the frequency of distant planetary-mass companions (5-13 {M}{Jup}) to {0.84}-0.66+6.73% (95% confidence) at semimajor axes between 500 and 5000 au around young K5-L5 stars and brown dwarfs. This is consistent with other studies suggesting that gravitationally bound planetary-mass companions at wide separations from low-mass stars are relatively rare.

Coverage of the migrant population in large-scale assessment surveys. Experiences from PIAAC in Germany

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Débora B. Maehler

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background European countries, and especially Germany, are currently very much affected by human migration flows, with the result that the task of integration has become a challenge. Only very little empirical evidence on topics such as labor market participation and processes of social integration of migrant subpopulations is available to date from large-scale population surveys. The present paper provides an overview of the representation of the migrant population in the German Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC sample and evaluates reasons for the under-coverage of this population. Methods We examine outcome rates and reasons for nonresponse among the migrant population based on sampling frame data, and we also examine para data from the interviewers’ contact protocols to evaluate time patterns for the successful contacting of migrants. Results and Conclusions This is the first time that results of this kind have been presented for a large-scale assessment in educational research. These results are also discussed in the context of future PIAAC cycles. Overall, they confirm the expectations in the literature that factors such as language problems result in lower contact and response rates among migrants.

Estimating micro area behavioural risk factor prevalence from large population-based surveys: a full Bayesian approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Seliske

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background An important public health goal is to decrease the prevalence of key behavioural risk factors, such as tobacco use and obesity. Survey information is often available at the regional level, but heterogeneity within large geographic regions cannot be assessed. Advanced spatial analysis techniques are demonstrated to produce sensible micro area estimates of behavioural risk factors that enable identification of areas with high prevalence. Methods A spatial Bayesian hierarchical model was used to estimate the micro area prevalence of current smoking and excess bodyweight for the Erie-St. Clair region in southwestern Ontario. Estimates were mapped for male and female respondents of five cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS. The micro areas were 2006 Census Dissemination Areas, with an average population of 400–700 people. Two individual-level models were specified: one controlled for survey cycle and age group (model 1, and one controlled for survey cycle, age group and micro area median household income (model 2. Post-stratification was used to derive micro area behavioural risk factor estimates weighted to the population structure. SaTScan analyses were conducted on the granular, postal-code level CCHS data to corroborate findings of elevated prevalence. Results Current smoking was elevated in two urban areas for both sexes (Sarnia and Windsor, and an additional small community (Chatham for males only. Areas of excess bodyweight were prevalent in an urban core (Windsor among males, but not females. Precision of the posterior post-stratified current smoking estimates was improved in model 2, as indicated by narrower credible intervals and a lower coefficient of variation. For excess bodyweight, both models had similar precision. Aggregation of the micro area estimates to CCHS design-based estimates validated the findings. Conclusions This is among the first studies to apply a full Bayesian model to complex

OPTICAL/NEAR-INFRARED SELECTION OF RED QUASI-STELLAR OBJECTS: EVIDENCE FOR STEEP EXTINCTION CURVES TOWARD GALACTIC CENTERS?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fynbo, J. P. U.; Krogager, J.-K.; Vestergaard, M.; Geier, S. [Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, DK-2100 Copenhagen O (Denmark); Venemans, B. [Max-Planck Institute for Astronomy, Koenigstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Noterdaeme, P. [CNRS-UPMC, UMR7095, Institut d' Astrophysique de Paris, 98bis Bd. Arago, F-75014 Paris (France); Moller, P. [European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschildstrasse 2, D-85748 Garching bei Muenchen (Germany); Ledoux, C. [European Southern Observatory, Alonso de Cordova 3107, Vitacura, Casilla 19001, Santiago 19 (Chile)

2013-01-15

We present the results of a search for red QSOs using a selection based on optical imaging from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and near-infrared imaging from UKIDSS. Our main goal with the selection is to search for QSOs reddened by foreground dusty absorber galaxies. For a sample of 58 candidates (including 20 objects fulfilling our selection criteria that already have spectra in the SDSS), 46 (79%) are confirmed to be QSOs. The QSOs are predominantly dust-reddened except for a handful at redshifts z {approx}> 3.5. However, the dust is most likely located in the QSO host galaxies (and for two, the reddening is primarily caused by Galactic dust) rather than in the intervening absorbers. More than half of the QSOs show evidence of associated absorption (BAL absorption). Four (7%) of the candidates turned out to be late-type stars, and another four (7%) are compact galaxies. We could not identify the remaining four objects. In terms of their optical spectra, these QSOs are similar to the QSOs selected in the FIRST-2MASS Red Quasar Survey except they are on average fainter, more distant, and only two are detected in the FIRST survey. As per the usual procedure, we estimate the amount of extinction using the SDSS QSO template reddened by Small-Magellanic-Cloud-(SMC) like dust. It is possible to get a good match to the observed (rest-frame ultraviolet) spectra, but it is not possible to match the observed near-IR photometry from UKIDSS for nearly all the reddened QSOs. The most likely reasons are that the SDSS QSO template is too red at optical wavelengths due to contaminating host galaxy light and because the assumed SMC extinction curve is too shallow. Three of the compact galaxies display old stellar populations with ages of several Gyr and masses of about 10{sup 10} M{sub Sun} (based on spectral energy distribution modeling). The inferred stellar densities in these galaxies exceed 10{sup 10} M{sub Sun} kpc{sup -2}, which is among the highest measured for early

Survey research.

Science.gov (United States)

Alderman, Amy K; Salem, Barbara

2010-10-01

Survey research is a unique methodology that can provide insight into individuals' perspectives and experiences and can be collected on a large population-based sample. Specifically, in plastic surgery, survey research can provide patients and providers with accurate and reproducible information to assist with medical decision-making. When using survey methods in research, researchers should develop a conceptual model that explains the relationships of the independent and dependent variables. The items of the survey are of primary importance. Collected data are only useful if they accurately measure the concepts of interest. In addition, administration of the survey must follow basic principles to ensure an adequate response rate and representation of the intended target sample. In this article, the authors review some general concepts important for successful survey research and discuss the many advantages this methodology has for obtaining limitless amounts of valuable information.

SDSS QUASARS IN THE WISE PRELIMINARY DATA RELEASE AND QUASAR CANDIDATE SELECTION WITH OPTICAL/INFRARED COLORS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Xuebing; Hao Guoqiang; Jia Zhendong; Zhang Yanxia; Peng Nanbo

2012-01-01

We present a catalog of 37,842 quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7, which have counterparts within 6'' in the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) Preliminary Data Release. The overall WISE detection rate of the SDSS quasars is 86.7%, and it decreases to less than 50.0% when the quasar magnitude is fainter than i = 20.5. We derive the median color-redshift relations based on this SDSS-WISE quasar sample and apply them to estimate the photometric redshifts of the SDSS-WISE quasars. We find that by adding the WISE W1- and W2-band data to the SDSS photometry we can increase the photometric redshift reliability, defined as the percentage of sources with photometric and spectroscopic redshift difference less than 0.2, from 70.3% to 77.2%. We also obtain the samples of WISE-detected normal and late-type stars with SDSS spectroscopy, and present a criterion in the z – W1 versus g – z color-color diagram, z – W1 > 0.66(g – z) + 2.01, to separate quasars from stars. With this criterion we can recover 98.6% of 3089 radio-detected SDSS-WISE quasars with redshifts less than four and overcome the difficulty in selecting quasars with redshifts between 2.2 and 3 from SDSS photometric data alone. We also suggest another criterion involving the WISE color only, W1 – W2 > 0.57, to efficiently separate quasars with redshifts less than 3.2 from stars. In addition, we compile a catalog of 5614 SDSS quasars detected by both WISE and UKIDSS surveys and present their color-redshift relations in the optical and infrared bands. By using the SDSS ugriz, UKIDSS, YJHK, and WISE W1- and W2-band photometric data, we can efficiently select quasar candidates and increase the photometric redshift reliability up to 87.0%. We discuss the implications of our results on the future quasar surveys. An updated SDSS-WISE quasar catalog consisting of 101,853 quasars with the recently released WISE all-sky data is also provided.

Open access tools for quality-assured and efficient data entry in a large, state-wide tobacco survey in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Shewade, Hemant Deepak; Vidhubala, E; Subramani, Divyaraj Prabhakar; Lal, Pranay; Bhatt, Neelam; Sundaramoorthi, C; Singh, Rana J; Kumar, Ajay M V

2017-01-01

A large state-wide tobacco survey was conducted using modified version of pretested, globally validated Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) questionnaire in 2015-22016 in Tamil Nadu, India. Due to resource constrains, data collection was carrid out using paper-based questionnaires (unlike the GATS-India, 2009-2010, which used hand-held computer devices) while data entry was done using open access tools. The objective of this paper is to describe the process of data entry and assess its quality assurance and efficiency. In EpiData language, a variable is referred to as 'field' and a questionnaire (set of fields) as 'record'. EpiData software was used for double data entry with adequate checks followed by validation. Teamviewer was used for remote training and trouble shooting. The EpiData databases (one each for each district and each zone in Chennai city) were housed in shared Dropbox folders, which enabled secure sharing of files and automatic back-up. Each database for a district/zone had separate file for data entry of household level and individual level questionnaire. Of 32,945 households, there were 111,363 individuals aged ≥15 years. The average proportion of records with data entry errors for a district/zone in household level and individual level file was 4% and 24%, respectively. These are the errors that would have gone unnoticed if single entry was used. The median (inter-quartile range) time taken for double data entry for a single household level and individual level questionnaire was 30 (24, 40) s and 86 (64, 126) s, respectively. Efficient and quality-assured near-real-time data entry in a large sub-national tobacco survey was performed using innovative, resource-efficient use of open access tools.

Using model based systems engineering for the development of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope's operational plan

Science.gov (United States)

Selvy, Brian M.; Claver, Charles; Willman, Beth; Petravick, Don; Johnson, Margaret; Reil, Kevin; Marshall, Stuart; Thomas, Sandrine; Lotz, Paul; Schumacher, German; Lim, Kian-Tat; Jenness, Tim; Jacoby, Suzanne; Emmons, Ben; Axelrod, Tim

2016-08-01

We† provide an overview of the Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) language, tool, and methodology being used in our development of the Operational Plan for Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) operations. LSST's Systems Engineering (SE) team is using a model-based approach to operational plan development to: 1) capture the topdown stakeholders' needs and functional allocations defining the scope, required tasks, and personnel needed for operations, and 2) capture the bottom-up operations and maintenance activities required to conduct the LSST survey across its distributed operations sites for the full ten year survey duration. To accomplish these complimentary goals and ensure that they result in self-consistent results, we have developed a holistic approach using the Sparx Enterprise Architect modeling tool and Systems Modeling Language (SysML). This approach utilizes SysML Use Cases, Actors, associated relationships, and Activity Diagrams to document and refine all of the major operations and maintenance activities that will be required to successfully operate the observatory and meet stakeholder expectations. We have developed several customized extensions of the SysML language including the creation of a custom stereotyped Use Case element with unique tagged values, as well as unique association connectors and Actor stereotypes. We demonstrate this customized MBSE methodology enables us to define: 1) the rolls each human Actor must take on to successfully carry out the activities associated with the Use Cases; 2) the skills each Actor must possess; 3) the functional allocation of all required stakeholder activities and Use Cases to organizational entities tasked with carrying them out; and 4) the organization structure required to successfully execute the operational survey. Our approach allows for continual refinement utilizing the systems engineering spiral method to expose finer levels of detail as necessary. For example, the bottom-up, Use Case

Large mass storage facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peskin, A.M.

1978-01-01

The report of a committee to study the questions surrounding possible acquisition of a large mass-storage device is presented. The current computing environment at BNL and justification for an online large mass storage device are briefly discussed. Possible devices to meet the requirements of large mass storage are surveyed, including future devices. The future computing needs of BNL are prognosticated. 2 figures, 4 tables

A Subaru galaxy redshift survey: WFMOS survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takada, M

2008-01-01

A planned galaxy redshift survey with the Subaru 8.2m telescope, the WFMOS survey, offers a unique opportunity for probing detailed properties of large-scale structure formation in the expanding universe by measuring clustering strength of galaxy distribution as a function of distance scale and redshift. In particular, the precise measurement of the galaxy power spectrum, combined with the cosmic microwave background experiments, allows us to obtain stringent constraints on or even determine absolute mass scales of the Big-Bang relic neutrinos as the neutrinos imprint characteristic scale- and redshift-dependent modifications onto the galaxy power spectrum shape. Here we describe the basic concept of how the galaxy clustering measurement can be used to explore the neutrino masses, with particular emphasis on advantages of the WFMOS survey over the existing low-redshift surveys such as SDSS

Large-scale data analytics

CERN Document Server

Gkoulalas-Divanis, Aris

2014-01-01

Provides cutting-edge research in large-scale data analytics from diverse scientific areas Surveys varied subject areas and reports on individual results of research in the field Shares many tips and insights into large-scale data analytics from authors and editors with long-term experience and specialization in the field

Environmental surveys of the Heidrun field. Supplementary baseline survey 1992

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oug, E.; Konieczny, R.M.; Bakke, T.; Lind, K.

1993-02-01

The present survey is a re-investigation of the sea bottom sediments at six sites in the Heidrun oil and gas field, May 1992. Petroleum hydrocarbons and heavy metals were at background levels. Compared to the baseline survey in 1988 values of hydrocarbons and barium were decreased. The sediment fauna was sparse with low numbers of species and individuals. Densities were strongly reduced and diversity decreased compared to 1988. There is no indication of anthropogenic factors or other large scale disturbances in the area to explain the faunal changes, which may reflect a large natural variation in the sediment fauna. 22 refs., 16 figs., 35 tabs

Correlates of Psychopathic Personality Traits in Everyday Life:Results from a Large Community Survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Scott O Lilienfeld

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Although the traits of psychopathic personality (psychopathy have received extensive attention from researchers in forensic psychology, psychopathology, and personality psychology, the relations of these traits to aspects of everyday functioning are poorly understood. Using a large internet survey of members of the general population (N=3398, we examined the association between psychopathic traits, as measured by a brief but well-validated self-report measure, and occupational choice, political orientation, religious affiliation, and geographical residence. Psychopathic traits, especially those linked to fearless dominance, were positively and moderately associated with holding leadership and management positions, as well as high-risk occupations. In addition, psychopathic traits were positively associated with political conservatism, lack of belief in God, and living in Europe as opposed to the United States, although the magnitudes of these statistical effects were generally small in magnitude. Our findings offer preliminary evidence that psychopathic personality traits display meaningful response penetration into daily functioning, and raise provocative questions for future research.

Large-scale Star-formation-driven Outflows at 1 3D-HST Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Lundgren, Britt F.; Brammer, Gabriel; van Dokkum, Pieter; Bezanson, Rachel; Franx, Marijn; Fumagalli, Mattia; Momcheva, Ivelina; Nelson, Erica; Skelton, Rosalind E.; Wake, David; Whitaker, Katherine; da Cunha, Elizabete; Erb, Dawn K.; Fan, Xiaohui; Kriek, Mariska; Labbé, Ivo; Marchesini, Danilo; Patel, Shannon; Rix, Hans Walter; Schmidt, Kasper; van der Wel, Arjen

2012-11-01

We present evidence of large-scale outflows from three low-mass (log(M */M ⊙) ~ 9.75) star-forming (SFR > 4 M ⊙ yr-1) galaxies observed at z = 1.24, z = 1.35, and z = 1.75 in the 3D-HST Survey. Each of these galaxies is located within a projected physical distance of 60 kpc around the sight line to the quasar SDSS J123622.93+621526.6, which exhibits well-separated strong (W λ2796 r >~ 0.8 Å) Mg II absorption systems matching precisely to the redshifts of the three galaxies. We derive the star formation surface densities from the Hα emission in the WFC3 G141 grism observations for the galaxies and find that in each case the star formation surface density well exceeds 0.1 M ⊙ yr-1 kpc-2, the typical threshold for starburst galaxies in the local universe. From a small but complete parallel census of the 0.65 0.8 Å Mg II covering fraction of star-forming galaxies at 1 0.4 Å Mg II absorbing gas around star-forming galaxies may evolve from z ~ 2 to the present, consistent with recent observations of an increasing collimation of star-formation-driven outflows with time from z ~ 3.

STAR FORMATION AT 4 < z < 6 FROM THE SPITZER LARGE AREA SURVEY WITH HYPER-SUPRIME-CAM (SPLASH)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steinhardt, Charles L.; Capak, Peter; Masters, Dan; Petric, Andreea [Caltech, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Speagle, Josh S.; Silverman, John D. [Kavli IPMU, University of Tokyo, Kashiwanoha 5-1-5, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba 277-8583 (Japan); Carollo, Marcella [ETH Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, 8093 Zurich (Switzerland); Dunlop, James [Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ (United Kingdom); Hashimoto, Yasuhiro [National Taiwan Normal University, No. 88, Sec. 4, Tingzhou Rd., Taipei 11677, Taiwan R.O.C. (China); Hsieh, Bau-Ching; Lin, Lihwai; Lin, Yen-Ting [ASIAA Sinica, AS/NTU. No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei 10617, Taiwan, R.O.C. (China); Ilbert, Olivier; Le Fevre, Olivier [Laboratoire d' Astrophysique de Marseille, 38 rue Frederic Joliot Curie, F-13388 Marseille (France); Le Floc' h, Emeric [Service d' Astrophysique, CEA-Saclay, Orme des Merisiers, Bat. 709, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Lee, Nicholas; Sanders, Dave [Institute for Astronomy, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); McCracken, Henry J. [Institut d' Astrophysique de Paris, 98 bis boulevard Arago, F-75014 Paris (France); Nagao, Tohru [Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan); Salvato, Mara [Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), Giessenbachstr. 1, D-85748 Garching (Germany); and others

2014-08-20

Using the first 50% of data collected for the Spitzer Large Area Survey with Hyper-Suprime-Cam observations on the 1.8 deg{sup 2} Cosmological Evolution Survey we estimate the masses and star formation rates of 3398 M {sub *} > 10{sup 10} M {sub ☉} star-forming galaxies at 4 < z < 6 with a substantial population up to M {sub *} ≳ 10{sup 11.5} M {sub ☉}. We find that the strong correlation between stellar mass and star formation rate seen at lower redshift (the ''main sequence'' of star-forming galaxies) extends to z ∼ 6. The observed relation and scatter is consistent with a continued increase in star formation rate at fixed mass in line with extrapolations from lower-redshift observations. It is difficult to explain this continued correlation, especially for the most massive systems, unless the most massive galaxies are forming stars near their Eddington-limited rate from their first collapse. Furthermore, we find no evidence for moderate quenching at higher masses, indicating quenching either has not occurred prior to z ∼ 6 or else occurs rapidly, so that few galaxies are visible in transition between star-forming and quenched.

Chirping for large-scale maritime archaeological survey

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grøn, Ole; Boldreel, Lars Ole

2014-01-01

Archaeological wrecks exposed on the sea floor are mapped using side-scan and multibeam techniques, whereas the detection of submerged archaeological sites, such as Stone Age settlements, and wrecks, partially or wholly embedded in sea-floor sediments, requires the application of high-resolution ...... the present state of this technology, it appears well suited to large-scale maritime archaeological mapping....

Cosmology with weak lensing surveys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munshi, Dipak; Valageas, Patrick; Waerbeke, Ludovic van; Heavens, Alan

2008-01-01

Weak gravitational lensing is responsible for the shearing and magnification of the images of high-redshift sources due to the presence of intervening matter. The distortions are due to fluctuations in the gravitational potential, and are directly related to the distribution of matter and to the geometry and dynamics of the Universe. As a consequence, weak gravitational lensing offers unique possibilities for probing the Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe. In this review, we summarise the theoretical and observational state of the subject, focussing on the statistical aspects of weak lensing, and consider the prospects for weak lensing surveys in the future. Weak gravitational lensing surveys are complementary to both galaxy surveys and cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations as they probe the unbiased non-linear matter power spectrum at modest redshifts. Most of the cosmological parameters are accurately estimated from CMB and large-scale galaxy surveys, so the focus of attention is shifting to understanding the nature of Dark Matter and Dark Energy. On the theoretical side, recent advances in the use of 3D information of the sources from photometric redshifts promise greater statistical power, and these are further enhanced by the use of statistics beyond two-point quantities such as the power spectrum. The use of 3D information also alleviates difficulties arising from physical effects such as the intrinsic alignment of galaxies, which can mimic weak lensing to some extent. On the observational side, in the next few years weak lensing surveys such as CFHTLS, VST-KIDS and Pan-STARRS, and the planned Dark Energy Survey, will provide the first weak lensing surveys covering very large sky areas and depth. In the long run even more ambitious programmes such as DUNE, the Supernova Anisotropy Probe (SNAP) and Large-aperture Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) are planned. Weak lensing of diffuse components such as the CMB and 21 cm emission can also

Cosmology with weak lensing surveys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Munshi, Dipak [Institute of Astronomy, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 OHA (United Kingdom); Astrophysics Group, Cavendish Laboratory, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OHE (United Kingdom)], E-mail: munshi@ast.cam.ac.uk; Valageas, Patrick [Service de Physique Theorique, CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Waerbeke, Ludovic van [University of British Columbia, Department of Physics and Astronomy, 6224 Agricultural Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 (Canada); Heavens, Alan [SUPA - Scottish Universities Physics Alliance, Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ (United Kingdom)

2008-06-15

Weak gravitational lensing is responsible for the shearing and magnification of the images of high-redshift sources due to the presence of intervening matter. The distortions are due to fluctuations in the gravitational potential, and are directly related to the distribution of matter and to the geometry and dynamics of the Universe. As a consequence, weak gravitational lensing offers unique possibilities for probing the Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe. In this review, we summarise the theoretical and observational state of the subject, focussing on the statistical aspects of weak lensing, and consider the prospects for weak lensing surveys in the future. Weak gravitational lensing surveys are complementary to both galaxy surveys and cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations as they probe the unbiased non-linear matter power spectrum at modest redshifts. Most of the cosmological parameters are accurately estimated from CMB and large-scale galaxy surveys, so the focus of attention is shifting to understanding the nature of Dark Matter and Dark Energy. On the theoretical side, recent advances in the use of 3D information of the sources from photometric redshifts promise greater statistical power, and these are further enhanced by the use of statistics beyond two-point quantities such as the power spectrum. The use of 3D information also alleviates difficulties arising from physical effects such as the intrinsic alignment of galaxies, which can mimic weak lensing to some extent. On the observational side, in the next few years weak lensing surveys such as CFHTLS, VST-KIDS and Pan-STARRS, and the planned Dark Energy Survey, will provide the first weak lensing surveys covering very large sky areas and depth. In the long run even more ambitious programmes such as DUNE, the Supernova Anisotropy Probe (SNAP) and Large-aperture Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) are planned. Weak lensing of diffuse components such as the CMB and 21 cm emission can also

The VANDELS ESO spectroscopic survey

Science.gov (United States)

McLure, R. J.; Pentericci, L.; Cimatti, A.; Dunlop, J. S.; Elbaz, D.; Fontana, A.; Nandra, K.; Amorin, R.; Bolzonella, M.; Bongiorno, A.; Carnall, A. C.; Castellano, M.; Cirasuolo, M.; Cucciati, O.; Cullen, F.; De Barros, S.; Finkelstein, S. L.; Fontanot, F.; Franzetti, P.; Fumana, M.; Gargiulo, A.; Garilli, B.; Guaita, L.; Hartley, W. G.; Iovino, A.; Jarvis, M. J.; Juneau, S.; Karman, W.; Maccagni, D.; Marchi, F.; Mármol-Queraltó, E.; Pompei, E.; Pozzetti, L.; Scodeggio, M.; Sommariva, V.; Talia, M.; Almaini, O.; Balestra, I.; Bardelli, S.; Bell, E. F.; Bourne, N.; Bowler, R. A. A.; Brusa, M.; Buitrago, F.; Caputi, K. I.; Cassata, P.; Charlot, S.; Citro, A.; Cresci, G.; Cristiani, S.; Curtis-Lake, E.; Dickinson, M.; Fazio, G. G.; Ferguson, H. C.; Fiore, F.; Franco, M.; Fynbo, J. P. U.; Galametz, A.; Georgakakis, A.; Giavalisco, M.; Grazian, A.; Hathi, N. P.; Jung, I.; Kim, S.; Koekemoer, A. M.; Khusanova, Y.; Le Fèvre, O.; Lotz, J. M.; Mannucci, F.; Maltby, D. T.; Matsuoka, K.; McLeod, D. J.; Mendez-Hernandez, H.; Mendez-Abreu, J.; Mignoli, M.; Moresco, M.; Mortlock, A.; Nonino, M.; Pannella, M.; Papovich, C.; Popesso, P.; Rosario, D. P.; Salvato, M.; Santini, P.; Schaerer, D.; Schreiber, C.; Stark, D. P.; Tasca, L. A. M.; Thomas, R.; Treu, T.; Vanzella, E.; Wild, V.; Williams, C. C.; Zamorani, G.; Zucca, E.

2018-05-01

VANDELS is a uniquely-deep spectroscopic survey of high-redshift galaxies with the VIMOS spectrograph on ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). The survey has obtained ultra-deep optical (0.48 studies. Using integration times calculated to produce an approximately constant signal-to-noise ratio (20 motivation, survey design and target selection.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: VANDELS High-Redshift Galaxy Evolution (McLure+, 2017)

Science.gov (United States)

McLure, R.; Pentericci, L.; Vandels Team

2017-11-01

This is the first data release (DR1) of the VANDELS survey, an ESO public spectroscopy survey targeting the high-redshift Universe. The VANDELS survey uses the VIMOS spectrograph on ESO's VLT to obtain ultra-deep, medium resolution, optical spectra of galaxies within the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey (UDS) and Chandra Deep Field South (CDFS) survey fields (0.2 sq. degree total area). Using robust photometric redshift pre-selection, VANDELS is targeting ~2100 galaxies in the redshift interval 1.0=3. In addition, VANDELS is targeting a substantial number of passive galaxies in the redshift interval 1.0filter, which covers the wavelength range 4800-10000Å at a dispersion of 2.5Å/pix and a spectral resolution of R~600. Each galaxy receives between a minimum of 20-hours and a maximum of 80-hours of on-source integration time. The fundamental aim of the survey is to provide the high signal-to-noise spectra necessary to measure key physical properties such as stellar population ages, metallicities and outflow velocities from detailed absorption-line studies. By targeting two extra-galactic survey fields with superb multi-wavelength imaging data, VANDELS is designed to produce a unique legacy dataset for exploring the physics underpinning high-redshift galaxy evolution. (2 data files).

Survey and analysis of selected jointly owned large-scale electric utility storage projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1982-05-01

The objective of this study was to examine and document the issues surrounding the curtailment in commercialization of large-scale electric storage projects. It was sensed that if these issues could be uncovered, then efforts might be directed toward clearing away these barriers and allowing these technologies to penetrate the market to their maximum potential. Joint-ownership of these projects was seen as a possible solution to overcoming the major barriers, particularly economic barriers, of commercializaton. Therefore, discussions with partners involved in four pumped storage projects took place to identify the difficulties and advantages of joint-ownership agreements. The four plants surveyed included Yards Creek (Public Service Electric and Gas and Jersey Central Power and Light); Seneca (Pennsylvania Electric and Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company); Ludington (Consumers Power and Detroit Edison, and Bath County (Virginia Electric Power Company and Allegheny Power System, Inc.). Also investigated were several pumped storage projects which were never completed. These included Blue Ridge (American Electric Power); Cornwall (Consolidated Edison); Davis (Allegheny Power System, Inc.) and Kttatiny Mountain (General Public Utilities). Institutional, regulatory, technical, environmental, economic, and special issues at each project were investgated, and the conclusions relative to each issue are presented. The major barriers preventing the growth of energy storage are the high cost of these systems in times of extremely high cost of capital, diminishing load growth and regulatory influences which will not allow the building of large-scale storage systems due to environmental objections or other reasons. However, the future for energy storage looks viable despite difficult economic times for the utility industry. Joint-ownership can ease some of the economic hardships for utilites which demonstrate a need for energy storage.

The Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) Quasar Survey: Quasar Properties from Data Release Two and Three

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, X. Y.; Wu, Xue-Bing; Ai, Y. L.; Yang, J. Y.; Yang, Q.; Wang, F.; Zhang, Y. X.; Luo, A. L.; Xu, H.; Yuan, H. L.; Zhang, J. N.; Wang, M. X.; Wang, L. L.; Li, Y. B.; Zuo, F.; Hou, W.; Guo, Y. X.; Kong, X.; Chen, X. Y.; Wu, Y.; Yang, H. F.; Yang, M.

2018-05-01

This is the second installment for the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) Quasar Survey, which includes quasars observed from 2013 September to 2015 June. There are 9024 confirmed quasars in DR2 and 10911 in DR3. After cross-match with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) quasar catalogs and NED, 12126 quasars are discovered independently. Among them, 2225 quasars were released by SDSS DR12 QSO catalog in 2014 after we finalized the survey candidates. 1801 sources were identified by SDSS DR14 as QSOs. The remaining 8100 quasars are considered as newly founded, and among them, 6887 quasars can be given reliable emission line measurements and the estimated black hole masses. Quasars found in LAMOST are mostly located at low-to-moderate redshifts, with a mean value of 1.5. The highest redshift observed in DR2 and DR3 is 5. We applied emission line measurements to Hα, Hβ, Mg II, and C IV. We deduced the monochromatic continuum luminosities using photometry data, and estimated the virial black hole masses for the newly discovered quasars. Results are compiled into a quasar catalog, which will be available online.

Large ceramics for fusion applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hauth, W.E.; Stoddard, S.D.

1979-01-01

Prominent ceramic raw materials and products manufacturers were surveyed to determine the state of the art for alumina ceramic fabrication. This survey emphasized current capabilities and limitations for fabrication of large, high-density, high-purity, complex shapes. Some directions are suggested for future needs and development. Ceramic-to-ceramic sealing has applications for several technologies that require large and/or complex vacuum-tight ceramic shapes. Information is provided concerning the assembly of complex monolithic ceramic shapes by bonding of subassemblies at temperatures ranging from 450 to 1500 0 C. Future applications and fabrication techniques for various materials are presented

Availability and quality of anti-malarials among private sector outlets in Myanmar in 2012: results from a large, community-based, cross-sectional survey before a large-scale intervention.

Science.gov (United States)

Khin, Hnin Su Su; Chen, Ingrid; White, Chris; Sudhinaraset, May; McFarland, Willi; Littrell, Megan; Montagu, Dominic; Aung, Tin

2015-07-14

Global malaria control efforts are threatened by the spread and emergence of artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum parasites. In 2012, the widespread sale of partial courses of artemisinin-based monotherapy was suspected to take place in the highly accessed, weakly regulated private sector in Myanmar, posing potentially major threats to drug resistance. This study investigated the presence of artemisinin-based monotherapies in the Myanmar private sector, particularly as partial courses of therapy, to inform the targeting of future interventions to stop artemisinin resistance. A large cross-sectional survey comprised of a screening questionnaire was conducted across 26 townships in Myanmar between March and May, 2012. For outlets that stocked anti-malarials at the time of survey, a stock audit was conducted, and for outlets that stocked anti-malarials within 3 months of the survey, a provider survey was conducted. A total of 3,658 outlets were screened, 83% were retailers (pharmacies, itinerant drug vendors and general retailers) and 17% were healthcare providers (private facilities and health workers). Of the 3,658 outlets screened, 1,359 outlets (32%) stocked at least one anti-malarial at the time of study. Oral artemisinin-based monotherapy comprised of 33% of self-reported anti-malarials dispensing volumes found. The vast majority of artemisinin-based monotherapy was sold by retailers, where 63% confirmed that they sold partial courses of therapy by cutting blister packets. Very few retailers (5%) had malaria rapid diagnostic tests available, and quality-assured artemisinin-based combination therapy was virtually nonexistent among retailers. Informal private pharmacies, itinerant drug vendors and general retailers should be targeted for interventions to improve malaria treatment practices in Myanmar, particularly those that threaten the emergence and spread of artemisinin resistance.

Redshift Survey Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, A. W.; Bland-Hawthorn, J.; Kaiser, N.

1994-12-01

In the first half of 1995, the Anglo-Australian Observatory is due to commission a wide field (2.1(deg) ), 400-fiber, double spectrograph system (2dF) at the f/3.3 prime focus of the AAT 3.9m bi-national facility. The instrument should be able to measure ~ 4000 galaxy redshifts (assuming a magnitude limit of b_J ~\\ 20) in a single dark night and is therefore ideally suited to studies of large-scale structure. We have carried out simple 3D numerical simulations to judge the relative merits of sparse surveys and contiguous surveys. We generate a survey volume and fill it randomly with particles according to a selection function which mimics a magnitude-limited survey at b_J = 19.7. Each of the particles is perturbed by a gaussian random field according to the dimensionless power spectrum k(3) P(k) / 2pi (2) determined by Feldman, Kaiser & Peacock (1994) from the IRAS QDOT survey. We introduce some redshift-space distortion as described by Kaiser (1987), a `thermal' component measured from pairwise velocities (Davis & Peebles 1983), and `fingers of god' due to rich clusters at random density enhancements. Our particular concern is to understand how the window function W(2(k)) of the survey geometry compromises the accuracy of statistical measures [e.g., P(k), xi (r), xi (r_sigma ,r_pi )] commonly used in the study of large-scale structure. We also examine the reliability of various tools (e.g. genus) for describing the topological structure within a contiguous region of the survey.

Challenges with Final Status Surveys at a Large Decommissioning Site - 13417

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Downey, Heath; Collopy, Peter; Shephard, Eugene; Walter, Nelson; Conant, John

2013-01-01

As part of decommissioning a former nuclear fuel manufacturing site, one of the crucial final steps is to conduct Final Status Surveys (FSS) in order to demonstrate compliance with the release criteria. At this decommissioning site, the area for FSS was about 100 hectares (248 acres) and included varying terrain, wooded areas, ponds, excavations, buildings and a brook. The challenges in performing the FSS included determining location, identifying FSS units, logging gamma walkover survey data, determining sample locations, managing water in excavations, and diverting water in the brook. The approaches taken to overcome these challenges will be presented in the paper. The paper will present and discuss lessons learned that will aid others in the FSS process. (authors)

Large-Scale Outflows in Seyfert Galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

Colbert, E. J. M.; Baum, S. A.

1995-12-01

\\catcode`\\@=11 \\ialign{m @th#1hfil ##hfil \\crcr#2\\crcr\\sim\\crcr}}} \\catcode`\\@=12 Highly collimated outflows extend out to Mpc scales in many radio-loud active galaxies. In Seyfert galaxies, which are radio-quiet, the outflows extend out to kpc scales and do not appear to be as highly collimated. In order to study the nature of large-scale (>~1 kpc) outflows in Seyferts, we have conducted optical, radio and X-ray surveys of a distance-limited sample of 22 edge-on Seyfert galaxies. Results of the optical emission-line imaging and spectroscopic survey imply that large-scale outflows are present in >~{{1} /{4}} of all Seyferts. The radio (VLA) and X-ray (ROSAT) surveys show that large-scale radio and X-ray emission is present at about the same frequency. Kinetic luminosities of the outflows in Seyferts are comparable to those in starburst-driven superwinds. Large-scale radio sources in Seyferts appear diffuse, but do not resemble radio halos found in some edge-on starburst galaxies (e.g. M82). We discuss the feasibility of the outflows being powered by the active nucleus (e.g. a jet) or a circumnuclear starburst.

The VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS). An unprecedented view of galaxies and large-scale structure at 0.5 < z < 1.2

Science.gov (United States)

Guzzo, L.; Scodeggio, M.; Garilli, B.; Granett, B. R.; Fritz, A.; Abbas, U.; Adami, C.; Arnouts, S.; Bel, J.; Bolzonella, M.; Bottini, D.; Branchini, E.; Cappi, A.; Coupon, J.; Cucciati, O.; Davidzon, I.; De Lucia, G.; de la Torre, S.; Franzetti, P.; Fumana, M.; Hudelot, P.; Ilbert, O.; Iovino, A.; Krywult, J.; Le Brun, V.; Le Fèvre, O.; Maccagni, D.; Małek, K.; Marulli, F.; McCracken, H. J.; Paioro, L.; Peacock, J. A.; Polletta, M.; Pollo, A.; Schlagenhaufer, H.; Tasca, L. A. M.; Tojeiro, R.; Vergani, D.; Zamorani, G.; Zanichelli, A.; Burden, A.; Di Porto, C.; Marchetti, A.; Marinoni, C.; Mellier, Y.; Moscardini, L.; Nichol, R. C.; Percival, W. J.; Phleps, S.; Wolk, M.

2014-06-01

We describe the construction and general features of VIPERS, the VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey. This ESO Large Programme is using the Very Large Telescope with the aim of building a spectroscopic sample of ~ 100 000 galaxies with iABcontamination is found to be only 3.2%, endorsing the quality of the star-galaxy separation process and fully confirming the original estimates based on the VVDS data, which also indicate a galaxy incompleteness from this process of only 1.4%. Using a set of 1215 repeated observations, we estimate an rms redshift error σz/ (1 + z) = 4.7 × 10-4 and calibrate the internal spectral quality grading. Benefiting from the combination of size and detailed sampling of this dataset, we conclude by presenting a map showing in unprecedented detail the large-scale distribution of galaxies between 5 and 8 billion years ago. Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Cerro Paranal, Chile, using the Very Large Telescope under programmes 182.A-0886 and partly 070.A-9007. Also based on observations obtained with MegaPrime/MegaCam, a joint project of CFHT and CEA/DAPNIA, at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), which is operated by the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada, the Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) of France, and the University of Hawaii. This work is based in part on data products produced at TERAPIX and the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre as part of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey, a collaborative project of NRC and CNRS. The VIPERS website is http://www.vipers.inaf.it/

TRACING THE STAR-FORMATION-DENSITY RELATION TO z {approx} 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Quadri, Ryan F.; Williams, Rik J. [Carnegie Observatories, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States); Franx, Marijn; Hildebrandt, Hendrik, E-mail: quadri@obs.carnegiescience.edu [Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, NL-2300 RA Leiden (Netherlands)

2012-01-10

Recent work has shown that the star formation (SF) density relation-in which galaxies with low SF rates are preferentially found in dense environments-is still in place at z {approx} 1, but the situation becomes less clear at higher redshifts. We use mass-selected samples drawn from the UKIDSS Ultra-Deep Survey to show that galaxies with quenched SF tend to reside in dense environments out to at least z {approx} 1.8. Over most of this redshift range we are able to demonstrate that this SF-density relation holds even at fixed stellar mass. The environmental quenching of SF appears to operate with similar efficiency on all galaxies regardless of stellar mass. Nevertheless, the environment plays a greater role in the buildup of the red sequence at lower masses, whereas other quenching processes dominate at higher masses. In addition to a statistical analysis of environmental densities, we investigate a cluster at z = 1.6, and show that the central region has an elevated fraction of quiescent objects relative to the field. Although the uncertainties are large, the environmental quenching efficiency in this cluster is consistent with that of galaxy groups and clusters at z {approx} 0. In this work we rely on photometric redshifts and describe some of the pitfalls that large redshift errors can present.

SPECTRAL LINE SURVEY TOWARD MOLECULAR CLOUDS IN THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nishimura, Yuri; Watanabe, Yoshimasa; Yamamoto, Satoshi [Department of Physics, the University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033 (Japan); Shimonishi, Takashi [Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Tohoku University, Aramakiazaaoba 6-3, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8578 (Japan); Sakai, Nami [RIKEN, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198 (Japan); Aikawa, Yuri [Center for Computational Sciences, The University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1, Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8577 (Japan); Kawamura, Akiko [National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo, 181-8588 (Japan)

2016-02-20

Spectral line survey observations of seven molecular clouds in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) have been conducted in the 3 mm band with the Mopra 22 m telescope to reveal chemical compositions in low metallicity conditions. Spectral lines of fundamental species such as CS, SO, CCH, HCN, HCO{sup +}, and HNC are detected in addition to those of CO and {sup 13}CO, while CH{sub 3}OH is not detected in any source and N{sub 2}H{sup +} is marginally detected in two sources. The molecular-cloud scale (10 pc scale) chemical composition is found to be similar among the seven sources regardless of different star formation activities, and hence, it represents the chemical composition characteristic of the LMC without influences by star formation activities. In comparison with chemical compositions of Galactic sources, the characteristic features are (1) deficient N-bearing molecules, (2) abundant CCH, and (3) deficient CH{sub 3}OH. Feature (1) is due to a lower elemental abundance of nitrogen in the LMC, whereas features (2) and (3) seem to originate from extended photodissociation regions and warmer temperature in cloud peripheries due to a lower abundance of dust grains in the low metallicity condition. In spite of general resemblance of chemical abundances among the seven sources, the CS/HCO{sup +} and SO/HCO{sup +} ratios are found to be slightly higher in a quiescent molecular cloud. An origin of this trend is discussed in relation to possible depletion of sulfur along the molecular cloud formation.

New Brown Dwarf Discs in Upper Scorpius Observed with WISE

Science.gov (United States)

Dawson, P.; Scholz, A.; Ray, T. P.; Natta, A.; Marsh, K. A.; Padgett, D.; Ressler, M. E.

2013-01-01

We present a census of the disc population for UKIDSS selected brown dwarfs in the 5-10 Myr old Upper Scorpius OB association. For 116 objects originally identified in UKIDSS, the majority of them not studied in previous publications, we obtain photometry from the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer data base. The resulting colour magnitude and colour colour plots clearly show two separate populations of objects, interpreted as brown dwarfs with discs (class II) and without discs (class III). We identify 27 class II brown dwarfs, 14 of them not previously known. This disc fraction (27 out of 116, or 23%) among brown dwarfs was found to be similar to results for K/M stars in Upper Scorpius, suggesting that the lifetimes of discs are independent of the mass of the central object for low-mass stars and brown dwarfs. 5 out of 27 discs (19 per cent) lack excess at 3.4 and 4.6 microns and are potential transition discs (i.e. are in transition from class II to class III). The transition disc fraction is comparable to low-mass stars.We estimate that the time-scale for a typical transition from class II to class III is less than 0.4 Myr for brown dwarfs. These results suggest that the evolution of brown dwarf discs mirrors the behaviour of discs around low-mass stars, with disc lifetimes of the order of 5 10 Myr and a disc clearing time-scale significantly shorter than 1 Myr.

Thirty years of astronomical discovery with UKIRT

CERN Document Server

Davies, John; Robson, Ian; The Scientific Achievement of the United Kingdom InfraRed Telescope

2013-01-01

These are the proceedings of an international meeting hosted by the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the dedication of the UKIRT, the United Kingdom InfraRed Telescope. The volume comprises 31 professional level papers. The first part of the book has 10 thorough reviews of the conception, design and build of the telescope, as well as accounts of some its key instruments such as IRCAM (the common-user infrared camera), CGS4 (the fourth Cooled Grating Spectrometer) and the Wide Field Camera. The second part of the book comprises 14 reviews of scientific achievements during its twenty years of visitor mode operations. The final part of the book is a series of 7 reviews of the results from the multiple surveys being done as part of UKIDSS (UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey). The authors are all experts in their respective fields, for example instrument scientists, operations staff and leading astronomers.

