Adopting an integrated, flexible approach to reducing the birdstrike risk from Canada geese

Canada Geese overflying the runways at London’s Heathrow Airport have been struck on eleven occasions by aircraft during the last ten years. Four of these occurred during the pre-breeding season and seven during the post moult period. A monitoring study was initiated in 1999 to evaluate the movements of geese around the airport and determine appropriate mitigation strategies to reduce the risk of birdstrike. Moult sites within 13km of the airport were identified. 4,900 moulting geese were caught and fitted with colour rings and radio-transmitters between 1999 and 2004. 2,500 visits were made to over 300 sites resulting in over 10,000 sightings of known individuals. Birds that crossed the airport approaches whilst moving between roost sites and feeding areas in newly harvested cereal crops were identified. Throughout the monitoring period efforts were made to control the risk, but by 2003 it was estimated that 10,000 bird transits of the approaches involving almost 700 individuals occurred during a 50 day period. The knowledge of the movements of ringed and tagged birds was used to inform a revised habitat management, daily roost dispersal and on-airfield bird deterrence programme in 2004. By adopting a flexible approach to management, an estimated 70% reduction in bird transits was achieved. This paper discusses the techniques used to achieve this reduction.

Ontogeny of manipulative behavior and nut-cracking in young tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella): a Perception-action perspective

How do capuchin monkeys learn to use stones to crack open nuts? Perception-action theory posits that individuals explore producing varying spatial and force relations among objects and surfaces, thereby learning about affordances of such relations and how to produce them. Such learning supports the discovery of tool use. We present longitudinal developmental data from semifree-ranging tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) to evaluate predictions arising from Perception-action theory linking manipulative development and the onset of tool-using. Percussive actions bringing an object into contact with a surface appeared within the first year of life. Most infants readily struck nuts and other objects against stones or other surfaces from 6 months of age, but percussive actions alone were not sufficient to produce nut-cracking sequences. Placing the nut on the anvil surface and then releasing it, so that it could be struck with a stone, was the last element necessary for nut-cracking to appear in capuchins. Young chimpanzees may face a different challenge in learning to crack nuts: they readily place objects on surfaces and release them, but rarely vigorously strike objects against surfaces or other objects. Thus the challenges facing the two species in developing the same behavior (nut-cracking using a stone hammer and an anvil) may be quite different. Capuchins must inhibit a strong bias to hold nuts so that they can release them; chimpanzees must generate a percussive action rather than a gentle placing action. Generating the right actions may be as challenging as achieving the right sequence of actions in both species. Our analysis suggests a new direction for studies of social influence on young primates learning sequences of actions involving manipulation of objects in relation to surfaces.

Wild bearded capuchin monkeys (Cebus libidinosus) place nuts in anvils selectively

Are wild bearded capuchin monkeys selective about where they place nuts on anvils, specifically the anvil pits, during nut cracking? In the present study, we examined (1) whether capuchins` preferences for particular pits are influenced by the effectiveness of the pit in cracking the nut and/or by the stability of the nut during striking, (2) how capuchins detect the affordances of novel pits and (3) the influence of social context on their selections. Anvil pits varied in horizontal dimension (small, medium and large) in experiment 1 and in depth (shallow, medium and deep) in experiment 2. In both experiments, three different pits were simultaneously presented, each on one anvil. We coded the capuchins` actions with the nut in each pit, and recorded the outcome of each strike. In both experiments, capuchins preferred the most effective pit, but not the most stabilizing pit, based on the number of first strikes, total strikes and nuts cracked. Their choice also reflected where the preceding individual had last struck. The capuchins explored the pits indirectly, placing nuts in them and striking nuts with a stone. The preference for pits was weaker than the preference for nuts and stones shown previously with the same monkeys. Our findings suggest that detecting affordances of pits through indirect action is less precise than through direct action, and that social context may also influence selection. We show that field experiments can demonstrate embodied cognition in species-typical activities in natural environments. (C) 2010 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

L’iconografia dell’imperatore alato nel contesto della teologia politica bizantina

