Gewitter und Gewitterschäden im südlichen hessischen Berg- und Beckenland und im Rhein-Main-Tiefland 1881 bis 1980

Basierend auf schriftlichen Quellen, hauptsächlich von 1881-1980 (ohne 1941-50), werden die raum-zeitlichen Eigenschaften von Gewittern mit Schäden im südlichen hessischen Berg- und Beckenland und im Rhein-Main-Tiefland (= UG) herausgestellt. Nach Auswertung des Materials in einer Datenbank erfolgt die Intensitätskategorisierung der Schadensvorgänge für gewitterbedingte Starkregen erstmals anhand der Ähnlichkeitsmerkmale von Folgeerscheinungen, für Blitzschlag erstmals nach Schadensaspekten sowie für Hagelschlag und Sturm mittels existierender und modifizierter Klassifizierungen. Diese Kategorisierungen können für alle Beschreibungen von Gewitterschadensereignissen in schriftlichen Quellen angewandt werden. Die einzelnen Phänomene zeigen deutlich voneinander abweichende Eigenschaften. So treten z.B. Starkregenschäden verstärkt im Frühsommer auf, Sturmschäden überwiegend erst im Hoch- und Spätsommer. Generell lassen sich zwei Jahresmaxima in der Gewitterschadenstätigkeit nachweisen (erste Junidekade, zweite Julihälfte). Schwergewitter mit Sturm (auch Hagel) aus SW-W verursachen überwiegend Schäden im südlichen und westlichen UG, aus W-N meist im nördlichen und östlichen UG. Gewitter mit Starkregenschäden dominieren im östlichen UG. Nach der hier vorgestellten Methode der Schadensschwerpunkte können für Schwergewitter aus dem westlichen Sektor (SW-W, W-N) Schwerpunktzugbahnen im UG gedeutet werden. Es wird die Möglichkeit aufgezeigt, die Schadensdatenauswertung auf historische Szenarien zu übertragen. Für Interpretation und Rekonstruktion dieser für die Belange der Historischen Klimatologie wichtigen Vorgänge wird Datenmaterial aus dem zurückreichenden Zeitraum bis 1700 verwendet.

Industrial accidents triggered by lightning: causes and consequences

Natural hazards affecting industrial installations could directly or indirectly cause an accident or series of accidents with serious consequences for the environment and for human health. Accidents initiated by a natural hazard or disaster which result in the release of hazardous materials are commonly referred to as Natech (Natural Hazard Triggering a Technological Disaster) accidents. The conditions brought about by these kinds of events are particularly problematic, the presence of the natural event increases the probability of exposition and causes consequences more serious than standard technological accidents. Despite a growing body of research and more stringent regulations for the design and operation of industrial activities, Natech accidents remain a threat. This is partly due to the absence of data and dedicated risk-assessment methodologies and tools. Even the Seveso Directives for the control of risks due to major accident hazards do not include any specific impositions regarding the management of Natech risks in the process industries. Among the few available tools there is the European Standard EN 62305, which addresses generic industrial sites, requiring to take into account the possibility of lightning and to select the appropriate protection measures. Since it is intended for generic industrial installations, this tool set the requirements for the design, the construction and the modification of structures, and is thus mainly oriented towards conventional civil building. A first purpose of this project is to study the effects and the consequences on industrial sites of lightning, which is the most common adverse natural phenomenon in Europe. Lightning is the cause of several industrial accidents initiated by natural causes. The industrial sectors most susceptible to accidents triggered by lightning is the petrochemical one, due to the presence of atmospheric tanks (especially floating roof tanks) containing flammable vapors which could be easily ignited by a lightning strike or by lightning secondary effects (as electrostatic and electromagnetic pulses or ground currents). A second purpose of this work is to implement the procedure proposed by the European Standard on a specific kind of industrial plant, i.e. on a chemical factory, in order to highlight the critical aspects of this implementation. A case-study plant handling flammable liquids was selected. The application of the European Standard allowed to estimate the incidence of lightning activity on the total value of the default release frequency suggested by guidelines for atmospheric storage tanks. Though it has become evident that the European Standard does not introduce any parameters explicitly pointing out the amount of dangerous substances which could be ignited or released. Furthermore the parameters that are proposed to describe the characteristics of the structures potentially subjected to lightning strikes are insufficient to take into account the specific features of different chemical equipment commonly present in chemical plants.

