Hazard index maps for woody material recruitment and transport in alpine catchments

A robust and reliable risk assessment procedure for hydrologic hazards deserves particular attention to the role of transported woody material during flash floods or debris flows. At present, woody material transport phenomena are not systematically considered within the procedures for the elaboration of hazard maps. The consequence is a risk of losing prediction accuracy and of underestimating hazard impacts. Transported woody material frequently interferes with the sediment regulation capacity of open check dams and moreover, when obstruction phenomena at critical crosssections of the stream occur, inundations can be triggered. The paper presents a procedure for the determination of the relative propensity of mountain streams to the entrainment and delivery of recruited woody material on the basis of empirical indicators. The procedure provided the basis for the elaboration of a hazard index map for all torrent catchments of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano/Bozen. The plausibility of the results has been thoroughly checked by a backward oriented analysis on natural hazard events, documented since 1998 at the Department of Hydraulic Engineering of the aforementioned Alpine Province. The procedure provides hints for the consideration of the effects, induced by woody material transport, during the elaboration of hazard zone maps.

Atlas of the Songwe River Basin: Thematic Maps with Explanatory Text Sheets

This atlas presents a comprehensive set of thematic maps depicting a wide range of aspects of the Songwe river area. It includes baseline maps (such as topographic overview, hillshade), satellite images (years 1991, 2001, 2004), land cover and land cover change, biomass and biomass change, priority conservation areas, resource management (watershed classification, watershed classification combined with biomass, soil erosion), accessibility and special maps (such as historical river course). Map clippings of the most important maps facilitate the readability of the maps. The accompanying explanatory text sheets contain graphics and information about material, methods, results and interpretation.

Accumulation rates and predominant atmospheric sources of natural and anthropogenic Hg and Pb on the Faroe Islands

A monolith representing 5420 14C yr of peat accumulation was collected from a blanket bog at Myrarnar, Faroe Islands. The maximum Hg concentration (498 ng/g at a depth of 4.5 cm) coincides with the maximum concentration of anthropogenic Pb (111 μg/g). Age dating of recent peat accumulation using 210Pb (CRS model) shows that the maxima in Hg and Pb concentrations occur at AD 1954 ± 2. These results, combined with the isotopic composition of Pb in that sample (206Pb/207Pb = 1.1720 ± 0.0017), suggest that coal burning was the dominant source of both elements. From the onset of peat accumulation (ca. 4286 BC) until AD 1385, the ratios Hg/Br and Hg/Se were constant (2.2 ± 0.5 × 10-4 and 8.5 ± 1.8 × 10-3, respectively). Since then, Hg/Br and Hg/Se values have increased, also reaching their maxima in AD 1954. The age date of the maximum concentrations of anthropogenic Hg and Pb in the Faroe Islands is consistent with a previous study of peat cores from Greenland and Denmark (dated using the atmospheric bomb pulse curve of 14C), which showed maximum concentrations in AD 1953. The average rate of atmospheric Hg accumulation from 1520 BC to AD 1385 was 1.27 ± 0.38 μg/m2/yr. The Br and Se concentrations and the background Hg/Br and Hg/Se ratios were used to calculate the average rate of natural Hg accumulation for the same period, 1.32 ± 0.36 μg/m2/yr and 1.34 ± 0.29 μg/m2/yr, respectively. These fluxes are similar to the preanthropogenic rates obtained using peat cores from Switzerland, southern Greenland, southern Ontario, Canada, and the northeastern United States. Episodic volcanic emissions and the continual supply of marine aerosols to the Faroe Islands, therefore, have not contributed significantly to the Hg inventory or the Hg accumulation rates, relative to these other areas. The maximum rate of Hg accumulation was 34 μg/m2/yr. The greatest fluxes of anthropogenic Hg accumulation calculated using Br and Se, respectively, were 26 and 31 μg/m2/yr. The rate of atmospheric Hg accumulation in 1998 (16 μg/m2/yr) is comparable to the values recently obtained by atmospheric transport modeling for Denmark, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland.

