bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Moving Object Detection Using Scanning Camera on a High-Precision Intelligent Holder
Authors: Chen Shuoyang , Xu Tingfa , Li Daqun , Zhang Jizhou , Jiang Shenwang
Published: October 2016

During the process of moving object detection in an intelligent visual surveillance system, a scenario with complex background is sure to appear. The traditional methods, such as “frame difference” and “optical flow”, may not able to deal with the problem very well. In such scenarios, we use a modified algorithm to do the background modeling work. In this paper, we use edge detection to get an edge difference image just to enhance the ability of resistance illumination variation. Then we use a “multi-block temporal-analyzing LBP (Local Binary Pattern)” algorithm to do the segmentation. In the end, a connected component is used to locate the object. We also produce a hardware platform, the core of which consists of the DSP (Digital Signal Processor) and FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) platforms and the high-precision intelligent holder.
A Fiber Bragg Grating-Based Monitoring System for Roof Safety Control in Underground Coal Mining
Authors: Zhao Yiming , Zhang Nong , Si Guangyao
Published: October 2016

Monitoring of roof activity is a primary measure adopted in the prevention of roof collapse accidents and functions to optimize and support the design of roadways in underground coalmines. However, traditional monitoring measures, such as using mechanical extensometers or electronic gauges, either require arduous underground labor or cannot function properly in the harsh underground environment. Therefore, in this paper, in order to break through this technological barrier, a novel monitoring system for roof safety control in underground coal mining, using fiber Bragg grating (FBG) material as a perceived element and transmission medium, has been developed. Compared with traditional monitoring equipment, the developed, novel monitoring system has the advantages of providing accurate, reliable, and continuous online monitoring of roof activities in underground coal mining. This is expected to further enable the prevention of catastrophic roof collapse accidents. The system has been successfully implemented at a deep hazardous roadway in Zhuji Coal Mine, China. Monitoring results from the study site have demonstrated the advantages of FBG-based sensors over traditional monitoring approaches. The dynamic impacts of progressive face advance on roof displacement and stress have been accurately captured by the novel roadway roof activity and safety monitoring system, which provided essential references for roadway support and design of the mine.
Planar Harmonic and Monogenic Polynomials of Type A
Authors: Dunkl Charles
Published: October 2016

Harmonic polynomials of type A are polynomials annihilated by the Dunkl Laplacian associated to the symmetric group acting as a reflection group on R N . The Dunkl operators are denoted by T j for 1 ≤ j ≤ N , and the Laplacian Δ κ = ∑ j = 1 N T j 2 . This paper finds the homogeneous harmonic polynomials annihilated by all T j for j > 2 . The structure constants with respect to the Gaussian and sphere inner products are computed. These harmonic polynomials are used to produce monogenic polynomials, those annihilated by a Dirac-type operator.
Nanostructured germanium deposited on heated substrates with enhanced photoelectric properties
Authors: Stavarache Ionel , Maraloiu Valentin Adrian , Prepelita Petronela , Iordache Gheorghe
Published: October 2016

Obtaining high-quality materials, based on nanocrystals, at low temperatures is one of the current challenges for opening new paths in improving and developing functional devices in nanoscale electronics and optoelectronics. Here we report a detailed investigation of the optimization of parameters for the in situ synthesis of thin films with high Ge content (50 %) into SiO2. Crystalline Ge nanoparticles were directly formed during co-deposition of SiO2 and Ge on substrates at 300, 400 and 500 °C. Using this approach, effects related to Ge–Ge spacing are emphasized through a significant improvement of the spatial distribution of the Ge nanoparticles and by avoiding multi-step fabrication processes or Ge loss. The influence of the preparation conditions on structural, electrical and optical properties of the fabricated nanostructures was studied by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, electrical measurements in dark or under illumination and response time investigations. Finally, we demonstrate the feasibility of the procedure by the means of an Al/n-Si/Ge:SiO2/ITO photodetector test structure. The structures, investigated at room temperature, show superior performance, high photoresponse gain, high responsivity (about 7 AW−1), fast response time (0.5 µs at 4 kHz) and great optoelectronic conversion efficiency of 900% in a wide operation bandwidth, from 450 to 1300 nm. The obtained photoresponse gain and the spectral width are attributed mainly to the high Ge content packed into a SiO2 matrix showing the direct connection between synthesis and optical properties of the tested nanostructures. Our deposition approach put in evidence the great potential of Ge nanoparticles embedded in a SiO2 matrix for hybrid integration, as they may be employed in structures and devices individually or with other materials, hence the possibility of fabricating various heterojunctions on Si, glass or flexible substrates for future development of Si-based integrated optoelectronics.
A new and expeditious synthesis of all enantiomerically pure stereoisomers of rosaprostol, an antiulcer drug
Authors: Perlikowska Wiesława , Żurawiński Remigiusz , Mikołajczyk Marian
Published: October 2016