Injuries, sequelae, and treatment of lightning-induced injuries: 10 years of experience at a swiss trauma center

Principals. Lightning is one of the most powerful and spectacular natural phenomena. Lightning strikes to humans are uncommon but can cause devastating injuries. We analyzed lightning-related admissions to our emergency department from January 2000 to December 2010 to review and highlight the main features of lightning-related injuries. Methods. All data were collected prospectively and entered in the emergency department' database (Qualicare Switzerland) and retrospectively analyzed. Results. Nine patients with lightning-related injuries presented to our emergency department. Four were female, and five were male. The most common site of injury was the nervous system (6 out of 9 patients) followed by the cardiovascular system (5 out of 9 patients). The third most common injuries occurred to the skin (3 out of 9 patients). Four of the patients had to be hospitalized for further observation. Conclusion. Reports of lightning strikes and related injuries are scarce. The establishment of an international register would therefore benefit the understanding of their injury patterns and facilitate specific treatment.

The Effect of Chronic Estrogen Administration on Same-Sex Social Behavior and Central Oxytocin Levels in Prairie Voles (Microtus ochrogaster)

The purpose of our study is to investigate the effects of chronic estrogen administration on same-sex interactions during exposure to a social stressor and on oxytocin (OT) levels in prairie voles (Microtus orchrogaster). Estrogen and OT are two hormones known to be involved with social behavior and stress. Estogen is involved in the transcription of OT and its receptor. Because of this, it is generally thought that estrogen upregulates OT, but evidence to support this assumption is weak. While estrogen has been shown to either increase or decrease stress, OT has been shown to have stress-dampening properties. The goal of our experiment is to determine how estrogen affects OT levels as well as behavior in a social stressor in the voles. In addition, estrogen is required for many opposite-sex interactions, but little is known about its influence on same-sex interactions. We hypothesized that prairie voles receiving chronic estrogen injections would show an increase in OT levels in the brain and alter behavior in response to a social stressor called the resident-intruder test. To test this hypothesis, 73 female prairie voles were ovariectomized and then administered daily injections of estrogen (0.05 ¿g in peanut oil, s.c.) or vehicle for 8 days. On the final day of injections, half of the voles were given the resident-intruder test, a stressful 5 min interaction with a same-sex stranger. Their behavior was video-recorded. These animals were then sacrificed either 10 minutes or 60 minutes after the conclusion of the test. Half of the animals (no stress group) were not given the resident-intruder test. After sacrifice, trunk blood and brains were collected from the animals. Videos of the resident-intruder tests were analyzed for pro-social and aggressive behavior. Density of OT-activated neurons in the brain was measured via pixel count using immunohistochemistry. No differences were found in pro-social behavior (focal sniffing, p = 0.242; focal initiated sniffing p = 0.142; focal initiated sniffing/focal sniffing, p = 0.884) or aggressive behavior (total time fighting, p= 0.763; number of fights, p= 0.148; number of strikes, p = 0.714). No differences were found in activation of OT neurons in the brain, neither in the anterior paraventricular nucleus (PVN) (pixel count p= 0.358; % area that contains pixelated neurons p = 0.443) nor in the medial PVN (pixel count p= 0.999; % area that contains pixelated neurons p = 0.916). These results suggest that estrogen most likely does not directly upregulate OT and that estrogen does not alter behavior in stressful social interactions with a same-sex stranger. Estrogen may prepare the animal to respond to OT, instead of increasing the production of the peptide itself, suggesting that we need to shift the framework in which we consider estrogen and OT interactions.

