TIME FOR A COAST GUARD OPERATING CONCEPT

The Coast Guard is a military service whose role is broader, and less defined, than other services, since it encompasses military missions, law enforcement, search and rescue, marine safety and other statutory missions. The Navy’s role is to attain command of the seas, the Army’s to occupy and hold land in support of national objectives, the Air Force's to attain air supremacy, the Space Force's to attain space supremacy, and the Marine Corps' to project power from the sea in support of naval strategy and national objectives. These services have a culture that is best adapted to conventional, high-end, nation-state conflict, and while they fight unconventionally when necessary, the institutional preference is for conventional conflict. Despite instances throughout history where these services regularly conduct Phase 0 (shaping the operational environment) theater cooperation, partner building, and humanitarian/disaster relief operations, these activities are nested within a military culture focused on national defense. Coast Guard capabilities focused on stability are underutilized in the Joint Force construct, which spreads stabilization efforts across the services despite their focus on conventional nation-state conflict.Commander, United States Coast GuardApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

Procedura automatica per lo studio dei segnali registrati da una stazione tiltmetrica

La Tiltmetria costituisce un metodo di misura in continuo della deformazione del suolo attraverso il monitoraggio delle variazioni di inclinazione nel tempo sia in ampiezza che in direzione ed è particolarmente utilizzata nelle aree vulcaniche e sismogenetiche attive [Wyatt et al., 1988; Ricco et al., 1991; Ricco et al., 2000; Ricco et al., 2003; Ricco et al., 2007]. La rete tiltmetrica gestita dalla Sezione Osservatorio Vesuviano dell’ INGV è composta da 7 stazioni in registrazione continua ai Campi Flegrei, 5 delle quali (DMA, DMB, DMC, BAI ed OLB) sono equipaggiate con sensori di superficie e 2 (OLB e TOI) anche con sensori borehole; al Vesuvio invece esistono 2 stazioni con sensori di superficie (OVO e CMD) (fig. 1) [Aquino et al., 2006]

Ground tilt monitoring at Phlegraean Fields (Italy): a methodological approach

Among geodetic methods used for monitoring ground deformation in volcanic areas, tiltmetry represents the most rapid technique and therefore it is used by almost all the volcanological observatories in the world. The deformation of volcanic building is not only the result of endogenous causes (i.e. dykes injection or magma rising), but also non-tectonic environmental factors. Such troubles cannot be removed completely but they can be reduce. This article outlines the main source of errors affecting the signals recorded by Phlegraean tilt, network, such as the dependence of the tilt response on temperature and to the thermoelastic effect on ground deformation. The analytical procedure used to evaluate about such errors and their reduction is explained. An application to data acquired from the tilt network during two distinct phases of ground uplift and subsidence of the Phlegraean Fields is reported

Common features between neoplastic and preneoplastic lesions of the biliary tract and the pancreas

The bile duct system and pancreas show many similarities due to their anatomical proximity and common embryological origin. Consequently, preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions of the bile duct and pancreas share analogies in terms of molecular, histological and pathophysiological features. Intraepithelial neoplasms are reported in biliary tract, as biliary intraepithelial neoplasm (BilIN), and in pancreas, as pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasm (PanIN). Both can evolve to invasive carcinomas, respectively cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Intraductal papillary neoplasms arise in biliary tract and pancreas. Intraductal papillary neoplasm of the biliary tract (IPNB) share common histologic and phenotypic features such as pancreatobiliary, gastric, intestinal and oncocytic types, and biological behavior with the pancreatic counterpart, the intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm of the pancreas (IPMN). All these neoplastic lesions exhibit similar immunohistochemical phenotypes, suggesting a common carcinogenic process. Indeed, CCA and PDAC display similar clinic-pathological features as growth pattern, poor response to conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy and, as a consequence, an unfavorable prognosis. The objective of this review is to discuss similarities and differences between the neoplastic lesions of the pancreas and biliary tract with potential implications on a common origin from similar stem/progenitor cells

Monitoraggio geodetico dell’area vulcanica napoletana: risultati della livellazione geometrica di precisione eseguita ai Campi Flegrei a settembre 2008