Four enantiomerically pure stereoisomers of rosaprostol (1), an antiulcer drug, were efficiently synthesized from the enantiomers of 2-(dimethoxyphosphoryl)-3-hexylcyclopentanone (3) as chiral substrates. The latter were obtained by resolution of racemic 3 with (+)-(R)-1-(1-naphthyl)ethylamine. The conversion of (+)-3 into rosaprostol stereoisomer (−)-1a was accomplished in four steps in 56% overall yield. According to the same protocol, the second stereoisomer (+)-1c was obtained from (−)-3 in 55% overall yield. A slightly improved procedure of the last two steps of the transformation of (+)-3 into (−)-1a allowed an increase in the overall yield to 64%. The remaining two stereoisomers, (−)-1b and (+)-1d, were obtained from (−)-1a and (+)-1c in 71 and 68% yield, respectively, by a two-reaction sequence, in which a Mitsunobu inversion of configuration at C-5 was the key step.
Adoption of an activity based costing model in an Indian steel plant
Authors: Dwivedi Rishi , Chakraborty Shankar
Published: October 2016

In the age of relentless global competition, constantly improving technology and better information systems, managers are often compelled to devise new strategies to maintain sustained competitive advantage while adopting new business management approaches. So, in this paper, an activity based costing (ABC) model is proposed for a raw material handling section of an Indian steel plant. The results obtained from ABC model application in the said department facilitates quantification of the unit cost of each process, analysis of various activities in order to identify inefficiency, setting-up of better budget allocation, initiation of cost minimization procedure and establishment of an efficient resource requirement plan. Moreover, the cost information derived from ABC model is compared with that extracted from the traditional costing system to demonstrate that ABC model can significantly minimize the product cost distortion resulting from unsystematic allocation of overhead costs. This paper also discusses the practical implication of the implemented ABC model with respect to its critical role in effective resource control, improved strategic and operational decision making, and aid in continuous improvement through internal cost minimization in the department.
TURBULENCE AND STAR FORMATION IN A SAMPLE OF SPIRAL GALAXIES
Authors: Maier Erin , Chien Li-Hsin , Hunter Deidre A.
Published: October 2016

We investigate turbulent gas motions in spiral galaxies and their importance to star formation in far outer disks, where the column density is typically far below the critical value for spontaneous gravitational collapse. Following the methods of Burkhart et al. on the Small Magellanic Cloud, we use the third and fourth statistical moments, as indicators of structures caused by turbulence, to examine the neutral hydrogen (H i) column density of a sample of spiral galaxies selected from The H i Nearby Galaxy Survey. We apply the statistical moments in three different methods—the galaxy as a whole, divided into a function of radii and then into grids. We create individual grid maps of kurtosis for each galaxy. To investigate the relation between these moments and star formation, we compare these maps with their far-ultraviolet images taken by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer satellite.We find that the moments are largely uniform across the galaxies, in which the variation does not appear to trace any star-forming regions. This may, however, be due to the spatial resolution of our analysis, which could potentially limit the scale of turbulent motions that we are sensitive to greater than ∼700 pc. From comparison between the moments themselves, we find that the gas motions in our sampled galaxies are largely supersonic. This analysis also shows that the Burkhart et al. methods may be applied not just to dwarf galaxies but also to normal spiral galaxies.
Destins féminins entre mariage et maternité
Authors: Belmont Nicole
Published: October 2016

Trois contes de tradition orale rapportant le passage des jeunes filles au mariage et à la maternité sont successivement présentés : « L’enfant de Marie », « La fille aux mains coupées » et « La fille innocente qui accouche d’un monstre ». Chacun d’eux s’attache à une entrave psychique concernant, pour le premier, la relation fusionnelle entre mère et fille, qui permet à cette dernière le mariage mais non la maternité ; le second, qui détaille les étapes de ce passage où la mutilation physique de la jeune fille l’amène au mariage et où la restauration du corps permet la maternité ; le troisième où la procréation orale magique élimine la personne du père et permet une relation fusionnelle entre le fils et la mère. Ces récits fournissent des images et des mises en scène qui traduisent remarquablement bien les phantasmes conscients parfois, mais surtout inconscients, des bouleversements subis par les filles au moment d’accéder au mariage.
Consistance et densification de l’identité féminine
Authors: Bataillon Nathalie
Published: October 2016

La construction de l’identité féminine reste à développer, notamment sur trois aspects : le rapport des femmes à leur activité professionnelle, le développement de leur compréhension de l’inévitable tension entre maternel et féminin, et la construction de rapports hommes-femmes où la question de l’égalité est questionnée et travaillée.
On-farm factors relating to mycotoxin occurrence and other chemical compositional traits in grass silages in Ireland
Authors: McElhinney C. , Danaher M. , Elliott C.T , O’Kiely P.
Published: October 2016