How many hours do you usually work? An analysis of the working hours questions in 26 large-scale surveys in six countries and the European Union

OpenAIRE

Tijdens, K.; Dragstra, A.

2007-01-01

This article reviews how working hours are asked for in 26 large-scale surveys in six countries plus the European Union. Four dimensions of working time were investigated, notably number of working hours, timing of work, predictability and control over hours, and commuting time. Although almost all questionnaires ask for hours worked, the terminology varies greatly. In only half of the cases a reference period is taken into account and in half the reasons for working more/less in the survey w...

Testing modified gravity at large distances with the HI Nearby Galaxy Survey's rotation curves

Science.gov (United States)

Mastache, Jorge; Cervantes-Cota, Jorge L.; de la Macorra, Axel

2013-03-01

Recently a new—quantum motivated—theory of gravity has been proposed that modifies the standard Newtonian potential at large distances when spherical symmetry is considered. Accordingly, Newtonian gravity is altered by adding an extra Rindler acceleration term that has to be phenomenologically determined. Here we consider a standard and a power-law generalization of the Rindler modified Newtonian potential. The new terms in the gravitational potential are hypothesized to play the role of dark matter in galaxies. Our galactic model includes the mass of the integrated gas, and stars for which we consider three stellar mass functions (Kroupa, diet-Salpeter, and free mass model). We test this idea by fitting rotation curves of seventeen low surface brightness galaxies from the HI Nearby Galaxy Survey (THINGS). We find that the Rindler parameters do not perform a suitable fit to the rotation curves in comparison to standard dark matter profiles (Navarro-Frenk-White and Burkert) and, in addition, the computed parameters of the Rindler gravity show a high spread, posing the model as a nonacceptable alternative to dark matter.

Validating Bayesian truth serum in large-scale online human experiments.

Science.gov (United States)

Frank, Morgan R; Cebrian, Manuel; Pickard, Galen; Rahwan, Iyad

2017-01-01

Bayesian truth serum (BTS) is an exciting new method for improving honesty and information quality in multiple-choice survey, but, despite the method's mathematical reliance on large sample sizes, existing literature about BTS only focuses on small experiments. Combined with the prevalence of online survey platforms, such as Amazon's Mechanical Turk, which facilitate surveys with hundreds or thousands of participants, BTS must be effective in large-scale experiments for BTS to become a readily accepted tool in real-world applications. We demonstrate that BTS quantifiably improves honesty in large-scale online surveys where the "honest" distribution of answers is known in expectation on aggregate. Furthermore, we explore a marketing application where "honest" answers cannot be known, but find that BTS treatment impacts the resulting distributions of answers.

The VANDELS ESO public spectroscopic survey

Science.gov (United States)

McLure, R. J.; Pentericci, L.; Cimatti, A.; Dunlop, J. S.; Elbaz, D.; Fontana, A.; Nandra, K.; Amorin, R.; Bolzonella, M.; Bongiorno, A.; Carnall, A. C.; Castellano, M.; Cirasuolo, M.; Cucciati, O.; Cullen, F.; De Barros, S.; Finkelstein, S. L.; Fontanot, F.; Franzetti, P.; Fumana, M.; Gargiulo, A.; Garilli, B.; Guaita, L.; Hartley, W. G.; Iovino, A.; Jarvis, M. J.; Juneau, S.; Karman, W.; Maccagni, D.; Marchi, F.; Mármol-Queraltó, E.; Pompei, E.; Pozzetti, L.; Scodeggio, M.; Sommariva, V.; Talia, M.; Almaini, O.; Balestra, I.; Bardelli, S.; Bell, E. F.; Bourne, N.; Bowler, R. A. A.; Brusa, M.; Buitrago, F.; Caputi, K. I.; Cassata, P.; Charlot, S.; Citro, A.; Cresci, G.; Cristiani, S.; Curtis-Lake, E.; Dickinson, M.; Fazio, G. G.; Ferguson, H. C.; Fiore, F.; Franco, M.; Fynbo, J. P. U.; Galametz, A.; Georgakakis, A.; Giavalisco, M.; Grazian, A.; Hathi, N. P.; Jung, I.; Kim, S.; Koekemoer, A. M.; Khusanova, Y.; Fèvre, O. Le; Lotz, J. M.; Mannucci, F.; Maltby, D. T.; Matsuoka, K.; McLeod, D. J.; Mendez-Hernandez, H.; Mendez-Abreu, J.; Mignoli, M.; Moresco, M.; Mortlock, A.; Nonino, M.; Pannella, M.; Papovich, C.; Popesso, P.; Rosario, D. P.; Salvato, M.; Santini, P.; Schaerer, D.; Schreiber, C.; Stark, D. P.; Tasca, L. A. M.; Thomas, R.; Treu, T.; Vanzella, E.; Wild, V.; Williams, C. C.; Zamorani, G.; Zucca, E.

2018-05-01

VANDELS is a uniquely-deep spectroscopic survey of high-redshift galaxies with the VIMOS spectrograph on ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). The survey has obtained ultra-deep optical (0.48 studies. Using integration times calculated to produce an approximately constant signal-to-noise ratio (20 motivation, survey design and target selection.

Survey of large-amplitude flapping motions in the midtail current sheet

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. A. Sergeev

2006-08-01

Full Text Available We surveyed fast current sheet crossings (flapping motions over the distance range 10–30 RE in the magnetotail covered by the Geotail spacecraft. Since the local tilts of these dynamic sheets are large and variable in these events, we compare three different methods of evaluating current sheet normals using 4-s/c Cluster data and define the success criteria for the single-spacecraft-based method (MVA to obtain the reliable results. Then, after identifying more than ~1100 fast CS crossings over a 3-year period of Geotail observations in 1997–1999, we address their parameters, spatial distribution and activity dependence. We confirm that over the entire distance covered and LT bins, fast crossings have considerable tilts in the YZ plane (from estimated MVA normals which show a preferential appearance of one (YZ kink-like mode that is responsible for these severe current sheet perturbations. Their occurrence is highly inhomogeneous; it sharply increases with radial distance and has a peak in the tail center (with some duskward shift, resembling the occurrence of the BBFs, although there is no one-to-one local correspondence between these two phenomena. The crossing durations typically spread around 1 min and decrease significantly where the high-speed flows are registered. Based on an AE index superposed epoch study, the flapping motions prefer to appear during the substorm expansion phase, although a considerable number of events without any electrojet and auroral activity were also observed. We also present statistical distributions of other parameters and briefly discuss what could be possible mechanisms to generate the flapping motions.

Surveying Humaness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Markussen, Randi; Gad, Christopher

carried out in a Danish county in order to improve treatment of people who have suffered from long-term illnesses. The surveys concern not only feed back on how people experience their present and past interaction with the social services and health care system; they also ask people to indicate the state......Christopher Gad. Ph.d. Dept. of Information and Media Studies Randi Markussen. Associate Professor, Dept. of Information and Media Studies. rmark@imv.au.dk   Abstract:   Surveying humanness -politics of care improvement   For various reasons we both were subjected to a specific survey procedure...... and development of a large collection of biological and psychological symptoms and psycho-social problems. However, the surveys say nothing about how the information will be of use to the people who answer the procedure or how this scientific intervention will be put to use more specifically within the public...

Cosmology with cluster surveys

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Abstract. Surveys of clusters of galaxies provide us with a powerful probe of the den- sity and nature of the dark energy. The red-shift distribution of detected clusters is highly sensitive to the dark energy equation of state parameter w. Upcoming Sunyaev–. Zel'dovich (SZ) surveys would provide us large yields of clusters to ...

Caribbean Marine Mammal Assessment Vessel Surveys

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — These data sets are a compilation of large vessel surveys for marine mammal stock assessments in Caribbean waters conducted during 2000-2001. These surveys were...

The Global Garlic Mustard Field Survey (GGMFS: challenges and opportunities of a unique, large-scale collaboration for invasion biology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Colautti

2014-04-01

Full Text Available To understand what makes some species successful invaders, it is critical to quantify performance differences between native and introduced regions, and among populations occupying a broad range of environmental conditions within each region. However, these data are not available even for the world’s most notorious invasive species. Here we introduce the Global Garlic Mustard Field Survey, a coordinated distributed field survey to collect performance data and germplasm from a single invasive species: garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata across its entire distribution using minimal resources. We chose this species for its ecological impacts, prominence in ecological studies of invasion success, simple life history, and several genetic and life history attributes that make it amenable to experimental study. We developed a standardised field survey protocol to estimate population size (area and density, age structure, plant size and fecundity, as well as damage by herbivores and pathogens in each population, and to collect representative seed samples. Across four years and with contributions from 164 academic and non-academic participants from 16 countries in North America and Europe thus far, we have collected 45,788 measurements and counts of 137,811 plants from 383 populations and seeds from over 5,000 plants. All field data and seed resources will be curated for release to the scientific community. Our goal is to establish A. petiolata as a model species for plant invasion biology and to encourage large collaborative studies of other invasive species.

Medium- and large-sized mammals in a steppic savanna area of the Brazilian Pampa: survey and conservation issues of a poorly known fauna.

Science.gov (United States)

Espinosa, C C; Galiano, D; Kubiak, B B; Marinho, J R

2016-02-01

The wildlife of the Brazilian Pampa is threatened by large-scale habitat loss, due in particular to the expansion of soybean cultivation and the conversion of grasslands areas into extensive areas of silviculture. It is essential to study how the mammal fauna copes with the highly fragmented, human-influenced, non-protected landscape. Our study presents the results of a survey of the large- and medium-sized mammals of a typical human-influenced steppic savanna area of the Pampa biome. The survey was conducted exclusively with the use of camera traps over a period of 16 months. The relative frequencies of species in the area were evaluated. We recorded 18 species, some of them locally threatened (Tamandua tetradactyla, Alouatta caraya, Leopardus colocolo, Leopardus geoffroyi, Leopardus wiedii, Puma yagouaroundi, Mazama gouazoubira and Cuniculus paca). Several species were found to thrive in the area; however, many species were considered rare, and undoubtedly new species could be recorded if we continued the sampling. Our results contribute to the knowledge of faunal diversity in the Pampa biome and associated habitats, warn about threats and provide support for conservation measures.

Medium- and large-sized mammals in a steppic savanna area of the Brazilian Pampa: survey and conservation issues of a poorly known fauna

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. C. Espinosa

Full Text Available Abstract The wildlife of the Brazilian Pampa is threatened by large-scale habitat loss, due in particular to the expansion of soybean cultivation and the conversion of grasslands areas into extensive areas of silviculture. It is essential to study how the mammal fauna copes with the highly fragmented, human-influenced, non-protected landscape. Our study presents the results of a survey of the large- and medium-sized mammals of a typical human-influenced steppic savanna area of the Pampa biome. The survey was conducted exclusively with the use of camera traps over a period of 16 months. The relative frequencies of species in the area were evaluated. We recorded 18 species, some of them locally threatened (Tamandua tetradactyla, Alouatta caraya, Leopardus colocolo, Leopardus geoffroyi, Leopardus wiedii, Puma yagouaroundi, Mazama gouazoubira and Cuniculus paca. Several species were found to thrive in the area; however, many species were considered rare, and undoubtedly new species could be recorded if we continued the sampling. Our results contribute to the knowledge of faunal diversity in the Pampa biome and associated habitats, warn about threats and provide support for conservation measures.

First discoveries of z ˜ 6 quasars with the Kilo-Degree Survey and VISTA Kilo-Degree Infrared Galaxy survey

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Venemans, B. P.; Verdoes Kleijn, G. A.; Mwebaze, J.; Valentijn, E. A.; Bañados, E.; Decarli, R.; de Jong, J. T. A.; Findlay, J. R.; Kuijken, K. H.; Barbera, F. La; Mc Farland, John; McMahon, R. G.; Napolitano, N.; Sikkema, G.; Sutherland, W. J.

2015-01-01

We present the results of our first year of quasar search in the ongoing ESO public Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS) and VISTA Kilo-Degree Infrared Galaxy (VIKING) surveys. These surveys are among the deeper wide-field surveys that can be used to uncover large numbers of z ˜ 6 quasars. This allows us to

Large Emergency-Response Exercises: Qualitative Characteristics--A Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yang-Im; Trim, Peter; Upton, Julia; Upton, David

2009-01-01

Exercises, drills, or simulations are widely used, by governments, agencies and commercial organizations, to simulate serious incidents and train staff how to respond to them. International cooperation has led to increasingly large-scale exercises, often involving hundreds or even thousands of participants in many locations. The difference between…

A Life in the Universe Survey

Science.gov (United States)

LoPresto, Michael C.; Hubble-Zdanowski, Jennifer

2012-01-01

The "Life in the Universe Survey" is a twelve-question assessment instrument. Largely based on the factors of the Drake equation, it is designed to survey students' initial estimates of its factors and to gauge how estimates change with instruction. The survey was used in sections of a seminar course focusing specifically on life in the universe…

ENSEMBLE VARIABILITY OF NEAR-INFRARED-SELECTED ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kouzuma, S.; Yamaoka, H.

2012-01-01

We present the properties of the ensemble variability V for nearly 5000 near-infrared active galactic nuclei (AGNs) selected from the catalog of Quasars and Active Galactic Nuclei (13th Edition) and the SDSS-DR7 quasar catalog. From three near-infrared point source catalogs, namely, Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), Deep Near Infrared Survey (DENIS), and UKIDSS/LAS catalogs, we extract 2MASS-DENIS and 2MASS-UKIDSS counterparts for cataloged AGNs by cross-identification between catalogs. We further select variable AGNs based on an optimal criterion for selecting the variable sources. The sample objects are divided into subsets according to whether near-infrared light originates by optical emission or by near-infrared emission in the rest frame; and we examine the correlations of the ensemble variability with the rest-frame wavelength, redshift, luminosity, and rest-frame time lag. In addition, we also examine the correlations of variability amplitude with optical variability, radio intensity, and radio-to-optical flux ratio. The rest-frame optical variability of our samples shows negative correlations with luminosity and positive correlations with rest-frame time lag (i.e., the structure function, SF), and this result is consistent with previous analyses. However, no well-known negative correlation exists between the rest-frame wavelength and optical variability. This inconsistency might be due to a biased sampling of high-redshift AGNs. Near-infrared variability in the rest frame is anticorrelated with the rest-frame wavelength, which is consistent with previous suggestions. However, correlations of near-infrared variability with luminosity and rest-frame time lag are the opposite of these correlations of the optical variability; that is, the near-infrared variability is positively correlated with luminosity but negatively correlated with the rest-frame time lag. Because these trends are qualitatively consistent with the properties of radio-loud quasars reported

CARMA LARGE AREA STAR FORMATION SURVEY: OBSERVATIONAL ANALYSIS OF FILAMENTS IN THE SERPENS SOUTH MOLECULAR CLOUD

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fernández-López, M.; Looney, L.; Lee, K.; Segura-Cox, D. [Department of Astronomy, University of Illinois at Urbana—Champaign, 1002 West Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Arce, H. G.; Plunkett, A. [Department of Astronomy, Yale University, P.O. Box 208101, New Haven, CT 06520-8101 (United States); Mundy, L. G.; Storm, S.; Teuben, P. J.; Pound, M. [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Isella, A.; Kauffmann, J. [Astronomy Department, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Tobin, J. J. [National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States); Rosolowsky, E. [Departments of Physics and Statistics, University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7 (Canada); Kwon, W. [SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Landleven 12, 9747-AD Groningen (Netherlands); Ostriker, E. [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Tassis, K. [Department of Physics and Institute of Theoretical and Computational Physics, University of Crete, P.O. Box 2208, GR-710 03 Heraklion, Crete (Greece); Shirley, Y. L., E-mail: manferna@gmail.com [Steward Observatory, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

2014-08-01

We present the N{sub 2}H{sup +} (J = 1 → 0) map of the Serpens South molecular cloud obtained as part of the CARMA Large Area Star Formation Survey. The observations cover 250 arcmin{sup 2} and fully sample structures from 3000 AU to 3 pc with a velocity resolution of 0.16 km s{sup –1}, and they can be used to constrain the origin and evolution of molecular cloud filaments. The spatial distribution of the N{sub 2}H{sup +} emission is characterized by long filaments that resemble those observed in the dust continuum emission by Herschel. However, the gas filaments are typically narrower such that, in some cases, two or three quasi-parallel N{sub 2}H{sup +} filaments comprise a single observed dust continuum filament. The difference between the dust and gas filament widths casts doubt on Herschel ability to resolve the Serpens South filaments. Some molecular filaments show velocity gradients along their major axis, and two are characterized by a steep velocity gradient in the direction perpendicular to the filament axis. The observed velocity gradient along one of these filaments was previously postulated as evidence for mass infall toward the central cluster, but these kind of gradients can be interpreted as projection of large-scale turbulence.

AERIAL RADIOLOGICAL SURVEYS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Proctor, A.E.

1997-01-01

Measuring terrestrial gamma radiation from airborne platforms has proved to be a useful method for characterizing radiation levels over large areas. Over 300 aerial radiological surveys have been carried out over the past 25 years including U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sites, commercial nuclear power plants, Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program/Uranium Mine Tailing Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP/UMTRAP) sites, nuclear weapons test sites, contaminated industrial areas, and nuclear accident sites. This paper describes the aerial measurement technology currently in use by the Remote Sensing Laboratory (RSL) for routine environmental surveys and emergency response activities. Equipment, data-collection and -analysis methods, and examples of survey results are described

Land use and demography survey for a large superfund site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hattemer-Frey, H.A.; Quinlan, R.E.; Krieger, G.R.; Lau, V.

1994-01-01

Inconsistencies in the exposure assessment process often arise when risk assessors are forced to make assumptions about the frequency and duration of exposures in the absence of site-specific data. EPA encourages the collection of site-specific data so that risks can be more accurately assessed on a case-by-case basis. Typically, estimates of exposure frequency and duration represent the largest source of uncertainty for non-food related exposure pathways, while the largest source of uncertainty for foodchain pathways stems primarily from estimating the fraction ingested that originated from the affected area. A Land Use and Demography Survey was conducted to obtain site-specific information on: (1) the amount of time individuals spend indoors, outdoors, and on or near affected areas; (2) recreational use of surface water bodies on-site; (3) the percentage of food items consumed that were raised or produced locally; and (4) other behavioral patterns and activities that could influence their exposure to site-related chemicals. More than 300 households were randomly selected and the residents personally interviewed. A wide variety of individuals ranging from children to elderly residents with vastly different recreational, behavioral, and consumption patterns were interviewed. This paper discusses the survey results in relation to EPA standard default exposure assumptions

2D Bayesian automated tilted-ring fitting of disc galaxies in large H I galaxy surveys: 2DBAT

Science.gov (United States)

Oh, Se-Heon; Staveley-Smith, Lister; Spekkens, Kristine; Kamphuis, Peter; Koribalski, Bärbel S.

2018-01-01

We present a novel algorithm based on a Bayesian method for 2D tilted-ring analysis of disc galaxy velocity fields. Compared to the conventional algorithms based on a chi-squared minimization procedure, this new Bayesian-based algorithm suffers less from local minima of the model parameters even with highly multimodal posterior distributions. Moreover, the Bayesian analysis, implemented via Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling, only requires broad ranges of posterior distributions of the parameters, which makes the fitting procedure fully automated. This feature will be essential when performing kinematic analysis on the large number of resolved galaxies expected to be detected in neutral hydrogen (H I) surveys with the Square Kilometre Array and its pathfinders. The so-called 2D Bayesian Automated Tilted-ring fitter (2DBAT) implements Bayesian fits of 2D tilted-ring models in order to derive rotation curves of galaxies. We explore 2DBAT performance on (a) artificial H I data cubes built based on representative rotation curves of intermediate-mass and massive spiral galaxies, and (b) Australia Telescope Compact Array H I data from the Local Volume H I Survey. We find that 2DBAT works best for well-resolved galaxies with intermediate inclinations (20° < i < 70°), complementing 3D techniques better suited to modelling inclined galaxies.

How many hours do you usually work? An analysis of the working hours questions in 26 large-scale surveys in 6 countries and the European Union.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dragstra, A.; Tijdens, K.

2004-01-01

This paper reviews how working hours are asked in 26 large-scale surveys in 6 countries plus the European Union. Four dimensions of working time were investigated, notably number of working hours, timing of work, predictability and control over hours, and commuting time. Although almost all

How many hours do you usually work? An analysis of the working hours questions in 26 large-scale surveys in six countries and the European Union

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tijdens, K.; Dragstra, A.

2007-01-01

This article reviews how working hours are asked for in 26 large-scale surveys in six countries plus the European Union. Four dimensions of working time were investigated, notably number of working hours, timing of work, predictability and control over hours, and commuting time. Although almost all

The Herschel-SPIRE Legacy Survey (HSLS): the scientific goals of a shallow and wide submillimeter imaging survey with SPIRE

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cooray, Asantha; Eales, Steve; Chapman, Scott; Clements, David L.; Dore, Olivier; Farrah, Duncan; Jarvis, Matt J.; Kaplinghat, Manoj; Negrello, Mattia; Melchiorri, Alessandro; Peiris, Hiranya; Pope, Alexandra; Santos, Mario G.; Serjeant, Stephen; Thompson, Mark; White, Glenn; Amblard, Alexandre; Banerji, Manda; Corasaniti, Pier-Stefano; Das, Sudeep; de Bernardis, Francesco; de Zotti, Gianfranco; Giannantonio, Tommaso; Gonzalez-Nuevo Gonzalez, Joaquin; Khostovan, Ali Ahmad; Mitchell-Wynne, Ketron; Serra, Paolo; Song, Yong-Seon; Vieira, Joaquin; Wang, Lingyu; Zemcov, Michael; Abdalla, Filipe; Afonso, Jose; Aghanim, Nabila; Andreani, Paola; Aretxaga, Itziar; Auld, Robbie; Baes, Maarten; Baker, Andrew; Barkats, Denis; Belen Barreiro, R.; Bartolo, Nicola; Barton, Elizabeth; Barway, Sudhanshu; Stefano Battistelli, Elia; Baugh, Carlton; Holwerda, Benne W.; Koopmans, Leon; Pohlen, Michael; Vegetti, Simona

2010-01-01

A large sub-mm survey with Herschel will enable many exciting science opportunities, especially in an era of wide-field optical and radio surveys and high resolution cosmic microwave background experiments. The Herschel-SPIRE Legacy Survey (HSLS), will lead to imaging data over 4000 sq. degrees at

Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Postfire Vegetation Survey Campaigns through Large and Heterogeneous Areas: Opportunities and Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Manuel Fernández-Guisuraga

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This study evaluated the opportunities and challenges of using drones to obtain multispectral orthomosaics at ultra-high resolution that could be useful for monitoring large and heterogeneous burned areas. We conducted a survey using an octocopter equipped with a Parrot SEQUOIA multispectral camera in a 3000 ha framework located within the perimeter of a megafire in Spain. We assessed the quality of both the camera raw imagery and the multispectral orthomosaic obtained, as well as the required processing capability. Additionally, we compared the spatial information provided by the drone orthomosaic at ultra-high spatial resolution with another image provided by the WorldView-2 satellite at high spatial resolution. The drone raw imagery presented some anomalies, such as horizontal banding noise and non-homogeneous radiometry. Camera locations showed a lack of synchrony of the single frequency GPS receiver. The georeferencing process based on ground control points achieved an error lower than 30 cm in X-Y and lower than 55 cm in Z. The drone orthomosaic provided more information in terms of spatial variability in heterogeneous burned areas in comparison with the WorldView-2 satellite imagery. The drone orthomosaic could constitute a viable alternative for the evaluation of post-fire vegetation regeneration in large and heterogeneous burned areas.

The CIDA-QUEST large-scale survey of Orion OB1: evidence for rapid disk dissipation in a dispersed stellar population.

Science.gov (United States)

Briceño, C; Vivas, A K; Calvet, N; Hartmann, L; Pacheco, R; Herrera, D; Romero, L; Berlind, P; Sánchez, G; Snyder, J A; Andrews, P

2001-01-05

We are conducting a large-scale, multiepoch, optical photometric survey [Centro de Investigaciones de Astronomia-Quasar Equatorial Survey Team (CIDA-QUEST)] covering about 120 square degrees to identify the young low-mass stars in the Orion OB1 association. We present results for an area of 34 square degrees. Using photometric variability as our main selection criterion, as well as follow-up spectroscopy, we confirmed 168 previously unidentified pre-main sequence stars that are about 0.6 to 0.9 times the mass of the sun (Mo), with ages of about 1 million to 3 million years (Ori OB1b) and about 3 million to 10 million years (Ori OB1a). The low-mass stars are spatially coincident with the high-mass (at least 3 Mo) members of the associations. Indicators of disk accretion such as Halpha emission and near-infrared emission from dusty disks fall sharply from Ori OB1b to Ori OB1a, indicating that the time scale for disk dissipation and possibly the onset of planet formation is a few million years.

Examining Agencies' Satisfaction with Electronic Record Management Systems in e-Government: A Large-Scale Survey Study

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Fang-Ming; Hu, Paul Jen-Hwa; Chen, Hsinchun; Hu, Han-Fen

While e-government is propelling and maturing steadily, advanced technological capabilities alone cannot guarantee agencies’ realizing the full benefits of the enabling computer-based systems. This study analyzes information systems in e-government settings by examining agencies’ satisfaction with an electronic record management system (ERMS). Specifically, we investigate key satisfaction determinants that include regulatory compliance, job relevance, and satisfaction with support services for using the ERMS. We test our model and the hypotheses in it, using a large-scale survey that involves a total of 1,652 government agencies in Taiwan. Our results show significant effects of regulatory compliance on job relevance and satisfaction with support services, which in turn determine government agencies’ satisfaction with an ERMS. Our data exhibit a reasonably good fit to our model, which can explain a significant portion of the variance in agencies’ satisfaction with an ERMS. Our findings have several important implications to research and practice, which are also discussed.

Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)

Science.gov (United States)

Ricker, G. R.; Clampin, M.; Latham, D. W.; Seager, S.; Vanderspek, R. K.; Villasenor, J. S.; Winn, J. N.

2012-01-01

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will discover thousands of exoplanets in orbit around the brightest stars in the sky. In a two-year survey, TESS will monitor more than 500,000 stars for temporary drops in brightness caused by planetary transits. This first-ever spaceborne all-sky transit survey will identify planets ranging from Earth-sized to gas giants, around a wide range of stellar types and orbital distances. No ground-based survey can achieve this feat. A large fraction of TESS target stars will be 30-100 times brighter than those observed by Kepler satellite, and therefore TESS . planets will be far easier to characterize with follow-up observations. TESS will make it possible to study the masses, sizes, densities, orbits, and atmospheres of a large cohort of small planets, including a sample of rocky worlds in the habitable zones of their host stars. TESS will provide prime targets for observation with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), as well as other large ground-based and space-based telescopes of the future. TESS data will be released with minimal delay (no proprietary period), inviting immediate community-wide efforts to study the new planets. The TESS legacy will be a catalog of the very nearest and brightest main-sequence stars hosting transiting exoplanets, thus providing future observers with the most favorable targets for detailed investigations.

Automatic surveying techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sah, R.

1976-01-01

In order to investigate the feasibility of automatic surveying methods in a more systematic manner, the PEP organization signed a contract in late 1975 for TRW Systems Group to undertake a feasibility study. The completion of this study resulted in TRW Report 6452.10-75-101, dated December 29, 1975, which was largely devoted to an analysis of a survey system based on an Inertial Navigation System. This PEP note is a review and, in some instances, an extension of that TRW report. A second survey system which employed an ''Image Processing System'' was also considered by TRW, and it will be reviewed in the last section of this note. 5 refs., 5 figs., 3 tabs

The Hyper Suprime-Cam SSP Survey: Overview and survey design

Science.gov (United States)

Aihara, Hiroaki; Arimoto, Nobuo; Armstrong, Robert; Arnouts, Stéphane; Bahcall, Neta A.; Bickerton, Steven; Bosch, James; Bundy, Kevin; Capak, Peter L.; Chan, James H. H.; Chiba, Masashi; Coupon, Jean; Egami, Eiichi; Enoki, Motohiro; Finet, Francois; Fujimori, Hiroki; Fujimoto, Seiji; Furusawa, Hisanori; Furusawa, Junko; Goto, Tomotsugu; Goulding, Andy; Greco, Johnny P.; Greene, Jenny E.; Gunn, James E.; Hamana, Takashi; Harikane, Yuichi; Hashimoto, Yasuhiro; Hattori, Takashi; Hayashi, Masao; Hayashi, Yusuke; Hełminiak, Krzysztof G.; Higuchi, Ryo; Hikage, Chiaki; Ho, Paul T. P.; Hsieh, Bau-Ching; Huang, Kuiyun; Huang, Song; Ikeda, Hiroyuki; Imanishi, Masatoshi; Inoue, Akio K.; Iwasawa, Kazushi; Iwata, Ikuru; Jaelani, Anton T.; Jian, Hung-Yu; Kamata, Yukiko; Karoji, Hiroshi; Kashikawa, Nobunari; Katayama, Nobuhiko; Kawanomoto, Satoshi; Kayo, Issha; Koda, Jin; Koike, Michitaro; Kojima, Takashi; Komiyama, Yutaka; Konno, Akira; Koshida, Shintaro; Koyama, Yusei; Kusakabe, Haruka; Leauthaud, Alexie; Lee, Chien-Hsiu; Lin, Lihwai; Lin, Yen-Ting; Lupton, Robert H.; Mandelbaum, Rachel; Matsuoka, Yoshiki; Medezinski, Elinor; Mineo, Sogo; Miyama, Shoken; Miyatake, Hironao; Miyazaki, Satoshi; Momose, Rieko; More, Anupreeta; More, Surhud; Moritani, Yuki; Moriya, Takashi J.; Morokuma, Tomoki; Mukae, Shiro; Murata, Ryoma; Murayama, Hitoshi; Nagao, Tohru; Nakata, Fumiaki; Niida, Mana; Niikura, Hiroko; Nishizawa, Atsushi J.; Obuchi, Yoshiyuki; Oguri, Masamune; Oishi, Yukie; Okabe, Nobuhiro; Okamoto, Sakurako; Okura, Yuki; Ono, Yoshiaki; Onodera, Masato; Onoue, Masafusa; Osato, Ken; Ouchi, Masami; Price, Paul A.; Pyo, Tae-Soo; Sako, Masao; Sawicki, Marcin; Shibuya, Takatoshi; Shimasaku, Kazuhiro; Shimono, Atsushi; Shirasaki, Masato; Silverman, John D.; Simet, Melanie; Speagle, Joshua; Spergel, David N.; Strauss, Michael A.; Sugahara, Yuma; Sugiyama, Naoshi; Suto, Yasushi; Suyu, Sherry H.; Suzuki, Nao; Tait, Philip J.; Takada, Masahiro; Takata, Tadafumi; Tamura, Naoyuki; Tanaka, Manobu M.; Tanaka, Masaomi; Tanaka, Masayuki; Tanaka, Yoko; Terai, Tsuyoshi; Terashima, Yuichi; Toba, Yoshiki; Tominaga, Nozomu; Toshikawa, Jun; Turner, Edwin L.; Uchida, Tomohisa; Uchiyama, Hisakazu; Umetsu, Keiichi; Uraguchi, Fumihiro; Urata, Yuji; Usuda, Tomonori; Utsumi, Yousuke; Wang, Shiang-Yu; Wang, Wei-Hao; Wong, Kenneth C.; Yabe, Kiyoto; Yamada, Yoshihiko; Yamanoi, Hitomi; Yasuda, Naoki; Yeh, Sherry; Yonehara, Atsunori; Yuma, Suraphong

2018-01-01

Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) is a wide-field imaging camera on the prime focus of the 8.2-m Subaru telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. A team of scientists from Japan, Taiwan, and Princeton University is using HSC to carry out a 300-night multi-band imaging survey of the high-latitude sky. The survey includes three layers: the Wide layer will cover 1400 deg2 in five broad bands (grizy), with a 5 σ point-source depth of r ≈ 26. The Deep layer covers a total of 26 deg2 in four fields, going roughly a magnitude fainter, while the UltraDeep layer goes almost a magnitude fainter still in two pointings of HSC (a total of 3.5 deg2). Here we describe the instrument, the science goals of the survey, and the survey strategy and data processing. This paper serves as an introduction to a special issue of the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, which includes a large number of technical and scientific papers describing results from the early phases of this survey.

A new approach for geochemical surveys of large areas for uranium resource potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arendt, J.W.; Butz, T.R.; Cagle, G.W.; Kane, V.E.; Nichols, C.E.

1977-01-01

The Grand Junction, Colorado office of the United States Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) is conducting the National Uranium Resource Evaluation Program to evaluate the uranium resources in the United States and Alaska. The program is designed to identify favorable areas for uranium exploration, to assess the supply of domestic resources, and to improve exploration technology. The Nuclear Division of the Union Carbide Corporation has been assigned the responsibility of conducting a hydrogeochemical and stream sediment survey of the mid-continental states in the United States. This survey covers approximately 2,500,000 km 2 (1,000,000 mi 2 ) and includes the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa. The uranium potential of sandstones, Precambrian conglomerates, veins, granites, and phosphorites is being assessed utliizing a three-part program consisting of pilot surveys in each geological province and two phases of reconnaissance sampling of drainage basins. Samples of stream sediment, stream water, groundwater, algae, and vegetation are analyzed for uranium and some 20 additional elements. Data resulting from this program is released to private industry by ERDA as it becomes available. Analysis of results from a typical three-part survey are given. For distinctive geological regions, the pilot survey will: (1) define characteristic concentration background levels of the elements of interest, (2) identify potential uranium pathfinder elements, (3) determine relationship between stream, stream sediment and botanical samples, (4) identify any necessary modification to field sampling techniques, and (5) determine necessary sensitivities required for chemical analysis. The first reconnaissance phase average sample spacing of one station per 250 km 2 (100 mi 2 ) drainage basin is shown to delineate general boundaries of uranium provinces, and the second

A γ-ray survey along Hanaore fault

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mino, Kazuo

1978-01-01

The γ-ray survey was carried out by a scintillation survey meter at O-hara area near around Hanaore Fault Zone in the northern part of Kyoto. The survey was done several times over along the same observational line. Static pattern of γ-ray intensity is revealed similar one in each other, even there is small difference. Strong intensity of γ-ray means subsistance of crushed rocks zone and a huge fault as Hanaore consists of the structure made by these weak zones. A pretty large earthquake among microearthquakes was occurred, fortunately for us, during survey period. The γ-ray survey was done just on January 6, 1978 when it was just one day before the earthquake. The observational results before the earthquake, did not give large variations of γ-ray intensity. But after 5 days from the earthquake, that is January 11, the intensity of γ-ray decreases into low value, over observational error, at almost all stations. The improvement of γ-ray was found after 2 weeks from the earthquake. Ordinarily the large fault as Hanaore is one of boundaries around block of crust, and fault zone is more sensitive to geophysical activity in the crust. Continuous observation of γ-ray will give the solution to corelation with earthquake or earthquake prediction. (author)

National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Towed-diver Surveys of Large-bodied Fishes of the Pacific Remote Island Areas from 2017-04-02 to 2017-04-20 (NCEI Accession 0164022)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The towed-diver method is used to conduct surveys of large-bodied (> 50 cm) fishes in the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific...

Surveys and questionnaires in nursing research.

Science.gov (United States)

Timmins, Fiona

2015-06-17

Surveys and questionnaires are often used in nursing research to elicit the views of large groups of people to develop the nursing knowledge base. This article provides an overview of survey and questionnaire use in nursing research, clarifies the place of the questionnaire as a data collection tool in quantitative research design and provides information and advice about best practice in the development of quantitative surveys and questionnaires.

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II Supernova Survey: Technical Summary

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frieman, Joshua A.; /Fermilab /KICP, Chicago /Chicago U., Astron. Astrophys. Ctr.; Bassett, Bruce; /Cape Town U. /South African Astron. Observ.; Becker, Andrew; /Washington; Choi, Changsu; /Seoul Natl. U.; Cinabro, David; /Wayne State U.; DeJongh, Don Frederic; /Fermilab; Depoy, Darren L.; /Ohio State U.; Doi, Mamoru; /Tokyo U.; Garnavich, Peter M.; /Notre Dame U.; Hogan, Craig J.; /Washington U., Seattle, Astron. Dept.; Holtzman, Jon; /New Mexico State U.; Im, Myungshin; /Seoul Natl. U.; Jha, Saurabh; /Stanford U., Phys. Dept.; Konishi, Kohki; /Tokyo U.; Lampeitl, Hubert; /Baltimore, Space Telescope Sci.; Marriner, John; /Fermilab; Marshall, Jennifer L.; /Ohio State U.; McGinnis,; /Fermilab; Miknaitis, Gajus; /Fermilab; Nichol, Robert C.; /Portsmouth U.; Prieto, Jose Luis; /Ohio State U. /Rochester Inst. Tech. /Stanford U., Phys. Dept. /Pennsylvania U.

2007-09-14

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II (SDSS-II) has embarked on a multi-year project to identify and measure light curves for intermediate-redshift (0.05 < z < 0.35) Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) using repeated five-band (ugriz) imaging over an area of 300 sq. deg. The survey region is a stripe 2.5 degrees wide centered on the celestial equator in the Southern Galactic Cap that has been imaged numerous times in earlier years, enabling construction of a deep reference image for discovery of new objects. Supernova imaging observations are being acquired between 1 September and 30 November of 2005-7. During the first two seasons, each region was imaged on average every five nights. Spectroscopic follow-up observations to determine supernova type and redshift are carried out on a large number of telescopes. In its first two three-month seasons, the survey has discovered and measured light curves for 327 spectroscopically confirmed SNe Ia, 30 probable SNe Ia, 14 confirmed SNe Ib/c, 32 confirmed SNe II, plus a large number of photometrically identified SNe Ia, 94 of which have host-galaxy spectra taken so far. This paper provides an overview of the project and briefly describes the observations completed during the first two seasons of operation.

Large Interstellar Polarisation Survey. II. UV/optical study of cloud-to-cloud variations of dust in the diffuse ISM

Science.gov (United States)

Siebenmorgen, R.; Voshchinnikov, N. V.; Bagnulo, S.; Cox, N. L. J.; Cami, J.; Peest, C.

2018-03-01

It is well known that the dust properties of the diffuse interstellar medium exhibit variations towards different sight-lines on a large scale. We have investigated the variability of the dust characteristics on a small scale, and from cloud-to-cloud. We use low-resolution spectro-polarimetric data obtained in the context of the Large Interstellar Polarisation Survey (LIPS) towards 59 sight-lines in the Southern Hemisphere, and we fit these data using a dust model composed of silicate and carbon particles with sizes from the molecular to the sub-micrometre domain. Large (≥6 nm) silicates of prolate shape account for the observed polarisation. For 32 sight-lines we complement our data set with UVES archive high-resolution spectra, which enable us to establish the presence of single-cloud or multiple-clouds towards individual sight-lines. We find that the majority of these 35 sight-lines intersect two or more clouds, while eight of them are dominated by a single absorbing cloud. We confirm several correlations between extinction and parameters of the Serkowski law with dust parameters, but we also find previously undetected correlations between these parameters that are valid only in single-cloud sight-lines. We find that interstellar polarisation from multiple-clouds is smaller than from single-cloud sight-lines, showing that the presence of a second or more clouds depolarises the incoming radiation. We find large variations of the dust characteristics from cloud-to-cloud. However, when we average a sufficiently large number of clouds in single-cloud or multiple-cloud sight-lines, we always retrieve similar mean dust parameters. The typical dust abundances of the single-cloud cases are [C]/[H] = 92 ppm and [Si]/[H] = 20 ppm.

The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula survey

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Taylor, W.D.; Evans, C.J.; Henault-Brunet, V.; Bastian, N.; Beletsky, Y.; Bestenlehner, J.; Brott, I.; Cantiello, M.; Carraro, G.; Clark, J.S.; Crowther, P.A.; de Koter, A.; de Mink, S.E.; Doran, E.; Dufton, P.L.; Dunstall, P.; Gieles, M.; Grafener, G.; Herrero, A.; Howarth, I.D.; Langer, N.; Lennon, D.J.; Maiz-Apellaniz, J; Markova, N.; Najarro, P.; Puls, J.; Sana, H.A.A.; Simon-Diaz, S.; Smartt, S.J.; Stroud, V.E.; van Loon, J.T.; Vink, J.S.; Walborn, N.R.

2011-01-01

The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey is an ESO Large Programme that has provided multi-epoch spectroscopy of over 1000 stars in the 30 Doradus region in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Armed with this unique dataset the assembled consortium is now addressing a broad range of fundamental questions in both

The VLT FLAMES Tarantula Survey

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Evans, C.; Taylor, W.; Sana, H.; Hénault-Brunet, V.; Bagnoli, T.; Bastian, N.; Bestenlehner, J.; Bonanos, A.; Bressert, E.; Brott, I.; Campbell, M.; Cantiello, M.; Carraro, G.; Clark, S.; Costa, E.; Crowther, P.; de Koter, A.; de Mink, S.; Doran, E.; Dufton, P.; Dunstall, P.; Garcia, M.; Gieles, M.; Gräfener, G.; Herrero, A.; Howarth, I.; Izzard, R.; Köhler, K.; Langer, N.; Lennon, D.; Maíz Apellániz, J.; Markova, N.; Najarro, P.; Puls, J.; Ramirez, O.; Sabín-Sanjulián, C.; Simón-Díaz, S.; Smartt, S.; Stroud, V.; van Loon, J.; Vink, J.S.; Walborn, N.

2011-01-01

We introduce the VLT FLAMES Tarantula Survey, an ESO Large Programme from which we have obtained optical spectroscopy of over 800 massive stars in the spectacular 30 Doradus region of the Large Magellanic Cloud. A key feature is the use of multi-epoch observations to provide strong constraints on

Media Use and Source Trust among Muslims in Seven Countries: Results of a Large Random Sample Survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steven R. Corman

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Despite the perceived importance of media in the spread of and resistance against Islamist extremism, little is known about how Muslims use different kinds of media to get information about religious issues, and what sources they trust when doing so. This paper reports the results of a large, random sample survey among Muslims in seven countries Southeast Asia, West Africa and Western Europe, which helps fill this gap. Results show a diverse set of profiles of media use and source trust that differ by country, with overall low trust in mediated sources of information. Based on these findings, we conclude that mass media is still the most common source of religious information for Muslims, but that trust in mediated information is low overall. This suggests that media are probably best used to persuade opinion leaders, who will then carry anti-extremist messages through more personal means.

Measuring Cosmic Expansion and Large Scale Structure with Destiny

Science.gov (United States)

Benford, Dominic J.; Lauer, Tod R.