Lo studio ed ilmonitoraggio deimovimenti verticali del suolo ai Campi Flegrei (Italy) sono effettuati con continuità da oltre 30 anni, operando su linee di livellazioni preesistenti istituite e/o ampliate da vari Enti a partire dal 1905 (IGM, Genio Civile e lo stesso INGV- NA Oss. Vesuviano). Attraverso i dati rilevati dal 1970 ad oggi sono state acquisite molte informazioni sulla deformazione del suolo durante le varie fasi di bradisismo discendente e ascendente ed attualmente si dispone di un importante data-base che può essere integrato con i risultati ottenuti dalle altre metodologie geodetiche. In questa nota presentiamo i risultati della campagna di livellazione geometrica di precisione eseguita su alcuni tratti della rete altimetrica dei Campi Flegrei nel Settembre 2008. Dopo la fase di lento sollevamento, iniziata nel 2004 e culminata alla fine del 2006 con un valore massimo di 55 mm rilevato a Pozzuoli (Lungomare Pertini) al caposaldo n. 23, nell’area flegrea è ripresa una fase di lenta subsidenza caratterizzata da una evidente decelerazione durante il 2008 rispetto all’anno precedente. Per delineare meglio e dettagliare l’attuale fase del bradisismo flegreo, si è ritenuto utile effettuare il confronto tra i dati altimetrici acquisiti nelle ultime 3 campagne (2006, 2007 e 2008) da cui è emersa una evidente disomogeneità del campo di spostamento verticale osservato

A novel ultrafast-low-dose computed tomography protocol allows concomitant coronary artery evaluation and lung cancer screening

BACKGROUND:Cardiac computed tomography (CT) is often performed in patients who are at high risk for lung cancer in whom screening is currently recommended. We tested diagnostic ability and radiation exposure of a novel ultra-low-dose CT protocol that allows concomitant coronary artery evaluation and lung screening. METHODS: We studied 30 current or former heavy smoker subjects with suspected or known coronary artery disease who underwent CT assessment of both coronary arteries and thoracic area (Revolution CT, General Electric). A new ultrafast-low-dose single protocol was used for ECG-gated helical acquisition of the heart and the whole chest. A single IV iodine bolus (70-90 ml) was used. All patients with CT evidence of coronary stenosis underwent also invasive coronary angiography. RESULTS: All the coronary segments were assessable in 28/30 (93%) patients. Only 8 coronary segments were not assessable in 2 patients due to motion artefacts (assessability: 98%; 477/485 segments). In the assessable segments, 20/21 significant stenoses (> 70% reduction of vessel diameter) were correctly diagnosed. Pulmonary nodules were detected in 5 patients, thus requiring to schedule follow-up surveillance CT thorax. Effective dose was 1.3 ± 0.9 mSv (range: 0.8-3.2 mSv). Noteworthy, no contrast or radiation dose increment was required with the new protocol as compared to conventional coronary CT protocol. CONCLUSIONS:The novel ultrafast-low-dose CT protocol allows lung cancer screening at time of coronary artery evaluation. The new approach might enhance the cost-effectiveness of coronary CT in heavy smokers with suspected or known coronary artery disease

Relation between the spectral properties of wall turbulence and the scaling of the Darcy-Weisbach friction factor

Empirical formulas describing the Darcy-Weisbach friction factor remain indispensable for applications in sciences and engineering dealing with turbulent flows. Despite their practical significance, these formulas have remained without theoretical interpretation for many decades. To close this knowledge gap, much research has been devoted to the development of the so-called "spectral link"introduced in the early 2000s. Such a theory is entirely based on elegant phenomenological arguments that make no contact with equations describing turbulent wall flows. The spectral link spawned alternative approaches, now labeled "cospectral budget"(or CSB) models, that describe how turbulent eddies contribute to wall stresses. The CSB overcomes some of the shortcomings of the phenomenological approach and is here employed to provide a thorough clarification of the link between spectral properties of velocity fluctuations and the scaling of friction factors in turbulent pipe flows in the hydraulically smooth and fully rough regimes

Zero sound in a single component fermion - Bose Einstein Condensate mixture

The resonant dynamics of mediated interactions supports zero-sound in a cold atom degenerate mixture of a single component fermion gas and a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). We characterize the onset of instability in the phase separation of an unstable mixture and we find a rich collective mode structure for stable mixtures with one undamped mode that exhibits an avoided crossing and a Landau-damped mode that terminates.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

A study of tilt change recorded from July to October 2006 at the Phlegraean Fields (Naples, Italy)

The tiltmetric dataset of Phlegraean Fields area showed a discrete correlation with the volcanic dynamics, suggesting that tiltmetric monitoring is important for the surveillance of active volcanic areas. Tilt data recorded in 2006 at 2 stations belonging to the monitoring network of the Osservatorio Vesuviano (INGV, National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology, Italy) in the Phlegraean Fields are discussed in this paper. The acquired signals have shown a strong tiltmetric inversion that took place from the end of July 2006. After correcting tilt variations to eliminate the influence of temperature (influencing 90% of the signal at OLB station, hereafter OLB) a significant value of the tilt still remains. This change is related to a local inflation episode lasting 3 months, during an unrest phase that started 2 years before. It is interesting to note that tilt amplitude is much greater at OLB than the slope of the displacement field predicted by the theoretical inflation models, but data show that this field is not homogeneous and in some areas very tilted. Moreover, in the last days before the end of tilt inversion, a low energy seismic swarm happened at about 1 km of distance from the tiltmetric station by hundreds of VT (Volcano-Tectonics) and LP (Long-Period) events