Many pre- and post-mowing on-farm traits influence mycotoxin occurrence and conventional chemical compositionin grass silages. The objective of this study was to determine if observed on-farm pre- or post-mowing factors can be used to indicate mycotoxin occurrence or conventional chemical composition traits in grass silages. Over a two year period (2012-2013 and 2013-2014) 290 grass silages were sampled on 145 farms and these consisted of baled (n=115) and pit (n=175) silages. On each farm in each year, a questionnaire was completed and pre- and post-mowingfactors recorded. The preservation quality was better in pit compared to baled silages in both years and in silages made in Year 2 compared with Year 1. On-farm pre- and post-mowing factors were generally not secure indicators of silage conventional chemical characteristics. In contrast, the occurrence of enniatins and beauvericin generally increased with harvesting month (May-October) for grass silages. Visible mould on baled grass silages and a rottedtop layer with pit grass silages were associated with andrastin A, mycophenolic acid and roquefortine C occurrence.
Spatial and Spatiotemporal Data Types as a Foundation for Representing Space-Time Data in GIS
Authors: Schneider Markus
Published: October 2016

A data type comprises a set of homogeneous values together with a collection of operations defined on them. This chapter emphasizes the importance of crisp spatial data types, fuzzy spatial data types, and spatiotemporal data types for representing static, vague, and time-varying geometries in Geographical Information Systems (GIS). These data types provide a fundamental abstraction for modeling the geometric structure of crisp spatial, fuzzy spatial, and moving objects in space and time as well as their relationships, properties, and operations. The goal of this chapter is to provide an overview and description of these data types and their operations that have been proposed in research and can be found in GIS, spatial databases, moving objects databases, and other spatial software tools. The use of data types, operations, and predicates will be illustrated by their embedding into query languages.
GIS Use for Mapping Land Degradation
Authors: Boussema Mohamed Rached
Published: October 2016

In this chapter, the author presents a review of the GIS use during the research carried out during the past three decades dealing with land degradation. The objective is to assess the viability of applying GIS with different modes of remotely sensed data acquisition for quantifying land degradation in Tunisia. Various GIS based modelling approaches for soil erosion hazard assessment such as empirical and physical distributed are discussed. Five case studies are selected from several projects. They apply different methods for land degradation investigation at different scales using GIS and remotely sensed data. The research dealt mainly with: 1) The prediction of soil erosion at the regional level related to conservation techniques; 2) The quantification of soil erosion at the gully level based on GIS, digital photogrammetry and fieldwork; 3) The monitoring of gully erosion using GIS combined to images acquired by a non-metric digital camera on board a kite.
Enhanced F-Perceptory Approach for Dealing with Geographic Data Imprecision from the Conceptual Modeling to the Fuzzy Geographical Database Building
Authors: Khalfi Besma , De Runz Cyril , Akdag Herman
Published: October 2016

When analyzing spatial issues, it is often that the geographer is confronted with many problems concerning the uncertainty of the available information. These problems may appear on the geometric or semantic quality of objects and as a result, a low precision is considered. So, it is necessary to develop representation and modeling methods that are suited to the imprecise nature of geographic data. This leads proposing recently F-Perceptory to manage fuzzy geographic data modeling. From the model described in Zoghlami, et al, (2011) some limits are relieved. F-Perceptory does not manage fuzzy composite geographic objects. The paper shows proposition to enhance the approach by the managing this type of objects in modeling and its transformation to the UML. On the technical level, the object modeling tools commonly used do not take into account fuzzy data. The authors propose new functional modules integrated under an existing CASE tool.
Microblogs Information Retrieval for Disaster Management
Authors: Bizid Imen , Nayef Nibal , Faiz Sami , Boursier Patrice
Published: October 2016

This chapter proposes a new approach for microblog information retrieval during unexpected disasters. This approach consists of identifying prominent microblog users who are susceptible to share relevant and exclusive information during a specific disaster. By tracking these users, emergency first responders would benefit from a direct access to the valuable information shared in real time in microblogs. In order to identify such users, we represent each microblog user according to his behavior at each particular disaster phase. Through the proposed users' representation, different prediction models are learned in order to identify prominent users at an early stage of each disaster phase. We experimented with different user representations, taking into account both the microblog user behavior and disaster context specificities. We also analyzed the importance of the different microblog users' features categories according to the disaster phase context. The achieved experimental results show the efficiency of our phase-aware-user characterization approach.
Semantically Enriching Geodata
Authors: Mahmoudi Khaoula
Published: October 2016

The requirement of GIS community in information is in vogue. Indeed, GIS is often extremely useful in many fields such as sciences, health, business, and community services to do everything. This includes creating, querying, overlaying maps and analysis of the spatial and non-spatial information. To carry out all these processing, the GIS refers to the data collected and stored in the GDB. Seen the multitude of GIS users' preoccupations, there is a growing interest and awareness in reaching the valuable and strategic data by enriching the GDB. This is made possible through mining different data sources to complement the native GDB. In this context, this chapter deals with an approach devised to enrich the GDB semantic data by interacting reactive agents to process documents related to the geographic entities. It deals with a modular approach consisting of fragmentation, theme identification, delegation, filtering and eventually results refinement.
Geospatial and Spatio-Temporal Analysis in Health Research
Authors: Sifaki-Pistolla Dimitra I. , Pistolla Georgia D. , Chatzea Vasiliki-Eirini , Tzanakis Nikolaos
Published: October 2016