2007-01-01

Destiny is a simple, direct, low cost mission to determine the properties of dark energy by obtaining a cosmologically deep supernova (SN) type Ia Hubble diagram and by measuring the large-scale mass power spectrum over time. Its science instrument is a 1.65m space telescope, featuring a near-infrared survey camera/spectrometer with a large field of view. During its first two years, Destiny will detect, observe, and characterize 23000 SN Ia events over the redshift interval 0.4Destiny will be used in its third year as a high resolution, wide-field imager to conduct a weak lensing survey covering >lo00 square degrees to measure the large-scale mass power spectrum. The combination of surveys is much more powerful than either technique on its own, and will have over an order of magnitude greater sensitivity than will be provided by ongoing ground-based projects.

Generating mock data sets for large-scale Lyman-α forest correlation measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Font-Ribera, Andreu [Institut de Ciències de l' Espai (CSIC-IEEC), Campus UAB, Fac. Ciències, torre C5 parell 2, Bellaterra, Catalonia (Spain); McDonald, Patrick [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Miralda-Escudé, Jordi, E-mail: font@ieec.uab.es, E-mail: pvmcdonald@lbl.gov, E-mail: miralda@icc.ub.edu [Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain)

2012-01-01

Massive spectroscopic surveys of high-redshift quasars yield large numbers of correlated Lyα absorption spectra that can be used to measure large-scale structure. Simulations of these surveys are required to accurately interpret the measurements of correlations and correct for systematic errors. An efficient method to generate mock realizations of Lyα forest surveys is presented which generates a field over the lines of sight to the survey sources only, instead of having to generate it over the entire three-dimensional volume of the survey. The method can be calibrated to reproduce the power spectrum and one-point distribution function of the transmitted flux fraction, as well as the redshift evolution of these quantities, and is easily used for modeling any survey systematic effects. We present an example of how these mock surveys are applied to predict the measurement errors in a survey with similar parameters as the BOSS quasar survey in SDSS-III.

Generating mock data sets for large-scale Lyman-α forest correlation measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Font-Ribera, Andreu; McDonald, Patrick; Miralda-Escudé, Jordi

2012-01-01

Massive spectroscopic surveys of high-redshift quasars yield large numbers of correlated Lyα absorption spectra that can be used to measure large-scale structure. Simulations of these surveys are required to accurately interpret the measurements of correlations and correct for systematic errors. An efficient method to generate mock realizations of Lyα forest surveys is presented which generates a field over the lines of sight to the survey sources only, instead of having to generate it over the entire three-dimensional volume of the survey. The method can be calibrated to reproduce the power spectrum and one-point distribution function of the transmitted flux fraction, as well as the redshift evolution of these quantities, and is easily used for modeling any survey systematic effects. We present an example of how these mock surveys are applied to predict the measurement errors in a survey with similar parameters as the BOSS quasar survey in SDSS-III

Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Towed-diver Surveys of Large-bodied Fishes of the U.S. Pacific Reefs from 2000-09-09 to 2012-05-19 (NCEI Accession 0163744)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The towed-diver method is used to conduct surveys of large-bodied (> 50 cm) fishes in the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific...

Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Rapid Ecological Assessments of Fish Large-Area Stationary Point Count Surveys (SPC) at Coral Reef Sites across the Pacific Ocean from 2000 to 2007

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The large-area stationary point count (SPC) method is used to conduct reef fish surveys in the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific...

Potential Mediators between Fibromyalgia and C-Reactive protein: Results from a Large U.S. Community Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Feinberg, Termeh; Sambamoorthi, Usha; Lilly, Christa; Innes, Kim Karen

2017-07-07

Fibromyalgia, a potentially debilitating chronic pain syndrome of unknown etiology, may be characterized by inflammation. In this study, we investigated the relation of FMS to serum C-reactive protein (CRP) in a large population of adults (18+) and investigated the influence of other factors on this relationship, including BMI, comorbidities, as well as mood and sleep disturbance. Participants were 52,535 Ohio Valley residents (Fibromyalgia n = 1125). All participants completed a comprehensive health survey (2005-2006) part of the C8 Health Project; serum levels of CRP were obtained, as was history of Fibromyalgia physician diagnosis. Logistic and linear regressions were used for this cross-sectional analysis. Mean CRP was higher among participants reporting Fibromyalgia than those without (5.54 ± 9.8 vs.3.75 ± 7.2 mg/L, p BMI) and comorbidities to the model markedly weakened this relationship (AORs, respectively, for highest vs lowest CRP quartile = 1.2 (CI 1.0,1.4) and 1.1 (CI 0.9,1.3). In contrast, inclusion of mood and sleep impairment only modestly reduced the adjusted risk estimate (AORs for highest vs. lowest quartile = 1.3 (CI 1.1,1.5) for each)). Findings from this large cross-sectional study indicate a significant positive cross-sectional association of Fibromyalgia to serum C-reactive protein may be explained, in part, by BMI and comorbidity. Prospective research is needed to confirm this, and clarify the potential mediating influence of obesity and comorbid conditions on this relationship.

Survey and Classification of Large Woody Debris (LWD in Streams Using Generated Low-Cost Geomatic Products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Damian Ortega-Terol

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Water authorities are required to have a survey of large woody debris (LWD in river channels and to manage this aspect of the stream habitat, making decisions on removing, positioning or leaving LWD in a natural state. The main objective of this study is to develop a new methodology that assists in decision making for sustainable management of river channels by using generated low-cost, geomatic products to detect LWD. The use of low-cost photogrammetry based on the use of economical, conventional, non-metric digital cameras mounted on low-cost aircrafts, together with the use of the latest computational vision techniques and open-source geomatic tools, provides useful geomatic products. The proposed methodology, compared with conventional photogrammetry or other traditional methods, led to a cost savings of up to 45%. This work presents several contributions for the area of free and open source software related to Geographic Information System (FOSSGIS applications to LWD management in streams, while developing a QGIS [1] plugin that characterizes the risk from the automatic calculation of geometrical parameters.

GESE: A Small UV Space Telescope to Conduct a Large Spectroscopic Survey of Z-1 Galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

Heap, Sara R.; Gong, Qian; Hull, Tony; Kruk, Jeffrey; Purves, Lloyd

2013-01-01

One of the key goals of NASA's astrophysics program is to answer the question: How did galaxies evolve into the spirals and elliptical galaxies that we see today? We describe a space mission concept called Galaxy Evolution Spectroscopic Explorer (GESE) to address this question by making a large spectroscopic survey of galaxies at a redshift, z is approximately 1 (look-back time of approximately 8 billion years). GESE is a 1.5-meter space telescope with an ultraviolet (UV) multi-object slit spectrograph that can obtain spectra of hundreds of galaxies per exposure. The spectrograph covers the spectral range, 0.2-0.4 micrometers at a spectral resolving power, R approximately 500. This observed spectral range corresponds to 0.1-0.2 micrometers as emitted by a galaxy at a redshift, z=1. The mission concept takes advantage of two new technological advances: (1) light-weighted, wide-field telescope mirrors, and (2) the Next- Generation MicroShutter Array (NG-MSA) to be used as a slit generator in the multi-object slit spectrograph.

Galaxy evolution and large-scale structure in the far-infrared. II. The IRAS faint source survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lonsdale, C.J.; Hacking, P.B.; Conrow, T.P.; Rowan-Robinson, M.

1990-01-01

The new IRAS Faint Source Survey data base is used to confirm the conclusion of Hacking et al. (1987) that the 60 micron source counts fainter than about 0.5 Jy lie in excess of predictions based on nonevolving model populations. The existence of an anisotropy between the northern and southern Galactic caps discovered by Rowan-Robinson et al. (1986) and Needham and Rowan-Robinson (1988) is confirmed, and it is found to extend below their sensitivity limit to about 0.3 Jy in 60 micron flux density. The count anisotropy at f(60) greater than 0.3 can be interpreted reasonably as due to the Local Supercluster; however, no one structure accounting for the fainter anisotropy can be easily identified in either optical or far-IR two-dimensional sky distributions. The far-IR galaxy sky distributions are considerably smoother than distributions from the published optical galaxy catalogs. It is likely that structure of the large size discussed here have been discriminated against in earlier studies due to insufficient volume sampling. 105 refs

The HI/OH/Recombination line survey of the inner Milky Way (THOR). Survey overview and data release 1

Science.gov (United States)

Beuther, H.; Bihr, S.; Rugel, M.; Johnston, K.; Wang, Y.; Walter, F.; Brunthaler, A.; Walsh, A. J.; Ott, J.; Stil, J.; Henning, Th.; Schierhuber, T.; Kainulainen, J.; Heyer, M.; Goldsmith, P. F.; Anderson, L. D.; Longmore, S. N.; Klessen, R. S.; Glover, S. C. O.; Urquhart, J. S.; Plume, R.; Ragan, S. E.; Schneider, N.; McClure-Griffiths, N. M.; Menten, K. M.; Smith, R.; Roy, N.; Shanahan, R.; Nguyen-Luong, Q.; Bigiel, F.

2016-10-01

Context. The past decade has witnessed a large number of Galactic plane surveys at angular resolutions below 20''. However, no comparable high-resolution survey exists at long radio wavelengths around 21 cm in line and continuum emission. Aims: We remedy this situation by studying the northern Galactic plane at 20'' resolution in emission of atomic, molecular, and ionized gas. Methods: Employing the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) in the C-array configuration and a large program, we observe the HI 21 cm line, four OH lines, nineteen Hnα radio recombination lines as well as the continuum emission from 1 to 2 GHz in full polarization over a large part of the first Galactic quadrant. Results: Covering Galactic longitudes from 14.5 to 67.4 deg and latitudes between ± 1.25 deg, we image all of these lines and the continuum at 20'' resolution. These data allow us to study the various components of the interstellar medium (ISM): from the atomic phase, traced by the HI line, to the molecular phase, observed by the OH transitions, to the ionized medium, revealed by the cm continuum and the Hnα radio recombination lines. Furthermore, the polarized continuum emission enables magnetic field studies. In this overview paper, we discuss the survey outline and present the first data release as well as early results from the different datasets. We now release the first half of the survey; the second half will follow later after the ongoing data processing has been completed. The data in fits format (continuum images and line data cubes) can be accessed through the project web-page. Conclusions: The HI/OH/Recombination line survey of the Milky Way (THOR) opens a new window to the different parts of the ISM. It enables detailed studies of molecular cloud formation, conversion of atomic to molecular gas, and feedback from Hii regions as well as the magnetic field in the Milky Way. It is highly complementary to other surveys of our Galaxy, and comparing the different datasets

The importance of nature to Canadians: survey highlights

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

DuWors, E

1999-01-01

.... The 1996 Survey on the Importance of Nature to Canadians (the Nature Survey) also tells us that Canadians commit large amounts of their leisure time to activities that depend on natural areas and wildlife...

Big Surveys, Big Data Centres

Science.gov (United States)

Schade, D.

2016-06-01

Well-designed astronomical surveys are powerful and have consistently been keystones of scientific progress. The Byurakan Surveys using a Schmidt telescope with an objective prism produced a list of about 3000 UV-excess Markarian galaxies but these objects have stimulated an enormous amount of further study and appear in over 16,000 publications. The CFHT Legacy Surveys used a wide-field imager to cover thousands of square degrees and those surveys are mentioned in over 1100 publications since 2002. Both ground and space-based astronomy have been increasing their investments in survey work. Survey instrumentation strives toward fair samples and large sky coverage and therefore strives to produce massive datasets. Thus we are faced with the "big data" problem in astronomy. Survey datasets require specialized approaches to data management. Big data places additional challenging requirements for data management. If the term "big data" is defined as data collections that are too large to move then there are profound implications for the infrastructure that supports big data science. The current model of data centres is obsolete. In the era of big data the central problem is how to create architectures that effectively manage the relationship between data collections, networks, processing capabilities, and software, given the science requirements of the projects that need to be executed. A stand alone data silo cannot support big data science. I'll describe the current efforts of the Canadian community to deal with this situation and our successes and failures. I'll talk about how we are planning in the next decade to try to create a workable and adaptable solution to support big data science.

Relation between metabolic syndrome and body compositions among Chinese adolescents and adults from a large-scale population survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tao Xu

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Few nationally representative surveys regarding body composition and metabolic syndrome (MetS have been done in a large-scale representative Chinese population to explore the prediction of body composition indicators for MetS. The objective of this study was to examine the relation of body composition and MetS and to determine the optimal cut-off values of body composition indicators that predict MetS in a large representative Chinese sample based on multiple provinces and ethnicities, covering a broad age range from 10 to 80 years old. Methods The subjects came from a large-scale population survey on Chinese physiological constants and health conditions conducted in six provinces. 32,036 subjects completed all blood biochemical testing and body composition measure. Subjects meeting at least 3 of the following 5 criteria qualify as having MetS: elevated blood pressure, lower high density lipoprotein cholesterol level, higher triglyceride level, higher fasting glucose level and abdominal obesity. Results The total prevalence rate of MetS for males (9.29% was lower than for females (11.58%. The prevalence rates were 12.03% for male adults and 15.57% for female adults respectively. The risk of MetS increased 44.6% (OR = 1.446, 95%CI: 1.414–1.521 for males and 53.4% (OR = 1.534, 95%CI: 1.472–1.598 for females with each 5% increase of percentage of body fat. The risk of MetS increased two-fold (OR = 2.020, 95%CI: 1.920–2.125 for males; OR = 2.047, 95%CI: 1.954–2.144 for females respectively with each 5% increase of waist-hip ratio. The risk of MetS increased three-fold (OR = 2.915, 95%CI: 2.742–3.099 for males; OR = 2.950, 95%CI: 2.784–3.127 for females respectively with each 5% increase of Waist-to-Height Ratio (WHtR. Areas under the receiver operating curve (AUC of most body composition indicators were larger than 0.70 and the sensitivities and the specificities of most cut-off values were larger than 0

Einstein Slew Survey: Data analysis innovations

Science.gov (United States)

Elvis, Martin S.; Plummer, David; Schachter, Jonathan F.; Fabbiano, G.

1992-01-01

Several new methods were needed in order to make the Einstein Slew X-ray Sky Survey. The innovations which enabled the Slew Survey to be done are summarized. These methods included experimental approach to large projects, parallel processing on a LAN, percolation source detection, minimum action identifications, and rapid dissemination of the whole data base.

Trainee Knowledge of Imaging Appropriateness and Safety: Results of a Series of Surveys From a Large Academic Medical Center.

Science.gov (United States)

Hollingsworth, Thaddeus D; Duszak, Richard; Vijayasarathi, Arvind; Gelbard, Rondi B; Mullins, Mark E

2017-10-31

In order to provide high quality care to their patients and utilize imaging most judiciously, physician trainees should possess a working knowledge of appropriate use, radiation dose, and safety. Prior work has suggested knowledge gaps in similar areas. We aimed to evaluate the knowledge of imaging appropriateness, radiation dose, and MRI and contrast safety of physician trainees across a variety of specialties. Between May 2016 and January 2017, three online surveys were distributed to all interns, residents, and fellows in ACGME accredited training programs at a large academic institution over two academic years. Response rates to three surveys ranged from 17.2% (218 of 1266) for MRI and contrast material safety, 19.1% (242 of 1266) for imaging appropriateness, to19.9% (246 of 1238) for radiation dose. Overall 72% (509 of 706) of survey respondents reported regularly ordering diagnostic imaging examinations, but fewer than half (47.8%; 470 of 984) could correctly estimate radiation dose across four commonly performed imaging studies. Only one third (34%; 167 of 488) of trainees chose appropriate imaging in scenarios involving pregnant patients. Trainee post-graduate year was not significantly correlated with overall radiation safety scores, and no significant difference was found between radiation safety or appropriate imaging scores of those who participated in a medical school radiology elective vs. those who did not. A total of 84% (57 of 68) of radiology trainees and 43% (269 of 630) of non-radiology trainees considered their knowledge adequate but that correlated only weakly correlated to actual knowledge scores (pimaging safety exist among many trainees. In order to enhance the value of imaging at the population level, further work is needed to assess the most appropriate method and stage of training to address these knowledge gaps. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Sloan Lens ACS Survey. I. A large spectroscopically selected sample of massive early-type lens galaxies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bolton, AS; Burles, S; Koopmans, LVE; Treu, T; Moustakas, LA

2006-01-01

The Sloan Lens ACS (SLACS) Survey is an efficient Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Snapshot imaging survey for new galaxy-scale strong gravitational lenses. The targeted lens candidates are selected spectroscopically from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) database of galaxy spectra for having multiple

Large-area Soil Moisture Surveys Using a Cosmic-ray Rover: Approaches and Results from Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Hawdon, A. A.; McJannet, D. L.; Renzullo, L. J.; Baker, B.; Searle, R.

2017-12-01

Recent improvements in satellite instrumentation has increased the resolution and frequency of soil moisture observations, and this in turn has supported the development of higher resolution land surface process models. Calibration and validation of these products is restricted by the mismatch of scales between remotely sensed and contemporary ground based observations. Although the cosmic ray neutron soil moisture probe can provide estimates soil moisture at a scale useful for the calibration and validation purposes, it is spatially limited to a single, fixed location. This scaling issue has been addressed with the development of mobile soil moisture monitoring systems that utilizes the cosmic ray neutron method, typically referred to as a `rover'. This manuscript describes a project designed to develop approaches for undertaking rover surveys to produce soil moisture estimates at scales comparable to satellite observations and land surface process models. A custom designed, trailer-mounted rover was used to conduct repeat surveys at two scales in the Mallee region of Victoria, Australia. A broad scale survey was conducted at 36 x 36 km covering an area of a standard SMAP pixel and an intensive scale survey was conducted over a 10 x 10 km portion of the broad scale survey, which is at a scale equivalent to that used for national water balance modelling. We will describe the design of the rover, the methods used for converting neutron counts into soil moisture and discuss factors controlling soil moisture variability. We found that the intensive scale rover surveys produced reliable soil moisture estimates at 1 km resolution and the broad scale at 9 km resolution. We conclude that these products are well suited for future analysis of satellite soil moisture retrievals and finer scale soil moisture models.

Spectroscopic surveys of LAMOST

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Yongheng

2015-01-01

The Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST), a new type of reflecting Schmidt telescope, has been designed and produced in China. It marks a breakthrough for large scale spectroscopic survey observation in that both large aperture and wide field of view have been achieved. LAMOST has the highest spectrum acquisition rate, and from October 2011 to June 2014 it has obtained 4.13 million spectra of celestial objects, of which 3.78 million are spectra of stars, with the stellar parameters of 2.20 million stars included. (author)

Large-scale clustering of galaxies in the CfA Redshift Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Vogeley, Michael S.; Park, Changbom; Geller, Margaret J.; Huchra, John P.

1992-01-01

The power spectrum of the galaxy distribution in the Center for Astrophysics Redshift Survey (de Lapparent et al., 1986; Geller and Huchra, 1989; and Huchra et al., 1992) is measured up to wavelengths of 200/h Mpc. Results are compared with several cosmological simulations with Gaussian initial conditions. It is shown that the power spectrum of the standard CDM model is inconsistent with the observed power spectrum at the 99 percent confidence level.

The SPHEREx All-Sky Spectral Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Bock, James; SPHEREx Science Team

2018-01-01

SPHEREx, a mission in NASA's Medium Explorer (MIDEX) program that was selected for Phase A in August 2017, is an all-sky survey satellite designed to address all three science goals in NASA's astrophysics division, with a single instrument, a wide-field spectral imager. SPHEREx will probe the physics of inflation by measuring non-Gaussianity by studying large-scale structure, surveying a large cosmological volume at low redshifts, complementing high-z surveys optimized to constrain dark energy. The origin of water and biogenic molecules will be investigated in all phases of planetary system formation - from molecular clouds to young stellar systems with protoplanetary disks - by measuring ice absorption spectra. We will chart the origin and history of galaxy formation through a deep survey mapping large-scale spatial power in two deep fields located near the ecliptic poles. Following in the tradition of all-sky missions such as IRAS, COBE and WISE, SPHEREx will be the first all-sky near-infrared spectral survey. SPHEREx will create spectra (0.75 – 4.2 um at R = 41; and 4.2 – 5 um at R = 135) with high sensitivity making background-limited observations using a passively-cooled telescope with a wide field-of-view for large mapping speed. During its two-year mission, SPHEREx will produce four complete all-sky maps that will serve as a rich archive for the astronomy community. With over a billion detected galaxies, hundreds of millions of high-quality stellar and galactic spectra, and over a million ice absorption spectra, the archive will enable diverse scientific investigations including studies of young stellar systems, brown dwarfs, high-redshift quasars, galaxy clusters, the interstellar medium, asteroids and comets. All aspects of the instrument and spacecraft have high heritage. SPHEREx requires no new technologies and carries large technical and resource margins on every aspect of the design. SPHEREx is a partnership between Caltech and JPL, following the

Groups of galaxies in the Center for Astrophysics redshift survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramella, M.; Geller, M.J.; Huchra, J.P.

1989-01-01

By applying the Huchra and Geller (1982) objective group identification algorithm to the Center for Astrophysics' redshift survey, a catalog of 128 groups with three or more members is extracted, and 92 of these are used as a statistical sample. A comparison of the distribution of group centers with the distribution of all galaxies in the survey indicates qualitatively that groups trace the large-scale structure of the region. The physical properties of groups may be related to the details of large-scale structure, and it is concluded that differences among group catalogs may be due to the properties of large-scale structures and their location relative to the survey limits. 28 refs

The Burden of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Papua New Guinea: Results of a Large Population-Based Survey.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul Aia

Full Text Available Reliable estimates of the burden of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB are crucial for effective control and prevention of tuberculosis (TB. Papua New Guinea (PNG is a high TB burden country with limited information on the magnitude of the MDR-TB problem.A cross-sectional study was conducted in four PNG provinces: Madang, Morobe, National Capital District and Western Province. Patient sputum samples were tested for rifampicin resistance by the Xpert MTB/RIF assay and those showing the presence of resistance underwent phenotypic susceptibility testing to first- and second-line anti-TB drugs including streptomycin, isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol, pyrazinamide, ofloxacin, amikacin, kanamycin and capreomycin.Among 1,182 TB patients enrolled in the study, MDR-TB was detected in 20 new (2.7%; 95% confidence intervals [CI] 1.1-4.3% and 24 previously treated (19.1%; 95%CI: 8.5-29.8% TB cases. No case of extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB was detected. Thirty percent (6/20 of new and 33.3% (8/24 of previously treated cases with MDR-TB were detected in a single cluster in Western Province.In PNG the proportion of MDR-TB in new cases is slightly lower than the regional average of 4.4% (95%CI: 2.6-6.3%. A large proportion of MDR-TB cases were identified from a single hospital in Western Province, suggesting that the prevalence of MDR-TB across the country is heterogeneous. Future surveys should further explore this finding. The survey also helped strengthening the use of smear microscopy and Xpert MTB/RIF testing as diagnostic tools for TB in the country.

Which factors are effective for farmers’ biogas use?–Evidence from a large-scale survey in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qu, Wei; Tu, Qin; Bluemling, Bettina

2013-01-01

The Chinese government since 1995 has carried out programs for the construction of household biogas digesters in the Chinese countryside. Despite the large governmental spending in the building of household biogas digesters, only 12.16% of the households suitable to produce and use biogas, have built a digester (Li, 2009). This article asks which factors on the household level may be important for the decision whether or not to build a biogas digester. Based on a survey with 1227 households from Guangxi, Hubei, Shandong and Gansu provinces, results of a binary Probit Model show that the governmental promotion of biogas has a significant effect on households’ decision. The question arises which households may, if governmental programs were to be running out, be most likely to construct a household biogas digester? The household head′s age, the number of household members staying at home, the total household income and the subjective discount rate of the respondents are significant factors in a farm household′s decision to build a biogas digester. However, also agro-climatic conditions reveal to be decisive, which is why technical solutions for tackling the low productivity of biogas digesters in cold regions may need to be further considered. - Highlights: • A binary Probit Model is used to test important factors of household biogas implementation in rural China. • The analysis is based on a survey of 1227 households from four provinces. • The promotion of government has very big and significant effects on household′s decision-making. • The agro-climatic conditions reveal to be decisive. • Many household characteristics including the subjective discount rate are significant factors

Ambitious Survey Spots Stellar Nurseries

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-01

Astronomers scanning the skies as part of ESO's VISTA Magellanic Cloud survey have now obtained a spectacular picture of the Tarantula Nebula in our neighbouring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud. This panoramic near-infrared view captures the nebula itself in great detail as well as the rich surrounding area of sky. The image was obtained at the start of a very ambitious survey of our neighbouring galaxies, the Magellanic Clouds, and their environment. The leader of the survey team, Maria-Rosa Cioni (University of Hertfordshire, UK) explains: "This view is of one of the most important regions of star formation in the local Universe - the spectacular 30 Doradus star-forming region, also called the Tarantula Nebula. At its core is a large cluster of stars called RMC 136, in which some of the most massive stars known are located." ESO's VISTA telescope [1] is a new survey telescope at the Paranal Observatory in Chile (eso0949). VISTA is equipped with a huge camera that detects light in the near-infrared part of the spectrum, revealing a wealth of detail about astronomical objects that gives us insight into the inner workings of astronomical phenomena. Near-infrared light has a longer wavelength than visible light and so we cannot see it directly for ourselves, but it can pass through much of the dust that would normally obscure our view. This makes it particularly useful for studying objects such as young stars that are still enshrouded in the gas and dust clouds from which they formed. Another powerful aspect of VISTA is the large area of the sky that its camera can capture in each shot. This image is the latest view from the VISTA Magellanic Cloud Survey (VMC). The project will scan a vast area - 184 square degrees of the sky (corresponding to almost one thousand times the apparent area of the full Moon) including our neighbouring galaxies the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. The end result will be a detailed study of the star formation history and three

Primordial non-Gaussianity from LAMOST surveys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gong Yan; Wang Xin; Chen Xuelei; Zheng Zheng

2010-01-01

The primordial non-Gaussianity (PNG) in the matter density perturbation is a very powerful probe of the physics of the very early Universe. The local PNG can induce a distinct scale-dependent bias on the large scale structure distribution of galaxies and quasars, which could be used for constraining it. We study the detection limits of PNG from the surveys of the LAMOST telescope. The cases of the main galaxy survey, the luminous red galaxy (LRG) survey, and the quasar survey of different magnitude limits are considered. We find that the Main1 sample (i.e. the main galaxy survey which is one magnitude deeper than the SDSS main galaxy survey, or r NL are |f NL | NL | NL | is between 50 and 103, depending on the magnitude limit of the survey. With Planck-like priors on cosmological parameters, the quasar survey with g NL | < 43 (2σ). We also discuss the possibility of further tightening the constraint by using the relative bias method proposed by Seljak.

Geotechnical survey procedures for a repository mine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walther, C.

1993-01-01

The approach to the survey involves the operational realisation of an information process beginning with the definition of the survey programme and ending with the presentation of the survey results in the form of planning and assessment documents. - The survey methods must conform with the mine regulations, provide reliable predictions and produce the maximum possible salient information. The recording of large and varied amounts of data, and the complex interpretation procedures that follow require effective data and information management to allow the presentation of the results in accordance with the planning specifications. (orig.) [de

A large-scale study of misophonia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rouw, R.; Erfanian, M.

2018-01-01

Objective We aim to elucidate misophonia, a condition in which particular sounds elicit disproportionally strong aversive reactions. Method A large online study extensively surveyed personal, developmental, and clinical characteristics of over 300 misophonics. Results Most participants indicated

Assessment of healthcare personnel knowledge of stroke care at a large referral hospital in sub-Saharan Africa - A survey based approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Chen; Vakani, Ravi; Kussin, Peter; Guhwe, Mary; Farjat, Alfredo E; Choudhury, Kingshuk; Renner, David; Oduor, Chrispine; Graffagnino, Carmelo

2017-08-01

There is no published literature regarding sub-Saharan health-care providers' understanding of stroke management patterns. Understanding current stroke management knowledge is important in formulating future education opportunities for providers to optimize patient outcomes. A cross-sectional survey of acute stroke diagnosis, hospital management, and secondary prevention questions was administered to health-care providers working in one large Kenyan acute referral hospital. Due to the prevalence of medical students (61.8%), an experienced-focused analysis contrasted students with more experienced providers. Providers (n=199) anonymously responded to the surveys. Among the acute diagnosis most respondents stated that stroke scales should always used (58.3% of respondents), 3h was the time period for alteplase (t-PA) (53.8% of respondents), and CT scan should be always be obtained prior to administration of anticoagulant therapy (61.3% of respondents). Neither VTE prophylaxis nor dysphagia/swallowing screening were considered to be done a majority of time. Secondary prevention results were variable. The respondent's level of clinical experience made the most difference in correctly answering the most appropriate IV Fluid to use in stroke patients (adjusted p=0.003) and the ideal initiation time for antithrombotic therapy (adjusted p=0.0017). Healthcare providers demonstrated a wide variability in their responses. Future efforts to improve stroke care in sub-Saharan Africa should include education and process improvement initiatives to focus on more specific aspects of stroke management based on the results from this survey. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sampling large landscapes with small-scale stratification-User's Manual

Science.gov (United States)

Bart, Jonathan

2011-01-01

This manual explains procedures for partitioning a large landscape into plots, assigning the plots to strata, and selecting plots in each stratum to be surveyed. These steps are referred to as the "sampling large landscapes (SLL) process." We assume that users of the manual have a moderate knowledge of ArcGIS and Microsoft ® Excel. The manual is written for a single user but in many cases, some steps will be carried out by a biologist designing the survey and some steps will be carried out by a quantitative assistant. Thus, the manual essentially may be passed back and forth between these users. The SLL process primarily has been used to survey birds, and we refer to birds as subjects of the counts. The process, however, could be used to count any objects. ®

Surveying Low-Mass Star Formation with the Submillimeter Array

Science.gov (United States)

Dunham, Michael

2018-01-01

Large astronomical surveys yield important statistical information that can’t be derived from single-object and small-number surveys. In this talk I will review two recent surveys in low-mass star formation undertaken by the Submillimeter Array (SMA): a millimeter continuum survey of disks surrounding variably accreting young stars, and a complete continuum and molecular line survey of all protostars in the nearby Perseus Molecular Cloud. I will highlight several new insights into the processes by which low-mass stars gain their mass that have resulted from the statistical power of these surveys.

Large-Scale Survey Findings Inform Patients’ Experiences in Using Secure Messaging to Engage in Patient-Provider Communication and Self-Care Management: A Quantitative Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Nitin R; Lind, Jason D; Antinori, Nicole

2015-01-01

Background Secure email messaging is part of a national transformation initiative in the United States to promote new models of care that support enhanced patient-provider communication. To date, only a limited number of large-scale studies have evaluated users’ experiences in using secure email messaging. Objective To quantitatively assess veteran patients’ experiences in using secure email messaging in a large patient sample. Methods A cross-sectional mail-delivered paper-and-pencil survey study was conducted with a sample of respondents identified as registered for the Veteran Health Administrations’ Web-based patient portal (My HealtheVet) and opted to use secure messaging. The survey collected demographic data, assessed computer and health literacy, and secure messaging use. Analyses conducted on survey data include frequencies and proportions, chi-square tests, and one-way analysis of variance. Results The majority of respondents (N=819) reported using secure messaging 6 months or longer (n=499, 60.9%). They reported secure messaging to be helpful for completing medication refills (n=546, 66.7%), managing appointments (n=343, 41.9%), looking up test results (n=350, 42.7%), and asking health-related questions (n=340, 41.5%). Notably, some respondents reported using secure messaging to address sensitive health topics (n=67, 8.2%). Survey responses indicated that younger age (P=.039) and higher levels of education (P=.025) and income (P=.003) were associated with more frequent use of secure messaging. Females were more likely to report using secure messaging more often, compared with their male counterparts (P=.098). Minorities were more likely to report using secure messaging more often, at least once a month, compared with nonminorities (P=.086). Individuals with higher levels of health literacy reported more frequent use of secure messaging (P=.007), greater satisfaction (P=.002), and indicated that secure messaging is a useful (P=.002) and easy

Large-Scale Survey Findings Inform Patients' Experiences in Using Secure Messaging to Engage in Patient-Provider Communication and Self-Care Management: A Quantitative Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Haun, Jolie N; Patel, Nitin R; Lind, Jason D; Antinori, Nicole

2015-12-21

Secure email messaging is part of a national transformation initiative in the United States to promote new models of care that support enhanced patient-provider communication. To date, only a limited number of large-scale studies have evaluated users' experiences in using secure email messaging. To quantitatively assess veteran patients' experiences in using secure email messaging in a large patient sample. A cross-sectional mail-delivered paper-and-pencil survey study was conducted with a sample of respondents identified as registered for the Veteran Health Administrations' Web-based patient portal (My HealtheVet) and opted to use secure messaging. The survey collected demographic data, assessed computer and health literacy, and secure messaging use. Analyses conducted on survey data include frequencies and proportions, chi-square tests, and one-way analysis of variance. The majority of respondents (N=819) reported using secure messaging 6 months or longer (n=499, 60.9%). They reported secure messaging to be helpful for completing medication refills (n=546, 66.7%), managing appointments (n=343, 41.9%), looking up test results (n=350, 42.7%), and asking health-related questions (n=340, 41.5%). Notably, some respondents reported using secure messaging to address sensitive health topics (n=67, 8.2%). Survey responses indicated that younger age (P=.039) and higher levels of education (P=.025) and income (P=.003) were associated with more frequent use of secure messaging. Females were more likely to report using secure messaging more often, compared with their male counterparts (P=.098). Minorities were more likely to report using secure messaging more often, at least once a month, compared with nonminorities (P=.086). Individuals with higher levels of health literacy reported more frequent use of secure messaging (P=.007), greater satisfaction (P=.002), and indicated that secure messaging is a useful (P=.002) and easy-to-use (P≤.001) communication tool, compared

Complex surveys analysis of categorical data

CERN Document Server

Mukhopadhyay, Parimal

2016-01-01

The primary objective of this book is to study some of the research topics in the area of analysis of complex surveys which have not been covered in any book yet. It discusses the analysis of categorical data using three models: a full model, a log-linear model and a logistic regression model. It is a valuable resource for survey statisticians and practitioners in the field of sociology, biology, economics, psychology and other areas who have to use these procedures in their day-to-day work. It is also useful for courses on sampling and complex surveys at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. The importance of sample surveys today cannot be overstated. From voters’ behaviour to fields such as industry, agriculture, economics, sociology, psychology, investigators generally resort to survey sampling to obtain an assessment of the behaviour of the population they are interested in. Many large-scale sample surveys collect data using complex survey designs like multistage stratified cluster designs. The o...

Surface Contamination Monitor and Survey Information Management System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-02-01

Shonka Research Associates, Inc.`s (SRA) Surface Contamination Monitor and Survey Information management System (SCM/SIMS) is designed to perform alpha and beta radiation surveys of floors and surfaces and document the measured data. The SRA-SCM/SIMS technology can be applied to routine operational surveys, characterization surveys, and free release and site closure surveys. Any large nuclear site can make use of this technology. This report describes a demonstration of the SRA-SCM/SIMS technology. This demonstration is part of the chicago Pile-5 (CP-5) Large-Scale Demonstration Project (LSDP) sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science and Technology (ST), Deactivation and Decommissioning Focus Area (DDFA). The objective of the LSDP is to select and demonstrate potentially beneficial technologies at the Argonne National Laboratory-East`s (ANL) CP-5 Research Reactor Facility. The purpose of the LSDP is to demonstrate that by using innovative and improved deactivation and decommissioning (D and D) technologies from various sources, significant benefits can be achieved when compared to baseline D and D technologies.

Surface Contamination Monitor and Survey Information Management System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-02-01

Shonka Research Associates, Inc.'s (SRA) Surface Contamination Monitor and Survey Information management System (SCM/SIMS) is designed to perform alpha and beta radiation surveys of floors and surfaces and document the measured data. The SRA-SCM/SIMS technology can be applied to routine operational surveys, characterization surveys, and free release and site closure surveys. Any large nuclear site can make use of this technology. This report describes a demonstration of the SRA-SCM/SIMS technology. This demonstration is part of the chicago Pile-5 (CP-5) Large-Scale Demonstration Project (LSDP) sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science and Technology (ST), Deactivation and Decommissioning Focus Area (DDFA). The objective of the LSDP is to select and demonstrate potentially beneficial technologies at the Argonne National Laboratory-East's (ANL) CP-5 Research Reactor Facility. The purpose of the LSDP is to demonstrate that by using innovative and improved deactivation and decommissioning (D and D) technologies from various sources, significant benefits can be achieved when compared to baseline D and D technologies

Optical study of the DAFT/FADA galaxy cluster survey

Science.gov (United States)

Martinet, N.; Durret, F.; Clowe, D.; Adami, C.

2013-11-01

DAFT/FADA (Dark energy American French Team) is a large survey of ˜90 high redshift (0.42×10^{14} M_{⊙}) clusters with HST weak lensing oriented data, plus BVRIZJ 4m ground based follow up to compute photometric redshifts. The main goals of this survey are to constrain dark energy parameters using weak lensing tomography and to study a large homogeneous sample of high redshift massive clusters. We will briefly review the latest results of this optical survey, focusing on two ongoing works: the calculation of galaxy luminosity functions from photometric redshift catalogs and the weak lensing analysis of ground based data.

GESE: a small UV space telescope to conduct a large spectroscopic survey of z˜1 Galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

Heap, Sara R.; Gong, Qian; Hull, Tony; Kruk, Jeffrey; Purves, Lloyd

2014-11-01

One of the key goals of NASA's astrophysics program is to answer the question: How did galaxies evolve into the spirals and elliptical galaxies that we see today? We describe a space mission concept called Galaxy Evolution Spectroscopic Explorer (GESE) to address this question by making a large spectroscopic survey of galaxies at a redshift, z˜1 (look-back time of ˜8 billion years). GESE is a 1.5-m space telescope with an ultraviolet (UV) multi-object slit spectrograph that can obtain spectra of hundreds of galaxies per exposure. The spectrograph covers the spectral range, 0.2-0.4 μm at a spectral resolving power, R˜500. This observed spectral range corresponds to 0.1-0.2 μm as emitted by a galaxy at a redshift, z=1. The mission concept takes advantage of two new technological advances: (1) light-weighted, wide-field telescope mirrors, and (2) the Next-Generation MicroShutter Array (NG-MSA) to be used as a slit generator in the multi-object slit spectrograph.

A DEEP VERY LARGE ARRAY RADIO CONTINUUM SURVEY OF THE CORE AND OUTSKIRTS OF THE COMA CLUSTER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, Neal A.; Hornschemeier, Ann E.; Mobasher, Bahram

2009-01-01

We present deep 1.4 GHz Very Large Array radio continuum observations of two ∼0.5 deg 2 fields in the Coma cluster of galaxies. The two fields, 'Coma 1' and 'Coma 3', correspond to the cluster core and southwest infall region and were selected on account of abundant preexisting multiwavelength data. In their most sensitive regions the radio data reach 22 μJy rms per 4.''4 beam, sufficient to detect (at 5σ) Coma member galaxies with L 1.4 G Hz = 1.3 x 10 20 W Hz -1 . The full catalog of radio detections is presented herein and consists of 1030 sources detected at ≥5σ, 628 of which are within the combined Coma 1 and Coma 3 area. We also provide optical identifications of the radio sources using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The depth of the radio observations allows us to detect active galactic nucleus in cluster elliptical galaxies with M r r r ∼ sun yr -1 .

Prevalence and determinants of child maltreatment among high school students in Southern China: A large scale school based survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen WQ

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Child maltreatment can cause significant physical and psychological problems. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence and determinants of child maltreatment in Guangzhou, China, where such issues are often considered a taboo subject. Methods A school-based survey was conducted in southern China in 2005. 24 high schools were selected using stratified random sampling strategy based on their districts and bandings. The self-administered validated Chinese version of parent-child Conflict Tactics Scale (CTSPC was used as the main assessment tool to measure the abusive experiences encountered by students in the previous six months. Results The response rate of this survey was 99.7%. Among the 6592 responding students, the mean age was 14.68. Prevalence of parental psychological aggression, corporal punishment, severe and very serve physical maltreatment in the past 6 months were 78.3%, 23.2%, 15.1% and 2.8% respectively. The prevalence of sexual abuse is 0.6%. The most commonly cited reasons for maltreatment included 'disobedience to parents', 'poor academic performance', and 'quarrelling between parents'. Age, parental education, places of origins and types of housing were found to be associated with physical maltreatments whereas gender and fathers' education level were associated with sexual abuse. Conclusion Though largely unspoken, child maltreatment is a common problem in China. Identification of significant determinants in this study can provide valuable information for teachers and health professionals so as to pay special attention to those at-risk children.

Prevalence and determinants of child maltreatment among high school students in Southern China: a large scale school based survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, Phil W S; Wong, William C W; Chen, W Q; Tang, Catherine S K

2008-09-29

Child maltreatment can cause significant physical and psychological problems. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence and determinants of child maltreatment in Guangzhou, China, where such issues are often considered a taboo subject. A school-based survey was conducted in southern China in 2005. 24 high schools were selected using stratified random sampling strategy based on their districts and bandings. The self-administered validated Chinese version of parent-child Conflict Tactics Scale (CTSPC) was used as the main assessment tool to measure the abusive experiences encountered by students in the previous six months. The response rate of this survey was 99.7%. Among the 6592 responding students, the mean age was 14.68. Prevalence of parental psychological aggression, corporal punishment, severe and very serve physical maltreatment in the past 6 months were 78.3%, 23.2%, 15.1% and 2.8% respectively. The prevalence of sexual abuse is 0.6%. The most commonly cited reasons for maltreatment included 'disobedience to parents', 'poor academic performance', and 'quarrelling between parents'. Age, parental education, places of origins and types of housing were found to be associated with physical maltreatments whereas gender and fathers' education level were associated with sexual abuse. Though largely unspoken, child maltreatment is a common problem in China. Identification of significant determinants in this study can provide valuable information for teachers and health professionals so as to pay special attention to those at-risk children.

Efficient Topology Estimation for Large Scale Optical Mapping

CERN Document Server

Elibol, Armagan; Garcia, Rafael

2013-01-01

Large scale optical mapping methods are in great demand among scientists who study different aspects of the seabed, and have been fostered by impressive advances in the capabilities of underwater robots in gathering optical data from the seafloor. Cost and weight constraints mean that low-cost ROVs usually have a very limited number of sensors. When a low-cost robot carries out a seafloor survey using a down-looking camera, it usually follows a predefined trajectory that provides several non time-consecutive overlapping image pairs. Finding these pairs (a process known as topology estimation) is indispensable to obtaining globally consistent mosaics and accurate trajectory estimates, which are necessary for a global view of the surveyed area, especially when optical sensors are the only data source. This book contributes to the state-of-art in large area image mosaicing methods for underwater surveys using low-cost vehicles equipped with a very limited sensor suite. The main focus has been on global alignment...

A SUCCESSFUL BROADBAND SURVEY FOR GIANT Lyα NEBULAE. I. SURVEY DESIGN AND CANDIDATE SELECTION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prescott, Moire K. M.; Dey, Arjun; Jannuzi, Buell T.

