Spectra® fishing twine entanglement of a bottlenose dolphin: A case study and experimental modeling     

Susan G. Barco  Linda R. D’Eri  Jeremy P. Winn 《Marine pollution bulletin》2010,60(9):1477-1481

We report here the first documented case of a cetacean fatality from entanglement in recreational Spectra® fishing twine. Spectra® twine is a relatively new microfilament braided twine that is marketed to replace nylon monofilament twine in rod and reel fisheries. Following the case of this entangled bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), we conducted tests with Spectra® and comparable monofilament twines on Tursiops tissue from stranded animals to compare the abrasion properties of the twines. We found that Spectra® twine was significantly more abrasive on bottlenose dolphin fluke tissue than a similar strength and diameter monofilament. With the same forces applied, the Spectra® twine cut deeper than the monofilament, exhibiting a linear relationship with force applied where the monofilament appeared to reach a maximum depth of penetration of approximately 2 mm. These tests may explain why this bottlenose dolphin was so severely debilitated from carrying a relatively light load of twine over a short period of time (20 days). Future public and corporate outreach will be essential to minimize the effect that this increasingly popular fishing twine will have on non-target species.  相似文献   

Energy-based method for identifying vulnerable macro-elements in historic masonry churches     

Linda Giresini 《Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering》2016,14(3):919-942

Seismic vulnerability of historic churches is a well known issue in earthquake engineering. The need of preserving these buildings encourages the development of reliable numerical methods to assess their seismic behavior. In this paper a new approach is presented, based on evaluating damage pattern obtained by non-linear dynamic analysis and the energy dissipated by each macro-element during earthquakes. A “hierarchy of dissipated energy” concept emerges to give a scale of vulnerability of the parts that compose a church. By modifying masonry mechanical parameters or geometric features, the crack pattern and amount of energy dissipation density of each element is varied and calibrated to achieve the desired hierarchy. The structural designer can therefore estimate the effectiveness of strengthening devices by checking reduction and possibly migration of dissipated energy density from weaker structural elements to more resistant ones, together with a preferable damage pattern. The proposed strategy is applied to a single nave church, hit by the Emilia Romagna earthquake (Italy, 2012), first defining a scale of vulnerability of the macro-elements and then proposing a rehabilitation strategy, which improves the seismic response in terms of damages and dissipated energy. The strong vulnerability of the main dome vault is shown, due to the combination of its high dissipated energy density with its intrinsic weakness. Strengthening techniques are aimed to reduce the amount of dissipated energy of vulnerable macro-elements and to attenuate out-of-plane mechanisms.  相似文献   

A spatial genetic algorithm for automating land partitioning     

Demetris Demetriou  Linda See  John Stillwell 《International journal of geographical information science》2013,27(12):2391-2409

Land fragmentation is a widespread situation which may often hinder agricultural development. Land consolidation is considered to be the most effective land management planning approach for controlling land fragmentation and hence improving agricultural efficiency. Land partitioning is a basic process of land consolidation that involves the subdivision of land into smaller sub-spaces subject to a number of constraints. This paper explains the development of a module called LandParcelS (Land Parcelling System) that is a part of an integrated planning and decision support system called LACONISS (LAndCONsolidation Integrated Support System) which has been developed to assist land consolidation planning in Cyprus. LandParcelS automates the land partitioning process by designing and optimising land parcels in terms of their shape, size and value. The methodology integrates geographical information systems and a genetic algorithm that has been applied to two land blocks that are part of a larger case study area in Cyprus. Partitioning is treated as either a single or multi-objective problem for various optimisation cases. The results suggest that a step forward has been made in solving this complex spatial problem, although further research is needed to improve the algorithm. This approach may have relevance to other spatial planning tasks that involve single or multi-objective optimisation problems, especially those dealing with space partitioning.  相似文献   

UML‐Based Approach to Developing a CityGML Application Domain Extension     

Linda van den Brink  Jantien Stoter  Sisi Zlatanova 《Transactions in GIS》2013,17(6):920-942

Recently a national 3D standard was established in the Netherlands as a CityGML Application Domain Extension (called IMGeo). In line with the Dutch practice of modeling geo‐information, the ADE is developed using a model driven approach. The classes are designed in UML and automatically mapped to GML schema. The current OGC CityGML specification does not provide rules or guidance on correctly modeling an ADE in UML. This article fills this gap by studying how CityGML can be extended for specific applications starting from the UML diagrams. Six alternatives for modeling ADEs in UML are introduced and compared. The optimal alternative is selected and applied to obtain the national 3D standard. The approach was extensively discussed with international experts, who were members of both SIG3D and other working groups. As a consequence the approach was adopted by the SIG3D, the Special Interest Group 3D which, among other things, work on the 3D standard CityGML in cooperation with OGC. Therefore the approach contains many issues that can be generalized and reused by future domain extensions of CityGML. To further support this, the article formulates a model‐driven framework to model CityGML ADEs. Open issues are described in the conclusions.  相似文献   