This chapter identifies the need for GIS and geospatial applications in health research. Spatial epidemiology (or geo-epidemiology) and geo-medicine are two rapidly growing fields in medical research and epidemiology. They could offer tremendous potential to the healthcare industry, health researchers and students, as well as the community in general. Their main advantage is the wide range of methodologies that they utilize in order to study health outcomes and incidences in three or four dimensions (2 or 3D space and 1D time). Therefore, this chapter also introduces selected GIS applications with a special focus on epidemiology and public health. Furthermore, in this chapter we will critically appraise the most frequently used tests and spatio-temporal methodologies in the literature and discuss the future emerging trends and research opportunities that arising.
Mining Spatial Patterns of Distribution of Uranium in Surface and Ground Waters in Ukraine
Authors: Govorov Michael , Putrenko Viktor , Gienko Gennady
Published: October 2016

A variety of geovisualization and spatial statistical methods can reveal spatial patterns in the distribution of chemical elements in surface and groundwater, and also identify major factors which define those patterns. This chapter describes a combination of modeling techniques to enhance understanding of large-scale spatial distribution of uranium in groundwater in Ukraine, by linking spatial patterns of several indicators and predictors. Factor, correlation, and regression analysis, including their spatial implementations, were used to describe the impacts of several environmental variables on spatial distribution of uranium. Local factor analysis (or Geographically Weighted Factor Analysis, GWFA) was proposed to identify major environmental factors which define the distribution of uranium, and to discover and map their spatial relationships. The study resulted in a series of maps to help visualize and explore the relationships between uranium and several environmental indicators.
A Paradigm of Improving Land Information Management
Authors: El-Ayachi Moha
Published: October 2016

The information on land is a basic resource at the economic, social, and industrial levels. Many approaches have been made to enhance integrating the geospatial technology, enable managing the geospatial features, and provide decision makers with capabilities for best land governance. The goal behind this chapter is to develop an approach dealing with a necessary paradigm of improving land information management. Such approach is made up of a series of the fundamental requirements and principles. The requirements encompass the fundamental geodetic network supporting spatial infrastructure, a series of large-scale maps, an integrated land administration system, and a basic conceptual core model for the land information system. The principles of the new paradigm will be discussed. To achieve such objective, the object oriented approach as an emerging methodology was followed to improve land administration and management.
Systems Based on Physical-Chemical Processes
Authors: Bonmatí-Blasi August , Cerrillo-Moreno Míriam , Riau-Arenas Victor
Published: October 2016

High strength waste streams, namely rejected water from a wastewater treatment plant, livestock slurry, and agro-food wastewater, are characterized by its high organic matter and nutrient content which favours processes aiming to recover energy and nutrients, instead of removing them. In this regard physical-chemical processes are suitable technologies to attain these objectives. Among others, stripping coupled with absorption, struvite precipitation, membrane separation, and vacuum evaporation, are all physical-chemical processes aiming to concentrate nutrients in a stream that can later be reused as fertilizer. In this chapter the main physical-chemical processes will be defined and described in terms of the objective of each process technique, their theoretical fundamentals, environmental effects (air, water and soil emissions, resource depletion), technical indicators (efficiencies, energy consumption, etc.), and by-product characteristics.
Fundamentals of the Biological Processes for Nitrogen Removal
Authors: Cervantes Francisco J. , Cuervo-López Flor , Hernández Jorge Gómez
Published: October 2016

In this chapter the fundamental aspects involved in biological treatment processes applied for the removal of nitrogen from wastewaters are described. A comprehensive review of the literature is provided including kinetic, microbiological and biochemical aspects of nitrification, denitrification and anammox, as well as key operational parameters affecting the processes. This information is relevant for designing wastewater treatment processes applied for the removal of nitrogen from wastewaters. The information is also essential for predicting and controlling the performance of these treatment processes.
Constructed Wetlands for Industrial Wastewater Treatment and Removal of Nutrients
Authors: de la Varga David , Soto Manuel , Arias Carlos Alberto , van Oirschot Dion , Kilian Rene , Pascual Ana , Álvarez Juan A.
Published: October 2016