2012-01-01

Giant Lyα nebulae (or Lyα 'blobs') are likely sites of ongoing massive galaxy formation, but the rarity of these powerful sources has made it difficult to form a coherent picture of their properties, ionization mechanisms, and space density. Systematic narrowband Lyα nebula surveys are ongoing, but the small redshift range covered and the observational expense limit the comoving volume that can be probed by even the largest of these surveys and pose a significant problem when searching for such rare sources. We have developed a systematic search technique designed to find large Lyα nebulae at 2 ∼ 2 NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey Boötes field. With a total survey comoving volume of ≈10 8 h –3 70 Mpc 3 , this is the largest volume survey for Lyα nebulae ever undertaken. In this first paper in the series, we present the details of the survey design and a systematically selected sample of 79 candidates, which includes one previously discovered Lyα nebula.

A SUCCESSFUL BROADBAND SURVEY FOR GIANT Ly{alpha} NEBULAE. I. SURVEY DESIGN AND CANDIDATE SELECTION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Prescott, Moire K. M. [Department of Physics, Broida Hall, Mail Code 9530, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (United States); Dey, Arjun; Jannuzi, Buell T., E-mail: mkpresco@physics.ucsb.edu [National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States)

2012-04-01

Giant Ly{alpha} nebulae (or Ly{alpha} 'blobs') are likely sites of ongoing massive galaxy formation, but the rarity of these powerful sources has made it difficult to form a coherent picture of their properties, ionization mechanisms, and space density. Systematic narrowband Ly{alpha} nebula surveys are ongoing, but the small redshift range covered and the observational expense limit the comoving volume that can be probed by even the largest of these surveys and pose a significant problem when searching for such rare sources. We have developed a systematic search technique designed to find large Ly{alpha} nebulae at 2 {approx}< z {approx}< 3 within deep broadband imaging and have carried out a survey of the 9.4 deg{sup 2} NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey Booetes field. With a total survey comoving volume of Almost-Equal-To 10{sup 8} h{sup -3}{sub 70} Mpc{sup 3}, this is the largest volume survey for Ly{alpha} nebulae ever undertaken. In this first paper in the series, we present the details of the survey design and a systematically selected sample of 79 candidates, which includes one previously discovered Ly{alpha} nebula.

Sources of measurement variation in blood pressure in large-scale epidemiological surveys with follow-up

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Ulla Overgaard; Henriksen, Jens H; Jensen, Gorm

2002-01-01

The Copenhagen City Heart Study (CCHS) is a longitudinal epidemiological study of 19698 subjects followed up since 1976. Variation in blood pressure (BP) measurement in the first three CCHS surveys is evaluated by assessing two components, systematic variation and random variation [daytime...... min rest, with the cuff around the non-dominating arm, in accordance with recommended guidelines. The participation rate fell from 74% in survey 1 to 63% in survey 3. Significant non-response bias with respect to BP values was not found. No daytime variability was noted either in systolic (SBP...... and plasma cholesterol. SBP was 5-10 mmHg higher in diabetics (p = 0.000-0.04) than in age- and sex-matched non-diabetics. DBP did not differ between the two groups. Smokers from the age of 50 years had a 2-4 mmHg lower SBP (p = 0.000-0.01) and 1-3 mmHg lower DBP (p = 0.000-0.005) than had non...

An assessment of incentive versus survey length trade-offs in a Web survey of radiologists.

Science.gov (United States)

Ziegenfuss, Jeanette Y; Niederhauser, Blake D; Kallmes, David; Beebe, Timothy J

2013-03-20

It is generally understood that shorter Web surveys and use of incentives result in higher response rates in Web surveys directed to health care providers. Less is known about potential respondent preference for reduced burden as compared to increased reward. To help elicit preference for minimized burden compared to reward for completion of a survey, we observed physician preferences for shorter Web surveys compared to incentives as well as incentive preference (small guaranteed incentive compared to larger lottery incentive) accompanying an electronic request to complete a survey. This was an observational study that accompanied a large Web survey study of radiology staff, fellows, and residents at select academic medical centers in the United States. With the request to complete the survey, potential respondents were offered three options: (1) a 10-minute Web survey with the chance to win an iPad, (2) a 10-minute Web survey with a guaranteed nominal incentive ($5 amazon.com gift card), or (3) a shorter (5-7 minute) Web survey with no incentive. A total of 254 individuals responded to the Web survey request. Overwhelmingly, individuals chose a longer survey accompanied by an incentive compared to a shorter survey with no incentive (85% compared to 15%, P<.001). Of those opting for an incentive, a small, but not significant majority chose the chance to win an iPad over a guaranteed $5 gift card (56% compared to 44%). When given the choice, radiologists preferred a reward (either guaranteed or based on a lottery) to a less burdensome survey, indicating that researchers should focus more attention at increasing perceived benefits of completing a Web survey compared to decreasing perceived burden.

Performance of Ductless Personalized Ventilation in Open-Plan Office - Field Survey

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalewski, Mariusz; Ezzat Khalifa, H.; Melikov, Arsen Krikor

2013-01-01

A field survey was conducted in an architectural company located in Syracuse, USA. 54 employees who participated in the survey performed mostly design work. Large open-plan office and several single offices ventilated by displacement air distribution were included in the survey. Ductless...

Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Rapid Ecological Assessments of Fish Large-Area Stationary Point Count Surveys (SPC) in the Pacific Ocean from 2000-09-09 to 2007-06-08 (NCEI Accession 0162466)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The large-area stationary point count (SPC) method is used to conduct reef fish surveys in the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific...

Exploiting street-level panoramic images for large-scale automated surveying of traffic sign

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hazelhoff, L.; Creusen, I.M.; With, de P.H.N.

2014-01-01

Accurate and up-to-date inventories of traffic signs contribute to efficient road maintenance and a high road safety. This paper describes a system for the automated surveying of road signs from street-level images. This is an extremely challenging task, as the involved capturings are non-densely

Understanding uncertainties in non-linear population trajectories: a Bayesian semi-parametric hierarchical approach to large-scale surveys of coral cover.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julie Vercelloni

Full Text Available Recently, attempts to improve decision making in species management have focussed on uncertainties associated with modelling temporal fluctuations in populations. Reducing model uncertainty is challenging; while larger samples improve estimation of species trajectories and reduce statistical errors, they typically amplify variability in observed trajectories. In particular, traditional modelling approaches aimed at estimating population trajectories usually do not account well for nonlinearities and uncertainties associated with multi-scale observations characteristic of large spatio-temporal surveys. We present a Bayesian semi-parametric hierarchical model for simultaneously quantifying uncertainties associated with model structure and parameters, and scale-specific variability over time. We estimate uncertainty across a four-tiered spatial hierarchy of coral cover from the Great Barrier Reef. Coral variability is well described; however, our results show that, in the absence of additional model specifications, conclusions regarding coral trajectories become highly uncertain when considering multiple reefs, suggesting that management should focus more at the scale of individual reefs. The approach presented facilitates the description and estimation of population trajectories and associated uncertainties when variability cannot be attributed to specific causes and origins. We argue that our model can unlock value contained in large-scale datasets, provide guidance for understanding sources of uncertainty, and support better informed decision making.

Wide Field Radio Transient Surveys

Science.gov (United States)

Bower, Geoffrey

2011-04-01

The time domain of the radio wavelength sky has been only sparsely explored. Nevertheless, serendipitous discovery and results from limited surveys indicate that there is much to be found on timescales from nanoseconds to years and at wavelengths from meters to millimeters. These observations have revealed unexpected phenomena such as rotating radio transients and coherent pulses from brown dwarfs. Additionally, archival studies have revealed an unknown class of radio transients without radio, optical, or high-energy hosts. The new generation of centimeter-wave radio telescopes such as the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) will exploit wide fields of view and flexible digital signal processing to systematically explore radio transient parameter space, as well as lay the scientific and technical foundation for the Square Kilometer Array. Known unknowns that will be the target of future transient surveys include orphan gamma-ray burst afterglows, radio supernovae, tidally-disrupted stars, flare stars, and magnetars. While probing the variable sky, these surveys will also provide unprecedented information on the static radio sky. I will present results from three large ATA surveys (the Fly's Eye survey, the ATA Twenty CM Survey (ATATS), and the Pi GHz Survey (PiGSS)) and several small ATA transient searches. Finally, I will discuss the landscape and opportunities for future instruments at centimeter wavelengths.

Lupus anticoagulants: first French interlaboratory Etalonorme survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Roussi, J; Roisin, J P; Goguel, A

1996-06-01

In 1994, the, French National Quality Control Group for Hematology, Etalonorme, conducted a large-scale interlaboratory survey concerning the detection of lupus anticoagulants (LA) involving all the 4,500 French laboratories. Each laboratory received the same batch of a lyophilized citrated plasma (94B3) prepared from a patient with LA that had been confirmed by all the techniques used in the intralaboratory study. In the interlaboratory survey, the screening test was activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT); mean APTT calculated from the results reported by 4,029 labs was prolonged (clotting ratio = 1.44) with a large dispersion (coefficients of variation = 18.8%). APTT of the mixture 94B3 + normal plasma were performed by 2,698 laboratories. No correction of APTT was obtained (R = 1.36, Rosner index = 24) with a wide variation between reagents (17 kaolin. This survey allowed Etalonorme to inform French biologists and draft an educational program for the biologic detection of LA and the identification of its mechanism of action.

Optimizing the LSST Dither Pattern for Survey Uniformity

Science.gov (United States)

Awan, Humna; Gawiser, Eric J.; Kurczynski, Peter; Carroll, Christopher M.; LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration

2015-01-01

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will gather detailed data of the southern sky, enabling unprecedented study of Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations, which are an important probe of dark energy. These studies require a survey with highly uniform depth, and we aim to find an observation strategy that optimizes this uniformity. We have shown that in the absence of dithering (large telescope-pointing offsets), the LSST survey will vary significantly in depth. Hence, we implemented various dithering strategies, including random and repulsive random pointing offsets and spiral patterns with the spiral reaching completion in either a few months or the entire ten-year run. We employed three different implementations of dithering strategies: a single offset assigned to all fields observed on each night, offsets assigned to each field independently whenever the field is observed, and offsets assigned to each field only when the field is observed on a new night. Our analysis reveals that large dithers are crucial to guarantee survey uniformity and that assigning dithers to each field independently whenever the field is observed significantly increases this uniformity. These results suggest paths towards an optimal observation strategy that will enable LSST to achieve its science goals.We gratefully acknowledge support from the National Science Foundation REU program at Rutgers, PHY-1263280, and the Department of Energy, DE-SC0011636.

Morphological pyramids in multiresolution MIP rendering of large volume data : Survey and new results

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roerdink, J.B.T.M.

We survey and extend nonlinear signal decompositions based on morphological pyramids, and their application to multiresolution maximum intensity projection (MIP) volume rendering with progressive refinement and perfect reconstruction. The structure of the resulting multiresolution rendering

Knowledge of the Costs of Diagnostic Imaging: A Survey of Physician Trainees at a Large Academic Medical Center.

Science.gov (United States)

Vijayasarathi, Arvind; Duszak, Richard; Gelbard, Rondi B; Mullins, Mark E

2016-11-01

To study the awareness of postgraduate physician trainees across a variety of specialties regarding the costs of common imaging examinations. During early 2016, we conducted an online survey of all 1,238 physicians enrolled in internships, residencies, and fellowships at a large academic medical center. Respondents were asked to estimate Medicare national average total allowable fees for five commonly performed examinations: two-view chest radiograph, contrast-enhanced CT abdomen and pelvis, unenhanced MRI lumbar spine, complete abdominal ultrasound, and unenhanced CT brain. Responses within ±25% of published amounts were deemed correct. Respondents were also asked about specialty, postgraduate year of training, previous radiology education, and estimated number of imaging examinations ordered per week. A total of 381 of 1,238 trainees returned complete surveys (30.8%). Across all five examinations, only 5.7% (109/1,905) of responses were within the correct ±25% range. A total of 76.4% (291/381) of all respondents incorrectly estimated every examination's cost. Estimation accuracy was not associated with number of imaging examinations ordered per week or year of training. There was no significant difference in cost estimation accuracy between those who participated in medical school radiology electives and those who did not (P = .14). Only 17.5% of trainees considered their imaging cost knowledge adequate. Overall, 75.3% desire integration of cost data into clinical decision support and/or computerized physician order entry systems. Postgraduate physician trainees across all disciplines demonstrate limited awareness of the costs of commonly ordered imaging examinations. Targeted medical school education and integration of imaging cost information into clinical decision support / computerized physician order entry systems seems indicated. Copyright © 2016 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tenured Librarians in Large University Libraries.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Karen F.; And Others

1984-01-01

Based on a 1979 survey of 530 tenured librarians in 33 large academic libraries, this article examines characteristics of tenured librarians (sex, age, marital status, salary, degrees, rank, job titles), criteria and review procedures used in granting tenure, productivity before and after tenure, and mobility. Seven references are included. (EJS)

Dissolved Gas Analysis Principle-Based Intelligent Approaches to Fault Diagnosis and Decision Making for Large Oil-Immersed Power Transformers: A Survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lefeng Cheng

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Compared with conventional methods of fault diagnosis for power transformers, which have defects such as imperfect encoding and too absolute encoding boundaries, this paper systematically discusses various intelligent approaches applied in fault diagnosis and decision making for large oil-immersed power transformers based on dissolved gas analysis (DGA, including expert system (EPS, artificial neural network (ANN, fuzzy theory, rough sets theory (RST, grey system theory (GST, swarm intelligence (SI algorithms, data mining technology, machine learning (ML, and other intelligent diagnosis tools, and summarizes existing problems and solutions. From this survey, it is found that a single intelligent approach for fault diagnosis can only reflect operation status of the transformer in one particular aspect, causing various degrees of shortcomings that cannot be resolved effectively. Combined with the current research status in this field, the problems that must be addressed in DGA-based transformer fault diagnosis are identified, and the prospects for future development trends and research directions are outlined. This contribution presents a detailed and systematic survey on various intelligent approaches to faults diagnosing and decisions making of the power transformer, in which their merits and demerits are thoroughly investigated, as well as their improvement schemes and future development trends are proposed. Moreover, this paper concludes that a variety of intelligent algorithms should be combined for mutual complementation to form a hybrid fault diagnosis network, such that avoiding these algorithms falling into a local optimum. Moreover, it is necessary to improve the detection instruments so as to acquire reasonable characteristic gas data samples. The research summary, empirical generalization and analysis of predicament in this paper provide some thoughts and suggestions for the research of complex power grid in the new environment, as

Survey and research for the enhancement of large-scale technology development 2. How large-scale technology development should be in the future; Ogata gijutsu kaihatsu suishin no tame no chosa kenkyu. 2. Kongo no ogata gijutsu kaihatsu no arikata

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1981-03-01

A survey is conducted over the subject matter by holding interviews with people, employed with the entrusted businesses participating in the large-scale industrial technology development system, who are engaged in the development of industrial technologies, and with people of experience or academic background involved in the project enhancement effort. Needs of improvement are pointed out that the competition principle based for example on parallel development be introduced; that research-on-research be practiced for effective task institution; midway evaluation be substantiated since prior evaluation is difficult; efforts be made to organize new industries utilizing the fruits of large-scale industrial technology for the creation of markets, not to induce economic conflicts; that transfer of technologies be enhanced from the private sector to public sector. Studies are made about the review of research conducting systems; utilization of the power of private sector research and development efforts; enlightening about industrial proprietorship; and the diffusion of large-scale project systems. In this connection, problems are pointed out, requests are submitted, and remedial measures and suggestions are presented. (NEDO)

Explaining discrepancies in reproductive health indicators from population-based surveys and exit surveys: a case from Rwanda.

Science.gov (United States)

Meekers, D; Ogada, E A

2001-06-01

Reproductive health programmes often need exit surveys and population-based surveys for monitoring and evaluation. This study investigates why such studies produce discrepant estimates of condom use, sexual behaviour and condom brand knowledge, and discusses the implications for future use of exit surveys for programme monitoring. Logistic regression is used to explain differences between a household survey of 1295 persons and an exit survey among a random sample of 2550 consumers at retail outlets in RWANDA: Discrepancies in ever use of condoms and risky sexual behaviours are due to differences in socioeconomic status of the two samples. After controls, exit surveys at most outlet types have the same results as the household survey. Only exit surveys at bars, nightclubs and hotels yield significantly different estimates. However, the above-average knowledge of Prudence Plus condoms in the exit interviews is not attributable to socioeconomic or demographic variables, most likely because respondents have seen the product at the outlets. Information about condom use and sexual behaviour obtained from exit surveys appears as accurate as that obtained through household surveys. Nevertheless, exit surveys must be used cautiously. Because exit surveys may include wealthier and better-educated respondents, they are not representative of the general population. The composition of exit survey samples should be validated through existing household surveys. Comparisons across survey types are generally unadvisable, unless they control for sample differences. When generalizing to the population at large is not needed (e.g. for studies aimed at identifying the characteristics and behaviour of users of particular products or services), exit surveys can provide an appropriate alternative to household surveys.

Examination of Physicians’ Perception of the Indications of Colorectal Stents in the Management of Malignant Large Bowel Obstruction: A Provincial Survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean-Frédéric LeBlanc

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Data are conflicting when assessing indications for colorectal self-expandable metallic stents (SEMS in managing acute malignant large bowel obstruction (MLO. In November 2014, European and American Societies published guidelines to aid in understanding which patients might benefit from colorectal stenting. Yet, there remain marked disparities in clinical practice. Methods. A web-based survey was sent to Gastroenterologists and Surgical Specialists across Quebec to assess physicians’ knowledge and adherence to the indications for colonic SEMS placement in the management of MLO using eight clinical scenarios. Results. Out of 112 respondents, 74% preferred surgical intervention in young, healthy individuals with MLO. Advanced age and comorbidities motivated 56.3% (95% CI 47.1–65.5% of participants to opt for SEMS placement. In palliative settings of patients undergoing chemotherapy including bevacizumab, a minority of respondents followed guidelines, 12.5% (95% CI 6.4–18.6% for young patients and 25.0% for elderly patients (95% CI 17.0–33.0%. The pooled overall adherence to guidelines was 50.4% (95% CI 40.7–59.3%. Conclusion. This survey suggests that guidelines recommendations are not being implemented by at least half of specialists involved in the care of patients with MLO. Future studies should attempt to identify possible barriers responsible for this impaired knowledge translation and tailored educational initiatives planned accordingly.

Atlantic Marine Mammal Assessment Vessel Surveys

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — These data sets are a compilation of large vessel surveys for marine mammal stock assessments in South Atlantic (Florida to Maryland) waters from 1994 to the...

Spatially explicit shallow landslide susceptibility mapping over large areas

Science.gov (United States)

Dino Bellugi; William E. Dietrich; Jonathan Stock; Jim McKean; Brian Kazian; Paul Hargrove

2011-01-01

Recent advances in downscaling climate model precipitation predictions now yield spatially explicit patterns of rainfall that could be used to estimate shallow landslide susceptibility over large areas. In California, the United States Geological Survey is exploring community emergency response to the possible effects of a very large simulated storm event and to do so...

Readership survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1984-01-01

The article reviews the last readership survey, which helped to check readers' reactions and the level and style of the journal. The majority of readers (32 per cent), not surprisingly, work in high energy physics. In fact, if the estimate of the world high energy physics population as some 5000 people is correct, CERN Courier reaches every one of them. The next large category of readers is the teaching profession (21 percent), with industrialists (12 per cent) in third place

The Amateurs' Love Affair with Large Datasets

Science.gov (United States)

Price, Aaron; Jacoby, S. H.; Henden, A.

2006-12-01

Amateur astronomers are professionals in other areas. They bring expertise from such varied and technical careers as computer science, mathematics, engineering, and marketing. These skills, coupled with an enthusiasm for astronomy, can be used to help manage the large data sets coming online in the next decade. We will show specific examples where teams of amateurs have been involved in mining large, online data sets and have authored and published their own papers in peer-reviewed astronomical journals. Using the proposed LSST database as an example, we will outline a framework for involving amateurs in data analysis and education with large astronomical surveys.

Bioethics consultation practices and procedures: a survey of a large Canadian community of practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Greenberg, R A; Anstey, K W; Macri, R; Heesters, A; Bean, S; Zlotnik Shaul, R

2014-06-01

The literature fails to reflect general agreement over the nature of the services and procedures provided by bioethicists, and the training and core competencies this work requires. If bioethicists are to define their activities in a consistent way, it makes sense to look for common ground in shared communities of practice. We report results of a survey of the services and procedures among bioethicists affiliated with the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics (JCB). This is the largest group of bioethicists working in healthcare organizations in Canada. The results suggest there are many common services and procedures of JCB bioethicists. This survey can serve as a baseline for further exploration of the work of JCB bioethicists. Common practices exist with respect to the domains of practice, individual reporting relationships, service availability within business hours and the education and training of the bioethicist.

Verification Survey of Uranium Mine Remediation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ron, Stager

2009-01-01

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) contracted an independent verification of an intensive gamma radiation survey conducted by a mining company to demonstrate that remediation of disturbed areas was complete. This site was the first of the recent mines being decommissioned in Canada and experience gained here may be applied to other mines being decommissioned in the future. The review included examination of the site-specific basis for clean-up criteria and ALARA as required by CNSC guidance. A paper review of the company report was conducted to determine if protocols were followed and that the summarized results could be independently reproduced. An independent verification survey was conducted on parts of the site and comparisons were made between gamma radiation measurements from the verification survey and the original company survey. Some aspects of data collection using rate meters linked to GPS data loggers are discussed as are aspects for data management and analyses methods required for the large amount of data collected during these surveys. Recommendations were made for implementation of future surveys and reporting the data from those surveys in order to ensure that remediation was complete. (authors)

GPS-based household interview survey for the Cincinnati, Ohio Region.

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-01

Methods for Conducting a Large-Scale GPS-Only Survey of Households: Past Household Travel Surveys (HTS) in the United States have only piloted small subsamples of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) completes compared with 1-2 day self-reported travel i...

Results of an EMI/RFI plant survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shankar, R.; Mollerus, F.J.

1993-01-01

This paper summarizes the results of a telephone survey to collect information concerning electromagnetic interference/radio frequency interference (EMI/RFI) problems primarily at nuclear power plants. The survey found that problem sources such as two-way radios and welding have been largely resolved by procedural control and use of sound-power phone systems. Additional investigation and testing appear appropriate for noise interference related to grounding of electrical equipment and instrumentation

The SUrvey for Pulsars and Extragalactic Radio Bursts - I. Survey description and overview

Science.gov (United States)

Keane, E. F.; Barr, E. D.; Jameson, A.; Morello, V.; Caleb, M.; Bhandari, S.; Petroff, E.; Possenti, A.; Burgay, M.; Tiburzi, C.; Bailes, M.; Bhat, N. D. R.; Burke-Spolaor, S.; Eatough, R. P.; Flynn, C.; Jankowski, F.; Johnston, S.; Kramer, M.; Levin, L.; Ng, C.; van Straten, W.; Krishnan, V. Venkatraman

2018-01-01

We describe the Survey for Pulsars and Extragalactic Radio Bursts (SUPERB), an ongoing pulsar and fast transient survey using the Parkes radio telescope. SUPERB involves real-time acceleration searches for pulsars and single-pulse searches for pulsars and fast radio bursts. We report on the observational set-up, data analysis, multiwavelength/messenger connections, survey sensitivities to pulsars and fast radio bursts and the impact of radio frequency interference. We further report on the first 10 pulsars discovered in the project. Among these is PSR J1306-40, a millisecond pulsar in a binary system where it appears to be eclipsed for a large fraction of the orbit. PSR J1421-4407 is another binary millisecond pulsar; its orbital period is 30.7 d. This orbital period is in a range where only highly eccentric binaries are known, and expected by theory; despite this its orbit has an eccentricity of 10-5.

FUTURE SCOPE OF WOMEN CARRIER IN THE PRINTING INDUSTRY: THE CHALLENGES OF WOMEN IN PRINTING OGANIZATIONS (A SURVEY OF TWENTY FIVE COMPANIES "SMALL, MEDIUM AND LARGE PRINTING ORGANIZATION" IN AREA "NCR DELHI AND HISAR, HR".)

OpenAIRE

Mr. Azad Singh*

2017-01-01

Women carrier in printing organization today, printing industry is growing with an expositional rate & required skills manpower. In this survey based paper to getting recruit of women 10%small, 30%medium and 60% large scale print industry. Objective of this paper is too filled out manpower skills printing industries are seaking in B.Tech women printing students to bridge the gap between skills and required in printing organization. A survey 25 companies was carried out. the result indicated t...

LARGE-SCALE STAR-FORMATION-DRIVEN OUTFLOWS AT 1 < z < 2 IN THE 3D-HST SURVEY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lundgren, Britt F.; Van Dokkum, Pieter; Bezanson, Rachel; Momcheva, Ivelina; Nelson, Erica; Skelton, Rosalind E.; Wake, David; Whitaker, Katherine; Brammer, Gabriel; Franx, Marijn; Fumagalli, Mattia; Labbé, Ivo; Patel, Shannon; Da Cunha, Elizabete; Rix, Hans Walter; Schmidt, Kasper; Erb, Dawn K.; Fan Xiaohui; Kriek, Mariska; Marchesini, Danilo

2012-01-01

We present evidence of large-scale outflows from three low-mass (log(M * /M ☉ ) ∼ 9.75) star-forming (SFR > 4 M ☉ yr –1 ) galaxies observed at z = 1.24, z = 1.35, and z = 1.75 in the 3D-HST Survey. Each of these galaxies is located within a projected physical distance of 60 kpc around the sight line to the quasar SDSS J123622.93+621526.6, which exhibits well-separated strong (W λ2796 r ∼> 0.8 Å) Mg II absorption systems matching precisely to the redshifts of the three galaxies. We derive the star formation surface densities from the Hα emission in the WFC3 G141 grism observations for the galaxies and find that in each case the star formation surface density well exceeds 0.1 M ☉ yr –1 kpc –2 , the typical threshold for starburst galaxies in the local universe. From a small but complete parallel census of the 0.65 140 ∼ r > 0.8 Å Mg II covering fraction of star-forming galaxies at 1 r > 0.4 Å Mg II absorbing gas around star-forming galaxies may evolve from z ∼ 2 to the present, consistent with recent observations of an increasing collimation of star-formation-driven outflows with time from z ∼ 3.

Studying dark energy with galaxy cluster surveys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohr, Joseph J.; O'Shea, Brian; Evrard, August E.; Bialek, John; Haiman, Zoltan

2003-01-01

Galaxy cluster surveys provide a powerful means of studying the density and nature of the dark energy. The redshift distribution of detected clusters in a deep, large solid angle SZE or X-ray survey is highly sensitive to the dark energy equation of state. Accurate constraints at the 5% level on the dark energy equation of state require that systematic biases in the mass estimators must be controlled at better than the ∼10% level. Observed regularity in the cluster population and the availability of multiple, independent mass estimators suggests these precise measurements are possible. Using hydrodynamical simulations that include preheating, we show that the level of preheating required to explain local galaxy cluster structure has a dramatic effect on X-ray cluster surveys, but only a mild effect on SZE surveys. This suggests that SZE surveys may be optimal for cosmology while X-ray surveys are well suited for studies of the thermal history of the intracluster medium

Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS): Motivation, Design and Target Catalogue

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, L. J. M.; Robotham, A. S. G.; Driver, S. P.; Lagos, C. P.; Cortese, L.; Mannering, E.; Foster, C.; Lidman, C.; Hashemizadeh, A.; Koushan, S.; O'Toole, S.; Baldry, I. K.; Bilicki, M.; Bland-Hawthorn, J.; Bremer, M. N.; Brown, M. J. I.; Bryant, J. J.; Catinella, B.; Croom, S. M.; Grootes, M. W.; Holwerda, B. W.; Jarvis, M. J.; Maddox, N.; Meyer, M.; Moffett, A. J.; Phillipps, S.; Taylor, E. N.; Windhorst, R. A.; Wolf, C.

2018-06-01

The Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS) is a large spectroscopic campaign at the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) aimed at bridging the near and distant Universe by producing the highest completeness survey of galaxies and groups at intermediate redshifts (0.3 < z < 1.0). Our sample consists of ˜60,000 galaxies to Y<21.2 mag, over ˜6 deg2 in three well-studied deep extragalactic fields (Cosmic Origins Survey field, COSMOS, Extended Chandra Deep Field South, ECDFS and the X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission Large-Scale Structure region, XMM-LSS - all Large Synoptic Survey Telescope deep-drill fields). This paper presents the broad experimental design of DEVILS. Our target sample has been selected from deep Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) Y-band imaging (VISTA Deep Extragalactic Observations, VIDEO and UltraVISTA), with photometry measured by PROFOUND. Photometric star/galaxy separation is done on the basis of NIR colours, and has been validated by visual inspection. To maximise our observing efficiency for faint targets we employ a redshift feedback strategy, which continually updates our target lists, feeding back the results from the previous night's observations. We also present an overview of the initial spectroscopic observations undertaken in late 2017 and early 2018.

Linking Large-Scale Reading Assessments: Comment

Science.gov (United States)

Hanushek, Eric A.

2016-01-01

E. A. Hanushek points out in this commentary that applied researchers in education have only recently begun to appreciate the value of international assessments, even though there are now 50 years of experience with these. Until recently, these assessments have been stand-alone surveys that have not been linked, and analysis has largely focused on…

Possible Factors Promoting Car Evacuation in the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami Revealed by Analysing a Large-Scale Questionnaire Survey in Kesennuma City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fumiyasu Makinoshima

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Excessive car evacuation can cause severe traffic jams that can lead to large numbers of casualties during tsunami disasters. Investigating the possible factors that lead to unnecessary car evacuation can ensure smoother tsunami evacuations and mitigate casualty damages in future tsunami events. In this study, we quantitatively investigated the possible factors that promote car evacuation, including both necessary and unnecessary usages, by statistically analysing a large amount of data on actual tsunami evacuation behaviours surveyed in Kesennuma, where devastating damage occurred during the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami. A straightforward statistical analysis revealed a high percentage of car evacuations (approx. 50%; however, this fraction includes a high number of unnecessary usage events that were distinguished based on mode choice reasons. In addition, a binary logistic regression was conducted to quantitatively evaluate the effects of several factors and to identify the dominant factor that affected evacuation mode choice. The regression results suggested that the evacuation distance was the dominant factor for choosing car evacuation relative to other factors, such as age and sex. The cross-validation test of the regression model demonstrated that the considered factors were useful for decision making and the prediction of evacuation mode choice in the target area.

What are key factors influencing malnutrition screening in community-dwelling elderly populations by general practitioners? A large cross-sectional survey in two areas of France.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaboreau, Y; Imbert, P; Jacquet, J-P; Marchand, O; Couturier, P; Gavazzi, G

2013-11-01

Malnutrition is associated with a high morbi-mortality in elderly populations and their institutionalization at an early stage. The incidence is well known despite being often under-diagnosed in primary care. General practitioners (GPs) have a key role in home care. What are the factors affecting malnutrition-screening implementation by French GPs? We conducted a cross-sectional survey in two areas in the southeast of France (Savoie and Isère). In May 2008, an anonymized survey was sent by e-mail and/or post to all GPs with a large clinical practice. Two months later, reminder letters were sent. Potential barriers were measured by dichotomous scale. On GPs' characteristics (socio-demographic, medical training, geriatric practice and knowledge), multiple regression logistic was performed to identify others factors affecting malnutrition screening. In all, 493 GPs (26.85%) answered and 72.2% felt that malnutrition screening was useful although only 26.6% implemented it each year and 11.9% every 2-5 years. The main barriers to the implementation were patient selection (60.4%) and forgetting to screen (26.6%). Minor barriers were lack of knowledge (19.5%) or time (15%). New factors were identified: unsuitable working conditions (19.1%), insufficient motivation (6.8%) or technical support (7.2%). The quality of malnutrition information received was found to be the only promoter of annual screening (odds ratio=1.44 (1.087-1.919); P=0.011). This survey is the first in France to reveal GPs' factors affecting malnutrition implementation. New obstacles were identified in this survey. The hope of implementing regular malnutrition screening by GPs seems to lie with the quality of malnutrition information received.

Ecotoxicological sediment survey of large German rivers; Oekotoxikologische Sedimentkartierung der grossen Fluesse Deutschlands

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Duft, M.; Tillmann, M. [Internationales Hochschulinstitut Zittau (Germany); Oehlmann, J. [Frankfurt Univ. (Germany). Zoologisches Inst., Abt. Oekologie und Evolution

2003-05-01

In this project, a nation-wide, ecotoxicologically-based sediment survey was carried out. For this purpose, a total of about 200 sediment samples from 12 selected large German rivers (Danube, Elbe, Ems, Main, Mosel, Neckar, Neisse, Odra, Rhine, Ruhr, Saar and Weser) were analysed with regard to abiotic parameters (heavy metals, PAH, organic carbon content, particle size) and also by means of two biological test systems with benthic invertebrates (nematode test with the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans and chironomid test with the non-biting midge Chironomus riparius). Subsequently, this comprehensive data set was analysed statistically. By means of an iterative method, a five-stage, statistically-derived assessment concept which is founded on the results of the biological tests, was developed following the EU water framework directive. In general, the classification with the nematode test turned out to be the more sensitive method. A principal component analysis and correlations showed that the parameters of both biotests provide different information which suggests a combined use of both tests. Correlations also indicate a connection of biotest results and abiotic parameters (organic carbon content, particle size and heavy metal contamination). (orig.) [German] Im Projekt wurde eine bundesweite oekotoxikologische Sedimentkartierung grosser Fliessgewaesser durchgefuehrt. Dazu wurden insgesamt etwa 200 Sedimentproben aus 12 ausgewaehlten grossen Fluessen Deutschlands (Donau, Elbe, Ems, Main, Mosel, Neckar, Neisse, Oder, Rhein, Ruhr, Saar und Weser) auf ihre abiotischen Parameter (Schwermetalle, PAK, organischer Kohlenstoffgehalt, Korngroesse) hin analysiert sowie mit zwei biologischen Testverfahren mit benthischen Invertebraten (Nematodentest mit dem Fadenwurm Caenorhabditis elegans und Chironomidentest mit der Zuckmuecke Chironomus riparius) untersucht. Dieses umfangreiche Datenmaterial wurde anschliessend statistisch ausgewertet und mit Hilfe eines iterativen

Astronomical Surveys and Big Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mickaelian Areg M.

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Recent all-sky and large-area astronomical surveys and their catalogued data over the whole range of electromagnetic spectrum, from γ-rays to radio waves, are reviewed, including such as Fermi-GLAST and INTEGRAL in γ-ray, ROSAT, XMM and Chandra in X-ray, GALEX in UV, SDSS and several POSS I and POSS II-based catalogues (APM, MAPS, USNO, GSC in the optical range, 2MASS in NIR, WISE and AKARI IRC in MIR, IRAS and AKARI FIS in FIR, NVSS and FIRST in radio range, and many others, as well as the most important surveys giving optical images (DSS I and II, SDSS, etc., proper motions (Tycho, USNO, Gaia, variability (GCVS, NSVS, ASAS, Catalina, Pan-STARRS, and spectroscopic data (FBS, SBS, Case, HQS, HES, SDSS, CALIFA, GAMA. An overall understanding of the coverage along the whole wavelength range and comparisons between various surveys are given: galaxy redshift surveys, QSO/AGN, radio, Galactic structure, and Dark Energy surveys. Astronomy has entered the Big Data era, with Astrophysical Virtual Observatories and Computational Astrophysics playing an important role in using and analyzing big data for new discoveries.

Large-Scale Structure Behind The Milky Way with ALFAZOA

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez Barrantes, Monica; Henning, Patricia A.; Momjian, Emmanuel; McIntyre, Travis; Minchin, Robert F.

2018-06-01

The region of the sky behind the Milky Way (the Zone of Avoidance; ZOA) is not well studied due to high obscuration from gas and dust in our galaxy as well as stellar confusion, which results in low detection rate of galaxies in this region. Because of this, little is known about the distribution of galaxies in the ZOA, and other all sky redshift surveys have incomplete maps (e.g. the 2MASS Redshift survey in NIR has a gap of 5-8 deg around the Galactic plane). There is still controversy about the dipole anisotropy calculated from the comparison between the CMB and galaxy and redshift surveys, in part due to the incomplete sky mapping and redshift depth of these surveys. Fortunately, there is no ZOA at radio wavelengths because such wavelengths can pass unimpeded through dust and are not affected by stellar confusion. Therefore, we can detect and make a map of the distribution of obscured galaxies that contain the 21cm neutral hydrogen emission line, and trace the large-scale structure across the Galactic plane. The Arecibo L-Band Feed Array Zone of Avoidance (ALFAZOA) survey is a blind HI survey for galaxies behind the Milky Way that covers more than 1000 square degrees of the sky, conducted in two phases: shallow (completed) and deep (ongoing). We show the results of the finished shallow phase of the survey, which mapped a region between the galactic longitude l=30-75 deg, and latitude b <|10 deg|, and detected 418 galaxies to about 12,000 km/s, including galaxy properties and mapped large-scale structure. We do the same for new results from the deep phase, which is ongoing and covers 30 < l < 75 deg and b < |2| deg for the inner galaxy and 175 < l < 207 deg, with -2 < b < 1 for the outer galaxy.

Public appraisal of government efforts and participation intent in medico-ethical policymaking in Japan: a large scale national survey concerning brain death and organ transplant

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, Hajime; Akabayashi, Akira; Kai, Ichiro

2005-01-01

Background Public satisfaction with policy process influences the legitimacy and acceptance of policies, and conditions the future political process, especially when contending ethical value judgments are involved. On the other hand, public involvement is required if effective policy is to be developed and accepted. Methods Using the data from a large-scale national opinion survey, this study evaluates public appraisal of past government efforts to legalize organ transplant from brain-dead bodies in Japan, and examines the public's intent to participate in future policy. Results A relatively large percentage of people became aware of the issue when government actions were initiated, and many increasingly formed their own opinions on the policy in question. However, a significant number (43.3%) remained unaware of any legislative efforts, and only 26.3% of those who were aware provided positive appraisals of the policymaking process. Furthermore, a majority of respondents (61.8%) indicated unwillingness to participate in future policy discussions of bioethical issues. Multivariate analysis revealed the following factors are associated with positive appraisals of policy development: greater age; earlier opinion formation; and familiarity with donor cards. Factors associated with likelihood of future participation in policy discussion include younger age, earlier attention to the issue, and knowledge of past government efforts. Those unwilling to participate cited as their reasons that experts are more knowledgeable and that the issues are too complex. Conclusions Results of an opinion survey in Japan were presented, and a set of factors statistically associated with them were discussed. Further efforts to improve policy making process on bioethical issues are desirable. PMID:15661080

Increasing Student Success in Large Survey Science Courses via Supplemental Instruction in Learning Centers

Science.gov (United States)

Hooper, Eric Jon; Nossal, S.; Watson, L.; Timbie, P.

2010-05-01

Large introductory astronomy and physics survey courses can be very challenging and stressful. The University of Wisconsin-Madison Physics Learning Center (PLC) reaches about 10 percent of the students in four introductory physics courses, algebra and calculus based versions of both classical mechanics and electromagnetism. Participants include those potentially most vulnerable to experiencing isolation and hence to having difficulty finding study partners as well as students struggling with the course. They receive specially written tutorials, conceptual summaries, and practice problems; exam reviews; and most importantly, membership in small groups of 3 - 8 students which meet twice per week in a hybrid of traditional teaching and tutoring. Almost all students who regularly participate in the PLC earn at least a "C,” with many earning higher grades. The PLC works closely with other campus programs which seek to increase the participation and enhance the success of underrepresented minorities, first generation college students, and students from lower-income circumstances; and it is well received by students, departmental faculty, and University administration. The PLC staff includes physics education specialists and research scientists with a passion for education. However, the bulk of the teaching is conducted by undergraduates who are majoring in physics, astronomy, mathematics, engineering, and secondary science teaching (many have multiple majors). The staff train these enthusiastic students, denoted Peer Mentor Tutors (PMTs) in general pedagogy and mentoring strategies, as well as the specifics of teaching the physics covered in the course. The PMTs are among the best undergraduates at the university. While currently there is no UW-Madison learning center for astronomy courses, establishing one is a possible future direction. The introductory astronomy courses cater to non-science majors and consequently are less quantitative. However, the basic structure

Galaxy Evolution Insights from Spectral Modeling of Large Data Sets from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoversten, Erik A. [Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States)

2007-10-01

This thesis centers on the use of spectral modeling techniques on data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to gain new insights into current questions in galaxy evolution. The SDSS provides a large, uniform, high quality data set which can be exploited in a number of ways. One avenue pursued here is to use the large sample size to measure precisely the mean properties of galaxies of increasingly narrow parameter ranges. The other route taken is to look for rare objects which open up for exploration new areas in galaxy parameter space. The crux of this thesis is revisiting the classical Kennicutt method for inferring the stellar initial mass function (IMF) from the integrated light properties of galaxies. A large data set (~ 10⁵ galaxies) from the SDSS DR4 is combined with more in-depth modeling and quantitative statistical analysis to search for systematic IMF variations as a function of galaxy luminosity. Galaxy Hα equivalent widths are compared to a broadband color index to constrain the IMF. It is found that for the sample as a whole the best fitting IMF power law slope above 0.5 M_⊙ is Γ = 1.5 ± 0.1 with the error dominated by systematics. Galaxies brighter than around M_r,0.1 = -20 (including galaxies like the Milky Way which has M_r,0.1 ~ -21) are well fit by a universal Γ ~ 1.4 IMF, similar to the classical Salpeter slope, and smooth, exponential star formation histories (SFH). Fainter galaxies prefer steeper IMFs and the quality of the fits reveal that for these galaxies a universal IMF with smooth SFHs is actually a poor assumption. Related projects are also pursued. A targeted photometric search is conducted for strongly lensed Lyman break galaxies (LBG) similar to MS1512-cB58. The evolution of the photometric selection technique is described as are the results of spectroscopic follow-up of the best targets. The serendipitous discovery of two interesting blue compact dwarf galaxies is reported. These

The IMACS Cluster Building Survey. I. Description of the Survey and Analysis Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Oemler Jr., Augustus; Dressler, Alan; Gladders, Michael G.; Rigby, Jane R.; Bai, Lei; Kelson, Daniel; Villanueva, Edward; Fritz, Jacopo; Rieke, George; Poggianti, Bianca M.;

THE IMACS CLUSTER BUILDING SURVEY. I. DESCRIPTION OF THE SURVEY AND ANALYSIS METHODS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oemler, Augustus Jr.; Dressler, Alan; Kelson, Daniel; Villanueva, Edward [Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, 813 Santa Barbara St., Pasadena, CA 91101-1292 (United States); Gladders, Michael G. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Rigby, Jane R. [Observational Cosmology Lab, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Bai Lei [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 50 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4 (Canada); Fritz, Jacopo [Sterrenkundig Observatorium, Universiteit Gent, Krijgslaan 281 S9, B-9000 Gent (Belgium); Rieke, George [Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 8572 (United States); Poggianti, Bianca M.; Vulcani, Benedetta, E-mail: oemler@obs.carnegiescience.edu [INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Vicolo dell' Osservatorio 5, I-35122 Padova (Italy)

2013-06-10

The IMACS Cluster Building Survey uses the wide field spectroscopic capabilities of the IMACS spectrograph on the 6.5 m Baade Telescope to survey the large-scale environment surrounding rich intermediate-redshift clusters of galaxies. The goal is to understand the processes which may be transforming star-forming field galaxies into quiescent cluster members as groups and individual galaxies fall into the cluster from the surrounding supercluster. This first paper describes the survey: the data taking and reduction methods. We provide new calibrations of star formation rates (SFRs) derived from optical and infrared spectroscopy and photometry. We demonstrate that there is a tight relation between the observed SFR per unit B luminosity, and the ratio of the extinctions of the stellar continuum and the optical emission lines. With this, we can obtain accurate extinction-corrected colors of galaxies. Using these colors as well as other spectral measures, we determine new criteria for the existence of ongoing and recent starbursts in galaxies.