La presente ricerca di dottorato si propone di esaminare l’evoluzione della teologia politica bizantina e dei suoi riflessi nella propaganda imperiale nel periodo compreso tra il XIII e il XIV secolo, attraverso lo studio delle manifestazioni dell'ideologia nell'iconografia e nella numismatica del periodo in esame. L'intreccio interdisciplinare di questi ambiti di ricerca, iconografia e numismatica - con una metodologia innovativa, i cui risultati si profilano estremamente proficui - permette di comprendere i caratteri concreti, ma forse più reconditi, del realizzarsi dell'ideologia politica e della propaganda imperiale nell'impero bizantino ormai ridotto ad una costellazione di potentati particolari di estensione limitata. Il tema specifico di questo studio ha come oggetto alcune iconografie ritenute inedite, o meno tradizionali, nel panorama numismatico bizantino, emesse, in particolare, dalla zecca di Tessalonica tra XIII e XIV secolo, che vengono qui esaminate in funzione dell’evoluzione della rappresentazione imperiale. Tra di esse emerge l’inedita iconografia dell’imperatore pteroforo per la sua valenza di interscambiabilità semantica con l’immagine arcangelica. Lo studio si è proposto l’obiettivo principale di rintracciare elementi iconologici quanto più possibile comuni tra tutti i soggetti iconografici presi in esame, vagliando il substrato ideologico e propagandistico sotteso alla valenza iconologica per ogni tipologia numismatica.

Measurement of the inclusive jet cross section in proton-proton collisions at root out s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The dominant process in hard proton-proton collisions is the production of hadronic jets.rnThese sprays of particles are produced by colored partons, which are struck out of their confinement within the proton.rnPrevious measurements of inclusive jet cross sections have provided valuable information for the determination of parton density functions and allow for stringent tests of perturbative QCD at the highest accessible energies.rnrnThis thesis will present a measurement of inclusive jet cross sections in proton-proton collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV.rnJets are identified using the anti-kt algorithm and jet radii of R=0.6 and R=0.4.rnThey are calibrated using a dedicated pT and eta dependent jet calibration scheme.rnThe cross sections are measured for 40 GeV < pT <= 1 TeV and |y| < 2.8 in four bins of absolute rapidity, using data recorded in 2010 corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 pb^-1.rnThe data is fully corrected for detector effects and compared to theoretical predictions calculated at next-to-leading order including non-perturbative effects.rnThe theoretical predictions are found to agree with data within the experimental and theoretic uncertainties.rnrnThe ratio of cross sections for R=0.4 and R=0.6 is measured, exploiting the significant correlations of the systematic uncertainties, and is compared to recently developed theoretical predictions.rnThe underlying event can be characterized by the amount of transverse momentum per unit rapidity and azimuth, called rhoue.rnUsing analytical approaches to the calculation of non-perturbative corrections to jets, rhoue at the LHC is estimated using the ratio measurement.rnA feasibility study of a combined measurement of rhoue and the average strong coupling in the non-perturbative regime alpha_0 is presented and proposals for future jet measurements at the LHC are made.

La vita culturale ebraica a Candia nei secoli XIV-XVI: l'impatto dell'immigrazione sulla cultura della comunità locale

La tesi ha per oggetto la cultura ebraica cretese nei secoli XIV-XVI e, in particolare, l’influsso esercitato su di essa dalla cultura e dalle tradizioni degli ebrei sefarditi e ashkenaziti che cominciarono a stabilirsi sull’isola a partire dalla metà del Trecento. La tesi si basa da un lato su fonti amministrative e notarili e, dall’altro, sui manoscritti ebraici prodotti o portati a Candia nel periodo considerato. Il primo capitolo tratta della comunità ebraica nel primo Cinquecento e porta nuove notizie a proposito della geografia della zudeca, delle sue sinagoghe, della sua composizione sociale, dell’entità della sua popolazione e della biografia del principale leader spirituale e culturale attivo a Candia a quell’epoca: Elia Capsali. Il secondo capitolo offre una panoramica sull’immigrazione ebraica a Candia nei secoli XIV-XV. Il terzo capitolo esplora alcune particolarità della liturgia sinagogale elaborata dagli ebrei candioti sotto l’influsso della tradizione ashkenazita. Il quarto capitolo tratta di due liste di libri databili alla seconda metà del Quattrocento (Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria, ms. 3574 B) e suggerisce di considerarle come indicative del peso che ebbero alcuni immigrati ebrei catalani nella diffusione della cultura medica sefardita a Candia. Il quinto capitolo è dedicato al medico, filosofo e astronomo Mosheh ben Yehudah Galiano, il quale visse a Candia tra la seconda metà degli anni Venti del Cinquecento e il 1543. L’ultimo capitolo tratta degli effetti provocati dall’epidemia di peste del 1592-95 all’interno della zudeca di Candia.