Constructed Wetlands (CWs) are low-cost and sustainable systems for wastewater treatment. Traditionally they have been used for urban and domestic wastewater treatment, but in the last two decades, the applications for industrial wastewater treatment increased due to the evolution of the technology and the extended research on the field. Nowadays, CWs have been applied to the treatment of different kind of wastewaters as such as refinery and petrochemical industry effluents, food industry effluents including abattoir, dairy, meat, fruit and vegetables processing industries, distillery and winery effluents, pulp and paper, textile, tannery, aquaculture, steel and mixed industrial effluents. In this chapter, the authors present the main types of CWs, explain how they work and the expected performances, and describe the principal applications of CWs for industrial wastewater treatment with particular attention to suspended solids, organic matter and nutrient removal. A review of these applications as well as some case studies will be discussed.
Oxygen-ozone therapy: our experience in the treatment of hard-root conflicts
Authors: Rosato Maria Laura , Mainini Marco , Luongo Margherita , Mascolo Luigi , Mattera Silvana , Schiaffino Luca
Published: October 2016

Lower back pain and sciatica are clinical symptoms with debilitating effects on the quality of life; they are extremely common in the population. The treatment of patients affected by sciatica, and in particular of those incurred by herniated discs, may be medical, physiatric, percutaneous minimally invasive surgery. In recent years, for the treatment of disc-radicular conflicts the Oxygen-Ozone (O2-O3) therapy is spreading to a more and more significant extent. We report our experience with O2-O3 therapy in the treatment of herniated lumbar discs, evaluating the efficacy of the therapy in lower back pain and sciatica. We treated 32 patients with paravertebral intramuscular infiltrations of about 15 cc of the mixture of O2-O3 at a concentration of 30 µg/cc: 66.6 % of the patients had a positive response to the treatment.
Oxygen-ozone activity in making factory farms antibiotic-free for prevention of antibiotic resistance
Authors: Valdenassi Luigi , Franzini Marianno , Garbelli Pierpaolo , Camolese Manuele
Published: October 2016

For some years an increasing number of bacterial strains have shown resistance to common antibiotics and chemotherapy drugs. The excessive and inappropriate use of antibiotics is at the root of this problem, which could develop to a devastating extent if not controlled properly. It should not be forgotten that the pharmaceutical industry itself appears to be unable to offer the necessary countermeasures in terms of advanced research within tight deadlines because of the objective difficulties with synthesis of new antibiotics. The use of oxygen-ozone appears to give a concrete answer to the problem through application in the dietary and environment process of livestock.
Alexithymia and somatisation in patients with remitted major depression and their impact on social functioning
Authors: Delibas Hakan , Kirdok Asusinem A. , Erol Almila
Published: October 2016

Objectives: The aim of the present study is to investigate the level of social functioning, alexithymia and somatisation in patients with major depressive disorder who achieved full remission and to examine the impact of alexithymia and somatisation on social functioning in patients with major depression who are in full remission.

Methods: A total of 117 outpatients with major depression and full remission and 42 healthy controls were included in the study. The participants were administrated Affect Underpinned by Severity and Social Impairment Questionnaire (AUSSI) to evaluate social functioning and depressive symptoms, Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) to evaluate alexithymia and Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSAS) to evaluate somatisation. Forty-one patients who scored higher or equal to the cut-off score of 5 on the social impairment subscale of AUSSI were classified as having impaired social functioning, whereas 76 patients who scored less than 5 were classified as having unimpaired social functioning.

Results: There were no significant differences between the groups for AUSSI mood symptoms subscale score. Patients with impaired social functioning scored higher than controls on TAS score. Patients with both impaired and unimpaired social functioning scored higher than controls on SSAS scores. The only significant predictor of social impairment in patients with major depression who were in full remission was AUSSI mood symptoms subscale score.

Conclusion: Patients with major depression may still have social impairment after remission. Depressive symptoms are the most important predictors of social functioning in patients with remitted depression. Maximum precautions should be taken to treat depression without leaving any residual symptoms.
Developing the language of futility in psychiatry with care
Authors: Pienaar Willie
Published: October 2016

In psychiatric practice, treatment success is, in many instances, not an achievable goal. Psychiatrists may often not acknowledge treatment failure in their patients and seldom consider that patients may be in situations that share similarities with end-of-life dilemmas in general somatic medicine. In such instances, futile treatment may be continued and patient suffering may be prolonged. Doctors should play a leading role in patient education, diagnosis, promoting best treatment options, motivation and support, but patients should be given the opportunity to take ownership of their illness and their future. In the discipline of psychiatry, physician-assisted suicide may be an option but warrants careful consideration. Contemporary psychiatrists may act paternalistically, refusing to accept the limitations of their scientific skills and/or struggle with the moral good of ‘letting go’ when required. It is arguably the seeming complexity of gauging patients’ understanding (competency, capacity) to make informed decisions that perpetuates futile treatment. Most patients, even in the presence of ongoing serious psychiatric illness, are able to give consent. Psychiatrists should be aware of the difference between being alive and living. Ongoing suffering cannot be condoned. The personhood of every patient and his/her bio-psycho-social and spiritual needs should, as far as possible, be respected. Psychiatrists should embrace the realisation of treatment futility and, in some cases, end-of-life decisions and take on the challenge as well as the responsibility of serving patients with mental illness in the best way possible.
The Role of Computed Tomography in Predicting Left Ventricular Assist Device Infectious Complications
Authors: Gomez Carrie K , Schiffman Scott R , Hobbs Susan K
Published: October 2016

Objective:

The purpose of this study is to identify early computed tomography findings around the driveline which would predict mediastinal or left ventricular assist device (LVAD) pocket abscess formation.