VGI in surveying engineering: Introducing collaborative cloud land surveying

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ioannis Sofos

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Volunteered geographic information (VGI has enabled many innovative applications in various scientific fields. This paper introduces a new framework called "collaborative cloud-based land surveying" (CCLS that uses VGI principles for data sharing among surveyor engineers to boost the productivity and improve the quality of their applications. A cloud-based spatio-temporal data repository is presented, aiming to facilitate the sharing of VGI among surveyor engineers. A fully-functional distributed software application has been developed and used to apply CCLS in a large-scale land surveying project run by the Greek Ministry of Culture, which involves the mapping of the historic center of Athens. Results from the data analysis of hundreds of measurements indicate a substantial (30% to 60% error reduction and also a significant productivity raise (~22%. The collected measurements are shared in an online database, accessible by professional surveyors who can in turn contribute their own data to further enhance the CCLS system.

Cluster cosmology with next-generation surveys.

Science.gov (United States)

Ascaso, B.

2017-03-01

The advent of next-generation surveys will provide a large number of cluster detections that will serve the basis for constraining cos mological parameters using cluster counts. The main two observational ingredients needed are the cluster selection function and the calibration of the mass-observable relation. In this talk, we present the methodology designed to obtain robust predictions of both ingredients based on realistic cosmological simulations mimicking the following next-generation surveys: J-PAS, LSST and Euclid. We display recent results on the selection functions for these mentioned surveys together with others coming from other next-generation surveys such as eROSITA, ACTpol and SPTpol. We notice that the optical and IR surveys will reach the lowest masses between 0.3surveys and introduce very preliminary results.

Mental health service use and need for care of Australians without diagnoses of mental disorders: findings from a large epidemiological survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Bobevski, I; Rosen, A; Meadows, G

2017-12-01

reasonable need for such care may be occurring but if so is likely to be an area-specific phenomenon. Rather than revealing a large national pool of treatment resources being expended on the so-called 'worried well', the findings suggested a generally appropriate dose-response relationship between need indicators and service use. Definitive ascertainment of area-specific disparities in this national pattern would require a different survey approach. Government proposals for widespread introduction of stepped-care models that may seek to divert patients from existing treatment pathways need to be implemented with care and well informed by local data.

A Pointwise Dimension Analysis of the Las Campanas Redshift Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Best, J. S.

1999-12-01

The modern motivation for fractal geometry may best be summed up by this quote of Benoit Mandelbrot: ``Mountains are not cones, clouds are not spheres, coastlines are not circles, and bark is not smooth, nor does lightning travel in a straight line.'' Fractals are, in simplest terms, ``objects which are (approximately) self-similar on all scales.'' The renewed modern interest in fractals has found as one of its applications the study of large-scale structure, giving a quantitative descriptive scheme to ideas that had been expressed qualitatively as early as the 1920s. This paper presents the preliminary results of an analysis of the structure of the Las Campanas Redshift Survey, or LCRS. LCRS is an approximately 26000 galaxy survey (surveyed as six declination slices) that has been studied extensively over the past few years, with an eye towards understanding large-scale structure. For this analysis, I have used the pointwise dimension, an easy-to-apply fractal statistic which has been previously used to study cluster interiors, galactic distributions, and cluster distributions. The present analysis has been performed to serve as a guide for the study of future large redshift surveys. This research has been funded by National Science Foundation grant AST-9808608.

A large sample of Kohonen selected E+A (post-starburst) galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Meusinger, H.; Brünecke, J.; Schalldach, P.; in der Au, A.

2017-01-01

Context. The galaxy population in the contemporary Universe is characterised by a clear bimodality, blue galaxies with significant ongoing star formation and red galaxies with only a little. The migration between the blue and the red cloud of galaxies is an issue of active research. Post starburst (PSB) galaxies are thought to be observed in the short-lived transition phase. Aims: We aim to create a large sample of local PSB galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to study their characteristic properties, particularly morphological features indicative of gravitational distortions and indications for active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Another aim is to present a tool set for an efficient search in a large database of SDSS spectra based on Kohonen self-organising maps (SOMs). Methods: We computed a huge Kohonen SOM for ∼106 spectra from SDSS data release 7. The SOM is made fully available, in combination with an interactive user interface, for the astronomical community. We selected a large sample of PSB galaxies taking advantage of the clustering behaviour of the SOM. The morphologies of both PSB galaxies and randomly selected galaxies from a comparison sample in SDSS Stripe 82 (S82) were inspected on deep co-added SDSS images to search for indications of gravitational distortions. We used the Portsmouth galaxy property computations to study the evolutionary stage of the PSB galaxies and archival multi-wavelength data to search for hidden AGNs. Results: We compiled a catalogue of 2665 PSB galaxies with redshifts z 3 Å and z cloud, in agreement with the idea that PSB galaxies represent the transitioning phase between actively and passively evolving galaxies. The relative frequency of distorted PSB galaxies is at least 57% for EW(Hδ) > 5 Å, significantly higher than in the comparison sample. The search for AGNs based on conventional selection criteria in the radio and MIR results in a low AGN fraction of ∼2-3%. We confirm an MIR excess in the mean SED of

2MASS Constraints on the Local Large-Scale Structure: A Challenge to LCDM?

OpenAIRE

Frith, W. J.; Shanks, T.; Outram, P. J.

2004-01-01

We investigate the large-scale structure of the local galaxy distribution using the recently completed 2 Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS). First, we determine the K-band number counts over the 4000 sq.deg. APM survey area where evidence for a large-scale `local hole' has previously been detected and compare them to a homogeneous prediction. Considering a LCDM form for the 2-point angular correlation function, the observed deficiency represents a 5 sigma fluctuation in the galaxy distribution. We...

Survey on the technological development issues for large-scale methanol engine power generation plant; Ogata methanol engine hatsuden plant ni kansuru gijutsu kaihatsu kadai chosa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1994-03-01

Based on the result of `Survey on the feasibility of large-scale methanol engine power generation plant` in fiscal 1992, concrete technological development issues were studied for its practical use, and the technological R & D scheme was prepared for large-scale methanol engine power plant featured by low NOx and high efficiency. Technological development issues of this plant were as follows: improvement of thermal efficiency, reduction of NOx emission, improvement of the reliability and durability of ignition and fuel injection systems, and reduction of vibration. As the economical effect of the technological development, the profitability of NOx control measures was compared between this methanol engine and conventional heavy oil diesel engines or gas engines. As a result, this engine was more economical than conventional engines. It was suggested that development of the equipment will be completed in nearly 4 years through every component study, single-cylinder model experiment and real engine test. 21 refs., 43 figs., 19 tabs.

A deep X-ray spectroscopic survey of the ESO imaging survey fields

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørgaard-Nielsen, Hans Ulrik; Jørgensen, H.E.; Hansen, Lene

1998-01-01

The deepest ROSAT surveys have shown, that, in the energy range 0.5-2.0 keV, QSO's can account for similar to 30 per cent of the Diffuse X-ray Background (DXRB), and Narrow Emission Line Galaxies (NELG) and clusters of galaxies for about 10 per cent each. But, by assuming characteristic spectral ...... provide new insight into the evolution of galaxies, clusters of galaxies and AGN's.......The deepest ROSAT surveys have shown, that, in the energy range 0.5-2.0 keV, QSO's can account for similar to 30 per cent of the Diffuse X-ray Background (DXRB), and Narrow Emission Line Galaxies (NELG) and clusters of galaxies for about 10 per cent each. But, by assuming characteristic spectral....... This spectroscopic X-ray survey will provide a large, statistically complete, sample of sources detected at high energies, more than an order of magnitude fainter than obtained by previous missions. The study of these sources will significantly improve our understanding not only of the origin of DXRB, but also...

Efficiency in pathology laboratories: a survey of operations management in NHS bacteriology.

Science.gov (United States)

Szczepura, A K

1991-01-01

In recent years pathology laboratory services in the U.K. have experienced large increases in demand. But the extent to which U.K. laboratories have introduced controls to limit unnecessary procedures within the laboratory was previously unclear. This paper presents the results of a survey of all 343 NHS bacteriology laboratories which records the extent to which such operations management controls are now in place. The survey shows large differences between laboratories. Quality controls over inputs, the use of screening tests as a culture substitute, the use of direct susceptibility testing, controls over routine antibiotic susceptibility testing, and controls over reporting of results all vary widely. The survey also records the prevalence of hospital antibiotic policies, the extent to which laboratories produce antibiograms for user clinicians, the degree of computerisation in data handling, and the degree of automation in processing specimens. Finally, the survey uncovers a large variation between NHS labs in the percentage of bacteriology samples which prove positive and lead to antibiotic susceptibility tests being carried out.

Cosmological Parameter Estimation with Large Scale Structure Observations

CERN Document Server

Di Dio, Enea; Durrer, Ruth; Lesgourgues, Julien

2014-01-01

We estimate the sensitivity of future galaxy surveys to cosmological parameters, using the redshift dependent angular power spectra of galaxy number counts, $C_\\ell(z_1,z_2)$, calculated with all relativistic corrections at first order in perturbation theory. We pay special attention to the redshift dependence of the non-linearity scale and present Fisher matrix forecasts for Euclid-like and DES-like galaxy surveys. We compare the standard $P(k)$ analysis with the new $C_\\ell(z_1,z_2)$ method. We show that for surveys with photometric redshifts the new analysis performs significantly better than the $P(k)$ analysis. For spectroscopic redshifts, however, the large number of redshift bins which would be needed to fully profit from the redshift information, is severely limited by shot noise. We also identify surveys which can measure the lensing contribution and we study the monopole, $C_0(z_1,z_2)$.

Approximate median regression for complex survey data with skewed response.

Science.gov (United States)

Fraser, Raphael André; Lipsitz, Stuart R; Sinha, Debajyoti; Fitzmaurice, Garrett M; Pan, Yi

2016-12-01

The ready availability of public-use data from various large national complex surveys has immense potential for the assessment of population characteristics using regression models. Complex surveys can be used to identify risk factors for important diseases such as cancer. Existing statistical methods based on estimating equations and/or utilizing resampling methods are often not valid with survey data due to complex survey design features. That is, stratification, multistage sampling, and weighting. In this article, we accommodate these design features in the analysis of highly skewed response variables arising from large complex surveys. Specifically, we propose a double-transform-both-sides (DTBS)'based estimating equations approach to estimate the median regression parameters of the highly skewed response; the DTBS approach applies the same Box-Cox type transformation twice to both the outcome and regression function. The usual sandwich variance estimate can be used in our approach, whereas a resampling approach would be needed for a pseudo-likelihood based on minimizing absolute deviations (MAD). Furthermore, the approach is relatively robust to the true underlying distribution, and has much smaller mean square error than a MAD approach. The method is motivated by an analysis of laboratory data on urinary iodine (UI) concentration from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. © 2016, The International Biometric Society.

The Big Drink Debate: perceptions of the impact of price on alcohol consumption from a large scale cross-sectional convenience survey in north west England.

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, Penny A; Phillips-Howard, Penelope A; Morleo, Michela; Harkins, Corinne; Briant, Linford; Bellis, Mark A

2011-08-23

A large-scale survey was conducted in 2008 in north west England, a region with high levels of alcohol-related harm, during a regional 'Big Drink Debate' campaign. The aim of this paper is to explore perceptions of how alcohol consumption would change if alcohol prices were to increase or decrease. A convenience survey of residents (≥ 18 years) of north west England measured demographics, income, alcohol consumption in previous week, and opinions on drinking behaviour under two pricing conditions: low prices and discounts and increased alcohol prices (either 'decrease', 'no change' or 'increase'). Multinomial logistic regression used three outcomes: 'completely elastic' (consider that lower prices increase drinking and higher prices decrease drinking); 'lower price elastic' (lower prices increase drinking, higher prices have no effect); and 'price inelastic' (no change for either). Of 22,780 drinkers surveyed, 80.3% considered lower alcohol prices and discounts would increase alcohol consumption, while 22.1% thought raising prices would decrease consumption, making lower price elasticity only (i.e. lower prices increase drinking, higher prices have no effect) the most common outcome (62%). Compared to a high income/high drinking category, the lightest drinkers with a low income (adjusted odds ratio AOR = 1.78, 95% confidence intervals CI 1.38-2.30) or medium income (AOR = 1.88, CI 1.47-2.41) were most likely to be lower price elastic. Females were more likely than males to be lower price elastic (65% vs 57%) while the reverse was true for complete elasticity (20% vs 26%, P price of alcohol reduces consumption, and one in five of the surveyed population agreed; more work is required to increase this agreement to achieve public support for policy change. Such policy should also recognise that alcohol is an addictive drug, and the population may be prepared to pay more to drink the amount they now feel they need.

Humeral fractures due to low-energy trauma: an epidemiological survey in patients referred to a large emergency department in Northern Italy.

Science.gov (United States)

Pedrazzoni, M; Abbate, B; Verzicco, I; Pedrazzini, A; Benatti, M; Cervellin, G

2015-01-01

This survey describes the epidemiology of approximately 1800 low-energy humeral fractures seen in a large emergency department in Northern Italy over 7 years (2007-2013), highlighting the differences from previous Italian studies. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of humeral fractures due to low-energy trauma in patients 40 years of age or older referred to a large Emergency Department (Parma, Northern Italy) in a 7-year period (2007-2013). All humeral fractures referred to the emergency department of the Academic Hospital of Parma (the main hospital in the province with a catchment area of approximately 345,000) were retrieved from the hospital database using both ICD-9CM codes and text strings. The diagnosis of humeral fracture due to low-energy trauma was confirmed by medical records and X-ray reports, after exclusion of injuries due to a clear-cut high-energy trauma or cancer. The query identified 1843 humeral fractures (1809 first fractures), with a clear predominance in women (78 %). Fractures of the proximal humerus represented the large majority of humeral fractures (more than 85 %), with an incidence progressively increasing with age (more than 60-fold in women and 20-fold in men). Simultaneous fractures (hip in particular) were frequent especially after 85 years of age (1 out of 8 cases). When compared to other Italian studies, the incidence of humeral fractures was significantly lower than that derived from discharge data corrected for hospitalization rate (standardized rate ratio 0.74; p energy humeral fractures in Italy. Our results partly differ from previous Italian studies based on indirect estimations.

Facilitating genome navigation : survey sequencing and dense radiation-hybrid gene mapping

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hitte, C; Madeoy, J; Kirkness, EF; Priat, C; Lorentzen, TD; Senger, F; Thomas, D; Derrien, T; Ramirez, C; Scott, C; Evanno, G; Pullar, B; Cadieu, E; Oza, [No Value; Lourgant, K; Jaffe, DB; Tacher, S; Dreano, S; Berkova, N; Andre, C; Deloukas, P; Fraser, C; Lindblad-Toh, K; Ostrander, EA; Galibert, F

Accurate and comprehensive sequence coverage for large genomes has been restricted to only a few species of specific interest. Lower sequence coverage (survey sequencing) of related species can yield a wealth of information about gene content and putative regulatory elements. But survey sequences

VLA-ANGST: A HIGH-RESOLUTION H I SURVEY OF NEARBY DWARF GALAXIES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ott, Jürgen; Stilp, Adrienne M.; Dalcanton, Julianne J.; Warren, Steven R.; Skillman, Evan D.; Walter, Fabian; De Blok, W. J. G.; Koribalski, Bärbel; West, Andrew A.

2012-01-01

We present the 'Very Large Array survey of Advanced Camera for Surveys Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury galaxies (VLA-ANGST)'. VLA-ANGST is a National Radio Astronomy Observatory Large Program consisting of high spectral (0.6-2.6 km s –1 ) and spatial (∼6'') resolution observations of neutral, atomic hydrogen (H I) emission toward 35 nearby dwarf galaxies from the ANGST survey. ANGST is a systematic Hubble Space Telescope survey to establish a legacy of uniform multi-color photometry of resolved stars for a volume-limited sample of nearby galaxies (D ∼ –1 for the majority of the galaxies). The VLA-ANGST data products are made publicly available through a dedicated Web site (https://science.nrao.edu/science/surveys/vla-angst). With available star formation histories from resolved stellar populations and lower resolution ancillary observations from the far-infrared to the ultraviolet, VLA-ANGST will enable detailed studies of the relationship between the ISM and star formation in dwarf galaxies on a ∼100 pc scale.

Galaxy redshift surveys with sparse sampling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiang, Chi-Ting; Wullstein, Philipp; Komatsu, Eiichiro; Jee, Inh; Jeong, Donghui; Blanc, Guillermo A.; Ciardullo, Robin; Gronwall, Caryl; Hagen, Alex; Schneider, Donald P.; Drory, Niv; Fabricius, Maximilian; Landriau, Martin; Finkelstein, Steven; Jogee, Shardha; Cooper, Erin Mentuch; Tuttle, Sarah; Gebhardt, Karl; Hill, Gary J.

2013-01-01

Survey observations of the three-dimensional locations of galaxies are a powerful approach to measure the distribution of matter in the universe, which can be used to learn about the nature of dark energy, physics of inflation, neutrino masses, etc. A competitive survey, however, requires a large volume (e.g., V survey ∼ 10Gpc 3 ) to be covered, and thus tends to be expensive. A ''sparse sampling'' method offers a more affordable solution to this problem: within a survey footprint covering a given survey volume, V survey , we observe only a fraction of the volume. The distribution of observed regions should be chosen such that their separation is smaller than the length scale corresponding to the wavenumber of interest. Then one can recover the power spectrum of galaxies with precision expected for a survey covering a volume of V survey (rather than the volume of the sum of observed regions) with the number density of galaxies given by the total number of observed galaxies divided by V survey (rather than the number density of galaxies within an observed region). We find that regularly-spaced sampling yields an unbiased power spectrum with no window function effect, and deviations from regularly-spaced sampling, which are unavoidable in realistic surveys, introduce calculable window function effects and increase the uncertainties of the recovered power spectrum. On the other hand, we show that the two-point correlation function (pair counting) is not affected by sparse sampling. While we discuss the sparse sampling method within the context of the forthcoming Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment, the method is general and can be applied to other galaxy surveys

Large floating structures technological advances

CERN Document Server

Wang, BT

2015-01-01

This book surveys key projects that have seen the construction of large floating structures or have attained detailed conceptual designs. This compilation of key floating structures in a single volume captures the innovative features that mark the technological advances made in this field of engineering, and will provide a useful reference for ideas, analysis, design, and construction of these unique and emerging urban projects to offshore and marine engineers, urban planners, architects and students.

A survey of the prevalence of smoking and smoking cessation advice received by inpatients in a large teaching hospital in Ireland.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Bartels, C

2012-01-06

BACKGROUND: The adverse effects of smoking are well documented and it is crucial that this modifiable risk factor is addressed routinely. Professional advice can be effective at reducing smoking amongst patients, yet it is not clear if all hospital in-patient smokers receive advice to quit. AIMS: To explore smoking prevalence amongst hospital in-patients and smoking cessation advice given by health professionals in a large university teaching hospital. METHODS: Interviews were carried out over 2 weeks in February 2011 with all eligible in-patients in Beaumont Hospital. RESULTS: Of the 205 patients who completed the survey, 61% stated they had been asked about smoking by a healthcare professional in the past year. Only 44% of current\\/recent smokers stated they had received smoking cessation advice from a health professional within the same timeframe. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to increase rates of healthcare professional-provided smoking cessation advice are urgently needed.

Using SysML for verification and validation planning on the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST)

Science.gov (United States)

Selvy, Brian M.; Claver, Charles; Angeli, George

2014-08-01

This paper provides an overview of the tool, language, and methodology used for Verification and Validation Planning on the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) Project. LSST has implemented a Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approach as a means of defining all systems engineering planning and definition activities that have historically been captured in paper documents. Specifically, LSST has adopted the Systems Modeling Language (SysML) standard and is utilizing a software tool called Enterprise Architect, developed by Sparx Systems. Much of the historical use of SysML has focused on the early phases of the project life cycle. Our approach is to extend the advantages of MBSE into later stages of the construction project. This paper details the methodology employed to use the tool to document the verification planning phases, including the extension of the language to accommodate the project's needs. The process includes defining the Verification Plan for each requirement, which in turn consists of a Verification Requirement, Success Criteria, Verification Method(s), Verification Level, and Verification Owner. Each Verification Method for each Requirement is defined as a Verification Activity and mapped into Verification Events, which are collections of activities that can be executed concurrently in an efficient and complementary way. Verification Event dependency and sequences are modeled using Activity Diagrams. The methodology employed also ties in to the Project Management Control System (PMCS), which utilizes Primavera P6 software, mapping each Verification Activity as a step in a planned activity. This approach leads to full traceability from initial Requirement to scheduled, costed, and resource loaded PMCS task-based activities, ensuring all requirements will be verified.

Validation of the MOS Social Support Survey 6-item (MOS-SSS-6) measure with two large population-based samples of Australian women.

Science.gov (United States)

Holden, Libby; Lee, Christina; Hockey, Richard; Ware, Robert S; Dobson, Annette J

2014-12-01

This study aimed to validate a 6-item 1-factor global measure of social support developed from the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS) for use in large epidemiological studies. Data were obtained from two large population-based samples of participants in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. The two cohorts were aged 53-58 and 28-33 years at data collection (N = 10,616 and 8,977, respectively). Items selected for the 6-item 1-factor measure were derived from the factor structure obtained from unpublished work using an earlier wave of data from one of these cohorts. Descriptive statistics, including polychoric correlations, were used to describe the abbreviated scale. Cronbach's alpha was used to assess internal consistency and confirmatory factor analysis to assess scale validity. Concurrent validity was assessed using correlations between the new 6-item version and established 19-item version, and other concurrent variables. In both cohorts, the new 6-item 1-factor measure showed strong internal consistency and scale reliability. It had excellent goodness-of-fit indices, similar to those of the established 19-item measure. Both versions correlated similarly with concurrent measures. The 6-item 1-factor MOS-SSS measures global functional social support with fewer items than the established 19-item measure.

A survey of Daldinia species with large ascospores

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stadler, M.; Læssøe, Thomas; Simpson, J.A.

2004-01-01

Specimens of Daldinia (Xylariaceae) from around the world possessing large ascospores were studied for teleomorphic and anamorphic morphological characters and compared with authentic material of D. grandis. A culture made from a specimen of D. grandis collected from Ecuador produced stromatic...... sp. nov. from New Zealand, a fungus obviously related to D. bakeri, which is also reported from that country; (2) D. dennisii sp. nov., from Australia and New Zealand, of which two varieties are erected; and (3) D. loculatoides sp. nov., from the UK and Canada with affinities to D. loculata. The type...

OPTICAL-NEAR-INFRARED COLOR GRADIENTS AND MERGING HISTORY OF ELLIPTICAL GALAXIES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Duho; Im, Myungshin

2013-01-01

It has been suggested that merging plays an important role in the formation and the evolution of elliptical galaxies. While gas dissipation by star formation is believed to steepen metallicity and color gradients of the merger products, mixing of stars through dissipation-less merging (dry merging) is believed to flatten them. In order to understand the past merging history of elliptical galaxies, we studied the optical-near-infrared (NIR) color gradients of 204 elliptical galaxies. These galaxies are selected from the overlap region of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Stripe 82 and the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) Large Area Survey (LAS). The use of optical and NIR data (g, r, and K) provides large wavelength baselines, and breaks the age-metallicity degeneracy, allowing us to derive age and metallicity gradients. The use of the deep SDSS Stripe 82 images makes it possible for us to examine how the color/age/metallicity gradients are related to merging features. We find that the optical-NIR color and the age/metallicity gradients of elliptical galaxies with tidal features are consistent with those of relaxed ellipticals, suggesting that the two populations underwent a similar merging history on average and that mixing of stars was more or less completed before the tidal features disappeared. Elliptical galaxies with dust features have steeper color gradients than the other two types, even after masking out dust features during the analysis, which can be due to a process involving wet merging. More importantly, we find that the scatter in the color/age/metallicity gradients of the relaxed and merging feature types decreases as their luminosities (or masses) increase at M > 10 11.4 M ☉ but stays large at lower luminosities. Mean metallicity gradients appear nearly constant over the explored mass range, but a possible flattening is observed at the massive end. According to our toy model that predicts how the distribution of metallicity gradients

Survey on Services to Multicultural Populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Olivier, Lee; And Others

1994-01-01

Reports results of a recent national survey that examined the availability and variety of services provided to multicultural populations by medium and large public libraries. Highlights include measuring multicultural activity; planning for new services; staffing; languages; literacy and English-as-a-Second-Language programs; and barriers to…

Large-scale survey for novel genotypes of Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine-resistance gene pfcrt

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takahashi Nobuyuki

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In Plasmodium falciparum, resistance to chloroquine (CQ is conferred by a K to T mutation at amino acid position 76 (K76T in the P. falciparum CQ transporter (PfCRT. To date, at least 15 pfcrt genotypes, which are represented by combinations of five amino acids at positions 72-76, have been described in field isolates from various endemic regions. To identify novel mutant pfcrt genotypes and to reveal the genetic relatedness of pfcrt genotypes, a large-scale survey over a wide geographic area was performed. Methods Sequences for exon 2 in pfcrt, including known polymorphic sites at amino acid positions 72, 74, 75 and 76, were obtained from 256 P. falciparum isolates collected from eight endemic countries in Asia (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lao P.D.R., the Philippines and Thailand, Melanesia (Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu and Africa (Ghana. A haplotype network was constructed based on six microsatellite markers located -29 kb to 24 kb from pfcrt in order to examine the genetic relatedness among mutant pfcrt genotypes. Results In addition to wild type (CVMNK at positions 72-76, four mutant pfcrt were identified; CVIET, CVIDT, SVMNT and CVMNT (mutated amino acids underlined. Haplotype network revealed that there were only three mutant pfcrt lineages, originating in Indochina, Philippines and Melanesia. Importantly, the Indochina lineage contained two mutant pfcrt genotypes, CVIET (n = 95 and CVIDT (n = 14, indicating that CVIDT shares a common origin with CVIET. Similarly, one major haplotype in the Melanesian lineage contained two pfcrt genotypes; SVMNT (n = 71 and CVMNT (n = 3. In Africa, all mutant pfcrt genotypes were the CVIET of the Indochina lineage, probably resulting from the intercontinental migration of CQ resistance from Southeast Asia. Conclusions The number of CQ-mutant lineages observed in this study was identical to that found in previous studies. This supports the hypothesis that the emergence of novel CQ resistance

Short assessment of the Big Five: robust across survey methods except telephone interviewing

OpenAIRE

Lang, Frieder R.; John, Dennis; Lüdtke, Oliver; Schupp, Jürgen; Wagner, Gert G.

2011-01-01

We examined measurement invariance and age-related robustness of a short 15-item Big Five Inventory (BFI–S) of personality dimensions, which is well suited for applications in large-scale multidisciplinary surveys. The BFI–S was assessed in three different interviewing conditions: computer-assisted or paper-assisted face-to-face interviewing, computer-assisted telephone interviewing, and a self-administered questionnaire. Randomized probability samples from a large-scale German panel survey a...

Estimating trends in alligator populations from nightlight survey data

Science.gov (United States)

Fujisaki, Ikuko; Mazzotti, Frank J.; Dorazio, Robert M.; Rice, Kenneth G.; Cherkiss, Michael; Jeffery, Brian

2011-01-01

Nightlight surveys are commonly used to evaluate status and trends of crocodilian populations, but imperfect detection caused by survey- and location-specific factors makes it difficult to draw population inferences accurately from uncorrected data. We used a two-stage hierarchical model comprising population abundance and detection probability to examine recent abundance trends of American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) in subareas of Everglades wetlands in Florida using nightlight survey data. During 2001–2008, there were declining trends in abundance of small and/or medium sized animals in a majority of subareas, whereas abundance of large sized animals had either demonstrated an increased or unclear trend. For small and large sized class animals, estimated detection probability declined as water depth increased. Detection probability of small animals was much lower than for larger size classes. The declining trend of smaller alligators may reflect a natural population response to the fluctuating environment of Everglades wetlands under modified hydrology. It may have negative implications for the future of alligator populations in this region, particularly if habitat conditions do not favor recruitment of offspring in the near term. Our study provides a foundation to improve inferences made from nightlight surveys of other crocodilian populations.

Investigating the American Time Use Survey from an Exposure Modeling Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

This paper describes an evaluation of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Use Survey (ATUS) for potential use in modeling human exposures to environmental pollutants. The ATUS is a large, on-going, cross-sectional survey of where Americans spend time and what activ...

JIT Manufacturing: A Survey of Implementations in Small and Large U.S. Manufacturers

OpenAIRE

Richard E. White; John N. Pearson; Jeffrey R. Wilson

1999-01-01

Since the early 1980s, the diffusion of Just-In-Time (JIT) manufacturing from Japanese manufacturers to U.S. manufacturers has progressed at an accelerated rate. At this stage of the diffusion process, JIT implementations are more common and more advanced in large U.S. manufacturers than in small; consequently, U.S. businessmen's understanding of issues associated with JIT implementations in large manufacturers is more developed than that of small manufacturers. When small manufacturers repre...

Aerial surveys adjusted by ground surveys to estimate area occupied by black-tailed prairie dog colonies

Science.gov (United States)

Sidle, John G.; Augustine, David J.; Johnson, Douglas H.; Miller, Sterling D.; Cully, Jack F.; Reading, Richard P.

2012-01-01

Aerial surveys using line-intercept methods are one approach to estimate the extent of prairie dog colonies in a large geographic area. Although black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) construct conspicuous mounds at burrow openings, aerial observers have difficulty discriminating between areas with burrows occupied by prairie dogs (colonies) versus areas of uninhabited burrows (uninhabited colony sites). Consequently, aerial line-intercept surveys may overestimate prairie dog colony extent unless adjusted by an on-the-ground inspection of a sample of intercepts. We compared aerial line-intercept surveys conducted over 2 National Grasslands in Colorado, USA, with independent ground-mapping of known black-tailed prairie dog colonies. Aerial line-intercepts adjusted by ground surveys using a single activity category adjustment overestimated colonies by ≥94% on the Comanche National Grassland and ≥58% on the Pawnee National Grassland. We present a ground-survey technique that involves 1) visiting on the ground a subset of aerial intercepts classified as occupied colonies plus a subset of intercepts classified as uninhabited colony sites, and 2) based on these ground observations, recording the proportion of each aerial intercept that intersects a colony and the proportion that intersects an uninhabited colony site. Where line-intercept techniques are applied to aerial surveys or remotely sensed imagery, this method can provide more accurate estimates of black-tailed prairie dog abundance and trends

Magnetic and geoelectrical surveying in the Roman age town Porolissum (NW Romania)

Science.gov (United States)

Petrovszki, J.

2009-04-01

We present the results of magnetic and geoelectrical surveys carried out in a Roman age town Porolissum (NW Romania). Porolissum was the capital of the province Dacia Porolissensis in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, and it had 20000 inhabitants. After the Romans left Dacia the town was deserted. The buildings in the town were built from dacite mined in nearby quarries. The dacite has large magnetic susceptibility and large electric resistivity compared to the soil, which allows the detection of the ruins by magnetic and geoelectrical measurements. We made magnetic surveying using GSM-19 Overhauser magnetometers in the fortress, the town and the cemetery. We were able to map streets, foundations of different buildings: houses, sanctuaries, and in the cemetery roads, graves and graveyards. In those places where the interpretation of the results of the magnetic surveys was not clear, geoelectrical measurements were made to clarify the presence of dacite. The geophysical surveys help to reconstruct the structure of the archeological objects, and on large scale the structure of the town. Based upon our results, the archeologists dug more trenches, which confirmed the interpretation of geophysical measurements.

Research Methods in Healthcare Epidemiology: Survey and Qualitative Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Safdar, Nasia; Abbo, Lilian M; Knobloch, Mary Jo; Seo, Susan K

2016-11-01

Surveys are one of the most frequently employed study designs in healthcare epidemiology research. Generally easier to undertake and less costly than many other study designs, surveys can be invaluable to gain insights into opinions and practices in large samples and may be descriptive and/or be used to test associations. In this context, qualitative research methods may complement this study design either at the survey development phase and/or at the interpretation/extension of results stage. This methods article focuses on key considerations for designing and deploying surveys in healthcare epidemiology and antibiotic stewardship, including identification of whether or not de novo survey development is necessary, ways to optimally lay out and display a survey, denominator measurement, discussion of biases to keep in mind particularly in research using surveys, and the role of qualitative research methods to complement surveys. We review examples of surveys in healthcare epidemiology and antimicrobial stewardship and review the pros and cons of methods used. A checklist is provided to help aid design and deployment of surveys in healthcare epidemiology and antimicrobial stewardship. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2016;1-6.

Customer satisfaction surveys: Methodological recommendations for financial service providers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Đorđić Marko

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This methodological article investigates practical challenges that emerge when conducting customer satisfaction surveys (CSS for financial service providers such as banks, insurance or leasing companies, and so forth. It displays methodological recommendations in reference with: (a survey design, (b sampling, (c survey method, (d questionnaire design, and (e data acquisition. Article provides appropriate explanations that usage of: two-stage survey design, SRS method, large samples, and rigorous fieldwork preparation can enhance the overall quality of CSS in financial services. Proposed methodological recommendations can primarily be applied to the primary quantitative marketing research in retail financial services. However, majority of them can be successfully applied when conducting primary quantitative marketing research in corporate financial services as well. .

Growth Limits in Large Scale Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knudsen, Thomas Phillip

limitations. The rising complexity of network management with the convergence of communications platforms is shown as problematic for both automatic management feasibility and for manpower resource management. In the fourth step the scope is extended to include the present society with the DDN project as its......The Subject of large scale networks is approached from the perspective of the network planner. An analysis of the long term planning problems is presented with the main focus on the changing requirements for large scale networks and the potential problems in meeting these requirements. The problems...... the fundamental technological resources in network technologies are analysed for scalability. Here several technological limits to continued growth are presented. The third step involves a survey of major problems in managing large scale networks given the growth of user requirements and the technological...

A radial velocity survey of extremely hydrogen-deficient stars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeffery, C.S.; Kiel Univ.; Drilling, J.S.; Heber, U.

1987-01-01

A radial velocity survey of hot extremely hydrogen-deficient stars has been carried out in order to search for possible binaries. The survey found three stars to have large velocity variations. Of these, two are known hydrogen-deficient binaries and one, HDE 320156 (= LSS 4300), is a suspected binary. HDE 320156 (= LSS 4300) is therefore confirmed to be a single-lined spectroscopic hydrogen-deficient binary. The hydrogen-deficient binary stars all show weak C-lines. The remaining stars in the sample are C-strong extreme-helium (EHe) stars and did not show large-amplitude velocity variations. Small-amplitude radial velocity variations known to be present amongst the EHe stars are largely undetected. Evidence for variability is, however, present in the known variable V2076 Oph (HD 160641) and in LS IV - 1 0 2 with amplitudes between 10 and 20 km s -1 . (author)

Spatial occupancy models for large data sets

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Devin S.; Conn, Paul B.; Hooten, Mevin B.; Ray, Justina C.; Pond, Bruce A.

2013-01-01

Since its development, occupancy modeling has become a popular and useful tool for ecologists wishing to learn about the dynamics of species occurrence over time and space. Such models require presence–absence data to be collected at spatially indexed survey units. However, only recently have researchers recognized the need to correct for spatially induced overdisperison by explicitly accounting for spatial autocorrelation in occupancy probability. Previous efforts to incorporate such autocorrelation have largely focused on logit-normal formulations for occupancy, with spatial autocorrelation induced by a random effect within a hierarchical modeling framework. Although useful, computational time generally limits such an approach to relatively small data sets, and there are often problems with algorithm instability, yielding unsatisfactory results. Further, recent research has revealed a hidden form of multicollinearity in such applications, which may lead to parameter bias if not explicitly addressed. Combining several techniques, we present a unifying hierarchical spatial occupancy model specification that is particularly effective over large spatial extents. This approach employs a probit mixture framework for occupancy and can easily accommodate a reduced-dimensional spatial process to resolve issues with multicollinearity and spatial confounding while improving algorithm convergence. Using open-source software, we demonstrate this new model specification using a case study involving occupancy of caribou (Rangifer tarandus) over a set of 1080 survey units spanning a large contiguous region (108 000 km2) in northern Ontario, Canada. Overall, the combination of a more efficient specification and open-source software allows for a facile and stable implementation of spatial occupancy models for large data sets.

2MASS - The 2 Micron All Sky Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Kleinmann, S. G.

1992-01-01

This paper describes a new sky survey to be carried out in three wavebands, J(1.25 m), H(1.65 m), and K(2.2 m). The limiting sensitivity of the survey, 10 sigma detection of point sources with K not greater than 14 mag, coupled with its all-sky coverage, were selected primarily to support studies of the large-scale structure of the Milky Way and the Local Universe. The survey requires construction of a pair of observing facilities, one each for the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Operations are scheduled to begin in 1995. The data will begin becoming publicly available soon thereafter.

Plans for PEP survey and alignment: Status report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gunn, J.; Sah, R.

1975-01-01

This note discusses the current state of survey and alignment plans for PEP Stage I. Several surveying techniques are described; one is described in considerable detail. The survey and alignment task for PEP consists of positioning approximately 700 ring magnets, 100 injection line magnets, and 100 miscellaneous components. The alignment tolerances are tight and they are set by the requirement that closed orbit distortions must be small for proper storage ring operation. The alignment problem is aggravated by the circumstance that the storage ring components are placed in tunnels which span a large area (over 700 meters across) and which do not permit long lines of sight. 6 ref., 1 fig

Income Inequality and Adolescent Gambling Severity: Findings from a Large-Scale Italian Representative Survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natale Canale

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Studies have shown that problems related to adult gambling have a geographical and social gradient. For instance, adults experiencing gambling-related harms live in areas of greater deprivation; are unemployed, and have lower income. However, little is known about the impact of socioeconomic inequalities on adolescent problem gambling. The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the contextual influences of income inequality on at-risk or problem gambling (ARPG in a large-scale nationally representative sample of Italian adolescents. A secondary aim was to analyze the association between perceived social support (from family, peers, teachers, and classmates and ARPG.Methods: Data from the 2013–2014 Health Behavior in School-aged Children Survey (HBSC Study was used for cross-sectional analyses of ARPG. A total of 20,791 15-year-old students completed self-administered questionnaires. Region-level data on income inequality (GINI index and overall wealth (GDP per capita were retrieved from the National Institute of Statistics (Istat. The data were analyzed using the multi-level logistic regression analysis, with students at the first level and regions at the second level.Results: The study demonstrated a North–South gradient for the prevalence of ARPG, with higher prevalence of ARPG in the Southern/Islands/Central Regions (e.g., 11% in Sicily than in Northern Italy (e.g., 2% in Aosta Valley. Students in regions of high-income inequality were significantly more likely than those in regions of low-income inequality to be at-risk or problem gamblers (following adjustment for sex, family structure, family affluence, perceived social support, and regionale wealth. Additionally, perceived social support from parents and teachers were negatively related to ARPG.Conclusions: Income inequality may have a contextual influence on ARPG. More specifically, living in regions of highest income inequality appeared to be a potential

X-RAY ABSORPTION, NUCLEAR INFRARED EMISSION, AND DUST COVERING FACTORS OF AGNs: TESTING UNIFICATION SCHEMES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mateos, S.; Carrera, F. J.; Alonso-Herrero, A.; Hernán-Caballero, A.; Barcons, X. [Instituto de Física de Cantabria (CSIC-Universidad de Cantabria), E-39005, Santander (Spain); Ramos, A. Asensio; Almeida, C. Ramos [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, E-38205, La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain); Watson, M. G.; Blain, A. [Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH (United Kingdom); Caccianiga, A.; Ballo, L. [INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, via Brera 28, I-20121 Milano (Italy); Braito, V., E-mail: mateos@ifca.unican.es [INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via Bianchi 46, I-23807 Merate (Italy)

2016-03-10

We present the distributions of the geometrical covering factors of the dusty tori (f{sub 2}) of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) using an X-ray selected complete sample of 227 AGNs drawn from the Bright Ultra-hard XMM-Newton Survey. The AGNs have z from 0.05 to 1.7, 2–10 keV luminosities between 10{sup 42} and 10{sup 46} erg s{sup −1}, and Compton-thin X-ray absorption. Employing data from UKIDSS, 2MASS, and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer in a previous work, we determined the rest-frame 1–20 μm continuum emission from the torus, which we model here with the clumpy torus models of Nenkova et al. Optically classified type 1 and type 2 AGNs are intrinsically different, with type 2 AGNs having, on average, tori with higher f{sub 2} than type 1 AGNs. Nevertheless, ∼20% of type 1 AGNs have tori with large covering factors, while ∼23%–28% of type 2 AGNs have tori with small covering factors. Low f{sub 2} are preferred at high AGN luminosities, as postulated by simple receding torus models, although for type 2 AGNs the effect is certainly small. f{sub 2} increases with the X-ray column density, which implies that dust extinction and X-ray absorption take place in material that share an overall geometry and most likely belong to the same structure, the putative torus. Based on our results, the viewing angle, AGN luminosity, and also f{sub 2} determine the optical appearance of an AGN and control the shape of the rest-frame ∼1–20 μm nuclear continuum emission. Thus, the torus geometrical covering factor is a key ingredient of unification schemes.