Secondary collisions revisited: real-world crash data and relationship to crash test criteria

Objectives: Previous research conducted in the late 1980s suggested that vehicle impacts following an initial barrier collision increase severe occupant injury risk. Now over 25years old, the data are no longer representative of the currently installed barriers or the present US vehicle fleet. The purpose of this study is to provide a present-day assessment of secondary collisions and to determine if current full-scale barrier crash testing criteria provide an indication of secondary collision risk for real-world barrier crashes. Methods: To characterize secondary collisions, 1,363 (596,331 weighted) real-world barrier midsection impacts selected from 13years (1997-2009) of in-depth crash data available through the National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) / Crashworthiness Data System (CDS) were analyzed. Scene diagram and available scene photographs were used to determine roadside and barrier specific variables unavailable in NASS/CDS. Binary logistic regression models were developed for second event occurrence and resulting driver injury. To investigate current secondary collision crash test criteria, 24 full-scale crash test reports were obtained for common non-proprietary US barriers, and the risk of secondary collisions was determined using recommended evaluation criteria from National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 350. Results: Secondary collisions were found to occur in approximately two thirds of crashes where a barrier is the first object struck. Barrier lateral stiffness, post-impact vehicle trajectory, vehicle type, and pre-impact tracking conditions were found to be statistically significant contributors to secondary event occurrence. The presence of a second event was found to increase the likelihood of a serious driver injury by a factor of 7 compared to cases with no second event present. The NCHRP Report 350 exit angle criterion was found to underestimate the risk of secondary collisions in real-world barrier crashes. Conclusions: Consistent with previous research, collisions following a barrier impact are not an infrequent event and substantially increase driver injury risk. The results suggest that using exit-angle based crash test criteria alone to assess secondary collision risk is not sufficient to predict second collision occurrence for real-world barrier crashes.

Unique paleopathology in a pre-Columbian mummy remnant from Southern Peru--severe cervical rotation trauma with subluxation of the axis as cause of death

We describe the multidisciplinary findings in a pre-Columbian mummy head from Southern Peru (Cahuachi, Nazca civilisation, radiocarbon dating between 120 and 750 AD) of a mature male individual (40-60 years) with the first two vertebrae attached in pathological position. Accordingly, the atlanto-axial transition (C1/C2) was significantly rotated and dislocated at 38° angle associated with a bulging brownish mass that considerably reduced the spinal canal by circa 60%. Using surface microscopy, endoscopy, high-resolution multi-slice computer tomography, paleohistology and immunohistochemistry, we identified an extensive epidural hematoma of the upper cervical spinal canal-extending into the skull cavity-obviously due to a rupture of the left vertebral artery at its transition between atlas and skull base. There were no signs of fractures of the skull or vertebrae. Histological and immunohistochemical examinations clearly identified dura, brain residues and densely packed corpuscular elements that proved to represent fresh epidural hematoma. Subsequent biochemical analysis provided no evidence for pre-mortal cocaine consumption. Stable isotope analysis, however, revealed significant and repeated changes in the nutrition during his last 9 months, suggesting high mobility. Finally, the significant narrowing of the rotational atlanto-axial dislocation and the epidural hematoma probably caused compression of the spinal cord and the medulla oblongata with subsequent respiratory arrest. In conclusion, we suggest that the man died within a short period of time (probably few minutes) in an upright position with the head rotated rapidly to the right side. In paleopathologic literature, trauma to the upper cervical spine has as yet only very rarely been described, and dislocation of the vertebral bodies has not been presented.