Worldwide occurrence of feline hemoplasma infections in wild felid species

While hemoplasma infections in domestic cats are well studied, almost no information is available on their occurrence in wild felids. The aims of the present study were to investigate wild felid species as possible reservoirs of feline hemoplasmas and the molecular characterization of the hemoplasma isolates. Blood samples from the following 257 wild felids were analyzed: 35 Iberian lynxes from Spain, 36 Eurasian lynxes from Switzerland, 31 European wildcats from France, 45 lions from Tanzania, and 110 Brazilian wild felids, including 12 wild felid species kept in zoos and one free-ranging ocelot. Using real-time PCR, feline hemoplasmas were detected in samples of the following species: Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx, European wildcat, lion, puma, oncilla, Geoffroy's cat, margay, and ocelot. "Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum" was the most common feline hemoplasma in Iberian lynxes, Eurasian lynxes, Serengeti lions, and Brazilian wild felids, whereas "Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis" was the most prevalent in European wildcats; hemoplasma coinfections were frequently observed. Hemoplasma infection was associated with species and free-ranging status of the felids in all animals and with feline leukemia virus provirus-positive status in European wildcats. Phylogenetic analyses of the 16S rRNA and the partial RNase P gene revealed that most hemoplasma isolates exhibit high sequence identities to domestic cat-derived isolates, although some isolates form different subclusters within the phylogenetic tree. In conclusion, 9 out of 15 wild felid species from three different continents were found to be infected with feline hemoplasmas. The effect of feline hemoplasma infections on wild felid populations needs to be further investigated.

Panel Discussion - Local Finns in Illinois

Finnish North American labor contributions and involvement in strikes such as the 1913-14 Michigan Copper Strike are being restored to the historical record and even commemorated; yet some Finnish American communities’ labor history still goes untold. We contend that in the case of DeKalb, Illinois, the Finnish American labor and strike history has been, in part, overshadowed in contemporary remembrance by the city’s promotion of traditional history and commemoration focused on the barbed wire barons. Local Finnish American labor involvement and participation in strikes appears to have been marginalized in favor of a subsequent historical narrative surrounding the capitalist entrepreneurship of elites. However, counter memories of labor struggles may be lost for a variety of reasons. External and internal forces make it difficult for marginalized groups to offer alternatives to the construction of collective memories that exclude them. These forces include, but are not limited to gradual assimilation into dominant culture, internal conflict within social movements, and fear of, or experience with, governmental repression. In our archival research, surveys and interviews with 2nd and 3rd generation Finnish American residents reveal the many forces of “forgetting” that can influence the counter memory of Finnish American labor history in certain communities.

The Copper Country Strike of 1913-1914 in Finnish Newspapers

The purpose of this study is to take a closer look at media response in Finland concerning the 1913-14 Michigan Copper Strike and depict how the strike was presented in the Old Country and its main newspapers. I shall take a closer look at the 1913-14 issues of Työmies (social democrat), Helsingin Sanomat (liberal), and Uusi Suometar (conservative) for ideological views of the strike. Furthermore, and in terms of close reading and cross-referencing, how did these newspapers in Finland see the strike and the strike’s outcome? Editorial notes and letters from the public shall both be included. Special attention will be given to the notions of transnational solidarity between Finnish-American and Finnish labor activists.

Unions to Die For

The Copper County Strike of 1913 was heroic, tragic, and large in meaning, both for those who lived in it and for those haunted by it in the years that followed. Carl Ross was born in Hancock only hours before the strike erupted. His father was a printer for Työmies. I had the good fortune to meet Carl and work with him for some twenty years. Carl spoke often of the strike—of what it meant for him, his family, and the radical Finnish community in Superior, Wisconsin, where he grew up. I had never heard of the Copper Country strike before I met Carl, but what I heard about that strike resonated with some of my own experiences. I grew up in New Castle, Indiana, a town that left-wing journalist I.F. Stone called a “labor citadel” in the midst of hostile territory. I want to use these two recollections, Carl’s 1913 Strike reminiscences and my memories of New Castle, to talk about how some strikes carry a moral vision of enormous importance. The presentation will have three parts. In the first part I will relate a little of what Carl had to say about the Copper Country Strike. In the second part I will talk about strikes of my own experience. In the final part, I will talk about the differences in the structures of labor movements and the ethical implications of those differences.