EVIDENCE FOR A ∼300 MEGAPARSEC SCALE UNDER-DENSITY IN THE LOCAL GALAXY DISTRIBUTION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keenan, R. C. [Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, P.O. Box 23-141, Taipei 10617, Taiwan (China); Barger, A. J. [Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 475 North Charter Street, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Cowie, L. L. [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)

2013-09-20

Galaxy counts and recent measurements of the luminosity density in the near-infrared have indicated the possibility that the local universe may be under-dense on scales of several hundred megaparsecs. The presence of a large-scale under-density in the local universe could introduce significant biases into the interpretation of cosmological observables, and, in particular, into the inferred effects of dark energy on the expansion rate. Here we measure the K-band luminosity density as a function of redshift to test for such a local under-density. For our primary sample in this study, we select galaxies from the UKIDSS Large Area Survey and use spectroscopy from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), the Two-degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey, the Galaxy And Mass Assembly Survey (GAMA), and other redshift surveys to generate a K-selected catalog of ∼35, 000 galaxies that is ∼95% spectroscopically complete at K{sub AB} < 16.3 (K{sub AB} < 17 in the GAMA fields). To complement this sample at low redshifts, we also analyze a K-selected sample from the 2M++ catalog, which combines Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) photometry with redshifts from the 2MASS redshift survey, the Six-degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey, and the SDSS. The combination of these samples allows for a detailed measurement of the K-band luminosity density as a function of distance over the redshift range 0.01 < z < 0.2 (radial distances D ∼ 50-800 h{sub 70}{sup -1} Mpc). We find that the overall shape of the z = 0 rest-frame K-band luminosity function (M*-5log (h{sub 70}) = –22.15 ± 0.04 and α = –1.02 ± 0.03) appears to be relatively constant as a function of environment and distance from us. We find a local (z < 0.07, D < 300 h{sub 70}{sup -1} Mpc) luminosity density that is in good agreement with previous studies. Beyond z ∼ 0.07, we detect a rising luminosity density that reaches a value of roughly ∼1.5 times higher than that measured locally at z > 0.1. This suggests that the

CARMA LARGE AREA STAR FORMATION SURVEY: STRUCTURE AND KINEMATICS OF DENSE GAS IN SERPENS MAIN

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Katherine I.; Storm, Shaye; Mundy, Lee G.; Teuben, Peter; Pound, Marc W.; Salter, Demerese M.; Chen, Che-Yu [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Fernández-López, Manuel; Looney, Leslie W.; Segura-Cox, Dominique [Department of Astronomy, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801 (United States); Rosolowsky, Erik [Departments of Physics and Statistics, University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus, 3333 University Way, Kelowna BC V1V 1V7 (Canada); Arce, Héctor G.; Plunkett, Adele L. [Department of Astronomy, Yale University, PO Box 208101, New Haven, CT 06520-8101 (United States); Ostriker, Eve C. [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Shirley, Yancy L. [Steward Observatory, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Kwon, Woojin [SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Landleven 12, 9747 AD Groningen (Netherlands); Kauffmann, Jens [Max Planck Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69 D-53121, Bonn Germany (Germany); Tobin, John J. [National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States); Volgenau, N. H. [Astronomy Department, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Tassis, Konstantinos, E-mail: ijlee9@astro.umd.edu [Department of Physics and Institute of Theoretical and Computational Physics, University of Crete, PO Box 2208, GR-710 03, Heraklion, Crete (Greece); and others

2014-12-20

We present observations of N{sub 2}H{sup +} (J = 1 → 0), HCO{sup +} (J = 1 → 0), and HCN (J = 1 → 0) toward the Serpens Main molecular cloud from the CARMA Large Area Star Formation Survey (CLASSy). We mapped 150 arcmin{sup 2} of Serpens Main with an angular resolution of ∼7''. The gas emission is concentrated in two subclusters (the NW and SE subclusters). The SE subcluster has more prominent filamentary structures and more complicated kinematics compared to the NW subcluster. The majority of gas in the two subclusters has subsonic to sonic velocity dispersions. We applied a dendrogram technique with N{sub 2}H{sup +}(1-0) to study the gas structures; the SE subcluster has a higher degree of hierarchy than the NW subcluster. Combining the dendrogram and line fitting analyses reveals two distinct relations: a flat relation between nonthermal velocity dispersion and size, and a positive correlation between variation in velocity centroids and size. The two relations imply a characteristic depth of 0.15 pc for the cloud. Furthermore, we have identified six filaments in the SE subcluster. These filaments have lengths of ∼0.2 pc and widths of ∼0.03 pc, which is smaller than a characteristic width of 0.1 pc suggested by Herschel observations. The filaments can be classified into two types based on their properties. The first type, located in the northeast of the SE subcluster, has larger velocity gradients, smaller masses, and nearly critical mass-per-unit-length ratios. The other type, located in the southwest of the SE subcluster, has the opposite properties. Several YSOs are formed along two filaments which have supercritical mass per unit length ratios, while filaments with nearly critical mass-per-unit-length ratios are not associated with YSOs, suggesting that stars are formed on gravitationally unstable filaments.

AN EXPANDED VERY LARGE ARRAY AND CARMA STUDY OF DUSTY DISKS AND TORII WITH LARGE GRAINS IN DYING STARS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sahai, R.; Claussen, M. J.; Schnee, S.; Morris, M. R.; Sanchez Contreras, C.

2011-01-01

We report the results of a pilot multiwavelength survey in the radio continuum (X, Ka, and Q bands, i.e., from 3.6 cm to 7 mm) carried out with the Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA) in order to confirm the presence of very large dust grains in dusty disks and torii around the central stars in a small sample of post-asymptotic giant branch (pAGB) objects, as inferred from millimeter (mm) and submillimeter (submm) observations. Supporting mm-wave observations were also obtained with the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy toward three of our sources. Our EVLA survey has resulted in a robust detection of our most prominent submm emission source, the pre-planetary nebula (PPN) IRAS 22036+5306, in all three bands, and the disk-prominent pAGB object, RV Tau, in one band. The observed fluxes are consistent with optically thin free-free emission, and since they are insignificant compared to their submm/mm fluxes, we conclude that the latter must come from substantial masses of cool, large (mm-sized) grains. We find that the power-law emissivity in the cm-to-submm range for the large grains in IRAS22036 is ν β , with β = 1-1.3. Furthermore, the value of β in the 3-0.85 mm range for the three disk-prominent pAGB sources (β ≤ 0.4) is significantly lower than that of IRAS22036, suggesting that the grains in pAGB objects with circumbinary disks are likely larger than those in the dusty waists of pre-planetary nebulae.

LAMOST spectral survey — An overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Gang; Zhao Yongheng; Chu Yaoquan; Deng Licai; Jing Yipeng

2012-01-01

LAMOST (Large sky Area Multi-Object fiber Spectroscopic Telescope) is a Chinese national scientific research facility operated by National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC). After two years of commissioning beginning in 2009, the telescope, instruments, software systems and operations are nearly ready to begin the main science survey. Through a spectral survey of millions of objects in much of the northern sky, LAMOST will enable research in a number of contemporary cutting edge topics in astrophysics, such as discovery of the first generation stars in the Galaxy, pinning down the formation and evolution history of galaxies — especially the Milky Way and its central massive black hole, and looking for signatures of the distribution of dark matter and possible sub-structures in the Milky Way halo. To maximize the scientific potential of the facility, wide national participation and international collaboration have been emphasized. The survey has two major components: the LAMOST ExtraGAlactic Survey (LEGAS) and the LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (LEGUE). Until LAMOST reaches its full capability, the LEGUE portion of the survey will use the available observing time, starting in 2012. An overview of the LAMOST project and the survey that will be carried out in the next five to six years is presented in this paper. The science plan for the whole LEGUE survey, instrumental specifications, site conditions, and the descriptions of the current on-going pilot survey, including its footprints and target selection algorithm, will be presented as separate papers in this volume.

HOST GALAXY IDENTIFICATION FOR SUPERNOVA SURVEYS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gupta, Ravi R.; Kuhlmann, Steve; Kovacs, Eve; Spinka, Harold; Kessler, Richard; Goldstein, Daniel A.; Liotine, Camille; Pomian, Katarzyna; D’Andrea, Chris B.; Sullivan, Mark; Carretero, Jorge; Castander, Francisco J.; Nichol, Robert C.; Finley, David A.; Fischer, John A.; Foley, Ryan J.; Kim, Alex G.; Papadopoulos, Andreas; Sako, Masao; Scolnic, Daniel M.; Smith, Mathew; Tucker, Brad E.; Uddin, Syed; Wolf, Rachel C.; Yuan, Fang; Abbott, Tim M. C.; Abdalla, Filipe B.; Benoit-Lévy, Aurélien; Bertin, Emmanuel; Brooks, David; Rosell, Aurelio Carnero; Kind, Matias Carrasco; Cunha, Carlos E.; Costa, Luiz N. da; Desai, Shantanu; Doel, Peter; Eifler, Tim F.; Evrard, August E.; Flaugher, Brenna; Fosalba, Pablo; Gaztañaga, Enrique; Gruen, Daniel; Gruendl, Robert; James, David J.; Kuehn, Kyler; Kuropatkin, Nikolay; Maia, Marcio A. G.; Marshall, Jennifer L.; Miquel, Ramon; Plazas, Andrés A.; Romer, A. Kathy; Sánchez, Eusebio; Schubnell, Michael; Sevilla-Noarbe, Ignacio; Sobreira, Flávia; Suchyta, Eric; Swanson, Molly E. C.; Tarle, Gregory; Walker, Alistair R.; Wester, William

2016-11-08

Host galaxy identification is a crucial step for modern supernova (SN) surveys such as the Dark Energy Survey and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, which will discover SNe by the thousands. Spectroscopic resources are limited, and so in the absence of real-time SN spectra these surveys must rely on host galaxy spectra to obtain accurate redshifts for the Hubble diagram and to improve photometric classification of SNe. In addition, SN luminosities are known to correlate with host-galaxy properties. Therefore, reliable identification of host galaxies is essential for cosmology and SN science. We simulate SN events and their locations within their host galaxies to develop and test methods for matching SNe to their hosts. We use both real and simulated galaxy catalog data from the Advanced Camera for Surveys General Catalog and MICECATv2.0, respectively. We also incorporate "hostless" SNe residing in undetected faint hosts into our analysis, with an assumed hostless rate of 5%. Our fully automated algorithm is run on catalog data and matches SNe to their hosts with 91% accuracy. We find that including a machine learning component, run after the initial matching algorithm, improves the accuracy (purity) of the matching to 97% with a 2% cost in efficiency (true positive rate). Although the exact results are dependent on the details of the survey and the galaxy catalogs used, the method of identifying host galaxies we outline here can be applied to any transient survey.

HOST GALAXY IDENTIFICATION FOR SUPERNOVA SURVEYS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gupta, Ravi R.; Kuhlmann, Steve; Kovacs, Eve; Spinka, Harold; Liotine, Camille; Pomian, Katarzyna [Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439 (United States); Kessler, Richard; Scolnic, Daniel M. [Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Goldstein, Daniel A. [Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, 501 Campbell Hall #3411, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); D’Andrea, Chris B.; Nichol, Robert C.; Papadopoulos, Andreas [Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 3FX (United Kingdom); Sullivan, Mark [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom); Carretero, Jorge; Castander, Francisco J. [Institut de Ciències de l’Espai, IEEC-CSIC, Campus UAB, Carrer de Can Magrans, s/n, E-08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona (Spain); Finley, David A. [Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, P.O. Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510 (United States); Fischer, John A.; Sako, Masao [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, 209 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (United States); Foley, Ryan J. [Department of Astronomy, University of Illinois, 1002 W. Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Kim, Alex G., E-mail: raviryan@gmail.com [Physics Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); and others

2016-12-01

Host galaxy identification is a crucial step for modern supernova (SN) surveys such as the Dark Energy Survey and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, which will discover SNe by the thousands. Spectroscopic resources are limited, and so in the absence of real-time SN spectra these surveys must rely on host galaxy spectra to obtain accurate redshifts for the Hubble diagram and to improve photometric classification of SNe. In addition, SN luminosities are known to correlate with host-galaxy properties. Therefore, reliable identification of host galaxies is essential for cosmology and SN science. We simulate SN events and their locations within their host galaxies to develop and test methods for matching SNe to their hosts. We use both real and simulated galaxy catalog data from the Advanced Camera for Surveys General Catalog and MICECATv2.0, respectively. We also incorporate “hostless” SNe residing in undetected faint hosts into our analysis, with an assumed hostless rate of 5%. Our fully automated algorithm is run on catalog data and matches SNe to their hosts with 91% accuracy. We find that including a machine learning component, run after the initial matching algorithm, improves the accuracy (purity) of the matching to 97% with a 2% cost in efficiency (true positive rate). Although the exact results are dependent on the details of the survey and the galaxy catalogs used, the method of identifying host galaxies we outline here can be applied to any transient survey.

Surveying Small Streams with COTS UAVs

Science.gov (United States)

McKean, J. A.; Wright, C. W.; Tonina, D.

2017-12-01

We tested the ability to make high resolution surveys of stream bathymetry and exposed banks using a commercial off-the-shelf unmanned quadcopter equipped with a 12 megapixel, gimbal stabilized, RGB camera, and L1-code-only GPS.Our study site is a canyon-wall confined gravel bed river with pool-riffle morphology. The survey reach was 15 m wide and on average 0.3 m deep with a maximum water depth during survey of approximately 1.2 m. Streambed material ranged between pea gravel to boulders. For accuracy comparison we field-surveyed the reach with an RTK GPS. The survey mapped large boulders and cobbles, stream banks and bed morphology, as well as the center of each of 9 black/white photo targets with a surface area of 22" x 16" that were placed around the perimeter of the reach. The water was clear, and the bottom substrate reflectivity was highly variable and rich in texture Nearly 1,000 photos were captured, many with sub-centimeter pixels. The photos were processed using Agisoft Photoscan and the resulting point cloud linked to the GPS coordinate system via the surveyed photo targets. The submerged portion of the data was separated from the sub-aerial data, corrected for refraction using external software and then rejoined to produce a seamless point cloud. Comparison between the merged results and ground-survey point shows good agreement with less than 10cm rmse.

Asteroid spin-rate studies using large sky-field surveys

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Chan-Kao; Lin, Hsing-Wen; Ip, Wing-Huen; Prince, Thomas A.; Kulkarni, Shrinivas R.; Levitan, David; Laher, Russ; Surace, Jason

2017-12-01

Eight campaigns to survey asteroid rotation periods have been carried out using the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory in the past 3 years. 2780 reliable rotation periods were obtained, from which we identified two new super-fast rotators (SFRs), (335433) 2005 UW163 and (40511) 1999 RE88, and 23 candidate SFRs. Along with other three known super-fast rotators, there are five known SFRs so far. Contrary to the case of rubble-pile asteroids (i.e., bounded aggregations by gravity only), an internal cohesion, ranging from 100 to 1000 Pa, is required to prevent these five SFRs from flying apart because of their super-fast rotations. This cohesion range is comparable with that of lunar regolith. However, some candidates of several kilometers in size require unusually high cohesion (i.e., a few thousands of Pa). Therefore, the confirmation of these kilometer-sized candidates can provide important information about asteroid interior structure. From the rotation periods we collected, we also found that the spin-rate limit of C-type asteroids, which has a lower bulk density, is lower than for S-type asteroids. This result is in agreement with the general picture of rubble-pile asteroids (i.e., lower bulk density, lower spin-rate limit). Moreover, the spin-rate distributions of asteroids of 3 5 rev/day, regardless of the location in the main belt. The YORP effect is indicated to be less efficient in altering asteroid spin rates from our results when compared with the flat distribution found by Pravec et al. (Icarus 197:497-504, 2008. doi: 10.1016/j.icarus.2008.05.012). We also found a significant number drop at f = 5 rev/day in the spin-rate distributions of asteroids of D < 3 km.

Software Reliability Issues Concerning Large and Safety Critical Software Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Kamel, Khaled; Brown, Barbara

1996-01-01

This research was undertaken to provide NASA with a survey of state-of-the-art techniques using in industrial and academia to provide safe, reliable, and maintainable software to drive large systems. Such systems must match the complexity and strict safety requirements of NASA's shuttle system. In particular, the Launch Processing System (LPS) is being considered for replacement. The LPS is responsible for monitoring and commanding the shuttle during test, repair, and launch phases. NASA built this system in the 1970's using mostly hardware techniques to provide for increased reliability, but it did so often using custom-built equipment, which has not been able to keep up with current technologies. This report surveys the major techniques used in industry and academia to ensure reliability in large and critical computer systems.

Collaborative visual analytics of radio surveys in the Big Data era

Science.gov (United States)

Vohl, Dany; Fluke, Christopher J.; Hassan, Amr H.; Barnes, David G.; Kilborn, Virginia A.

2017-06-01

Radio survey datasets comprise an increasing number of individual observations stored as sets of multidimensional data. In large survey projects, astronomers commonly face limitations regarding: 1) interactive visual analytics of sufficiently large subsets of data; 2) synchronous and asynchronous collaboration; and 3) documentation of the discovery workflow. To support collaborative data inquiry, we present encube, a large-scale comparative visual analytics framework. encube can utilise advanced visualization environments such as the CAVE2 (a hybrid 2D and 3D virtual reality environment powered with a 100 Tflop/s GPU-based supercomputer and 84 million pixels) for collaborative analysis of large subsets of data from radio surveys. It can also run on standard desktops, providing a capable visual analytics experience across the display ecology. encube is composed of four primary units enabling compute-intensive processing, advanced visualisation, dynamic interaction, parallel data query, along with data management. Its modularity will make it simple to incorporate astronomical analysis packages and Virtual Observatory capabilities developed within our community. We discuss how encube builds a bridge between high-end display systems (such as CAVE2) and the classical desktop, preserving all traces of the work completed on either platform - allowing the research process to continue wherever you are.

Linear feature detection algorithm for astronomical surveys - II. Defocusing effects on meteor tracks

Science.gov (United States)

Bektešević, Dino; Vinković, Dejan; Rasmussen, Andrew; Ivezić, Željko

2018-03-01

Given the current limited knowledge of meteor plasma micro-physics and its interaction with the surrounding atmosphere and ionosphere, meteors are a highly interesting observational target for high-resolution wide-field astronomical surveys. Such surveys are capable of resolving the physical size of meteor plasma heads, but they produce large volumes of images that need to be automatically inspected for possible existence of long linear features produced by meteors. Here, we show how big aperture sky survey telescopes detect meteors as defocused tracks with a central brightness depression. We derive an analytic expression for a defocused point source meteor track and use it to calculate brightness profiles of meteors modelled as uniform brightness discs. We apply our modelling to meteor images as seen by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Large Synoptic Survey Telescope telescopes. The expression is validated by Monte Carlo ray-tracing simulations of photons travelling through the atmosphere and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope telescope optics. We show that estimates of the meteor distance and size can be extracted from the measured full width at half-maximum and the strength of the central dip in the observed brightness profile. However, this extraction becomes difficult when the defocused meteor track is distorted by the atmospheric seeing or contaminated by a long-lasting glowing meteor trail. The full width at half-maximum of satellite tracks is distinctly narrower than meteor values, which enables removal of a possible confusion between satellites and meteors.

The sloan digital sky Survey-II supernova survey: search algorithm and follow-up observations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sako, Masao [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, 209 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (United States); Bassett, Bruce [Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701 (South Africa); Becker, Andrew; Hogan, Craig J. [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Cinabro, David [Department of Physics, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202 (United States); DeJongh, Fritz; Frieman, Joshua A.; Marriner, John; Miknaitis, Gajus [Center for Particle Astrophysics, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, P.O. Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510 (United States); Depoy, D. L.; Prieto, Jose Luis [Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210-1173 (United States); Dilday, Ben; Kessler, Richard [Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, The University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Doi, Mamoru [Institute of Astronomy, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo 2-21-1, Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-0015 (Japan); Garnavich, Peter M. [University of Notre Dame, 225 Nieuwland Science, Notre Dame, IN 46556-5670 (United States); Holtzman, Jon [Department of Astronomy, MSC 4500, New Mexico State University, P.O. Box 30001, Las Cruces, NM 88003 (United States); Jha, Saurabh [Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, P.O. Box 20450, MS29, Stanford, CA 94309 (United States); Konishi, Kohki [Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, University of Tokyo, 5-1-5, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8582 (Japan); Lampeitl, Hubert [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Nichol, Robert C. [Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, Mercantile House, Hampshire Terrace, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 2EG (United Kingdom); and others

2008-01-01

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II Supernova Survey has identified a large number of new transient sources in a 300 deg{sup 2} region along the celestial equator during its first two seasons of a three-season campaign. Multi-band (ugriz) light curves were measured for most of the sources, which include solar system objects, galactic variable stars, active galactic nuclei, supernovae (SNe), and other astronomical transients. The imaging survey is augmented by an extensive spectroscopic follow-up program to identify SNe, measure their redshifts, and study the physical conditions of the explosions and their environment through spectroscopic diagnostics. During the survey, light curves are rapidly evaluated to provide an initial photometric type of the SNe, and a selected sample of sources are targeted for spectroscopic observations. In the first two seasons, 476 sources were selected for spectroscopic observations, of which 403 were identified as SNe. For the type Ia SNe, the main driver for the survey, our photometric typing and targeting efficiency is 90%. Only 6% of the photometric SN Ia candidates were spectroscopically classified as non-SN Ia instead, and the remaining 4% resulted in low signal-to-noise, unclassified spectra. This paper describes the search algorithm and the software, and the real-time processing of the SDSS imaging data. We also present the details of the supernova candidate selection procedures and strategies for follow-up spectroscopic and imaging observations of the discovered sources.

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II Supernova Survey:Search Algorithm and Follow-up Observations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sako, Masao; /Pennsylvania U. /KIPAC, Menlo Park; Bassett, Bruce; /Cape Town U. /South African Astron. Observ.; Becker, Andrew; /Washington U., Seattle, Astron. Dept.; Cinabro, David; /Wayne State U.; DeJongh, Don Frederic; /Fermilab; Depoy, D.L.; /Ohio State U.; Doi, Mamoru; /Tokyo U.; Garnavich, Peter M.; /Notre Dame U.; Craig, Hogan, J.; /Washington U., Seattle, Astron. Dept.; Holtzman, Jon; /New Mexico State U.; Jha, Saurabh; /Stanford U., Phys. Dept.; Konishi, Kohki; /Tokyo U.; Lampeitl, Hubert; /Baltimore, Space; Marriner, John; /Fermilab; Miknaitis, Gajus; /Fermilab; Nichol, Robert C.; /Portsmouth U.; Prieto, Jose Luis; /Ohio State U.; Richmond, Michael W.; /Rochester Inst.; Schneider, Donald P.; /Penn State U., Astron. Astrophys.; Smith, Mathew; /Portsmouth U.; SubbaRao, Mark; /Chicago U. /Tokyo U. /Tokyo U. /South African Astron. Observ. /Tokyo

2007-09-14

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II Supernova Survey has identified a large number of new transient sources in a 300 deg2 region along the celestial equator during its first two seasons of a three-season campaign. Multi-band (ugriz) light curves were measured for most of the sources, which include solar system objects, Galactic variable stars, active galactic nuclei, supernovae (SNe), and other astronomical transients. The imaging survey is augmented by an extensive spectroscopic follow-up program to identify SNe, measure their redshifts, and study the physical conditions of the explosions and their environment through spectroscopic diagnostics. During the survey, light curves are rapidly evaluated to provide an initial photometric type of the SNe, and a selected sample of sources are targeted for spectroscopic observations. In the first two seasons, 476 sources were selected for spectroscopic observations, of which 403 were identified as SNe. For the Type Ia SNe, the main driver for the Survey, our photometric typing and targeting efficiency is 90%. Only 6% of the photometric SN Ia candidates were spectroscopically classified as non-SN Ia instead, and the remaining 4% resulted in low signal-to-noise, unclassified spectra. This paper describes the search algorithm and the software, and the real-time processing of the SDSS imaging data. We also present the details of the supernova candidate selection procedures and strategies for follow-up spectroscopic and imaging observations of the discovered sources.

Total Survey Error for Longitudinal Surveys

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lynn, Peter; Lugtig, P.J.

2016-01-01

This article describes the application of the total survey error paradigm to longitudinal surveys. Several aspects of survey error, and of the interactions between different types of error, are distinct in the longitudinal survey context. Furthermore, error trade-off decisions in survey design and

CLOSE COMPANIONS TO YOUNG STARS. I. A LARGE SPECTROSCOPIC SURVEY IN CHAMAELEON I AND TAURUS-AURIGA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen, Duy Cuong; Brandeker, Alexis; Van Kerkwijk, Marten H.; Jayawardhana, Ray

2012-01-01

We present the results of a multiplicity survey of 212 T Tauri stars in the Chamaeleon I and Taurus-Auriga star-forming regions, based on high-resolution spectra from the Magellan Clay 6.5 m telescope. From these data, we achieved a typical radial velocity (RV) precision of ∼80 m s –1 with slower rotators yielding better precision, in general. For 174 of these stars, we obtained multi-epoch data with sufficient time baselines to identify binaries based on RV variations. We identified eight close binaries and four close triples, of which three and two, respectively, are new discoveries. The spectroscopic multiplicity fractions we find for Chamaeleon I (7%) and Taurus-Auriga (6%) are similar to each other, and to the results of field star surveys in the same mass and period regime. However, unlike the results from imaging surveys, the frequency of systems with close companions in our sample is not seen to depend on primary mass. Additionally, we do not find a strong correlation between accretion and close multiplicity. This implies that close companions are not likely the main source of the accretion shut down observed in weak-lined T Tauri stars. Our results also suggest that sufficient RV precision can be achieved for at least a subset of slowly rotating young stars to search for hot Jupiter planets.

Gulf of Mexico Marine Mammal Vessel Surveys - NRDA

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Large vessel surveys were conducted during June-August and Oct-Nov, 2010 in the north central Gulf of Mexico to collect data on marine mammal spatial distribution...

The Big Drink Debate: perceptions of the impact of price on alcohol consumption from a large scale cross-sectional convenience survey in north west England

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Briant Linford

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background A large-scale survey was conducted in 2008 in north west England, a region with high levels of alcohol-related harm, during a regional 'Big Drink Debate' campaign. The aim of this paper is to explore perceptions of how alcohol consumption would change if alcohol prices were to increase or decrease. Methods A convenience survey of residents (≥ 18 years of north west England measured demographics, income, alcohol consumption in previous week, and opinions on drinking behaviour under two pricing conditions: low prices and discounts and increased alcohol prices (either 'decrease', 'no change' or 'increase'. Multinomial logistic regression used three outcomes: 'completely elastic' (consider that lower prices increase drinking and higher prices decrease drinking; 'lower price elastic' (lower prices increase drinking, higher prices have no effect; and 'price inelastic' (no change for either. Results Of 22,780 drinkers surveyed, 80.3% considered lower alcohol prices and discounts would increase alcohol consumption, while 22.1% thought raising prices would decrease consumption, making lower price elasticity only (i.e. lower prices increase drinking, higher prices have no effect the most common outcome (62%. Compared to a high income/high drinking category, the lightest drinkers with a low income (adjusted odds ratio AOR = 1.78, 95% confidence intervals CI 1.38-2.30 or medium income (AOR = 1.88, CI 1.47-2.41 were most likely to be lower price elastic. Females were more likely than males to be lower price elastic (65% vs 57% while the reverse was true for complete elasticity (20% vs 26%, P Conclusions Lower pricing increases alcohol consumption, and the alcohol industry's continued focus on discounting sales encourages higher drinking levels. International evidence suggests increasing the price of alcohol reduces consumption, and one in five of the surveyed population agreed; more work is required to increase this agreement to achieve

Undergraduate Coursework in Economics: A Survey Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Siegfried, John J.; Walstad, William B.

2014-01-01

Survey results from a large sample of economics departments describe offerings for principles courses, coursework requirements for economics majors, and program augmentations such as capstone courses, senior seminars, and honors programs. Findings are reported for all institutions, and institutions are subdivided into six different categories…

Web-based Surveys: Changing the Survey Process

OpenAIRE

Gunn, Holly

2002-01-01

Web-based surveys are having a profound influence on the survey process. Unlike other types of surveys, Web page design skills and computer programming expertise play a significant role in the design of Web-based surveys. Survey respondents face new and different challenges in completing a Web-based survey. This paper examines the different types of Web-based surveys, the advantages and challenges of using Web-based surveys, the design of Web-based surveys, and the issues of validity, error, ...

A SOUTHERN SKY AND GALACTIC PLANE SURVEY FOR BRIGHT KUIPER BELT OBJECTS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheppard, Scott S.; Udalski, Andrzej; Kubiak, Marcin; Pietrzynski, Grzegorz; Poleski, Radoslaw; Soszynski, Igor; Szymanski, Michal K.; Ulaczyk, Krzysztof; Trujillo, Chadwick

2011-01-01

About 2500 deg 2 of sky south of declination -25 0 and/or near the Galactic Plane were surveyed for bright outer solar system objects. This survey is one of the first large-scale southern sky and Galactic Plane surveys to detect dwarf planets and other bright Kuiper Belt Objects in the trans-Neptunian region. The survey was able to obtain a limiting R-band magnitude of 21.6. In all, 18 outer solar system objects were detected, including Pluto which was detected near the Galactic center using optimal image subtraction techniques to remove the high stellar density background. Fourteen of the detections were previously unknown trans-Neptunian objects, demonstrating that the southern sky had not been well searched to date for bright outer solar system objects. Assuming moderate albedos, several of the new discoveries from this survey could be in hydrostatic equilibrium and thus could be considered dwarf planets. Combining this survey with previous surveys from the northern hemisphere suggests that the Kuiper Belt is nearly complete to around 21st magnitude in the R band. All the main dynamical classes in the Kuiper Belt are occupied by at least one dwarf-planet-sized object. The 3:2 Neptune resonance, which is the innermost well-populated Neptune resonance, has several large objects while the main outer Neptune resonances such as the 5:3, 7:4, 2:1, and 5:2 do not appear to have any large objects. This indicates that the outer resonances are either significantly depleted in objects relative to the 3:2 resonance or have a significantly different assortment of objects than the 3:2 resonance. For the largest objects (H < 4.5 mag), the scattered disk population appears to have a few times more objects than the main Kuiper Belt (MKB) population, while the Sedna population could be several times more than that of the MKB.

A study of the cool gas in the Large Magellanic Cloud. I. Properties of the cool atomic phase - a third H i absorption survey

Science.gov (United States)

Marx-Zimmer, M.; Herbstmeier, U.; Dickey, J. M.; Zimmer, F.; Staveley-Smith, L.; Mebold, U.

2000-02-01

The cool atomic interstellar medium of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) seems to be quite different from that in the Milky Way. In a series of three papers we study the properties of the cool atomic hydrogen in the LMC (Paper I), its relation to molecular clouds using SEST-CO-observations (Paper II) and the cooling mechanism of the atomic gas based on ISO-[\\CII]-investigations (Paper III). In this paper we present the results of a third 21 cm absorption line survey toward the LMC carried out with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). 20 compact continuum sources, which are mainly in the direction of the supergiant shell LMC 4, toward the surroundings of 30 Doradus and toward the eastern steep \\HI\\ boundary, have been chosen from the 1.4 GHz snapshot continuum survey of Marx et al. We have identified 20 absorption features toward nine of the 20 sources. The properties of the cool \\HI\\ clouds are investigated and are compared for the different regions of the LMC taking the results of Dickey et al. (survey 2) into account. We find that the cool \\HI\\ gas in the LMC is either unusually abundant compared to the cool atomic phase of the Milky Way or the gas is clearly colder (\\Tc\\ ~ 30 K) than that in our Galaxy (\\Tc\\ ~ 60 K). The properties of atomic clouds toward 30 Doradus and LMC 4 suggest a higher cooling rate in these regions compared to other parts of the LMC, probably due to an enhanced pressure near the shock fronts of LMC 4 and 30 Doradus. The detected cool atomic gas toward the eastern steep \\HI\\ boundary might be the result of a high compression of gas at the leading edge. The Australia Telescope is funded by the Commonwealth of Australia for operation as a National Facility managed by CSIRO.

Hydrogeochemical and stream sediment detailed geochemical survey for Trans-Pecos, Texas. Tascotal survey area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butz, T.R.; Payne, A.G.; Grimes, J.G.; Helgerson, R.N.; Bard, C.S.

1979-01-01

Results of the Tascotal survey area portion of the detailed geochemical survey for Trans-Pecos, Texas are reported. Field and laboratory data are presented for 337 groundwater and 611 stream sediment samples. Statistical and areal distributions of uranium and possible uranium-related variables are given. A generalized geologic map of the survey area is provided, and pertinent geologic factors which may be of significance in evaluating the potential for uranium mineralization are briefly discussed. Groundwaters containing greater than or equal to 80.0 ppB uranium were detected in three areas largely producing from acidic volcanoclastics in the south central portion of the survey area. High specific conductance and an association of lithium, selenium, and sodium were observed in these areas of anomalously high uranium. High uranium/specific conductance, uranium/boron, and uranium/sulfate ratios are also associated with areas of the highest uranium concentrations. Alkalinities in these areas were noted to be highly variable over short distances within the same hydrologic unit. Stream sediments containing greater than or equal to 2.57 ppM soluble uranium are located in the southwestern and the north and south central portions of the survey area. High U-FL/U-NT and low thorium/U-NT values are observed with sediments derived from acidic volcanics in the southern portions of the survey area. In areas of anomalously high uranium, an association of above background concentrations of thorium, lithium, potassium, beryllium, and zirconium were noted. In view of these data, areas containing the Buck Hill Volcanic Series, the Mitchell Mesa, and Tascotal Formations provide the best possibilities of an economical uranium deposit

Moving base Gravity Gradiometer Survey System (GGSS) program

Science.gov (United States)

Pfohl, Louis; Rusnak, Walter; Jircitano, Albert; Grierson, Andrew

1988-04-01

The GGSS program began in early 1983 with the objective of delivering a landmobile and airborne system capable of fast, accurate, and economical gravity gradient surveys of large areas anywhere in the world. The objective included the development and use of post-mission data reduction software to process the survey data into solutions for the gravity disturbance vector components (north, east and vertical). This document describes the GGSS equipment hardware and software, integration and lab test procedures and results, and airborne and land survey procedures and results. Included are discussions on test strategies, post-mission data reduction algorithms, and the data reduction processing experience. Perspectives and conclusions are drawn from the results.

Hot-ion Bernstein wave with large kparallel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ignat, D.W.; Ono, M.

1995-01-01

The complex roots of the hot plasma dispersion relation in the ion cyclotron range of frequencies have been surveyed. Progressing from low to high values of perpendicular wave number k perpendicular we find first the cold plasma fast wave and then the well-known Bernstein wave, which is characterized by large dispersion, or large changes in k perpendicular for small changes in frequency or magnetic field. At still higher k perpendicular there can be two hot plasma waves with relatively little dispersion. The latter waves exist only for relatively large k parallel, the wave number parallel to the magnetic field, and are strongly damped unless the electron temperature is low compared to the ion temperature. Up to three mode conversions appear to be possible, but two mode conversions are seen consistently

A Survey of Multi-Objective Sequential Decision-Making

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roijers, D.M.; Vamplew, P.; Whiteson, S.; Dazeley, R.

2013-01-01

Sequential decision-making problems with multiple objectives arise naturally in practice and pose unique challenges for research in decision-theoretic planning and learning, which has largely focused on single-objective settings. This article surveys algorithms designed for sequential

Gulf of Mexico Marine Mammal Assessment Vessel Surveys

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — These data sets are a compilation of large vessel surveys for marine mammal stock assessments in the Gulf of Mexico from 1991 to the present. These are designed as...

Bimodal Programming: A Survey of Current Clinical Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Siburt, Hannah W; Holmes, Alice E

2015-06-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the current clinical practice in approaches to bimodal programming in the United States. To be specific, if clinicians are recommending bimodal stimulation, who programs the hearing aid in the bimodal condition, and what method is used for programming the hearing aid? An 11-question online survey was created and sent via email to a comprehensive list of cochlear implant programming centers in the United States. The survey was sent to 360 recipients. Respondents in this study represented a diverse group of clinical settings (response rate: 26%). Results indicate little agreement about who programs the hearing aids, when they are programmed, and how they are programmed in the bimodal condition. Analysis of small versus large implant centers indicated small centers are less likely to add a device to the contralateral ear. Although a growing number of cochlear implant recipients choose to wear a hearing aid on the contralateral ear, there is inconsistency in the current clinical approach to bimodal programming. These survey results provide evidence of large variability in the current bimodal programming practices and indicate a need for more structured clinical recommendations and programming approaches.

Surveys of LGBT Public Employees and Their Co-Workers

OpenAIRE

Sears, Brad; Mallory, Christy; Hunter, Nan D.

2009-01-01

This section summarizes a large body of survey data, with samples drawn from across the nation and covering a range of occupational classifications, that provides compelling evidence that discrimination against LGBT state government employees, as well as other public sector workers, is serious, pervasive and continuing. The more than 80 surveys summarized in this section also indicate that there is no reason to believe that the level of employment discrimination based on sexual orientation an...

Short communication: survey of fresh cow management practices of dairy cattle on small and large commercial farms.

Science.gov (United States)

Heuwieser, W; Iwersen, M; Gossellin, J; Drillich, M

2010-03-01

The objective was to conduct a survey of current fresh cow management practices that have an effect on health and diseases postpartum considering different herd sizes of commercial dairy farms. A mail survey regarding aspects of the fresh cow program including general management issues, calving, diseases, and veterinary service was conducted utilizing a convenience sample. A total of 429 survey forms were returned (12.0% response rate) and could be used for final analysis. Only 21.6% of the farms had a designated fresh cow pen. Almost every farm executed some type of fresh cow examination. Only 18.5% of farm managers documented the observations. Most of the dairy managers used more or less subjective criteria such as general appearance (97.0%) and appetite (69.7%). Only a minority of the responding dairy managers monitored their fresh cows using objective (fever 33.6%) or semiquantitative measures (subclinical ketosis 2.8%; body condition score 36.4%). On most farms, the veterinarian visited the herd only if needed (72.6%). Most cases of retained fetal membranes were treated by manual removal (72.3%) and antibiotic pills (89.5%). Several challenges and opportunities were identified to improve cow management practices.

Child maltreatment experience among primary school children: a large scale survey in Selangor state, Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Ayesha; Wan-Yuen, Choo; Marret, Mary Joseph; Guat-Sim, Cheah; Othman, Sajaratulnisah; Chinna, Karuthan

2015-01-01

Official reports of child maltreatment in Malaysia have persistently increased throughout the last decade. However there is a lack of population surveys evaluating the actual burden of child maltreatment, its correlates and its consequences in the country. This cross sectional study employed 2 stage stratified cluster random sampling of public primary schools, to survey 3509 ten to twelve year old school children in Selangor state. It aimed to estimate the prevalence of parental physical and emotional maltreatment, parental neglect and teacher- inflicted physical maltreatment. It further aimed to examine the associations between child maltreatment and important socio-demographic factors; family functioning and symptoms of depression among children. Logistic regression on weighted samples was used to extend results to a population level. Three quarters of 10-12 year olds reported at least one form of maltreatment, with parental physical maltreatment being most common. Males had higher odds of maltreatment in general except for emotional maltreatment. Ethnicity and parental conflict were key factors associated with maltreatment. The study contributes important evidence towards improving public health interventions for child maltreatment prevention in the country.

Incidence of anemia in pediatric cancer patients in Europe: results of a large, international survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Michon, Jean

2002-10-01

Anemia occurs frequently in children with cancer, but there is little information quantifying the incidence of anemia or treatment. A survey was conducted in 1998 in Europe by The Research Partnership with the objective of determining the incidence of anemia, identifying the hemoglobin triggers that initiated anemia treatment, and the current anemia treatment options available to clinicians. The survey was conducted in the 10 largest pediatric oncology centers each in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK, and in the 8 largest centers in both Belgium and The Netherlands. Telephone interviews with the most senior physician available in the institution were used to collect data, which included the numbers of patients treated or under follow-up, cancer types, and treatment practices for anemia. Data were collected for 25,093 patients. Over 80% of patients were anemic (WHO: hemoglobin disadvantages of epoetin alfa as a treatment option for treating anemia in children with cancer, which reflects the limited knowledge of and experience with this agent. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Abundance of large old trees in wood-pastures of Transylvania (Romania).

Science.gov (United States)

Hartel, Tibor; Hanspach, Jan; Moga, Cosmin I; Holban, Lucian; Szapanyos, Árpád; Tamás, Réka; Hováth, Csaba; Réti, Kinga-Olga

2018-02-01

Wood-pastures are special types of agroforestry systems that integrate trees with livestock grazing. Wood pastures can be hotspots for large old tree abundance and have exceptional natural values; but they are declining all over Europe. While presence of large old trees in wood-pastures can provide arguments for their maintenance, actual data on their distribution and abundance are sparse. Our study is the first to survey large old trees in Eastern Europe over such a large area. We surveyed 97 wood-pastures in Transylvania (Romania) in order to (i) provide a descriptive overview of the large old tree abundance; and (ii) to explore the environmental determinants of the abundance and persistence of large old trees in wood-pastures. We identified 2520 large old trees belonging to 16 taxonomic groups. Oak was present in 66% of the wood-pastures, followed by beech (33%), hornbeam (24%) and pear (22%). For each of these four species we constructed a generalized linear model with quasi-Poisson error distribution to explain individual tree abundance. Oak trees were most abundant in large wood-pastures and in wood-pastures from the Saxon cultural region of Transylvania. Beech abundance related positively to elevation and to proximity of human settlements. Abundance of hornbeam was highest in large wood-pastures, in wood-pastures from the Saxon cultural region, and in places with high cover of adjacent forest and a low human population density. Large old pear trees were most abundant in large wood-pastures that were close to paved roads. The maintenance of large old trees in production landscapes is a challenge for science, policy and local people, but it also can serve as an impetus for integrating economic, ecological and social goals within a landscape. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: The HII Region Discovery Survey (HRDS). II. (Anderson+, 2011)

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, L. D.; Bania, T. M.; Balser, D. S.; Rood, R. T.

2011-08-01

Our observations were made with the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) 100m telescope from 2008 June through 2010 October. We assembled our target list from the following multi-frequency, large solid angle Galactic surveys: the NRAO Very Large Array (VLA) Galactic Plane Survey at 21cm HI and continuum (VGPS: Stil et al. 2006AJ....132.1158S), the NRAO VLA Sky Survey at 20cm continuum (NVSS: Condon et al. 1998, Cat. VIII/65), the Southern Galactic Plane Survey at 21cm HI and continuum (SGPS: Haverkorn et al. 2006ApJS..167..230H), the VLA MAGPIS at 20cm continuum (Helfand et al. 2006, Cat. J/AJ/131/2525), and the Spitzer 24um MIPSGAL survey (Carey et al. 2009PASP..121...76C). Our analysis here also uses 8.0um data from the Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire (GLIMPSE: Benjamin et al. 2003PASP..115..953B), which were obtained with the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope. (4 data files).

