Mapping a Colonial Borderland: Objectifying the Geo-Body of India's Northeast

India’s Northeast frontier is at the margins of three study areas: South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. This paper attempts a history of “mapping” in its broader sense as a cultural universal over a relatively long period. It is not a history of cartography, but focuses on the interface between cartography and cosmography, which were, in turn, shaped by imperial power and geographical knowledge. This approach offers a high-altitude view of this Asian borderland as the imperial frontier of both the Mughals and the British, and the national fringe of Republican India. The authors argue that imperial geographical discourses invested the colonial Northeast (British Assam) with a new kind of territorial identity. Surveyors and mapmakers objectified the “geo-body” of this borderland in a spatial fix and visualized it as a Northeast-on-the-map. Cartographic territoriality naturalized traditional frontiers into colonial borderlands, which, in turn, forged national boundaries.

Increasing the accuracy of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) pollution mapping using geographically weighted regression (GWR) and geostatistics.

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) is known to act as an environmental trigger for many respiratory illnesses. As a pollutant it is difficult to map accurately, as concentrations can vary greatly over small distances. In this study three geostatistical techniques were compared, producing maps of NO2 concentrations in the United Kingdom (UK). The primary data source for each technique was NO2 point data, generated from background automatic monitoring and background diffusion tubes, which are analysed by different laboratories on behalf of local councils and authorities in the UK. The techniques used were simple kriging (SK), ordinary kriging (OK) and simple kriging with a locally varying mean (SKlm). SK and OK make use of the primary variable only. SKlm differs in that it utilises additional data to inform prediction, and hence potentially reduces uncertainty. The secondary data source was Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) derived from dispersion modelling outputs, at 1km x 1km resolution for the UK. These data were used to define the locally varying mean in SKlm, using two regression approaches: (i) global regression (GR) and (ii) geographically weighted regression (GWR). Based upon summary statistics and cross-validation prediction errors, SKlm using GWR derived local means produced the most accurate predictions. Therefore, using GWR to inform SKlm was beneficial in this study.

A technique for mapping three-dimensional number densities of species in laser produced plumes

The potential of a diagnostic technique to provide quantitative three-dimensional (3D) density distributions of species in a low temperature laser-produced plume is shown. An expanded, short pulse, tunable dye laser is used to probe the plume at a set time during the expansion. Simultaneous recording of two-dimensional in-line absorbance maps and orthogonal recording of laser induced fluorescence permits the 3D density mapping by scanning the dye laser frequency. Preliminary data, supported by a simple model, is presented for the case of Ba II ions in a YBCO plume heated by a KrF laser. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.

Characterization of laser plasmas for interaction studies: Progress in time-resolved density mapping

Time-resolved probe interferometry was used to obtain complete density mapping of laser produced plasmas. The plasma was produced by symmetrical irradiation of thin targets, to be used for short pulse delayed interaction experiments. The progress in the plasma characterization due to the use of a picosecond pulse probe is reported, and the relative merits of different target designs are also discussed. The two-dimensional density maps obtained appear to be in substantial agreement with two-dimensional hydrodynamic code predictions.

T lymphocyte epitope mapping of porcine circovirus type 2

Immunoreactive T lymphocyte epitopes within the ORF1, ORF2, and ORF 3 products of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) were mapped. For this, overlapping linear 20-mer peptides were synthesized and tested for their ability to induce T lymphocyte proliferation in porcine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from experimentally PCV2-infected pigs. After a preliminary screening of 31 (ORF1), 23 (ORF2), and 10 (ORF3) peptides using PBMCs from 4 PCV2-infected pigs, none of the peptides appeared to be immunoreactive (stimulation index [SI] : 2) in all four pigs. Only 14 peptides appeared to be immunoreactive in 3 of the 4 pigs. These peptides were designated as immunodominant in the preliminary screening and selected for further analysis. The immunodominant peptides were resynthesized and purified by high-performance liquid chromatography and tested for their ability to induce T lymphocyte proliferation in PBMCs from another three PCV2-infected pigs. None of the immunodominant peptides appeared to be immunoreactive in all three pigs of the second screening. Only three peptides appeared to be immunoreactive in two of three pigs, two encoded by PCV2 ORF1 (amino acid residues 81-100 and 201-220) and one encoded by PCV2 ORF3 (amino acid residues 31-50), and were therefore considered to be immunodominant in both screenings. Although peptides encoded by ORF2 appeared to show the highest immunoreactivity in some pigs, none of these peptides displayed immunodominance in both screenings. In summary, the present study indicates that the T lymphocyte responses to PCV2 are primarily directed toward epitopes of the nonstructural proteins of ORF1 and ORF3.