Federal Authority and the Development of Corporate Mining, 1807-1847

While the 1913-1914 copper country miners’ strike undoubtedly plays an important role in the identity of the Keweenaw Peninsula, it is worth noting that the model of mining corporations employing large numbers of laborers was not a foregone conclusion in the history of American mining. Between 1807 and 1847, public mineral lands in Missouri, in the Upper Mississippi Valley, and along the southern shore of Lake Superior were reserved from sale and subject to administration by the nation’s executive branch. By decree of the federal government, miners in these regions were lessees, not landowners. Yet, in the Wisconsin lead region especially, federal authorities reserved for independent “diggers” the right to prospect virtually unencumbered. In doing so, they preserved a comparatively egalitarian system in which the ability to operate was determined as much by luck as by financial resources. A series of revolts against federal authority in the early nineteenth century gradually encouraged officers in Washington to build a system in the copper country in which only wealthy investors could marshal the resources to both obtain permits and actually commence mining operations. This paper will therefore explore the role of the federal government in establishing a leasing system for public mineral lands in the years previous to the California Gold Rush, highlighting the development of corporate mining which ultimately set a stage for the wave of miners’ strikes in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Finnish Fighting Words: Printing the Työmies Translation Project

The Työmies translation project involves the translation of that newspaper’s accounts of significant events from Michigan’s 1913-1914 Copper Strike. Työmies was a Finnish-language newspaper, published in Hancock, Michigan, whose socialist-unionist perspective on the strike differed markedly from that of the local English-language newspapers. This project is the first time significant portions of Työmies have been translated into English. In June of 2013, the presenter printed the translation of the Työmies account of the strike’s first day on a hand-operated Chandler & Price platen press. Thus, the presentation describes this unique project: the translation itself, the presenter’s search for necessary type and equipment, and the printing of the broadsides. The presentation will include a history of Työmies and the Strike, with an emphasis on ways in which human culture and language is reflected in the material culture of printing.

Post-9/11 Terrorism Threats, News Coverage, and Public Perceptions in the United States

Terrorists, policy-makers, and terrorism scholars have long assumed that the mere threat of terrorist strikes affects societies that have experienced actual acts of terrorism. For this reason, most definitions of terrorism include the threat of violent political acts against civilians. But so far research has neither validated this conventional wisdom nor demonstrated how actual and mass-mediated threat messages by terrorists and terror alerts and threat assessments by government officials affect the public in targeted states. This paper fills the gap providing evidence that who conveys such messages matters and that mass-mediated threat messages by al Qaeda leaders and announced alerts and threat assessments by U.S. administration officials had a significant impact on the American public’s threat perceptions in the post-9/11 years.

UsedSoft and the Big Bang Theory: Is the e-Exhaustion Meteor about to Strike?

Since the UsedSoft ruling of the CJEU in 2012, there has been the distinct feeling that – like the big bang - UsedSoft signals the start of a new beginning. As we enter this brave new world, the Copyright Directive will be read anew: misalignments in the treatment of physical and digital content will be resolved; accessibility and affordability for consumers will be heightened; and lock-in will be reduced as e-exhaustion takes hold. With UsedSoft as a precedent, the Court can do nothing but keep expanding its own ruling. For big bang theorists, it is only a matter of time until the digital first sale meteor strikes non-software downloads also. This paper looks at whether the UsedSoft ruling could indeed be the beginning of a wider doctrine of e-exhaustion, or if it is simply a one-shot comet restrained by provisions of the Computer Program Directive on which it was based. Fighting the latter corner, we have the strict word of the law; in the UsedSoft ruling, the Court appears to willingly bypass the international legal framework of the WCT. As far as expansion goes, the Copyright Directive was conceived specifically to implement the WCT, thus the legislative intent is clear. The Court would not, surely, invoke its modicum of creativity there also... With perhaps undue haste in a digital market of many unknowns, it seems this might well be the case. Provoking the big bang theory of e-exhaustion, the UsedSoft ruling can be read as distinctly purposive, but rather than having copyright norms in mind, the standard for the Court is the same free movement rules that underpin the exhaustion doctrine in the physical world. With an endowed sense of principled equivalence, the Court clearly wishes the tangible and intangible rules to be aligned. Against the backdrop of the European internal market, perhaps few legislative instruments would staunchly stand in its way. With firm objectives in mind, the UsedSoft ruling could be a rather disruptive meteor indeed.