Materials and Methods:

A retrospective analysis was performed on 128 LVAD recipients between January 2007 and December 2011. Infectious complications were subdivided into those affecting the driveline and those resulting in abscess formation either around the LVAD pump or mediastinum. The size and location of infiltrative changes surrounding the driveline were used to predict infection propagation resulting in abscess.

Results:

Of the 128 patients, 49 (38.3%) patients developed driveline infections and 24 (18.8%) patients developed abscess. 87.5% patients who developed abscess had a preceding driveline infection. The mean time from driveline infection to the development of pump pocket abscess was approximately 7 months. In addition, patients with abscess in the pump pocket or mediastinum had preceding infiltrative changes surrounding the driveline ≥14 mm (P = 0.0001). A preperitoneal location and size of infiltrative changes ≥14 mm were correlated with a higher likelihood of abscess formation (P = 0.0002).

Conclusion:

Our study demonstrates the predictive value of infection/infiltrative changes around the driveline, which increases the risk for abscess formation in the LVAD pump pocket and/or in the mediastinum.
Tubular Free by Cyclic Groups Act Freely on CAT(0) Cube Complexes
Authors: Button Jack
Published: October 2016

We identify when a tubular group (the fundamental group of a ûnite graph of groups with ℤ2vertex and ℤ edge groups) is free by cyclic and show, using Wise’s equitable sets criterion, that every tubular free by cyclic group acts freely on a CAT(0) cube complex.
Quantifying horizontal and vertical tracer mass fluxes in an idealized valley during daytime
Authors: Leukauf Daniel , Gohm Alexander , Rotach Mathias W.
Published: October 2016

Abstract. The transport and mixing of pollution during the daytime evolution of a valley boundary layer is studied in an idealized way. The goal is to quantify horizontal and vertical tracer mass fluxes between four different valley volumes: the convective boundary layer, the slope wind layer, the stable core, and the atmosphere above the valley. For this purpose, large eddy simulations (LES) are conducted with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model for a quasi-two-dimensional valley. The valley geometry consists of two slopes with constant slope angle and is homogeneous in the along-valley direction. The surface sensible heat flux is horizontally homogeneous and prescribed by a sine function. The initial sounding is characterized by an atmosphere at rest and a constant Brunt–Väisälä frequency. Various experiments are conducted for different combinations of surface heating amplitudes and initial stability conditions. A passive tracer is released with an arbitrary but constant rate at the valley floor and resulting tracer mass fluxes are evaluated between the aforementioned volumes.As a result of the surface heating, a convective boundary layer is established in the lower part of the valley with a stable layer on top – the so-called stable core. The height of the slope wind layer, as well as the wind speed within, decreases with height due to the vertically increasing stability. Hence, the mass flux within the slope wind layer decreases with height as well. Due to mass continuity, this along-slope mass flux convergence leads to a partial redirection of the flow from the slope wind layer towards the valley centre and the formation of a horizontal intrusion above the convective boundary layer. This intrusion is associated with a transport of tracer mass from the slope wind layer towards the valley centre. A strong static stability and/or weak forcing lead to large tracer mass fluxes associated with this phenomenon. The total export of tracer mass out of the valley atmosphere increases with decreasing stability and increasing forcing. The effects of initial stability and forcing can be combined to a single parameter, the breakup parameter B. An analytical function is presented that describes the exponential decrease of the percentage of exported tracer mass with increasing B. This study is limited by the idealization of the terrain shape, stratification, and forcing, but quantifies transport processes for a large range of forcing amplitudes and atmospheric stability.
Effect of anthropogenic aerosol emissions on precipitation in warm conveyor belts in the western North Pacific in winter – a model study with ECHAM6-HAM
Authors: Joos Hanna , Madonna Erica , Witlox Kasja , Ferrachat Sylvaine , Wernli Heini , Lohmann Ulrike
Published: October 2016

Abstract. While there is a clear impact of aerosol particles on the radiation balance, whether and how aerosol particles influence precipitation is controversial. Here we use the ECHAM6-HAM global cli- mate model coupled to an aerosol module to analyse whether an impact of anthropogenic aerosol particles on the timing and the amount of precipitation from warm conveyor belts in low pressure systems in the winter time North Pacific can be detected. We conclude that while polluted warm con- veyor belt trajectories start with 5–10 times higher black carbon concentrations, the overall amount of precipitation is comparable in pre-industrial and present-day conditions. Precipitation formation is however supressed in the most polluted warm conveyor belt trajectories.
Analysis and Modelling of a 9.3 kyr Palaeoflood Record: Correlations, Clustering and Cycles
Authors: Witt Annette , Malamud Bruce D. , Mangili Clara , Brauer Achim
Published: October 2016