Bi-level optimization for risk-based regional hurricane evacuation planning     

Pruttipong Apivatanagul  Rachel A. Davidson  Linda K. Nozick 《Natural Hazards》2012,60(2):567-588

Almost all engineering evacuation models define the objective as minimizing the time required to clear the region or total travel time, thus making an implicit assumption that who will or should evacuate is known. Conservatively evacuating everyone who may be affected may be the best strategy for a given storm, but there is a growing recognition that in some places that strategy is no longer viable and in any case, may not be the best alternative by itself. Here, we introduce a new bi-level optimization that reframes the decision more broadly. The upper level develops an evacuation plan that describes, as a hurricane approaches, who should stay and who should leave and when, so as to minimize both risk and travel time. The lower level is a dynamic user equilibrium (DUE) traffic assignment model. The model includes four novel features: (1) it refocuses the decision on the objectives of minimizing both risk and travel time; (2) it allows direct comparison of more alternatives, including for the first time, sheltering-in-place; (3) it uses a hurricane-scenario-based analysis that explicitly represents the critically important uncertainty in hurricane track, intensity, and speed; and (4) it includes a new DUE algorithm that is efficient enough for full-scale hurricane evacuation applications. The model can be used both to provide an evacuation plan and to evaluate a plan’s performance in terms of risk and travel time, assuming the plan is implemented and a specified hurricane scenario then actually occurs. We demonstrate the model with a full-scale case study for Eastern North Carolina.  相似文献   

The Significance of Intestinal Parasite Remains in Pollen Samples from Medieval Pits in the Piazza Garibaldi of Parma,Emilia Romagna,Northern Italy     

Assunta Florenzano  Anna Maria Mercuri  Aurora Pederzoli  Paola Torri  Giovanna Bosi  Linda Olmi  Rossella Rinaldi  Marta Bandini Mazzanti 《Geoarchaeology》2012,27(1):34-47

This paper presents the study of parasite remains recovered in pollen samples collected from archaeological layers. Laboratory treatment enabled us to obtain very high concentrations of both pollen and parasite eggs from the same samples. The case study of the site of Piazza Garibaldi in Parma, a town in the Po plain, is reported. The site was a sacred area in Roman times and a market square in Medieval times (10th–11th century A.D.). Pollen, seeds, and fruits from the latter phase were collected from four Medieval pits and one cesspit. After a palynological treatment including sieving, floating, and light acetolysis, abundant quantities of parasite eggs were extracted. Human and animal parasite eggs belonging to Trichuris, Ascaris, Taenia/Echinococcus, Capillaria, Dicrocoelium, and Diphyllobothrium were found. The analyses of animal and plant remains identified in the same samples suggested that the pit infillings consisted of waste, human and animal excrements, deteriorated plant food, and refuse of grapes. Therefore, parasite remains help the interpretation of archaeobotanical data in identifying human behaviors and site functions.  相似文献   

Stratigraphy of the Triassic?Jurassic Boundary Successions of the Southern Margin of the Junggar Basin, Northwestern China   总被引：2，自引：1，他引：1  

SHA Jingeng  Vivi VAJDA  PAN Yanhong  Linda LARSSON  YAO Xiaogang  ZHANG Xiaolin  WANG Yaqiong  CHENG Xiansheng  JIANG Baoyu  DENG Shenghui  CHEN Siwei  PENG Bo 《《地质学报》英文版》2011,85(2):421-436