Methods for Finding Legacy Wells in Large Areas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hammack, Richard W. [National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, (United States); Veloski, Garret A. [National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, (United States); Hodges, D. Greg [Fugro Airborne Surveys, Mississauga, ON (Canada); White, Jr., Curt M. [National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, (United States)

2016-06-16

United States. When abandoned, many wells were not adequately sealed and now provide a potential conduit for the vertical movement of liquids and gases. Today, groundwater aquifers can be contaminated by surface pollutants flowing down wells or by deep, saline water diffusing upwards. Likewise, natural gas, carbon dioxide (CO2), or radon can travel upwards via these wells to endanger structures or human health on the surface. Recently, the need to find and plug wells has become critical with the advent of carbon dioxide injection into geologic formations for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) or carbon storage. The potential for natural gas or brine leakage through existing wells has also been raised as a concern in regions where shale resources are hydraulically fractured for hydrocarbon recovery. In this study, the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) updated existing, effective well finding techniques to be able to survey large areas quickly using helicopter or ground-vehicle-mounted magnetometers, combined with mobile methane detection. For this study, magnetic data were collected using airborne and ground vehicles equipped with two boom-mounted magnetometers, or on foot using a hand-held magnetometer with a single sensor. Data processing techniques were employed to accentuate well-casing-type magnetic signatures. To locate wells with no magnetic signature (wells where the steel well casing had been removed), the team monitored for anomalous concentrations of methane, which could indicate migration of volatile compounds from deeper sedimentary strata along a well or fracture pathway. Methane measurements were obtained using the ALPIS DIfferential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) sensor for helicopter surveys and the Apogee leak detection system (LDS) for ground surveys. These methods were evaluated at a 100-year-old oilfield in Wyoming, where a helicopter magnetic survey accurately located 93% of visible wells. In addition, 20% of the wells found by the survey were

Methods for Finding Legacy Wells in Large Areas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hammack, Richard [National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, (United States); Veloski, Garret [National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, (United States); Hodges, D. Greg [Fugro Airborne Surveys, Mississauga, ON (Canada); White, Jr., Charles E. [National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, (United States)

2016-06-16

More than 10 million wells have been drilled during 150 years of oil and gas production in the United States. When abandoned, many wells were not adequately sealed and now provide a potential conduit for the vertical movement of liquids and gases. Today, groundwater aquifers can be contaminated by surface pollutants flowing down wells or by deep, saline water diffusing upwards. Likewise, natural gas, carbon dioxide (CO₂), or radon can travel upwards via these wells to endanger structures or human health on the surface. Recently, the need to find and plug wells has become critical with the advent of carbon dioxide injection into geologic formations for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) or carbon storage. The potential for natural gas or brine leakage through existing wells has also been raised as a concern in regions where shale resources are hydraulically fractured for hydrocarbon recovery. In this study, the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) updated existing, effective well finding techniques to be able to survey large areas quickly using helicopter or ground-vehicle-mounted magnetometers, combined with mobile methane detection. For this study, magnetic data were collected using airborne and ground vehicles equipped with two boom-mounted magnetometers, or on foot using a hand-held magnetometer with a single sensor. Data processing techniques were employed to accentuate well-casing-type magnetic signatures. To locate wells with no magnetic signature (wells where the steel well casing had been removed), the team monitored for anomalous concentrations of methane, which could indicate migration of volatile compounds from deeper sedimentary strata along a well or fracture pathway. Methane measurements were obtained using the ALPIS DIfferential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) sensor for helicopter surveys and the Apogee leak detection system (LDS) for ground surveys. These methods were evaluated at a 100-year-old oilfield in Wyoming, where a helicopter magnetic

Measuring Altruistic Behavior in Surveys: The All-or-Nothing Dictator Game

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rene Bekkers

2007-12-01

Full Text Available A field study of altruistic behaviour is presented using a modification of the dictator game in a large random sample survey in the netherlands (n=1,964. In line with laboratory experiments, only 5.7% donated money. In line with other survey research on giving, generosity increased with age, education, income, trust, and prosocial value orientation.

All-weather calibration of wide-field optical and NIR surveys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burke, David L. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States); Saha, Abhijit; Claver, Jenna; Claver, Chuck [National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, AZ 85718 (United States); Axelrod, T. [Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85718 (United States); DePoy, Darren [Texas A and M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); Ivezić, Željko; Jones, Lynne [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Smith, R. Chris [Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Casilla 603, La Serena (Chile); Stubbs, Christopher W., E-mail: daveb@slac.stanford.edu [Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

2014-01-01

The science goals for ground-based large-area surveys, such as the Dark Energy Survey, Pan-STARRS, and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, require calibration of broadband photometry that is stable in time and uniform over the sky to precisions of a percent or better. This performance will need to be achieved with data taken over the course of many years, and often in less than ideal conditions. This paper describes a strategy to achieve precise internal calibration of imaging survey data taken in less than 'photometric' conditions, and reports results of an observational study of the techniques needed to implement this strategy. We find that images of celestial fields used in this case study with stellar densities ∼1 arcmin{sup –2} and taken through cloudless skies can be calibrated with relative precision ∼0.5% (reproducibility). We report measurements of spatial structure functions of cloud absorption observed over a range of atmospheric conditions, and find it possible to achieve photometric measurements that are reproducible to 1% in images that were taken through cloud layers that transmit as little as 25% of the incident optical flux (1.5 magnitudes of extinction). We find, however, that photometric precision below 1% is impeded by the thinnest detectable cloud layers. We comment on implications of these results for the observing strategies of future surveys.

Survey shows large differences between the Nordic countries in the use of less invasive surfactant administration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jonsson, Baldvin; Andersson, Sture; Björklund, Lars J

2017-01-01

AIM: Less invasive surfactant administration (LISA), namely surfactant instillation through a thin catheter in the trachea during spontaneous breathing, is increasingly used for premature infants. We surveyed the use of this technique in the Nordic countries in autumn 2015. METHODS: A link to a web......-based survey of surfactant administration methods was emailed to the directors of all neonatal units in the Nordic Region, apart from Finland, where only the five university-based departments were invited. RESULTS: Of the 73 units (85%) who responded, 23 (32%) said that they used LISA. The country rates were......%. The main reasons for not using LISA were lack of familiarity with the technique (61%), no perceived benefit over other methods (22%) and concerns about patient discomfort (26%). CONCLUSION: Less invasive surfactant administration was used in 32% of Nordic neonatal units, most commonly in level three units...

An Automated Scheme for the Large-Scale Survey of Herbig-Haro Objects

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Licai; Yang, Ji; Zheng, Zhongyuan; Jiang, Zhaoji

2001-04-01

Owing to their spectral properties, Herbig-Haro (HH) objects can be discovered using photometric methods through a combination of filters, sampling the characteristic spectral lines and the nearby continuum. The data are commonly processed through direct visual inspection of the images. To make data reduction more efficient and the results more uniform and complete, an automated searching scheme for HH objects is developed to manipulate the images using IRAF. This approach helps to extract images with only intrinsic HH emissions. By using this scheme, the pointlike stellar sources and extended nebulous sources with continuum emission can be eliminated from the original images. The objects with only characteristic HH emission become prominent and can be easily picked up. In this paper our scheme is illustrated by a sample field and has been applied to our surveys for HH objects.

THE TIME DOMAIN SPECTROSCOPIC SURVEY: VARIABLE SELECTION AND ANTICIPATED RESULTS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morganson, Eric; Green, Paul J. [Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Anderson, Scott F.; Ruan, John J. [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Myers, Adam D. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071 (United States); Eracleous, Michael; Brandt, William Nielsen [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 525 Davey Laboratory, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Kelly, Brandon [Department of Physics, Broida Hall, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9530 (United States); Badenes, Carlos [Department of Physics and Astronomy and Pittsburgh Particle Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology Center (PITT PACC), University of Pittsburgh, 3941 O’Hara St, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 (United States); Bañados, Eduardo [Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Blanton, Michael R. [Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, Department of Physics, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003 (United States); Bershady, Matthew A. [Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin, 475 N. Charter St., Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Borissova, Jura [Instituto de Física y Astronomía, Universidad de Valparaíso, Av. Gran Bretaña 1111, Playa Ancha, Casilla 5030, and Millennium Institute of Astrophysics (MAS), Santiago (Chile); Burgett, William S. [GMTO Corp, Suite 300, 251 S. Lake Ave, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States); Chambers, Kenneth, E-mail: emorganson@cfa.harvard.edu [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); and others

2015-06-20

We present the selection algorithm and anticipated results for the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS). TDSS is an Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)-IV Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) subproject that will provide initial identification spectra of approximately 220,000 luminosity-variable objects (variable stars and active galactic nuclei across 7500 deg{sup 2} selected from a combination of SDSS and multi-epoch Pan-STARRS1 photometry. TDSS will be the largest spectroscopic survey to explicitly target variable objects, avoiding pre-selection on the basis of colors or detailed modeling of specific variability characteristics. Kernel Density Estimate analysis of our target population performed on SDSS Stripe 82 data suggests our target sample will be 95% pure (meaning 95% of objects we select have genuine luminosity variability of a few magnitudes or more). Our final spectroscopic sample will contain roughly 135,000 quasars and 85,000 stellar variables, approximately 4000 of which will be RR Lyrae stars which may be used as outer Milky Way probes. The variability-selected quasar population has a smoother redshift distribution than a color-selected sample, and variability measurements similar to those we develop here may be used to make more uniform quasar samples in large surveys. The stellar variable targets are distributed fairly uniformly across color space, indicating that TDSS will obtain spectra for a wide variety of stellar variables including pulsating variables, stars with significant chromospheric activity, cataclysmic variables, and eclipsing binaries. TDSS will serve as a pathfinder mission to identify and characterize the multitude of variable objects that will be detected photometrically in even larger variability surveys such as Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.

Small-scale and reconnaissance surveys

Science.gov (United States)

Bart, Jonathan; Andres, Brad A.; Elliott, Kyle; Francis, Charles M.; Johnston, Victoria; Morrison, R.I.G.; Pierce, Elin P.; Rausch, Jennie; Bart, Jonathan; Johnston, Victoria

2012-01-01

This brief chapter addresses two related issues: how effort should be allocated to different parts of the sampling plan and, given optimal allocation, how large a sample will be required to achieve the PRISM accuracy target. Simulations based on data collected to date showed that 2 plots per cluster on rapid surveys, 2 intensive camps per field crew-year, 2-4 intensive plots per intensive camp, and 2-3 rapid surveys per intensive plot is the most efficient allocation of resources. Using this design, we investigated how crew-years should be allocated to each region in order to meet the PRISM accuracy target most efficiently. The analysis indicated that 40-50 crew-years would achieve the accuracy target for 18-24 of the 26 species breeding widely in the Arctic. This analysis was based on assuming that two rounds of surveys were conducted and that a 50% decline occurred between them. We discuss the complexity of making these estimates and why they should be viewed as first approximations.

The VLT-FLAMES survey of massive stars

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Evans, C.; Langer, N.; Brott, I.; Hunter, I.; Smartt, S.J.; Lennon, D.J.

2008-01-01

The VLT-FLAMES Survey of Massive Stars was an ESO Large Programme to understand rotational mixing and stellar mass loss in different metallicity environments, in order to better constrain massive star evolution. We gathered high-quality spectra of over 800 stars in the Galaxy and in the Magellanic

Acquiring data for large aquatic resource surveys: the art of ompromise among science, logistics, and reality

Science.gov (United States)

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is revising its strategy to obtain the information needed to answer questions pertinent to water-quality management efficiently and rigorously at national scales. One tool of this revised strategy is use of statistically based surveys ...

The Very Large Array Data Processing Pipeline

Science.gov (United States)

Kent, Brian R.; Masters, Joseph S.; Chandler, Claire J.; Davis, Lindsey E.; Kern, Jeffrey S.; Ott, Juergen; Schinzel, Frank K.; Medlin, Drew; Muders, Dirk; Williams, Stewart; Geers, Vincent C.; Momjian, Emmanuel; Butler, Bryan J.; Nakazato, Takeshi; Sugimoto, Kanako

2018-01-01

We present the VLA Pipeline, software that is part of the larger pipeline processing framework used for the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), and Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA) for both interferometric and single dish observations.Through a collection of base code jointly used by the VLA and ALMA, the pipeline builds a hierarchy of classes to execute individual atomic pipeline tasks within the Common Astronomy Software Applications (CASA) package. Each pipeline task contains heuristics designed by the team to actively decide the best processing path and execution parameters for calibration and imaging. The pipeline code is developed and written in Python and uses a "context" structure for tracking the heuristic decisions and processing results. The pipeline "weblog" acts as the user interface in verifying the quality assurance of each calibration and imaging stage. The majority of VLA scheduling blocks above 1 GHz are now processed with the standard continuum recipe of the pipeline and offer a calibrated measurement set as a basic data product to observatory users. In addition, the pipeline is used for processing data from the VLA Sky Survey (VLASS), a seven year community-driven endeavor started in September 2017 to survey the entire sky down to a declination of -40 degrees at S-band (2-4 GHz). This 5500 hour next-generation large radio survey will explore the time and spectral domains, relying on pipeline processing to generate calibrated measurement sets, polarimetry, and imaging data products that are available to the astronomical community with no proprietary period. Here we present an overview of the pipeline design philosophy, heuristics, and calibration and imaging results produced by the pipeline. Future development will include the testing of spectral line recipes, low signal-to-noise heuristics, and serving as a testing platform for science ready data products.The pipeline is developed as part of the CASA software package by an

Development of aerial gamma radiation survey system, 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsutsumi, Masahiro; Saito, Komei; Sakamoto, Ryuichi; Nagaoka, Toshi; Moriuchi, Shigeru

1986-05-01

JAERI has started to develop an aerial gamma radiation survey system by a helicopter in 1980. The development of measuring instruments, the experiments in the field of natural and artificial radiation sources, and the imaginary emergency survey at a real site, were executed. This report describes mainly about the hardware and software of this system. The system consists of gamma-ray measuring instruments with NaI(Tl) scintillation detectors, microwave positioning instruments, and a data processing system for postflight data. A foreign-made geological survey system is improved on for radiation measurements. For covering the wide radiation range, detectors of various shapes and sizes are prepared, from a large volume detector, DET-1024 - four 4'' x 4'' x 16'' crystals assembly - to a 2'' diameter x 2'' NaI(Tl) crystal. Radiation and position data are recorded on a magnetic tape, and computer-processed afterwards. Moreover, scene below flight courses and internal communication are recorded on video tape with the information of clock and position superimposed. In consequence of field experiments carried out five times, basic radiation data for evaluating airborne acquired data are accumulated, and flight survey procedures are established. As more practical use, a system has been produced more compactly and functionally. Exposure rates (> 1 mR/h), energy distribution spectra, and energy window counts are obtained for radiation data. Using the Spectrum-Dose Conversion Method, the accurate exposure rates are directly calculated from pulse height spectra. Numerical tables of G(E) function converting pulse height spectra into exposures are shown in this report. As regards the analysis of survey data, process codes have been completed with either large-computer or mini-computer. (author)

THE DISKMASS SURVEY. II. ERROR BUDGET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bershady, Matthew A.; Westfall, Kyle B.; Verheijen, Marc A. W.; Martinsson, Thomas; Andersen, David R.; Swaters, Rob A.

2010-01-01

We present a performance analysis of the DiskMass Survey. The survey uses collisionless tracers in the form of disk stars to measure the surface density of spiral disks, to provide an absolute calibration of the stellar mass-to-light ratio (Υ * ), and to yield robust estimates of the dark-matter halo density profile in the inner regions of galaxies. We find that a disk inclination range of 25 0 -35 0 is optimal for our measurements, consistent with our survey design to select nearly face-on galaxies. Uncertainties in disk scale heights are significant, but can be estimated from radial scale lengths to 25% now, and more precisely in the future. We detail the spectroscopic analysis used to derive line-of-sight velocity dispersions, precise at low surface-brightness, and accurate in the presence of composite stellar populations. Our methods take full advantage of large-grasp integral-field spectroscopy and an extensive library of observed stars. We show that the baryon-to-total mass fraction (F bar ) is not a well-defined observational quantity because it is coupled to the halo mass model. This remains true even when the disk mass is known and spatially extended rotation curves are available. In contrast, the fraction of the rotation speed supplied by the disk at 2.2 scale lengths (disk maximality) is a robust observational indicator of the baryonic disk contribution to the potential. We construct the error budget for the key quantities: dynamical disk mass surface density (Σ dyn ), disk stellar mass-to-light ratio (Υ disk * ), and disk maximality (F *,max disk ≡V disk *,max / V c ). Random and systematic errors in these quantities for individual galaxies will be ∼25%, while survey precision for sample quartiles are reduced to 10%, largely devoid of systematic errors outside of distance uncertainties.

THE HETDEX PILOT SURVEY. I. SURVEY DESIGN, PERFORMANCE, AND CATALOG OF EMISSION-LINE GALAXIES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adams, Joshua J.; Blanc, Guillermo A.; Gebhardt, Karl; Hao, Lei; Byun, Joyce; Fry, Alex; Jeong, Donghui; Komatsu, Eiichiro; Hill, Gary J.; Cornell, Mark E.; MacQueen, Phillip J.; Drory, Niv; Bender, Ralf; Hopp, Ulrich; Kelzenberg, Ralf; Ciardullo, Robin; Gronwall, Caryl; Finkelstein, Steven L.; Gawiser, Eric; Kelz, Andreas

2011-01-01

We present a catalog of emission-line galaxies selected solely by their emission-line fluxes using a wide-field integral field spectrograph. This work is partially motivated as a pilot survey for the upcoming Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment. We describe the observations, reductions, detections, redshift classifications, line fluxes, and counterpart information for 397 emission-line galaxies detected over 169 □' with a 3500-5800 A bandpass under 5 A full-width-half-maximum (FWHM) spectral resolution. The survey's best sensitivity for unresolved objects under photometric conditions is between 4 and 20x 10 -17 erg s -1 cm -2 depending on the wavelength, and Lyα luminosities between 3 x 10 42 and 6 x 10 42 erg s -1 are detectable. This survey method complements narrowband and color-selection techniques in the search of high-redshift galaxies with its different selection properties and large volume probed. The four survey fields within the COSMOS, GOODS-N, MUNICS, and XMM-LSS areas are rich with existing, complementary data. We find 105 galaxies via their high-redshift Lyα emission at 1.9 44 □' which appear to be extended Lyα nebulae. We also find three high-z objects with rest-frame Lyα EW above the level believed to be achievable with normal star formation, EW 0 >240 A. Future papers will investigate the physical properties of this sample.

The Ĝ Infrared Search for Extraterrestrial Civilizations with Large Energy Supplies

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Jason Thomas; Povich, Matthew; Griffith, Roger; Maldonado, Jessica; Sigurdsson, Steinn; Star Cartier, Kimberly

2015-08-01

The WISE and Spitzer large-area surveys of the mid-infrared sky bring a new opportunity to search for evidence of the energy supplies of very large extraterrestrial civilizations. If these energy supplies rival the output of a civilization's parent star (Kardashev Type II), or if a galaxy-spanning supercivilization's use rivals that of the total galactic luminosity (Type III), they would be detectable as anomolously mid-infrared-bright stars and galaxies, respectively. We have already performed the first search for this emission from Type III civilizations using the WISE all-sky survey, and put the first upper limits on them in the local universe, and discuss ways to improve on these limits. We also discuss some detectable forms of and limits on Type II civilizations in the Mliky Way.

Using Market Segmentation to Develop a Large Section, Web-Enhanced Survey Course

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, Jason; Robertson, Bruce

2006-01-01

Increasing enrollment and decreasing budgets have caused many public universities, such as San Fransisco State University (SFU), to offer mega-sections of courses to hundreds of students. Yet the needs of many students are at odds with the large enrollments, inflexible times, and inconvenient locations of these classes. Jason Cole and Bruce…

Regime shifts in demersal assemblages of the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem: a comparative assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kirkman, Stephen P.; Yemane, Dawit; Atkinson, Lara J.

2015-01-01

Using long‐term survey data, changes in demersal faunal communities in the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem were analysed at community and population levels to provide a comparative overview of the occurrence and timing of regime shifts. For South Africa, the timing of a community‐level sh......Using long‐term survey data, changes in demersal faunal communities in the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem were analysed at community and population levels to provide a comparative overview of the occurrence and timing of regime shifts. For South Africa, the timing of a community...

NEFSC Apex Predators Longline Survey (DE0407, EK500)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The fishery independent survey of Atlantic large and small coastal sharks is conducted bi-annually in U.S. waters. Its primary objective is to conduct a...

NEFSC Apex Predator Longline Survey (DE0005, EK500)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The fishery independent survey of Atlantic large and small coastal sharks is conducted bi-annually in U.S. waters. Its primary objective is to conduct a...

THE GOULD's BELT VERY LARGE ARRAY SURVEY. I. THE OPHIUCHUS COMPLEX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dzib, Sergio A.; Loinard, Laurent; Rodríguez, Luis F.; Ortiz-León, Gisela N.; Pech, Gerardo; Rivera, Juana L.; Mioduszewski, Amy J.; Torres, Rosa M.; Boden, Andrew F.; Hartmann, Lee; Evans, Neal J. II; Briceño, Cesar; Tobin, John

2013-01-01

We present large-scale (∼2000 arcmin 2 ), deep (∼20 μJy), high-resolution (∼1'') radio observations of the Ophiuchus star-forming complex obtained with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array at λ = 4 and 6 cm. In total, 189 sources were detected, 56 of them associated with known young stellar sources, and 4 with known extragalactic objects; the other 129 remain unclassified, but most of them are most probably background quasars. The vast majority of the young stars detected at radio wavelengths have spectral types K or M, although we also detect four objects of A/F/B types and two brown dwarf candidates. At least half of these young stars are non-thermal (gyrosynchrotron) sources, with active coronas characterized by high levels of variability, negative spectral indices, and (in some cases) significant circular polarization. As expected, there is a clear tendency for the fraction of non-thermal sources to increase from the younger (Class 0/I or flat spectrum) to the more evolved (Class III or weak line T Tauri) stars. The young stars detected both in X-rays and at radio wavelengths broadly follow a Güdel-Benz relation, but with a different normalization than the most radioactive types of stars. Finally, we detect a ∼70 mJy compact extragalactic source near the center of the Ophiuchus core, which should be used as gain calibrator for any future radio observations of this region

A European survey on donor deferral for allergy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Garraud, O; Martin, C; Haddad, A

2017-01-01

Allergy accounts to near 0.5% of all reported transfusion adverse events. The responsibility of blood components themselves and - therefore - of blood donors is still questioned. The European Community undertook a large international survey to address the consistency and homogeneity of medical...... selection of blood donors with regard to the risk of allergy, and especially of transferring allergy to recipients. This short report presents the salient points of the survey, stressing that there is inconsistency in addressing the allergy question within countries or systems, with paths of improvement....

Development of carborne gamma-ray survey system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakamoto, Ryuichi; Tsutsumi, Masahiro

1999-01-01

A carborne γ-ray survey system was developed aiming at implementation of environmental radiation investigation in and around Chernobyl area after the accident. This system consists of a dose rate meter, a GPS and a personal computer, and acquires γ-ray dose rates and positional data using two serial ports of the computer. It is indispensable to acquire these two kinds of data simultaneously for carborne γ-ray survey in a large area. A feature of the system is to be able to get these data continuously by means of a simple programming. This system has been used in and around Chernobyl area for a few years, and it has worked without any troubles. The outline of this survey system, which is applicable for configuration of environmental radiation data acquisition system is reported with some results in Chernobyl. (author)

Results of radioactivity surveys in Miyagi Prefecture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-01-01

The results of radioactivity surveys carried out in Miyagi Prefecture in fiscal 1981 (from April, 1981, to March, 1982), entrusted by the Science and Technology Agency, are presented in tables: total β radioactivity in rainwater, in rainwater and dust collected by large basins, in daily foods, in land water, in dairy products and vegetables, in marine products and in soil, 131 I nuclide in cow's milk, air γ-ray dose rate by survey meters, and air γ-ray counting, rate by a monitoring post were examined. The total β radioactivity was measured by a GM counting apparatus with an automatic sample changer, the nuclide analysis by a NaI(Tl) scintillation spectrometer, the air γ-ray dose rate by a NaI(Tl) scintillation survey meter, and the γ-ray counting rate by a NaI(Tl) scintillation type monitoring post. (Mori, K.)

Involvement of herbal medicine as a cause of mesenteric phlebosclerosis: results from a large-scale nationwide survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Shimizu, Seiji; Kobayashi, Taku; Tomioka, Hideo; Ohtsu, Kensei; Matsui, Toshiyuki; Hibi, Toshifumi

2017-03-01

Mesenteric phlebosclerosis (MP) is a rare disease characterized by venous calcification extending from the colonic wall to the mesentery, with chronic ischemic changes from venous return impairment in the intestine. It is an idiopathic disease, but increasing attention has been paid to the potential involvement of herbal medicine, or Kampo, in its etiology. Until now, there were scattered case reports, but no large-scale studies have been conducted to unravel the clinical characteristics and etiology of the disease. A nationwide survey was conducted using questionnaires to assess possible etiology (particularly the involvement of herbal medicine), clinical manifestations, disease course, and treatment of MP. Data from 222 patients were collected. Among the 169 patients (76.1 %), whose history of herbal medicine was obtained, 147 (87.0 %) used herbal medicines. The use of herbal medicines containing sanshishi (gardenia fruit, Gardenia jasminoides Ellis) was reported in 119 out of 147 patients (81.0 %). Therefore, the use of herbal medicine containing sanshishi was confirmed in 70.4 % of 169 patients whose history of herbal medicine was obtained. The duration of sanshishi use ranged from 3 to 51 years (mean 13.6 years). Patients who discontinued sanshishi showed a better outcome compared with those who continued it. The use of herbal medicine containing sanshishi is associated with the etiology of MP. Although it may not be the causative factor, it is necessary for gastroenterologists to be aware of the potential risk of herbal medicine containing sanshishi for the development of MP.

Near-Earth Object Survey Simulation Software

Science.gov (United States)

Naidu, Shantanu P.; Chesley, Steven R.; Farnocchia, Davide

2017-10-01

There is a significant interest in Near-Earth objects (NEOs) because they pose an impact threat to Earth, offer valuable scientific information, and are potential targets for robotic and human exploration. The number of NEO discoveries has been rising rapidly over the last two decades with over 1800 being discovered last year, making the total number of known NEOs >16000. Pan-STARRS and the Catalina Sky Survey are currently the most prolific NEO surveys, having discovered >1600 NEOs between them in 2016. As next generation surveys such as Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and the proposed Near-Earth Object Camera (NEOCam) become operational in the next decade, the discovery rate is expected to increase tremendously. Coordination between various survey telescopes will be necessary in order to optimize NEO discoveries and create a unified global NEO discovery network. We are collaborating on a community-based, open-source software project to simulate asteroid surveys to facilitate such coordination and develop strategies for improving discovery efficiency. Our effort so far has focused on development of a fast and efficient tool capable of accepting user-defined asteroid population models and telescope parameters such as a list of pointing angles and camera field-of-view, and generating an output list of detectable asteroids. The software takes advantage of the widely used and tested SPICE library and architecture developed by NASA’s Navigation and Ancillary Information Facility (Acton, 1996) for saving and retrieving asteroid trajectories and camera pointing. Orbit propagation is done using OpenOrb (Granvik et al. 2009) but future versions will allow the user to plug in a propagator of their choice. The software allows the simulation of both ground-based and space-based surveys. Performance is being tested using the Grav et al. (2011) asteroid population model and the LSST simulated survey “enigma_1189”.

Child maltreatment experience among primary school children: a large scale survey in Selangor state, Malaysia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ayesha Ahmed

Full Text Available Official reports of child maltreatment in Malaysia have persistently increased throughout the last decade. However there is a lack of population surveys evaluating the actual burden of child maltreatment, its correlates and its consequences in the country. This cross sectional study employed 2 stage stratified cluster random sampling of public primary schools, to survey 3509 ten to twelve year old school children in Selangor state. It aimed to estimate the prevalence of parental physical and emotional maltreatment, parental neglect and teacher- inflicted physical maltreatment. It further aimed to examine the associations between child maltreatment and important socio-demographic factors; family functioning and symptoms of depression among children. Logistic regression on weighted samples was used to extend results to a population level. Three quarters of 10-12 year olds reported at least one form of maltreatment, with parental physical maltreatment being most common. Males had higher odds of maltreatment in general except for emotional maltreatment. Ethnicity and parental conflict were key factors associated with maltreatment. The study contributes important evidence towards improving public health interventions for child maltreatment prevention in the country.

Child Maltreatment Experience among Primary School Children: A Large Scale Survey in Selangor State, Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Ayesha; Wan-Yuen, Choo; Marret, Mary Joseph; Guat-Sim, Cheah; Othman, Sajaratulnisah; Chinna, Karuthan

2015-01-01

Official reports of child maltreatment in Malaysia have persistently increased throughout the last decade. However there is a lack of population surveys evaluating the actual burden of child maltreatment, its correlates and its consequences in the country. This cross sectional study employed 2 stage stratified cluster random sampling of public primary schools, to survey 3509 ten to twelve year old school children in Selangor state. It aimed to estimate the prevalence of parental physical and emotional maltreatment, parental neglect and teacher- inflicted physical maltreatment. It further aimed to examine the associations between child maltreatment and important socio-demographic factors; family functioning and symptoms of depression among children. Logistic regression on weighted samples was used to extend results to a population level. Three quarters of 10–12 year olds reported at least one form of maltreatment, with parental physical maltreatment being most common. Males had higher odds of maltreatment in general except for emotional maltreatment. Ethnicity and parental conflict were key factors associated with maltreatment. The study contributes important evidence towards improving public health interventions for child maltreatment prevention in the country. PMID:25786214

The Topology of Large-Scale Structure in the 1.2 Jy IRAS Redshift Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Protogeros, Zacharias A. M.; Weinberg, David H.

1997-11-01

We measure the topology (genus) of isodensity contour surfaces in volume-limited subsets of the 1.2 Jy IRAS redshift survey, for smoothing scales λ = 4, 7, and 12 h-1 Mpc. At 12 h-1 Mpc, the observed genus curve has a symmetric form similar to that predicted for a Gaussian random field. At the shorter smoothing lengths, the observed genus curve shows a modest shift in the direction of an isolated cluster or ``meatball'' topology. We use mock catalogs drawn from cosmological N-body simulations to investigate the systematic biases that affect topology measurements in samples of this size and to determine the full covariance matrix of the expected random errors. We incorporate the error correlations into our evaluations of theoretical models, obtaining both frequentist assessments of absolute goodness of fit and Bayesian assessments of models' relative likelihoods. We compare the observed topology of the 1.2 Jy survey to the predictions of dynamically evolved, unbiased, gravitational instability models that have Gaussian initial conditions. The model with an n = -1 power-law initial power spectrum achieves the best overall agreement with the data, though models with a low-density cold dark matter power spectrum and an n = 0 power-law spectrum are also consistent. The observed topology is inconsistent with an initially Gaussian model that has n = -2, and it is strongly inconsistent with a Voronoi foam model, which has a non-Gaussian, bubble topology.

Deep-tow magnetic survey above large exhumed mantle domains of the eastern Southwest Indian ridge

Science.gov (United States)

Bronner, A.; Munschy, M.; Carlut, J. H.; Searle, R. C.; Sauter, D.; Cannat, M.

2011-12-01

The recent discovery of a new type of seafloor, the "smooth seafloor", formed with no or very little volcanic activity along the ultra-slow spreading Southwest Indian ridge (SWIR) shows an unexpected complexity in processes of generation of the oceanic lithosphere. There, detachment faulting is thought to be a mechanism for efficient exhumation of deep-seated mantle rocks. We present here a deep-tow geological-geophysical survey over smooth seafloor at the eastern SWIR (62-64°N) combining magnetic data, geology mapping from side-scan sonar images and results from dredge sampling. We introduce a new type of calibration approach for deep-tow fluxgate magnetometer. We show that magnetic data can be corrected from the magnetic effect of the vehicle with no recourse to its attitude (pitch, roll and heading) but only using the 3 components recorded by the magnetometer and an approximation of the scalar intensity of the Earth magnetic field. The collected dredge samples as well as the side-scan images confirm the presence of large areas of exhumed mantle-derived peridodites surrounded by a few volcanic constructions. This allows us to hypothesis that magnetic anomalies are caused by serpentinized peridotites or magmatic intrusions. We show that the magnetic signature of the smooth seafloor is clearly weaker than the surrounding volcanic areas. Moreover, the calculated magnetization of a source layer as well as the comparison between deep-tow and sea-surface magnetic data argue for strong East-West variability in the distribution of the magnetized sources. This variability may results from fluid-rocks interaction along the detachment faults as well as from the repartition of the volcanic material and thus questions the seafloor spreading origin of the corresponding magnetic anomalies. Finally, we provide magnetic arguments, as calculation of block rotation or spreading asymmetry in order to better constrain tectonic mechanisms that occur during the formation of this

Deep-tow geophysical survey above large exhumed mantle domains of the eastern Southwest Indian ridge

Science.gov (United States)

Bronner, A.; Munschy, M.; Sauter, D.; Carlut, J.; Searle, R.; Cannat, M.

2012-04-01

The recent discovery of a new type of seafloor, the "smooth seafloor", formed with no or very little volcanic activity along the easternmost part of the ultra-slow spreading Southwest Indian ridge (SWIR) shows an unexpected complexity in processes of generation of the oceanic lithosphere. There, detachment faulting is thought to be a mechanism for efficient exhumation of deep-seated mantle rocks. We present here a deep-tow geological-geophysical survey over smooth seafloor at the eastern SWIR (62-64°N) combining multibeam bathymetric data, magnetic data, geology mapping from sidescan sonar (TOBI) images and results from dredge sampling. We introduce a new type of calibration approach for deep-tow fluxgate magnetometer. We show that magnetic data can be corrected from the magnetic effect of the vehicle with no recourse to its attitude (pitch, roll and heading) but only using the 3 components recorded by the magnetometer and an approximation of the scalar intensity of the Earth magnetic field. The collected dredge samples as well as the sidescan sonar images confirm the presence of large areas of exhumed mantle-derived peridodites surrounded by a few volcanic constructions. We investigate the possibility that magnetic anomalies are either caused by serpentinized peridotites and/or magmatic intrusions. We show that the magnetic signature of the smooth seafloor is clearly weaker than the surrounding volcanic areas. Moreover, the calculated magnetization of a source layer as well as the comparison between deep-tow and sea-surface magnetic data argue for strong East-West variability in the distribution of the magnetized sources. This variability may result from fluid-rock interactions along the detachment faults as well as from the occurrence of small sized and thin volcanic patches and thus questions the seafloor spreading origin of the corresponding magnetic anomalies. Finally, we provide magnetic arguments, as calculation of block rotation or spreading asymmetry in

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-03-01

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

Preliminary Geological Survey on the Proposed Sites for the New Research Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lim, In Cheol; Ha, J. J.; Oh, K. B.

2010-12-01

· Performing the preliminary geological survey on the proposed sites for the new research reactor through the technical service · Ordering a technical service from The Geological Society of Korea · Contents of the geological survey - Confirmation of active fault - Confirmation of a large-scale fracture zone or weak zone - Confirmation of inappropriate items related to the underground water - Confirmation of historical seismicity and instrumental earthquakes data · Synthesized analysis and holding a report meeting · Results of the geological survey - Confirmation of the geological characteristics of the sites and drawing the requirements for the precise geological survey in the future

Fiscal 1995 geothermal development promotion survey. Natural environment survey report; 1995 nendo chinetsu kaihatsu sokushin chosa. Shizen kankyo chosa hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-03-01

In Candidate C area for the geothermal development survey, the natural environment was surveyed and `the secondary landscape assessment` was summed up in which places proposed for drilling of large-size wells and for construction of power generation facilities are extracted and a simulation of the landscape is conducted. The area for survey is the Shiramizu-gawa region in the south of Lake Akan, Akan-cho, Akan-gun, Hokkaido. The field survey was carried out about three items of landscape, plants and animals during the June-November period, 1995. As to the flora, diverse florae including vegetation unique to alpine areas, wetlands, and fumarole surrounding areas were found in the region, which is covered with summer-green broad-leaved forests or mixed forests of coniferous and broad-leaved trees. As to the fauna, faunae inhabitant of the highly natural forests were found including black woodpeckers and mountain hawk eagles. As a result of studying the places proposed for geothermal development from the above-mentioned survey, two places were picked up in the west of the survey area, where geothermal development is comparatively less influential in the natural environment and landscape and there is a high locational adaptability. 19 refs., 56 figs., 49 tabs.

Supervisors' perspective on medical thesis projects and dropout rates: survey among thesis supervisors at a large German university hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Can, Elif; Richter, Felicitas; Valchanova, Ralitsa; Dewey, Marc

2016-10-14

To identify underlying causes for failure of medical thesis projects and the constantly high drop-out rate in Germany from the supervisors' perspective and to compare the results with the students' perspective. Cross-sectional survey. Online questionnaire for survey of medical thesis supervisors among the staff of Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany. Published, earlier longitudinal survey among students for comparison. 1069 thesis supervisors participated. Data are presented using descriptive statistics, and the χ 2 test served to compare the results among supervisors with the earlier data from the longitudinal survey of doctoral students. Not applicable. This survey is an observational study. Of 3653 potential participants, 1069 (29.3%) supervising 3744 doctoral candidates participated in the study. Supervisors considered themselves to be highly motivated and to offer adequate supervision. On the other hand, 87% stated that they did not feel well prepared for thesis supervision. Supervisors gave lack of timeliness of doctoral students and personal differences (p=0.024 and p=0.001) as the main reasons for terminating thesis projects. Doctoral students predominantly mentioned methodological problems and difficult subjects as critical issues (p=0.001 and pthesis supervisors and medical students feel ill prepared for their roles in the process of a medical dissertation. Contradictory reasons for terminating medical thesis projects based on supervisors' and students' self-assessment suggest a lack of communication and true scientific collaboration between supervisors and doctoral students as the major underlying issue that requires resolution. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Hydroclimatic variability and predictability: a survey of recent research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. D. Koster

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Recent research in large-scale hydroclimatic variability is surveyed, focusing on five topics: (i variability in general, (ii droughts, (iii floods, (iv land–atmosphere coupling, and (v hydroclimatic prediction. Each surveyed topic is supplemented by illustrative examples of recent research, as presented at a 2016 symposium honoring the career of Professor Eric Wood. Taken together, the recent literature and the illustrative examples clearly show that current research into hydroclimatic variability is strong, vibrant, and multifaceted.

Differentiation by integration using orthogonal polynomials, a survey

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Diekema, E.; Koornwinder, T.H.

2012-01-01

This survey paper discusses the history of approximation formulas for n-th order derivatives by integrals involving orthogonal polynomials. There is a large but rather disconnected corpus of literature on such formulas. We give some results in greater generality than in the literature. Notably we

Supply Chain Simulation: A Survey

OpenAIRE

Kleijnen, J.P.C.

2003-01-01

This paper provides a survey of simulation in supply chain management.It reviews four types of simulation, namely spreadsheet simulation, system dynamics, discreteevent simulation, and business games.Which simulation type should be applied, depends on the type of managerial question to be answered by the model.Moreover, this paper summarizes novel sensitivity and robustness analyses.This sensitivity analysis yields a shortlist of the truly important factors in large simulation models with (sa...

A Study of Student Completion Strategies in a Likert-Type Course Evaluation Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Gee, Nick

2017-01-01

This article investigates the motivations and strategies employed by respondents to a Likert-style course evaluation at a UK university. These attitude surveys, generating large amounts of quantitative data, are commonly used in quality assurance procedures across UK higher education institutions. Similar student survey results are now scrutinised…

Surveying the skies how astronomers map the universe

CERN Document Server

Wynn-Williams, Gareth

2016-01-01

Since the time of Galileo, astronomy has been driven by technological innovation. With each major advance has come the opportunity and enthusiasm to survey the sky in a way that was not possible before. It is these surveys of discovery that are the subject of this book. In the first few chapters the author discusses what astronomers learned from visible-light surveys, first with the naked eye, then using telescopes in the seventeenth century, and photography in the nineteenth century. He then moves to the second half of the twentieth century when the skies started to be swept by radio, infrared, ultraviolet, x-ray and gamma ray telescopes, many of which had to be flown in satellites above the Earth’s atmosphere. These surveys led to the discovery of pulsars, quasars, molecular clouds, protostars, bursters, and black holes. He then returns to Earth to describe several currently active large-scale projects that methodically collect images, photometry and spectra that are then stored in vast publicly-accessibl...

The APM galaxy survey: Pt. 2; Photometric corrections

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maddox, S.J.; Efstathiou, G.; Sutherland, W.J. (Oxford Univ. (UK). Dept. of Astrophysics)

1990-10-01

We describe the methods that we have used to establish accurate photometry in a survey of two million galaxies brighter then b{sub j} 20.5 covering over 4300 square degrees of the South Galactic cap. We apply a field correction for vignetting and differential desensitization which is accurate to ''< approx''0.04 mag across each of 185 Schmidt plates. Images in the overlapping regions of neighbouring plate pairs are used to establish a uniform magnitude system over the entire survey. We discuss the residual magnitude differences in the overlaps and the propagation of plate-to-plate magnitude errors across the network of plates. We argue that the rms plate zero-point error in the final matched survey is 0.04 mag. CCD photometry of 40 faint galaxy sequences is used to calibrate the matched magnitudes and to set stringent limits on large-scale gradients in the matched survey photometry. (author).

The Impact of Laws on Metric Conversion: A Survey of Selected Large U.S. Corporations.

Science.gov (United States)

1982-02-01

resulting from increasing metric usage (Section 6-8). * Conduct researc [., including appropriate surveys; publish recults of such research; and recommend to...Products Case Study There has been very little conversion of the products manufactured and marketed by this firm. According to the firm representative...sizes for marketing reasons. The industry action resulted in this firm PAGE A-3 • F - L ’... . " ... . -, . . .-,--m :..: - - A THE NEWMAN & HERMANSON

CLASS: The Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor

Science.gov (United States)

Essinger-Hileman, Thomas; Ali, Aamir; Amiri, Mandana; Appel, John W.; Araujo, Derek; Bennett, Charles L.; Boone, Fletcher; Chan, Manwei; Cho, Hsiao-Mei; Chuss, David T.;

Mean density and two-point correlation function for the CfA redshift survey slices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Lapparent, V.; Geller, M.J.; Huchra, J.P.

1988-01-01

The effect of large-scale inhomogeneities on the determination of the mean number density and the two-point spatial correlation function were investigated for two complete slices of the extension of the Center for Astrophysics (CfA) redshift survey (de Lapparent et al., 1986). It was found that the mean galaxy number density for the two strips is uncertain by 25 percent, more so than previously estimated. The large uncertainty in the mean density introduces substantial uncertainty in the determination of the two-point correlation function, particularly at large scale; thus, for the 12-deg slice of the CfA redshift survey, the amplitude of the correlation function at intermediate scales is uncertain by a factor of 2. The large uncertainties in the correlation functions might reflect the lack of a fair sample. 45 references

Traditional methods v. new technologies – dilemmas for dietary assessment in large-scale nutrition surveys and studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Amoutzopoulos, B.; Steer, T.; Roberts, C.

2018-01-01

assessment in population surveys’, was held at the 9th International Conference on Diet and Activity Methods (ICDAM9), Brisbane, September 2015. Despite respondent and researcher burden, traditional methods have been most commonly used in nutrition surveys. However, dietary assessment technologies offer...... of traditional dietary assessment methods (food records, FFQ, 24 h recalls, diet history with interviewer-assisted data collection) v. new technology-based dietary assessment methods (web-based and mobile device applications). The panel discussion ‘Traditional methods v. new technologies: dilemmas for dietary......The aim of the present paper is to summarise current and future applications of dietary assessment technologies in nutrition surveys in developed countries. It includes the discussion of key points and highlights of subsequent developments from a panel discussion to address strengths and weaknesses...