Reconstruction and 3D visualisation based on objective real 3D based documentation

Reconstructions based directly upon forensic evidence alone are called primary information. Historically this consists of documentation of findings by verbal protocols, photographs and other visual means. Currently modern imaging techniques such as 3D surface scanning and radiological methods (Computer Tomography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging) are also applied. Secondary interpretation is based on facts and the examiner's experience. Usually such reconstructive expertises are given in written form, and are often enhanced by sketches. However, narrative interpretations can, especially in complex courses of action, be difficult to present and can be misunderstood. In this report we demonstrate the use of graphic reconstruction of secondary interpretation with supporting pictorial evidence, applying digital visualisation (using 'Poser') or scientific animation (using '3D Studio Max', 'Maya') and present methods of clearly distinguishing between factual documentation and examiners' interpretation based on three cases. The first case involved a pedestrian who was initially struck by a car on a motorway and was then run over by a second car. The second case involved a suicidal gunshot to the head with a rifle, in which the trigger was pushed with a rod. The third case dealt with a collision between two motorcycles. Pictorial reconstruction of the secondary interpretation of these cases has several advantages. The images enable an immediate overview, give rise to enhanced clarity, and compel the examiner to look at all details if he or she is to create a complete image.

Can You Hear the Shape of a Drum?

If you had perfect pitch and listened to a recording of the sounds a drum made when struck, could you determine the shape of the drum? This question is an example of an inverse problem; inverse problems arise in medical imaging, oil prospecting, spectroscopy, and many other fields. We’ll first discuss the analogous question in the simpler setting of plucking a string. Then we’ll tackle the problem for drums and see that there are some surprises. Finally, I will give a brief indication of how this problem relates to some of my recent research. The emphasis will be on the ideas rather than on the technical details, so there will be pretty pictures instead of equations.

Not in the Legends

In writing “Not in the Legends”, one of the images and concepts which constantly returned was that of pilgrimage. I began to write these poems while studying abroad in London, after having passed the previous semester in France and travelling around Europe. There was something in the repetition of sightseeing— walking six miles in Luxembourg to see the grave of General Patton, taking photographs of the apartment where Sylvia Plath ended her life, bowing before the bones of saints, searching through Père Lachaise for the grave of Théodore Gericault— which struck me as numinous and morbid. At the same time, I came to love living abroad and I grew discontent with both remaining and returning. I wanted the opportunity to live everywhere all the time and not have to choose between home and away. Returning from abroad, I turned my attention to the landscape of my native country. I found in the New England pilgrims a narrative of people who had left their home in search of growth and freedom. In these journeys I began to appreciate the significance of place and tried to understand what it meant to move from one place to another, how one chose a home, and why people searched for meaning in specific locations. The processes of moving from student to worker and from childhood to adulthood have weighed on me. I began to see these transitions towards maturity as travels to a different land. Memory and nostalgia are their own types of pilgrimage in their attempts to return to lost places, as is the reading of literature. These pilgrimages, real and metaphorical, form the thematic core of the collection. I read the work of many poets who came before me, returning to the places where the Canon was forged. Those poets have a large presence in the work I produced. I wondered how I, as a young poet, could earn my own place in the tradition and sought models in much the same way a painter studies the brushstrokes of a master. In the process, I have tried to uncover what it means to be a poet. Is it something like being a saint? Is it something like being a colonist? Or is to be the one who goes in search of saints and colonists? In trying to measure my own life and work based on the precedent, I have questioned what role era and generation have on the formation of identity. I focused my reading heavily on the early years of English poetry, trying to find the essence of the time when the language first achieved the transcendence of verse. In following the development of English poetry through Coleridge, John Berryman, and Allison Titus, I have explored the progression of those basic virtues in changing contexts. Those bearings, applied to my modern context, helped to shape the poetry I produced. Many of the poems in “Not in the Legends” are based on my own personal experience. In my recollections I have tried to interrogate nostalgia rather than falling into mere reminiscence. Rather than allowing myself poems of love and longing, I have tried to find the meaning of those emotions. A dominant conflict exists between adventure and comfort which mirrors the central engagement with the nature of being “here” or “there”. It is found in scenes of domesticity and wilderness as I attempt to understand my own simultaneous desire for both. For example, in “Canned Mangoes…” the intrusion of nature, even in a context as innocuous as a poem by Sir Walter Raleigh, unravels ordinary comforts of the domestic sphere. The character of “The Boy” from Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot proved such an interesting subject for me because he is one who can transcend the normal boundaries of time and place. The title suggests connections to both place and time. “Legends” features the dual meaning of both myths and the keys to maps. To propose something “Not in the Legends” is to find something which has no precedent in our histories and our geographies, something beyond our field of knowledge and wholly new. One possible interpretation I devised was that each new generation lives a novel existence, the future being the true locus of that which is beyond our understanding. The title comes from Keats’ “Hyperion, a Fragment”, and details the aftermath of the Titanomachy. The Titans, having fallen to the Olympians, are a representation of the passing of one generation for the next. Their dejection is expressed by Saturn, who laments: Not in my own sad breast, Which is its own great judge and searcher out, Can I find reason why ye should be thus: Not in the legends of the first of days… (129-132) The emotions of the conquered Titans are unique and without antecedent. They are experiencing feelings which surpass all others in history. In this, they are the equivalent of the poet who feels that his or her own sufferings are special. In contrast are Whitman’s lines from “Song of Myself” which serve as an epigraph to this collection. He contends for a sense of continuity across time, a realization that youth, age, pleasure, and suffering have always existed and will always exist. Whitman finds consolation in this unity, accepting that kinship with past generations is more important that his own individuality. These opposing views offer two methods of presenting the self in history. The instinct of poetry suggests election. The poet writes because he feels his experiences are special, or because he believes he can serve as a synecdoche for everyone. I have fought this instinct by trying to contextualize myself in history. These poems serve as an attempt at prosopography with my own narrative a piece of the whole. Because the earth abides forever, our new stories get printed over the locations of the old and every place becomes a palimpsest of lives and acts. In this collection I have tried to untangle some of those layers, especially my own, to better understand the sprawling legend of history.