Abstract. In this paper we present a unique 9.5 m palaeo-lacustrine record of 771 palaeofloods which occurred over a period of 10 kyr in the Piànico-Sèllere basin (southern Alps) during an interglacial period in the Pleistocene (sometime 400–800 ka) and analyse its correlation, clustering and cyclicity properties. We first examine correlations, by applying power-spectral analysis and detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) to a time series of the number of floods per year and find weak long-range persistence: power-spectral exponent βPS ≈ 0.39 and equivalent power-spectra exponent from DFA, βDFA≈ 0.25. We then examine clustering using the one-point probability distribution of the inter-flood intervals and find that the occurrence of palaeofloods do cluster in time as they are Weibull distributed with shape parameter kW = 0.78. We then examine cyclicity in the time series of number of palaeofloods per year, and find a period of about 2030 yr. Using these characterizations of the correlation, clustering and cyclicity in the original palaeoflood time series, we create a model consisting of the superposition of a fractional Gaussian noise (FGN) with a 2030 yr periodic component and then peaks over threshold (POT) applied. We use this POT(FGN + Period) model to create 2,600,00 synthetic realisations of the same length as our original palaeoflood time series, but with varying intensity of periodicity and persistence, and find optimized model parameters that are congruent with our original palaeoflood series. We create long realizations of our optimized palaeoflood model, and find a high temporal variability of the flood frequency, which can take values between 0 to > 30 floods century-1. Finally, we show the practical utility of our optimized model realisations to calculate the uncertainty of the forecasted number of floods per century with the number of floods in the preceding century. A key finding of our paper is that neither fractional noise behaviour, or cyclicity, are sufficient to model frequency fluctuations of our large and continuous palaeoflood record, but rather a model based on both fractional noise superimposed with a long-range periodicity is necessary.
Retrieval of rainfall fields in urban areas using attenuation measurements from mobile phone networks: a modeling feasibility study
Authors: Zohidov Bahtiyor , Andrieu Hervé , Servières Myriam , Normand Nicolas
Published: October 2016

Abstract. Rainfall monitoring is an important global issue in urban hydrological applications, such as flood warning and water resources management systems. Until the present time, rain gauges and weather radars have been widely used as sensors to provide rainfall information with a detailed resolution; most cities in the world however are inadequately equipped. Recently, commercial microwave links (MWL) have been proposed as a new means of monitoring space-time rainfall. A transmitted signal along such links is known to be attenuated by rainfall, hence the measurement of this signal attenuation could serve to estimate path-averaged rainfall intensity. The density of commercial MWL is typically high in most cities today, which raises new questions over the possibility of retrieving rainfall using signal attenuation data from multiple links. The objective of this article is to assess the feasibility of retrieving rainfall fields in urban areas using rain attenuation data from commercial MWL that are mainly operated by mobile phone companies. This work is based on a simulation framework applied to a real case study. The study area is the city of Nantes, France. Rainfall datasets containing 207 weather radar images recorded by the Météo-France Agency's C-band at high spatial (250 m × 250 m) and temporal (5 min) resolutions are first used to generate rain attenuation data over the existing mobile phone network, which combines 256 microwave links operating at 18, 23 and 38 GHz. The rain attenuation data generated are used as a real signal dataset. A novel retrieval algorithm is then proposed to convert the rain-induced attenuation data into a rainfall map. A priori knowledge introduced to initialize the algorithm heavily influences retrieval performance if the problem to be solved is under-determined, as is the case herein. The capabilities as well as limitations of the retrieval algorithm, as regards capturing different rainfall variability, are evaluated. A detailed sensitivity analysis, carried out with respect to various parameters including a priori knowledge, decorrelation distance, and the retrieval performance of the algorithm depending on the density level of the MWL network is also evaluated in a light rain, a shower and amidst storm events. The conclusion, based on 200+ retrieval tests, states that the proposed algorithm is capable of capturing high rainfall variability in the presence of large measurement error sources according to the adopted methodology.
Conditional nonlinear optimal perturbations based on the particle swarm optimization and their applications to the predictability problems
Authors: Zheng Qin , Yang Zubin , Sha Jianxin , Yan Jun
Published: October 2016