Handwashing in 51 Countries: Analysis of Proxy Measures of Handwashing Behavior in Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys and Demographic and Health Surveys, 2010-2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Swapna; Loughnan, Libbet; Luyendijk, Rolf; Hernandez, Orlando; Weinger, Merri; Arnold, Fred; Ram, Pavani K

2017-08-01

In 2009, a common set of questions addressing handwashing behavior was introduced into nationally representative Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), providing large amounts of comparable data from numerous countries worldwide. The objective of this analysis is to describe global handwashing patterns using two proxy indicators for handwashing behavior from 51 DHS and MICS surveys conducted in 2010-2013: availability of soap anywhere in the dwelling and access to a handwashing place with soap and water. Data were also examined across geographic regions, wealth quintiles, and rural versus urban settings. We found large disparities for both indicators across regions, and even among countries within the same World Health Organization region. Within countries, households in lower wealth quintiles and in rural areas were less likely to have soap anywhere in the dwelling and at designated handwashing locations than households in higher wealth quintiles and urban areas. In addition, disparities existed among various geographic regions within countries. This analysis demonstrates the need to promote access to handwashing materials and placement at handwashing locations in the dwelling, particularly in poorer, rural areas where children are more vulnerable to handwashing-preventable syndromes such as pneumonia and diarrhea.

Survey and research for the enhancement of large-scale technology development 1. Japan's large-scale technology development and the effects; Ogata gijutsu kaihatsu suishin no tame no chosa kenkyu. 1. Nippon no daikibo gijutsu kaihatsu to sono koka

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1981-03-01

A survey is conducted into the effects of projects implemented under the large-scale industrial technology research and development system. In the development of 'ultraperformance computers,' each of the technologies is being widely utilized, and the data service system of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation and the large computer (HITAC8800) owe much for their success to the fruits of the development endeavor. In the development of the 'desulfurization technology,' the fruits are in use by Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc., and Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc., incorporated into their desulfurization systems. Although there is no practical plant based on the 'great-depth remotely controlled submarine oil drilling rig,' yet oceanic technologies and control methods are being utilized in various fields. The 'seawater desalination and by-product utilization' technologies have enabled the establishment of technologies of the top level in the world thanks to the resultant manufacture of concrete evaporator and related technologies. Eleven plants have been completed utilizing the fruits of the development. In the field of 'electric vehicle,' there is no commercialization in progress due to problems in cost effectiveness though remarkable improvement has been achieved in terms of performance. Technologies about weight reduction, semiconductor devices, battery parts and components, etc., are being utilized in many fields. (NEDO)

Target Selection for the SDSS-III MARVELS Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Paegert, Martin; Stassun, Keivan G.; De Lee, Nathan; Pepper, Joshua; Fleming, Scott W.; Sivarani, Thirupathi; Mahadevan, Suvrath; Mack, Claude E., III; Dhital, Saurav; Hebb, Leslie; Ge, Jian

2015-06-01

We present the target selection process for the Multi-object APO Radial Velocity Exoplanets Large-area Survey (MARVELS), which is part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) III. MARVELS is a medium-resolution (R ∼ 11,000) multi-fiber spectrograph capable of obtaining radial velocities for 60 objects at a time in order to find brown dwarfs and giant planets. The survey was configured to target dwarf stars with effective temperatures approximately between 4500 and 6250 K. For the first 2 years MARVELS relied on low-resolution spectroscopic pre-observations to estimate the effective temperature and log (g) for candidate stars and then selected suitable dwarf stars from this pool. Ultimately, the pre-observation spectra proved ineffective at filtering out giant stars; many giants were incorrectly classified as dwarfs, resulting in a giant contamination rate of ∼30% for the first phase of the MARVELS survey. Thereafter, the survey instead applied a reduced proper motion cut to eliminate giants and used the Infrared Flux Method to estimate effective temperatures, using only extant photmetric and proper-motion catalog information. The target selection method introduced here may be useful for other surveys that need to rely on extant catalog data for selection of specific stellar populations.

International survey of academic library data curation practices

CERN Document Server

2013-01-01

This survey looks closely at the data curation practices of a sample of research-oriented universities largely from the USA, the UK, Australia and Scandinavia but also including India, South Africa and other countries. The study looks at how major universities are assisting faculty in developing data curation and management plans for large scale data projects, largely in the sciences and social sciences, often as pre-conditions for major grants. The report looks at which departments of universities are shouldering the data curation burden, the personnel involved in the efforts, the costs involved, types of software used, difficulties in procuring scientific experiment logs and other hard to obtain information, types of training offered to faculty, and other issues in large scale data management.

THE NEXT GENERATION VIRGO CLUSTER SURVEY (NGVS). I. INTRODUCTION TO THE SURVEY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferrarese, Laura; Côté, Patrick; Gwyn, S. D. J.; MacArthur, Lauren A.; McConnachie, Alan W.; Blakeslee, John P.; Cuillandre, Jean-Charles; Peng, Eric W.; Duc, Pierre-Alain; Boselli, A.; Mei, Simona; Erben, Thomas; Durrell, Patrick R.; Christopher Mihos, J.; Jordán, Andrés; Puzia, Thomas H.; Lançon, Ariane; Emsellem, Eric; Balogh, Michael L.; Van Waerbeke, Ludovic

2012-01-01

The Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey (NGVS) is a program that uses the 1 deg 2 MegaCam instrument on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope to carry out a comprehensive optical imaging survey of the Virgo cluster, from its core to its virial radius—covering a total area of 104 deg 2 —in the u*griz bandpasses. Thanks to a dedicated data acquisition strategy and processing pipeline, the NGVS reaches a point-source depth of g ≈ 25.9 mag (10σ) and a surface brightness limit of μ g ∼ 29 mag arcsec –2 (2σ above the mean sky level), thus superseding all previous optical studies of this benchmark galaxy cluster. In this paper, we give an overview of the technical aspects of the survey, such as areal coverage, field placement, choice of filters, limiting magnitudes, observing strategies, data processing and calibration pipelines, survey timeline, and data products. We also describe the primary scientific topics of the NGVS, which include: the galaxy luminosity and mass functions; the color-magnitude relation; galaxy scaling relations; compact stellar systems; galactic nuclei; the extragalactic distance scale; the large-scale environment of the cluster and its relationship to the Local Supercluster; diffuse light and the intracluster medium; galaxy interactions and evolutionary processes; and extragalactic star clusters. In addition, we describe a number of ancillary programs dealing with 'foreground' and 'background' science topics, including the study of high-inclination trans-Neptunian objects; the structure of the Galactic halo in the direction of the Virgo Overdensity and Sagittarius Stream; the measurement of cosmic shear, galaxy-galaxy, and cluster lensing; and the identification of distant galaxy clusters, and strong-lensing events.

The effect of mode and context on survey results: Analysis of data from the Health Survey for England 2006 and the Boost Survey for London

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roth Marilyn A

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Health-related data at local level could be provided by supplementing national health surveys with local boosts. Self-completion surveys are less costly than interviews, enabling larger samples to be achieved for a given cost. However, even when the same questions are asked with the same wording, responses to survey questions may vary by mode of data collection. These measurement differences need to be investigated further. Methods The Health Survey for England in London ('Core' and a London Boost survey ('Boost' used identical sampling strategies but different modes of data collection. Some data were collected by face-to-face interview in the Core and by self-completion in the Boost; other data were collected by self-completion questionnaire in both, but the context differed. Results were compared by mode of data collection using two approaches. The first examined differences in results that remained after adjusting the samples for differences in response. The second compared results after using propensity score matching to reduce any differences in sample composition. Results There were no significant differences between the two samples for prevalence of some variables including long-term illness, limiting long-term illness, current rates of smoking, whether participants drank alcohol, and how often they usually drank. However, there were a number of differences, some quite large, between some key measures including: general health, GHQ12 score, portions of fruit and vegetables consumed, levels of physical activity, and, to a lesser extent, smoking consumption, the number of alcohol units reported consumed on the heaviest day of drinking in the last week and perceived social support (among women only. Conclusion Survey mode and context can both affect the responses given. The effect is largest for complex question modules but was also seen for identical self-completion questions. Some data collected by interview and self

Observing trans-Planckian ripples in the primordial power spectrum with future large scale structure probes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hamann, Jan; Hannestad, Steen; Sloth, Martin Snoager

2008-01-01

We revisit the issue of ripples in the primordial power spectra caused by trans-Planckian physics, and the potential for their detection by future cosmological probes. We find that for reasonably large values of the first slow-roll parameter epsilon (> 0.001), a positive detection of trans......-Planckian ripples can be made even if the amplitude is as low as 10^-4. Data from the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and the proposed future 21 cm survey with the Fast Fourier Transform Telescope (FFTT) will be particularly useful in this regard. If the scale of inflation is close to its present upper bound...

Large-Scale Survey of Chinese Precollege Students' Epistemological Beliefs about Physics: A Progression or a Regression?

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ping; Ding, Lin

2013-01-01

This paper reports a cross-grade comparative study of Chinese precollege students' epistemological beliefs about physics by using the Colorado Learning Attitudes Survey about Sciences (CLASS). Our students of interest are middle and high schoolers taking traditional lecture-based physics as a mandatory science course each year from the 8th grade…

Results of an Institutional LGBT Climate Survey at an Academic Medical Center.

Science.gov (United States)

Chester, Sean D; Ehrenfeld, Jesse M; Eckstrand, Kristen L

2014-12-01

The purpose of this study was to characterize the climate and culture experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees and students at one large academic medical center. An anonymous, online institutional climate survey was used to assess the attitudes and experiences of LGBT employees and students. There were 42 LGBT and 14 non-LGBT survey participants. Results revealed that a surprisingly large percentage of LGBT individuals experienced pressure to remain "closeted" and were harassed despite medical center policies of non-discrimination. Continuing training, inclusive policies and practices, and the development of mechanisms to address LGBT-specific harassment are necessary for improving institutional climate.

LARGE AREA SURVEY FOR z = 7 GALAXIES IN SDF AND GOODS-N: IMPLICATIONS FOR GALAXY FORMATION AND COSMIC REIONIZATION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ouchi, Masami; Mobasher, Bahram; Shimasaku, Kazuhiro; Ono, Yoshiaki; Nakajima, Kimihiko; Okamura, Sadanori; Ferguson, Henry C.; Fall, S. Michael; Kashikawa, Nobunari; Morokuma, Tomoki; Dickinson, Mark; Giavalisco, Mauro; Ohta, Kouji

2009-01-01

We present results of our large area survey for z'-band dropout galaxies at z = 7 in a 1568 arcmin 2 sky area covering the SDF and GOODS-N fields. Combining our ultra-deep Subaru/Suprime-Cam z'- and y-band (λ eff = 1 μm) images with legacy data of Subaru and Hubble Space Telescope, we have identified 22 bright z-dropout galaxies down to y = 26, one of which has a spectroscopic redshift of z = 6.96 determined from Lyα emission. The z = 7 luminosity function yields the best-fit Schechter parameters of φ* = 0.69 +2.62 -0.55 x 10 -3 Mpc -3 , M* UV = -20.10 ± 0.76 mag, and α = -1.72 ± 0.65, and indicates a decrease from z = 6 at a >95% confidence level. This decrease is beyond the cosmic variance in our two fields, which is estimated to be a factor of ∼ 0.2), a lower metallicity, and/or a flatter initial mass function. Our SDF z-dropout galaxies appear to form 60 Mpc long filamentary structures, and the z = 6.96 galaxy with Lyα emission is located at the center of an overdense region consisting of four UV bright dropout candidates, which might suggest an existence of a well-developed ionized bubble at z = 7.

Impact of large-scale tides on cosmological distortions via redshift-space power spectrum

Science.gov (United States)

Akitsu, Kazuyuki; Takada, Masahiro

2018-03-01

Although large-scale perturbations beyond a finite-volume survey region are not direct observables, these affect measurements of clustering statistics of small-scale (subsurvey) perturbations in large-scale structure, compared with the ensemble average, via the mode-coupling effect. In this paper we show that a large-scale tide induced by scalar perturbations causes apparent anisotropic distortions in the redshift-space power spectrum of galaxies in a way depending on an alignment between the tide, wave vector of small-scale modes and line-of-sight direction. Using the perturbation theory of structure formation, we derive a response function of the redshift-space power spectrum to large-scale tide. We then investigate the impact of large-scale tide on estimation of cosmological distances and the redshift-space distortion parameter via the measured redshift-space power spectrum for a hypothetical large-volume survey, based on the Fisher matrix formalism. To do this, we treat the large-scale tide as a signal, rather than an additional source of the statistical errors, and show that a degradation in the parameter is restored if we can employ the prior on the rms amplitude expected for the standard cold dark matter (CDM) model. We also discuss whether the large-scale tide can be constrained at an accuracy better than the CDM prediction, if the effects up to a larger wave number in the nonlinear regime can be included.

Comfort Study of Office Buildings with Large Glazed Areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Violeta Motuzienė

2017-09-01

Full Text Available In the buildings with large glazed areas the biggest problem is the space overheating during the warm season. This causes increased energy demand for cooling. The survey was carried out during the warm and cold seasons in two office buildings with large glazed areas. The methodology was prepared for evaluating indoor climate parameters using objective and subjective evaluation. The measurements have shown that there are problems with lighting in workplaces of both buildings during both the warm and cold seasons. The biggest problem is too dry air during the cold period, an acceptable temperature is also not always in the building No. 2. The survey has shown that some employees are dissatisfied with the indoor climate in the workplace, the bigger dissatisfaction is in building No. 2. Assessing according to the O. Fanger methodology was obtained that the number of PPD is in the normal range during the cold period, whereas close to the limit when the building can not be operated in the warm period.

USGS Imagery Topo Large-scale Base Map Service from The National Map

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — The USGS Imagery Topo Large service from The National Map (TNM) is a dynamic topographic base map service that combines the best available data (Boundaries,...

Large-area metallic photonic lattices for military applications.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luk, Ting Shan

2007-11-01

In this project we developed photonic crystal modeling capability and fabrication technology that is scaleable to large area. An intelligent optimization code was developed to find the optimal structure for the desired spectral response. In terms of fabrication, an exhaustive survey of fabrication techniques that would meet the large area requirement was reduced to Deep X-ray Lithography (DXRL) and nano-imprint. Using DXRL, we fabricated a gold logpile photonic crystal in the <100> plane. For the nano-imprint technique, we fabricated a cubic array of gold squares. These two examples also represent two classes of metallic photonic crystal topologies, the connected network and cermet arrangement.

THE SPITZER DEEP, WIDE-FIELD SURVEY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashby, M. L. N.; Brodwin, M.; Stern, D.; Griffith, R.; Eisenhardt, P.; Gorjian, V.; Kozlowski, S.; Kochanek, C. S.; Bock, J. J.; Borys, C.; Brand, K.; Grogin, N. A.; Brown, M. J. I.; Cool, R.; Cooray, A.; Croft, S.; Dey, A.; Eisenstein, D.; Gonzalez, A. H.; Ivison, R. J.

2009-01-01

The Spitzer Deep, Wide-Field Survey (SDWFS) is a four-epoch infrared survey of 10 deg. 2 in the Booetes field of the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey using the IRAC instrument on the Spitzer Space Telescope. SDWFS, a Spitzer Cycle 4 Legacy project, occupies a unique position in the area-depth survey space defined by other Spitzer surveys. The four epochs that make up SDWFS permit-for the first time-the selection of infrared-variable and high proper motion objects over a wide field on timescales of years. Because of its large survey volume, SDWFS is sensitive to galaxies out to z ∼ 3 with relatively little impact from cosmic variance for all but the richest systems. The SDWFS data sets will thus be especially useful for characterizing galaxy evolution beyond z ∼ 1.5. This paper explains the SDWFS observing strategy and data processing, presents the SDWFS mosaics and source catalogs, and discusses some early scientific findings. The publicly released, full-depth catalogs contain 6.78, 5.23, 1.20, and 0.96 x 10 5 distinct sources detected to the average 5σ, 4''-diameter, aperture-corrected limits of 19.77, 18.83, 16.50, and 15.82 Vega mag at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 μm, respectively. The SDWFS number counts and color-color distribution are consistent with other, earlier Spitzer surveys. At the 6 minute integration time of the SDWFS IRAC imaging, >50% of isolated Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty cm radio sources and >80% of on-axis XBooetes sources are detected out to 8.0 μm. Finally, we present the four highest proper motion IRAC-selected sources identified from the multi-epoch imaging, two of which are likely field brown dwarfs of mid-T spectral class.

Barefoot running survey: Evidence from the field

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Hryvniak

2014-06-01

Conclusion: Prior studies have found that barefoot running often changes biomechanics compared to shod running with a hypothesized relationship of decreased injuries. This paper reports the result of a survey of 509 runners. The results suggest that a large percentage of this sample of runners experienced benefits or no serious harm from transitioning to barefoot or minimal shoe running.

LARGE SUPER-FAST ROTATOR HUNTING USING THE INTERMEDIATE PALOMAR TRANSIENT FACTORY

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chang, Chan-Kao; Lin, Hsing-Wen; Ip, Wing-Huen [Institute of Astronomy, National Central University, Jhongli, Taiwan (China); Prince, Thomas A.; Kulkarni, Shrinivas R.; Levitan, David [Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Laher, Russ; Surace, Jason, E-mail: rex@astro.ncu.edu.tw [Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, M/S 314-6, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)

2016-12-01

In order to look for large super-fast rotators, in late 2014 and early 2015, five dedicated surveys covering ∼188 deg{sup 2} in the ecliptic plane have been carried out in the R -band, with ∼10 minute cadence using the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory. Among 1029 reliable rotation periods obtained from the surveys, we discovered 1 new large super-fast rotator, (40511) 1999 RE88, and 18 other candidates. (40511) 1999 RE88 is an S-type inner main-belt asteroid with a diameter of D  = 1.9 ± 0.3 km, a rotation period of P  = 1.96 ± 0.01 hr, and a light curve amplitude of Δ m  ∼ 1.0 mag. To maintain such fast rotation, an internal cohesive strength of ∼780 Pa is required. Combining all known large super-fast rotators, their cohesive strengths all fall in the range of 100–1000 Pa of lunar regolith. However, the number of large super-fast rotators seems to be far less than the whole asteroid population. This might indicate a peculiar asteroid group for them. Although the detection efficiency for a long rotation period is greatly reduced due to our two-day observation time span, the spin-rate distributions of this work show consistent results with Chang et al. (2015), after considering the possible observational bias in our surveys. It shows a number decrease with an increase of spin rate for asteroids with a diameter of 3 ⩽  D  ⩽ 15 km, and a number drop at a spin rate of f  = 5 rev day{sup −1} for asteroids with D  ⩽ 3 km.

Why large cells dominate estuarine phytoplankton

Science.gov (United States)

Cloern, James E.

2018-01-01

Surveys across the world oceans have shown that phytoplankton biomass and production are dominated by small cells (picoplankton) where nutrient concentrations are low, but large cells (microplankton) dominate when nutrient-rich deep water is mixed to the surface. I analyzed phytoplankton size structure in samples collected over 25 yr in San Francisco Bay, a nutrient-rich estuary. Biomass was dominated by large cells because their biomass selectively grew during blooms. Large-cell dominance appears to be a characteristic of ecosystems at the land–sea interface, and these places may therefore function as analogs to oceanic upwelling systems. Simulations with a size-structured NPZ model showed that runs of positive net growth rate persisted long enough for biomass of large, but not small, cells to accumulate. Model experiments showed that small cells would dominate in the absence of grazing, at lower nutrient concentrations, and at elevated (+5°C) temperatures. Underlying these results are two fundamental scaling laws: (1) large cells are grazed more slowly than small cells, and (2) grazing rate increases with temperature faster than growth rate. The model experiments suggest testable hypotheses about phytoplankton size structure at the land–sea interface: (1) anthropogenic nutrient enrichment increases cell size; (2) this response varies with temperature and only occurs at mid-high latitudes; (3) large-cell blooms can only develop when temperature is below a critical value, around 15°C; (4) cell size diminishes along temperature gradients from high to low latitudes; and (5) large-cell blooms will diminish or disappear where planetary warming increases temperature beyond their critical threshold.

Large scale mapping: an empirical comparison of pixel-based and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In the past, large scale mapping was carried using precise ground survey methods. Later, paradigm shift in data collection using medium to low resolution and, recently, high resolution images brought to bear the problem of accurate data analysis and fitness-for-purpose challenges. Using high resolution satellite images ...

Faculty Perceptions of Multicultural Teaching in a Large Urban University

Science.gov (United States)

Bigatti, Sylvia M.; Gibau, Gina Sanchez; Boys, Stephanie; Grove, Kathy; Ashburn-Nardo, Leslie; Khaja, Khadiji; Springer, Jennifer Thorington

2012-01-01

As college graduates face an increasingly globalized world, it is imperative to consider issues of multicultural instruction in higher education. This study presents qualitative and quantitative findings from a survey of faculty at a large, urban, midwestern university regarding perceptions of multicultural teaching. Faculty were asked how they…

Drought damage to bushveld trees and large shrubs | JJP | African ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

An intensive survey was carried out in Sweet Bushveld (savanna) to study drought damage to the trees and large shrubs in a Combretum apiculatum community. In general, the severity of damage was less than was expected and its pattern differed markedly between the 21 different species encountered. Keywords: ...

The DiskMass Survey. II. Error Budget

Science.gov (United States)

Bershady, Matthew A.; Verheijen, Marc A. W.; Westfall, Kyle B.; Andersen, David R.; Swaters, Rob A.; Martinsson, Thomas

2010-06-01

We present a performance analysis of the DiskMass Survey. The survey uses collisionless tracers in the form of disk stars to measure the surface density of spiral disks, to provide an absolute calibration of the stellar mass-to-light ratio (Υ_{*}), and to yield robust estimates of the dark-matter halo density profile in the inner regions of galaxies. We find that a disk inclination range of 25°-35° is optimal for our measurements, consistent with our survey design to select nearly face-on galaxies. Uncertainties in disk scale heights are significant, but can be estimated from radial scale lengths to 25% now, and more precisely in the future. We detail the spectroscopic analysis used to derive line-of-sight velocity dispersions, precise at low surface-brightness, and accurate in the presence of composite stellar populations. Our methods take full advantage of large-grasp integral-field spectroscopy and an extensive library of observed stars. We show that the baryon-to-total mass fraction ({F}_bar) is not a well-defined observational quantity because it is coupled to the halo mass model. This remains true even when the disk mass is known and spatially extended rotation curves are available. In contrast, the fraction of the rotation speed supplied by the disk at 2.2 scale lengths (disk maximality) is a robust observational indicator of the baryonic disk contribution to the potential. We construct the error budget for the key quantities: dynamical disk mass surface density (Σdyn), disk stellar mass-to-light ratio (Υ^disk_{*}), and disk maximality ({F}_{*,max}^disk≡ V^disk_{*,max}/ V_c). Random and systematic errors in these quantities for individual galaxies will be ~25%, while survey precision for sample quartiles are reduced to 10%, largely devoid of systematic errors outside of distance uncertainties.

National survey of MRSA: Ireland, 1995.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Johnson, Z

1997-03-01

The objective of this survey was to obtain an indication of the size of the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) problem in Ireland prior to introducing national MRSA control guidelines. A survey of all microbiology laboratories in Ireland was carried out over two weeks in Spring 1995. For patients from whom MRSA was isolated during the study period standard demographic and clinical data were requested and period prevalence\\/1000 discharges was calculated. All 45 microbiology laboratories surveyed responded. MRSA was isolated from 448 patients during the two-week period. The period prevalence of MRSA was 16.5\\/1000 discharges. Males aged > or = 65 had the highest rate (50\\/1000 discharges). Half of all isolates were from patients in surgical or medical wards, but 4% were from community-based sources such as GPs, nursing homes and hospices. Thirty-two percent of MRSA patients were infected rather than colonized. MRSA is clearly a significant problem in Ireland. While it is largely a hospital problem at present, the increasing trend towards day procedures and shorter hospital stay means that infection will increase in the community.

THE BOSS EMISSION-LINE LENS SURVEY (BELLS). I. A LARGE SPECTROSCOPICALLY SELECTED SAMPLE OF LENS GALAXIES AT REDSHIFT {approx}0.5

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brownstein, Joel R.; Bolton, Adam S.; Pandey, Parul [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (United States); Schlegel, David J. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Eisenstein, Daniel J. [Harvard College Observatory, 60 Garden Street, MS 20, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Kochanek, Christopher S. [Department of Astronomy and Center for Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Connolly, Natalia [Department of Physics, Hamilton College, Clinton, NY 13323 (United States); Maraston, Claudia [Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3FX (United Kingdom); Seitz, Stella [University Observatory Munich, Scheinstrasse 1, 81679 Muenchen (Germany); Wake, David A. [Department of Astronomy, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520 (United States); Wood-Vasey, W. Michael [Pittsburgh Center for Particle Physics, Astrophysics, and Cosmology (PITT-PACC), Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 (United States); Brinkmann, Jon [Apache Point Observatory, P.O. Box 59, Sunspot, NM 88349 (United States); Schneider, Donald P. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics and Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Weaver, Benjamin A. [Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, New York University, New York, NY 10003 (United States)

2012-01-01

We present a catalog of 25 definite and 11 probable strong galaxy-galaxy gravitational lens systems with lens redshifts 0.4 {approx}< z {approx}< 0.7, discovered spectroscopically by the presence of higher-redshift emission lines within the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) of luminous galaxies, and confirmed with high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images of 44 candidates. Our survey extends the methodology of the Sloan Lens Advanced Camera for Surveys survey (SLACS) to higher redshift. We describe the details of the BOSS spectroscopic candidate detections, our HST ACS image processing and analysis methods, and our strong gravitational lens modeling procedure. We report BOSS spectroscopic parameters and ACS photometric parameters for all candidates, and mass-distribution parameters for the best-fit singular isothermal ellipsoid models of definite lenses. Our sample to date was selected using only the first six months of BOSS survey-quality spectroscopic data. The full five-year BOSS database should produce a sample of several hundred strong galaxy-galaxy lenses and in combination with SLACS lenses at lower redshift, strongly constrain the redshift evolution of the structure of elliptical, bulge-dominated galaxies as a function of luminosity, stellar mass, and rest-frame color, thereby providing a powerful test for competing theories of galaxy formation and evolution.

Results and lessons from the GMOS survey of transiting exoplanet atmospheres

Science.gov (United States)

Todorov, Kamen; Desert, Jean-Michel; Huitson, Catherine; Bean, Jacob; Fortney, Jonathan; Bergmann, Marcel; Stevenson, Kevin

2018-01-01

We present results from the first comprehensive survey program dedicated to probing transiting exoplanet atmospheres using transmission spectroscopy with a multi-object spectrograph (MOS). Our four-years survey focussed on ten close-in giant planets for which the wavelength dependent transit depths in the visible were measured with Gemini/GMOS. We present the complete analysis of all the targets observed (50 transits, 300 hours), and the challenges to overcome to achieve the best spectrophotometric precision (200-500 ppm / 10 nm). We also present the main results and conclusions from this survey. We show that the precision achieved by this survey permits to distinguish hazy atmospheres from cloud-free ones. We discuss the challenges faced by such an experiment, and the lessons learnt for future MOS survey. We lay out the challenges facing future ground based MOS transit surveys aiming for the atmospheric characterization of habitable worlds, and utilizing the next generation of multi-object spectrographs mounted on extremely large ground based telescopes (ELT, TMT).

LANDSAT-1 data, its use in a soil survey program

Science.gov (United States)

Westin, F. C.; Frazee, C. J.

1975-01-01

The following applications of LANDSAT imagery were investigated: assistance in recognizing soil survey boundaries, low intensity soil surveys, and preparation of a base map for publishing thematic soils maps. The following characteristics of LANDSAT imagery were tested as they apply to the recognition of soil boundaries in South Dakota and western Minnesota: synoptic views due to the large areas covered, near-orthography and lack of distortion, flexibility of selecting the proper season, data recording in four parts of the spectrum, and the use of computer compatible tapes. A low intensity soil survey of Pennington County, South Dakota was completed in 1974. Low intensity inexpensive soil surveys can provide the data needed to evaluate agricultural land for the remaining counties until detailed soil surveys are completed. In using LANDSAT imagery as a base map for publishing thematic soil maps, the first step was to prepare a mosaic with 20 LANDSAT scenes from several late spring passes in 1973.

Robotic and Survey Telescopes

Science.gov (United States)

Woźniak, Przemysław

Robotic telescopes are revolutionizing the way astronomers collect their dataand conduct sky surveys. This chapter begins with a discussion of principles thatguide the process of designing, constructing, and operating telescopes andobservatories that offer a varying degree of automation, from instruments remotelycontrolled by observers to fully autonomous systems requiring no humansupervision during their normal operations. Emphasis is placed on designtrade-offs involved in building end-to-end systems intended for a wide range ofscience applications. The second part of the chapter contains descriptions ofseveral projects and instruments, both existing and currently under development.It is an attempt to provide a representative selection of actual systems thatillustrates state of the art in technology, as well as important ideas and milestonesin the development of the field. The list of presented instruments spans the fullrange in size starting from small all-sky monitors, through midrange robotic andsurvey telescopes, and finishing with large robotic instruments and surveys.Explosive growth of telescope networking is enabling entirely new modesof interaction between the survey and follow-up observing. Increasingimportance of standardized communication protocols and software is stressed.These developments are driven by the fusion of robotic telescope hardware,massive storage and databases, real-time knowledge extraction, and datacross-correlation on a global scale. The chapter concludes with examplesof major science results enabled by these new technologies and futureprospects.

The Complete Calibration of the Color–Redshift Relation (C3R2) Survey: Survey Overview and Data Release 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Masters, Daniel C. [Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Stern, Daniel K.; Rhodes, Jason D. [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Cohen, Judith G. [California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Capak, Peter L. [Spitzer Science Center, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Castander, Francisco J. [Institut de Ciències de lEspai (ICE, IEEC/CSIC), E-08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona) (Spain); Paltani, Stéphane [Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva, Ch. dEcogia 16, 1290 Versoix (Switzerland)

2017-06-01

A key goal of the Stage IV dark energy experiments Euclid , LSST, and WFIRST is to measure the growth of structure with cosmic time from weak lensing analysis over large regions of the sky. Weak lensing cosmology will be challenging: in addition to highly accurate galaxy shape measurements, statistically robust and accurate photometric redshift (photo- z ) estimates for billions of faint galaxies will be needed in order to reconstruct the three-dimensional matter distribution. Here we present an overview of and initial results from the Complete Calibration of the Color–Redshift Relation (C3R2) survey, which is designed specifically to calibrate the empirical galaxy color–redshift relation to the Euclid depth. These redshifts will also be important for the calibrations of LSST and WFIRST . The C3R2 survey is obtaining multiplexed observations with Keck (DEIMOS, LRIS, and MOSFIRE), the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC; OSIRIS), and the Very Large Telescope (VLT; FORS2 and KMOS) of a targeted sample of galaxies that are most important for the redshift calibration. We focus spectroscopic efforts on undersampled regions of galaxy color space identified in previous work in order to minimize the number of spectroscopic redshifts needed to map the color–redshift relation to the required accuracy. We present the C3R2 survey strategy and initial results, including the 1283 high-confidence redshifts obtained in the 2016A semester and released as Data Release 1.

The Complete Calibration of the Color–Redshift Relation (C3R2) Survey: Survey Overview and Data Release 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masters, Daniel C.; Stern, Daniel K.; Rhodes, Jason D.; Cohen, Judith G.; Capak, Peter L.; Castander, Francisco J.; Paltani, Stéphane

2017-01-01

A key goal of the Stage IV dark energy experiments Euclid , LSST, and WFIRST is to measure the growth of structure with cosmic time from weak lensing analysis over large regions of the sky. Weak lensing cosmology will be challenging: in addition to highly accurate galaxy shape measurements, statistically robust and accurate photometric redshift (photo- z ) estimates for billions of faint galaxies will be needed in order to reconstruct the three-dimensional matter distribution. Here we present an overview of and initial results from the Complete Calibration of the Color–Redshift Relation (C3R2) survey, which is designed specifically to calibrate the empirical galaxy color–redshift relation to the Euclid depth. These redshifts will also be important for the calibrations of LSST and WFIRST . The C3R2 survey is obtaining multiplexed observations with Keck (DEIMOS, LRIS, and MOSFIRE), the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC; OSIRIS), and the Very Large Telescope (VLT; FORS2 and KMOS) of a targeted sample of galaxies that are most important for the redshift calibration. We focus spectroscopic efforts on undersampled regions of galaxy color space identified in previous work in order to minimize the number of spectroscopic redshifts needed to map the color–redshift relation to the required accuracy. We present the C3R2 survey strategy and initial results, including the 1283 high-confidence redshifts obtained in the 2016A semester and released as Data Release 1.

How large-scale technological development should be in the future. Survey and research on highly automated machines; Kongo no daikibo gijutsu kaihatsu no hoko ni tsuite. Kodo jidoka kikai ni kansuru chosa kenkyu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1982-03-01

A survey is conducted about highly automated machines such as industrial robots. The task to be subjected to development as derived from a survey conducted about needs is the construction of a dangerous work robot. It is pointed out that work in coal mines, tall buildings, industrial complexes, or nuclear power plants may encounter large-scale accidents, and the task is how to perform such work in an automated way. The tasks concluded to be subjected to development after a seed survey analysis are categorized into three groups of element technologies, namely, sensors and recognition function, mechanism and materials, and control and data processing. These element technologies are to be ultimately integrated into a robot, for critical work which is a combination of a highly intelligent robot main body and an integrated management system. Since it will happen that humans have to directly operate such a robot under delicate conditions and share the burden of judgement and thinking, it is also necessary to develop technologies to solve problems of man-to-robot engineering. It is proposed that a dangerous work robot research and development program be established before development is started. (NEDO)

A Survey of the Current Situation of Clinical Biobanks in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Haiyan; Ni, Mingyu; Wang, Peng; Wang, Xiaomin

2017-06-01

The development of biomedical research urgently needs the support of a large number of high-quality clinical biospecimens. Therefore, human biobanks at different levels have been established successively in China and other countries at a significantly increasing pace in recent years. To better understand the general current state of clinical biobanks in China, we surveyed 42 clinical biobanks based in hospitals and collected information involving their management systems, sharing mechanisms, quality control systems, and informational management systems using closed questionnaire methods. Based on our current information, there has not been such a large-scale survey in China. An understanding of the status and challenges current clinical biobanks face will provide valuable insights for the construction and sustainable development of higher quality clinical biobanks.

Seismic texture and amplitude analysis of large scale fluid escape pipes using time lapses seismic surveys: examples from the Loyal Field (Scotland, UK)

Science.gov (United States)

Maestrelli, Daniele; Jihad, Ali; Iacopini, David; Bond, Clare

2016-04-01

Fluid escape pipes are key features of primary interest for the analysis of vertical fluid flow and secondary hydrocarbon migration in sedimentary basin. Identified worldwide (Løset et al., 2009), they acquired more and more importance as they represent critical pathways for supply of methane and potential structure for leakage into the storage reservoir (Cartwright & Santamarina, 2015). Therefore, understanding their genesis, internal characteristics and seismic expression, is of great significance for the exploration industry. Here we propose a detailed characterization of the internal seismic texture of some seal bypass system (e.g fluid escape pipes) from a 4D seismic survey (released by the BP) recently acquired in the Loyal Field. The seal by pass structure are characterized by big-scale fluid escape pipes affecting the Upper Paleogene/Neogene stratigraphic succession in the Loyal Field, Scotland (UK). The Loyal field, is located on the edge of the Faroe-Shetland Channel slope, about 130 km west of Shetland (Quadrants 204/205 of the UKCS) and has been recently re-appraised and re developed by a consortium led by BP. The 3D detailed mapping analysis of the full and partial stack survey (processed using amplitude preservation workflows) shows a complex system of fluid pipe structure rooted in the pre Lista formation and developed across the paleogene and Neogene Units. Geometrical analysis show that pipes got diameter varying between 100-300 m and a length of 500 m to 2 km. Most pipes seem to terminate abruptly at discrete subsurface horizons or in diffuse termination suggesting multiple overpressured events and lateral fluid migration (through Darcy flows) across the overburden units. The internal texture analysis of the large pipes, (across both the root and main conduit zones), using near, medium and far offset stack dataset (processed through an amplitude preserved PSTM workflow) shows a tendency of up-bending of reflection (rather than pulls up artefacts

Environmental survey preliminary report, Mound Plant, Miamisburg, Ohio

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1987-03-01

This report presents the preliminary findings from the first phase of the Environmental Survey of the United States Department of Energy (DOE) Mound Plant, conducted August 18 through 29, 1986. The objective of the Survey is to identify environmental problems and areas of environmental risk associated with the Mound Plant. The Survey covers all environmental media and all areas of environmental regulation. It is being performed in accordance with the DOE Environmental Survey Manual. The on-site phase of the Survey involves the review of existing site environmental data, observations of the operations carried on at the Mound Plant, and interviews with site personnel. The Survey found no environmental problems at the Mound Plant that represent an immediate threat to human life. The environmental problems identified at the Mound Plant by the Survey confirm that the site is confronted with a number of environmental problems which are by and large a legacy from past practices at a time when environmental problems were less well understood. Theses problems vary in terms of their magnitude and risk, as described in this report. Although the sampling and analysis performed by the Mound Plant Survey will assist in further identifying environmental problems at the site, a complete understanding of the significance of some of the environmental problems identified requires a level of study and characterization that is beyond the scope of the Survey. Actions currently under way or planned at the site, particularly the Phase II activities of the Comprehensive Environmental Analysis and Response Program (CEARP) as developed and implemented by the Albuquerque Operations Office, will contribute toward meeting this requirement. 85 refs., 24 figs., 20 tabs.

Web-Based Surveys: Not Your Basic Survey Anymore

Science.gov (United States)

Bertot, John Carlo

2009-01-01

Web-based surveys are not new to the library environment. Although such surveys began as extensions of print surveys, the Web-based environment offers a number of approaches to conducting a survey that the print environment cannot duplicate easily. Since 1994, the author and others have conducted national surveys of public library Internet…

Do Large Companies Have Lower Effective Corporate Tax Rates? A European Survey

OpenAIRE

Gaëtan Nicodème

2007-01-01

The current debate in corporate taxation is focusing on leveling the tax playing field within the European Union for companies operating across-countries. However, tax burdens could also vary with the size of companies within the same country, raising the question whether large companies pay their share of the burden. This paper uses firm-level data for 21 European countries between 1992 and 2004. The paper finds a robust negative correlation between the number of employees and the effective ...

Point prevalence survey of antimicrobial utilization in a Canadian tertiary-care teaching hospital

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Colin Lee

2015-06-01

Conclusion: This prospective point prevalence survey provided important baseline information on antimicrobial use within a large tertiary care teaching hospital and identified potential targets for future antimicrobial stewardship initiatives. A multi-center point prevalence survey should be considered to identify patterns of antimicrobial use in Canada and to establish the first steps toward international antimicrobial surveillance.

YOUNG STELLAR OBJECTS IN THE MASSIVE STAR-FORMING REGION W49

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saral, G.; Hora, J. L.; Willis, S. E. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Koenig, X. P. [Yale University, Department of Astronomy, 208101, New Haven, CT 06520-8101 (United States); Gutermuth, R. A. [University of Massachusetts, Department of Astronomy, Amherst, MA 01003 (United States); Saygac, A. T., E-mail: gsaral@cfa.harvard.edu [Istanbul University, Faculty of Science, Astronomy and Space Sciences Department, Istanbul-Turkey (Turkey)

2015-11-01

We present the initial results of our investigation of the star-forming complex W49, one of the youngest and most luminous massive star-forming regions in our Galaxy. We used Spitzer/Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) data to investigate massive star formation with the primary objective of locating a representative set of protostars and the clusters of young stars that are forming around them. We present our source catalog with the mosaics from the IRAC data. In this study we used a combination of IRAC, MIPS, Two Micron All Sky Survey, and UKIRT Deep Infrared Sky Survey (UKIDSS) data to identify and classify the young stellar objects (YSOs). We identified 232 Class 0/I YSOs, 907 Class II YSOs, and 74 transition disk candidate objects using color–color and color–magnitude diagrams. In addition, to understand the evolution of star formation in W49, we analyzed the distribution of YSOs in the region to identify clusters using a minimal spanning tree method. The fraction of YSOs that belong to clusters with ≥7 members is found to be 52% for a cutoff distance of 96″, and the ratio of Class II/I objects is 2.1. We compared the W49 region to the G305 and G333 star-forming regions and concluded that W49 has the richest population, with seven subclusters of YSOs.

Undergraduate student drinking and related harms at an Australian university: web-based survey of a large random sample

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hallett Jonathan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There is considerable interest in university student hazardous drinking among the media and policy makers. However there have been no population-based studies in Australia to date. We sought to estimate the prevalence and correlates of hazardous drinking and secondhand effects among undergraduates at a Western Australian university. Method We invited 13,000 randomly selected undergraduate students from a commuter university in Australia to participate in an online survey of university drinking. Responses were received from 7,237 students (56%, who served as participants in this study. Results Ninety percent had consumed alcohol in the last 12 months and 34% met criteria for hazardous drinking (AUDIT score ≥ 8 and greater than 6 standard drinks in one sitting in the previous month. Men and Australian/New Zealand residents had significantly increased odds (OR: 2.1; 95% CI: 1.9-2.3; OR: 5.2; 95% CI: 4.4-6.2 of being categorised as dependent (AUDIT score 20 or over than women and non-residents. In the previous 4 weeks, 13% of students had been insulted or humiliated and 6% had been pushed, hit or otherwise assaulted by others who were drinking. One percent of respondents had experienced sexual assault in this time period. Conclusions Half of men and over a third of women were drinking at hazardous levels and a relatively large proportion of students were negatively affected by their own and other students' drinking. There is a need for intervention to reduce hazardous drinking early in university participation. Trial registration ACTRN12608000104358

Development of Large Concrete Object Geometrical Model Based on Terrestrial Laser Scanning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zaczek-Peplinska Janina

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The paper presents control periodic measurements of movements and survey of concrete dam on Dunajec River in Rożnów, Poland. Topographical survey was conducted using laser scanning technique. The goal of survey was data collection and creation of a geometrical model. Acquired cross- and horizontal sections were utilised to create a numerical model of object behaviour at various load depending of changing level of water in reservoir. Modelling was accomplished using finite elements technique. During the project an assessment was conducted to terrestrial laser scanning techniques for such type of research of large hydrotechnical objects such as gravitational water dams. Developed model can be used to define deformations and displacement prognosis.

How to identify tuberculosis cases in a prevalence survey

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Werf, M. J.; Enarson, D. A.; Borgdorff, M. W.

2008-01-01

The identification of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) cases in a prevalence Survey is a challenge, as diagnostic methods are labour-intensivc and large numbers of individuals need to be screened because the prevalence rate is low (almost never greater than 1200 per 100000 population). Three testing

Positive versus Negative. A cognitive perspective on wording effects for contrastive questions in attitude surveys

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kamoen, N.

2012-01-01

Standardized surveys are used in many contexts to measure people’s opinions and attitudes. Although it is widely assumed that survey answers represent the ‘true values’ of the concepts measured, a large body of research has shown that seemingly irrelevant question characteristics influence how

Automated transient identification in the Dark Energy Survey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goldstein, D. A. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). et al.