Synchronizing Mind Maps with Fuzzy Cognitive Maps for Decision-Finding in Cognitive Cities

Synchronizing mind maps with fuzzy cognitive maps can help to handle complex problems with many involved stakeholders by taking advantage of human creativity. The proposed approach has the capacity to instantiate cognitive cities by including cognitive computing. A use case in the context of decision-finding (concerning a transportation system) is presented to illustrate the approach.

The bona fide mouse U7 snRNA gene maps to a different chromosome than two U7 pseudogenes.

The U7 snRNA, together with both common and unique snRNP proteins, forms the U7 snRNP particle. This particle is a major component of the 3' processing machinery that converts histone pre-mRNA into mature mRNA in the eukaryotic nucleus. The genes for many snRNAs are present in multiple copies and often have many pseudogenes. Southern blot experiments using U7 oligonucleotide and gene probes have identified only one strongly hybridizing band and three weakly hybridizing bands in mouse genomic DNA. Previously, two laboratories isolated genomic clones encoding one functional U7 gene and three presumed pseudogenes. Since all the genes were isolated on separate, nonoverlapping genomic fragments, the four genes are not tightly clustered in the mouse genome. In this study, we use fluorescence in situ hybridization to determine the chromosomal locations of these clones and their possible linkage to histone loci. Two of the pseudogenes map to mouse Chromosome 1, but are many megabases apart, whereas the active U7 gene maps to Chromosome 6. Possible mechanisms for this localization pattern are discussed.

Holocene palaeoclimate and palaeovegetation on the islands of Flores and Pico

Palaeoclimatic stability is regarded as an important factor in explaining patterns of endemism in the Azorean flora. However, modelling simulations and quantitative reconstructions for the last 6000 years suggest considerable palaeoclimatic variability. Here we explore the link between Holocene palaeoclimate and palaeovegetation on the islands of Flores and Pico. Modern pollen assemblages indicate that most major plant communities can be detected using pollen analysis and that, in some cases, the pre-colonisation vegetation was quite similar to present-day relict vegetation. A 200–500-year pollen record from Alagoinha, a low-elevation mire in western Flores, shows that Juniperus brevifolia-dominated communities were widespread at lower elevations prior to large-scale deforestation. Today these communities are generally restricted to higher elevations. While our results are preliminary, there appears to be a weak link between palaeovegetation (which was primarily influenced by volcanism, soil formation and human impact) and palaeoclimatic changes detected through geochemical proxies. Even if the Azorean palaeoclimate varied substantially, its impact on the pristine vegetation, at least in terms of pollen production, was relatively small.

Temporally Coherent Disparity Maps Using CRFs with Fast 4D Filtering

State of the art methods for disparity estimation achieve good results for single stereo frames, but temporal coherence in stereo videos is often neglected. In this paper we present a method to compute temporally coherent disparity maps. We define an energy over whole stereo sequences and optimize their Conditional Random Field (CRF) distributions using mean-field approximation. We introduce novel terms for smoothness and consistency between the left and right views, and perform CRF optimization by fast, iterative spatio-temporal filtering with linear complexity in the total number of pixels. Our results rank among the state of the art while having significantly less flickering artifacts in stereo sequences.

Lipschitz extensions of maps between Heisenberg groups

Let $\H^n$ be the Heisenberg group of topological dimension 2n+1 . We prove that if n is odd, the pair of metric spaces $(\H^n, \H^n)$ does not have the Lipschitz extension property.

Enhanced Knowledge Management by Synchronizing Mind Maps and Fuzzy Cognitive Maps

This paper presents a conceptual approach to enhance knowledge management by synchronizing mind maps and fuzzy cognitive maps. The use of mind maps allows taking advantage of human creativity, while the application of fuzzy cognitive maps enables to store information expressed in natural language. By applying cognitive computing, it makes possible to gather and extract relevant information out of a data pool. Therefore, this approach is supposed to give a framework that enhances knowledge management. To demonstrate the potential of this framework, a use case concerning the development of a smart city app is presented.