Abstract. In predictability problem research, the conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation (CNOP) describes the initial perturbation that satisfies the certain constraint condition and causes the largest prediction error at the prediction time. The CNOP method has been successfully applied in estimation of the lower bound of maximum predictable time (LBMPT). Generally, CNOPs are calculated by a gradient descent algorithm based on the adjoint model, which is called ADJ-CNOP. This study, through the two-dimensional Ikeda model, investigates the impacts of the nonlinearity on ADJ-CNOP and the corresponding precision problems when using ADJ-CNOP to estimate the LBMPT. Our conclusions are that: (1) when the initial perturbation is large or the prediction time is long, the strong nonlinearity of the dynamical model on the prediction variable will lead to failure of the ADJ-CNOP method; (2) when the objective function has multiple extreme values, ADJ-CNOP has large probability to produce local CNOPs, hence make false estimation on the LBMPT. Furthermore, the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm, one kind of intelligent algorithms, is introduced to solve this problem. The method using PSO to compute CNOP is called PSO-CNOP. The results of numerical experiments show that even with a large initial perturbation and long prediction time, or the objective function has multiple extreme values, PSO-CNOP can always obtain the global CNOP. Since the PSO algorithm is a heuristic search algorithm based on the population, it can overcome the impact of nonlinearity and the disturbance from multiple extremes of the objective function. Besides, to check the estimation accuracy of the LBMPT presented by the PSO-CNOP and the ADJ-CNOP, we partition the constraint domain of initial perturbations into sufficiently fine grid meshes, and take the LBMPT obtained by the filtering method as a benchmark. The result shows that the estimation presented by PSO-CNOP is closer to the true value than the one by ADJ-CNOP with the forecast time increasing.
Folding and necking across the scales: a review of theoretical and
experimental results and their applications
Authors: Schmalholz Stefan Markus , Mancktelow Neil Sydney
Published: October 2016

Abstract. The shortening and extension of mechanically layered ductile rock generates folds and pinch-and-swell structures (also referred to as necks or continuous boudins), which result from mechanical instabilities termed folding and necking, respectively. Folding and necking are the preferred deformation modes in layered rock because the corresponding mechanical work involved is less than that associated with a homogeneous deformation. The effective viscosity of a layered rock decreases during folding and necking, even when all material parameters remain constant. This mechanical softening due to viscosity decrease is solely the result of fold and pinch-and-swell structure development and is hence termed structural softening (or geometric weakening). Folding and necking occur over the whole range of geological scales, from microscopic up to the size of lithospheric plates. Lithospheric folding and necking are evidence for significant deformation of continental plates, which contradicts the rigid-plate paradigm of plate tectonics. We review here some theoretical and experimental results on folding and necking, including the lithospheric scale, together with a short historical overview of research on folding and necking. We focus on theoretical studies and analytical solutions that provide the best insight into the fundamental parameters controlling folding and necking, although they invariably involve simplifications. To first order, the two essential parameters to quantify folding and necking are the dominant wavelength and the corresponding maximal amplification rate. This review also includes a short overview of experimental studies, a discussion of recent developments involving mainly numerical models, a presentation of some practical applications of theoretical results, and a summary of similarities and differences between folding and necking.
Viaje de ida y vuelta, al mito. La contribución del cine a la formación de la iconografía turística de Mallorca
Authors: Brotons Capó M. Magdalena , Murray-Mas Ivan , Blázquez-Salom Macià
Published: October 2016

Mallorca, la mayor de las Islas Baleares, es conocida internacionalmente como destino de vacaciones de verano, lugar de relax y meta ideal para el disfrute del sol y el mar. Esta mirada turística que aparece en las postales es resultado de una promoción publicitaria a la que contribuyó el cine desde sus orígenes, a través de documentales y películas de ficción. Dicha iconografía se origina en la Mallorca de los filmes de las décadas 1920 y 1930 reflejando el mito de la “isla de la calma”. En cambio, las películas de las décadas 1950 y 1960 se basan en la exhibición de nuevos estereotipos, fruto de la explosión turística. Las playas de arena blanca, las montañas y todos los paisajes que aparecen en las películas de las primeras décadas del siglo XX son sustituidos por playas llenas de hamacas, sombrillas y chiringuitos. Los monumentos, los paisajes rurales y las tradiciones populares dejan paso a los grandes hoteles y locales de diversión nocturna. Es el reflejo de la transformación que experimenta Mallorca, sometida a un proceso de estandarización, como el común de los destinos turísticos de sol y playa, reconstruyendo su identidad sobre los cimientos de la “modernidad”. Pese a que el proceso de “balearización” no ha cesado, en la actualidad el cine sobre Mallorca vuelve a publicitar el estereotipo de las primeras décadas del siglo pasado, bajo el mito de “la isla de la calma”. Esta identidad singular hace que la isla sea más rentable para el capital que busca la diferenciación socio-espacial en tiempos postfordistas.
Una década de planes de movilidad urbana sostenible en España 2004-2014
Authors: Vega Pindado Pilar
Published: October 2016

Los Planes de Movilidad Urbana Sostenible (PMUS) son una herramienta de reciente implantación en España que en la última década se ha desarrollado en un buen número de municipios. El objetivo es conocer cuál ha sido la dimensión territorial y el impacto que este instrumento de planificación de la movilidad ha tenido en nuestro país entre los años 2004 y 2014. Como resultado se ha logrado describir el panorama de los PMUS en España y su evolución durante esta última década en cada una de las Comunidades Autónomas.