Late Quaternary glaciations in Far NE Russia; combining moraines, topography and chronology to assess regional and global glaciation synchrony

During various periods of Late Quaternary glaciation, small ice-sheets, -caps, -fields and valley glaciers, occupied the mountains and uplands of Far NE Russia (including the Verkhoyansk, Suntar-Khayata, and Chersky Mountains; the KolymaeAnyuy and Koryak Highlands; and much of the Kamchatka and Chukchi
Peninsulas). Here, the margins of former glaciers across this region are constrained through the comprehensive mapping of moraines from remote sensing data (Landsat 7 ETM+ satellite images; ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM2); and Viewfinder Panorama DEM data). A total of 8414 moraines
are mapped, and this record is integrated with a series of published age-estimates (n = 25), considered to chronologically-constrain former ice-margin positions. Geomorphological and chronological data are compiled in a Geographic Information System (GIS) to produce ‘best estimate’ reconstructions of ice extent during the global Last Glacial Maximum (gLGM) and, to a lesser degree, during earlier phases of glaciation. The data reveal that much of Far NE Russia (~1,092,427 km2) preserves a glaciated landscape (i.e. is bounded by moraines), but there is no evidence of former ice masses having extended more than 270 km beyond mountain centres (suggesting that, during the Late Quaternary, the region has not been occupied by extensive ice sheets). During the gLGM, specifically, glaciers occupied ~253,000 km2, and rarely extended more than 50 km in length. During earlier (pre-gLGM) periods, glaciers were more extensive, though the timing of former glaciation, and the maximum Quaternary extent, appears to have been asynchronous across the region, and out-of-phase with ice-extent maxima elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere. This glacial history is partly explained through consideration of climatic-forcing
(particularly moisture-availability, solar insolation and albedo), though topographic-controls upon the former extent and dynamics of glaciers are also considered, as are topographic-controls upon moraine deposition and preservation. Ultimately, our ability to understand the glacial and climatic history of this region is restricted when the geomorphological-record alone is considered, particularly as directly-dated glacial deposits are few, and topographic and climatic controls upon the moraine record are difficult to
distinguish.

Pre-hospital body surface potential mapping improves early diagnosis of acute coronary artery occlusion in patients with ventricular fibrillation and cardiac arrest

Aims: To determine whether 80-lead body surface potential mapping (BSPM) improves detection of acute coronary artery occlusion in patients presenting with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) due to ventricular fibrillation (VF) and who survived to reach hospital. Methods and results: Of 645 consecutive patients with OHCA who were attended by the mobile coronary care unit, VF was the initial rhythm in 168 patients. Eighty patients survived initial resuscitation, 59 of these having had BSPM and 12-lead ECG post-return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and in 35 patients (age 69±13 yrs; 60% male) coronary angiography performed within 24. h post-ROSC. Of these, 26 (74%) patients had an acutely occluded coronary artery (TIMI flow grade [TFG] 0/1) at angiography. Twelve-lead ECG criteria showed ST-segment elevation (STE) myocardial infarction (STEMI) using Minnesota 9-2 criteria - sensitivity 19%, specificity 100%; ST-segment depression (STD) =0.05. mV in =2 contiguous leads - sensitivity 23%, specificity 89%; and, combination of STEMI or STD criteria - sensitivity 46%, specificity 100%. BSPM STE occurred in 23 (66%) patients. For the diagnosis of TFG 0/1 in a main coronary artery, BSPM STE had sensitivity 88% and specificity 100% (c-statistic 0.94), with STE occurring most commonly in either the posterior, right ventricular or high right anterior territories. Conclusion: Among OHCA patients presenting with VF and who survived resuscitation to reach hospital, post-resuscitation BSPM STE identifies acute coronary occlusion with sensitivity 88% and specificity 100% (c-statistic 0.94). © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.