Coastal Survey Maps: From Historical Documents to Digital Databases

This paper describes the spatial data handling procedures used to create a vector database of the Connecticut shoreline from Coastal Survey Maps. The appendix contains detailed information on how the procedures were implemented using Geographic Transformer Software 5 and ArcGIS 8.3. The project was a joint project of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and the University of Connecticut Center for Geographic Information and Analysis.

Über die Pflanzen an den heißen Quellen Islands

Von Dr. W. Ebel

Health disparities between the United States mainland and Puerto Rico, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands (United States territories)

Health disparities have been documented for the United States mainland. No literature was found comparing the mainland population to that of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands (United States territories). Using Healthy Lifestyle Characteristics of non-smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, consuming fruits/vegetables daily, and exercising regularly, the health of the mainland was compared to United States territories. The research questions were: (1) Among the characteristics, what are similarities/differences between citizens of the mainland United States and territories?, (2) Among the characteristics, what are similarities/differences in how the territories compare to each other?, (3) Does the mainland and the territories meet Healthy People 2010 goals for these characteristics?, (4) Are perceptions of health concordant or discordant with the characteristics for mainlanders and Puerto Ricans? ^ Using 2007 data from Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), frequency distributions were compared for the Healthy Lifestyle Characteristics for the mainland territories. Research found smoking rates on Guam were statistically greater than the mainland, Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. Healthy body mass index levels and physical activity rates were better on Guam compared to other locations. Puerto Rico had significantly more overweight and obese persons, lower fruit/vegetable consumption rates, and lower physical activity rates than the mainland, Guam and the Virgin Islands. Research found mainlanders reported statistically greater participation in regular physical activity than did Puerto Ricans and Virgin Islanders; there were significant differences in fruit/vegetable consumption rates compared to both. The research found no locations met all four of Healthy People 2010 goals. Compared to mainlanders, research showed Puerto Ricans perceive their health significantly worse.^ A better understanding is needed for how United States citizens (mainlanders and territory residents) view participation in healthy behaviors and how health is affected by participating or not in healthy behaviors. For the year examined, Healthy People 2010 goals were not achieved. This study demonstrates Puerto Ricans’ health, using the four characteristics, is significantly worse than residents in the other locations. Public health programs targeting Puerto Ricans are warranted. Finally, this study highlights the need for continued research on the relationships among the mainland and territories.^

Dengue transmission risk maps of the continental United States

Dengue fever is a strictly human and non-human primate disease characterized by a high fever, thrombocytopenia, retro-orbital pain, and severe joint and muscle pain. Over 40% of the world population is at risk. Recent re-emergence of dengue outbreaks in Texas and Florida following the re-introduction of competent Aedes mosquito vectors in the United States have raised growing concerns about the potential for increased occurrences of dengue fever outbreaks throughout the southern United States. Current deficiencies in vector control, active surveillance and awareness among medical practitioners may contribute to a delay in recognizing and controlling a dengue virus outbreak. Previous studies have shown links between low-income census tracts, high population density, and dengue fever within the United States. Areas of low-income and high population density that correlate with the distribution of Aedes mosquitoes result in higher potential for outbreaks. In this retrospective ecologic study, nine maps were generated to model U.S. census tracts’ potential to sustain dengue virus transmission if the virus was introduced into the area. Variables in the model included presence of a competent vector in the county and census tract percent poverty and population density. Thirty states, 1,188 counties, and 34,705 census tracts were included in the analysis. Among counties with Aedes mosquito infestation, the census tracts were ranked high, medium, and low risk potential for sustained transmission of the virus. High risk census tracts were identified as areas having the vector, ≥20% poverty, and ≥500 persons per square mile. Census tracts with either ≥20% poverty or ≥500 persons per square mile and have the vector present are considered moderate risk. Census tracts that have the vector present but have <20% poverty and <500 persons per square mile are considered low risk. Furthermore, counties were characterized as moderate risk if 50% or more of the census tracts in that county were rated high or moderate risk, and high risk if 25% or greater were rated high risk. Extreme risk counties, which were primarily concentrated in Texas and Mississippi, were considered having 50% or greater of the census tracts ranked as high risk. Mapping of geographic areas with potential to sustain dengue virus transmission will support surveillance efforts and assist medical personnel in recognizing potential cases. ^