Occupational maxillofacial fractures: a 3-year survey in central Switzerland

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine occupational facial fractures in central Switzerland. Concomitant injuries were also studied. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Department of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery at the University Hospital in Berne provides a 24-hour maxillofacial trauma service for its population (1.6 million). The present study was comprised of 42 patients (8.4% of treated maxillofacial injuries) with occupational maxillofacial fractures registered at this unit between 2000 and 2002. Information on the topic of occupation, the cause of the accidents, and the topographic location of the fractures was analyzed. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 44.4 years, with a male to female ratio of 41:1. Sixty-nine percent of the injuries occurred in farm and forestry workers and in construction laborers during the summertime (33%). Workers in these occupations carried a 127-fold (farm and forestry workers) and a 44-fold (construction laborers) higher risk of incurring maxillofacial fractures than did service and office workers. Injuries were most frequently (43%) caused by a thrown, projected, or falling object. Eighty-two percent of the fractures occurred in the midface region and at the skull base. Fifty-nine percent of the patients had concomitant injuries. In 69%, surgery was necessary, the mean duration of their hospital stay being 4.8 days. CONCLUSION: The probability of sustaining work-related maxillofacial traumata is correlated to the nature of the occupation. Farm and forestry workers are at the highest risk, most frequently injured by being struck by an object or an animal. The introduction of personalized safety measures should become obligatory in high-risk occupations.

The deadly broomstick: an unusual missile injury to the neck

A 51-year-old man was struck by the tip of a broomstick weighing 1000 g at the left side of the neck, upon which he collapsed. Intense but delayed cardiopulmonary resuscitation restored the circulation roughly 30 minutes after the incident. Upon admittance to a nearby hospital, an extensive hypoxic cerebral damage was diagnosed. Death due to the severe cerebral damage occurred 5 hours after the incident. An autopsy demonstrated a severe subcutaneous traumatization of the left side of the neck, with a hemorrhage compressing the carotid bifurcation. A prolonged excitation due to this ongoing compression of the baroreceptors in the carotid sinus was assumed to have led to a cardiac arrest. In this case report, the authors discuss the underlying pathophysiology of this potentially lethal and rare reflexogenic incident also known as the Hering reflex and discuss possible therapeutic measures.

Book Review of “The Origins of Social Work: Continuity and Change”. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005, by Malcolm Payne

Malcolm Payne’s latest work proposes to survey the continuity and change in social work from its inception and origins, up until the present day. In order to do justice to the theme, its author could have concentrated on developing a narrative of a national enterprise, or restricted himself to a regional analysis (Western European Social Work) or opt instead for a more narrowly focused cultural exploration, White Anglo-Saxon Social Work (WASSW). One can only infer that limiting himself in this fashion would have struck the author as parochial, or rather, that only a truly global enterprise could satisfy his capacious mind. One is left to marvel at the invocation of Darwin’s great work and wonder what was the process of the author’s “natural” selection of this material.