The Triassic?Jurassic (Tr?J) boundary marks a major extinction event, which (~200 Ma) resulted in global extinctions of fauna and flora both in the marine and terrestrial realms. There prevail great challenges in determining the exact location of the terrestrial Tr?J boundary, because of endemism of taxa and the scarcity of fossils in terrestrial settings leading to difficulties in linking marine and terrestrial sedimentary successions. Investigation based on palynology and bivalves has been carried out over a 1113 m thick section, which is subdivided into 132 beds, along the Haojiagou valley on the southern margin of the Junggar Basin of the northern Xinjiang, northwestern China. The terrestrial Lower Jurassic is conformably resting on the Upper Triassic strata. The Upper Triassic covers the Huangshanjie Formation overlaid by the Haojiagou Formation, while the Lower Jurassic comprises the Badaowan Formation followed by the Sangonghe Formation. Fifty six pollen and spore taxa and one algal taxon were identified from the sediments. Based on the key-species and abundance of spores and pollen, three zones were erected: the Late Triassic (Rhaetian) Aratrisporites?Alisporites Assemblage, the Early Jurassic (Hettangian) Perinopollenites?Pinuspollenites Assemblage, and the Sinemurian Perinopollenites?Cycadopites Assemblage. The Tr?J boundary is placed between bed 44 and 45 coincident with the boundary between the Haojiagou and Badaowan formations. Beds with Ferganoconcha (?), Unio?Ferganoconcha and Waagenoperna?Yananoconcha bivalve assemblages are recognized. The Ferganoconcha (?) bed is limited to the upper Haojiagou Formation, Unio?Ferganoconcha and Waagenoperna?Yananoconcha assemblages are present in the middle and upper members of the Badaowan Formation. The sedimentary succession is interpreted as terrestrial with two mainly lake deposit intervals within Haojiagou and Badaowan formations, yielding fresh water algae and bivalves. However, the presence of brackish water algae Tasmanites and the marine?littoral facies bivalve Waagenoperna from the Badaowan Formation indicate that the Junggar Basin was influenced by sea water caused by transgressions from the northern Tethys, during the Sinemurian.  相似文献   

A study of arsenic,iron and other dissolved ion variations in the groundwater of Bishnupur District,Manipur, India   总被引：1，自引：1，他引：0  

Jayalakshmi Devi Oinam  AL. Ramanathan  Anurag Linda  Gurmeet Singh 《Environmental Earth Sciences》2011,62(6):1183-1195

The presence of arsenic (As) in groundwater and its effect on human health has become an issue of serious concern in recent years. The present study assessed the groundwater quality of the Bishnupur District, Manipur, with respect to drinking water standards. Higher concentrations of pH, iron and phosphate were observed at several locations. Phosphate and iron levels were highest in the pre-monsoon, followed by monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. The arsenic concentrations were highest during post-monsoon (1–200 μg L⁻¹) as compared to pre-monsoon (1–108 μg L⁻¹) and monsoon (2–99 μg L⁻¹). Kwakta and Ngakhalawai show higher levels of arsenic concentration as compared to the prescribed World Health Organization (WHO) and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) norms. Arsenic showed a strong positive correlation with phosphate and negative correlation with sulphate, suggesting a partial influence of anthropogenic sources. The study suggests that the Bishnupur area has an arsenic contamination problem, which is expected to increase in the near future.  相似文献   

Swashed away? Storm impacts on sandy beach macrofaunal communities     

Linda Harris  Ronel Nel  David Schoeman 《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》2011,94(3):210-221

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The origin of eucrites,diogenites, and olivine diogenites: Magma ocean crystallization and shallow magma chamber processes on Vesta     

Ben E. Mandler  Linda T. Elkins‐Tanton 《Meteoritics & planetary science》2013,48(11):2333-2349

The asteroid 4 Vesta is one of the very few heavenly bodies to have been linked to samples on Earth: the howardite‐eucrite‐diogenite (HED) meteorite suite. This large and diverse suite of meteorites provides a detailed picture of Vesta's igneous and postigneous history. We have used the range of igneous rock types and compositions in the HED suite to test a series of chemical models for solidification processes following peak melting (magma ocean) conditions on Vesta. Fractional crystallization cannot have been a dominant early process in the magma ocean because it leads to excessive Fe‐enrichment in the melt. Models that are dominated by equilibrium crystallization cannot produce orthopyroxene cumulates (diogenites). Our best models invoke 60–70% equilibrium crystallization of a magma ocean followed by continuous extraction of the residual melt into shallow magma chambers. Fractional crystallization in these magma chambers combined with continuous or periodic addition of more melt from the slowly compacting crystal mush (magmatic recharge) can produce all of the igneous HED lithologies (noncumulate and cumulate eucrites, diogenites, dunites, harzburgites, and olivine diogenites). Magmatic recharge can also explain the narrow range in eucrite compositions and the variability of incompatible trace element concentrations in diogenites. We predict an internal structure for Vesta that permits excavation of the HEDs during the formation of the Rheasilvia basin, while remaining consistent with observations from the Dawn mission and most impact models.  相似文献