Tertiary Minette and Melanephelinite Dikes, Wasatch Plateau, Utah - Records of Mantle Heterogeneities and Changing Tectonics

A swarm of minette and melanephelinite dikes is exposed over 2500 km2 in and near the Wasatch Plateau, central Utah, along the western margin of the Colorado Plateaus in the transition zone with the Basin and Range province. To date, 110 vertical dikes in 25 dike sets have been recognized. Strikes shift from about N80-degrees-W for 24 Ma dikes, to about N60-degrees-W for 18 Ma, to due north for 8-7 m.y. These orientations are consistent with a shift from east-west Oligocene compression associated with subduction to east-west late Miocene crustal extension. Minettes are the most common rock type; mica-rich minette and mica-bearing melanephelinite occurs in 24 Ma dikes, whereas more ordinary minette is found in 8-7 Ma dikes. One melanephelinite dike is 18 Ma. These mafic alkaline rocks are transitional to one another in modal and major element composition but have distinctive trace element patterns and isotopic compositions; they appear to have crystallized from primitive magmas. Major, trace element, and Nd-Sr isotopic data indicate that melanephelinite, which has similarities to ocean island basalt, was derived from small degree melts of mantle with a chondritic Sm/Nd ratio probably located in the asthenosphere, but it is difficult to rule out a lithospheric source. In contrast, mica-bearing rocks (mica melanephelinite and both types of minette) are more potassic and have trace element patterns with strong Nb-Ta depletions and Sr-Nd isotopic compositions caused by involvement with a component from heterogeneously enriched lithospheric mantle with long-term enrichment of Rb or light rare earth elements (REE) (epsilon Nd as low as - 15 in minette). Light REE enrichment must have occurred anciently in the mid-Proterozoic when the lithosphere was formed and is not a result of Cenozoic subduction processes. After about 25 Ma, foundering of the subducting Farallon plate may have triggered upwelling of warm asthenospheric mantle to the base of the lithosphere. Melanephelinite magma may have separated from the asthenosphere and, while rising through the lithosphere, provided heat for lithospheric magma generation. Varying degrees of interaction between melanephelinite and small potassic melt fractions derived from the lithospheric mantle can explain the gradational character of the melanephelinite to minette suite.

Static replications with traffic light options

It is well known that sufficiently regular, one-dimensional payoff functions have an explicit static hedge by bonds, forward contracts, and options in a continuum of strikes. An easy and natural extension of the corresponding representation leads to static hedges based on the same instruments along with traffic light options, which have recently been introduced in the market. It is well known that the second strike derivative of non-discounted prices of vanilla options is related to the risk-neutral density of the underlying asset price in the corresponding absolutely continuous settings. Similar statements hold for traffic light options in sufficiently regular, bivariate settings.

The influence of striking object characteristics on the impact energy.

A common form of violence investigated in legal medicine is blunt trauma caused by striking with different objects. The injuries and medical consequences have been widely examined, whereas the forces and especially the energies acting on impact have rarely been analyzed. This study focuses on how the impact energy of different striking objects depends on their characteristics. A total of 1170 measurements of horizontal strikes against a static and relatively heavy pendulum have been acquired with 13 volunteers. The main focus was laid on how the weight, the length, and the center of mass of the different striking objects influenced the striking energy. The results show average impact energies in the range of 67.3 up to 311.5 J for men with an optimum weight of about 1.3 kg with its center of mass in the far end quarter for a 1-m-long striking object. The average values for women range from 30 to 202.6 J, with an optimum weight between 1.65 and 2.2 kg and similar settings for the center of mass as the men. Also, the impact energies are getting higher with shorter object lengths and reach a maximum at a length of about 0.3 to 0.4 m. The male volunteers' impact energy was on average by 84.2 % higher than the values of the female volunteers, where the impact masses were very similar and the impact velocities played the key role.