9,412 research outputs found

    Dynamic allometry in coastal overwash morphology

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    Allometry refers to a physical principle in which geometric (and/or metabolic) characteristics of an object or organism are correlated to its size. Allometric scaling relationships typically manifest as power laws. In geomorphic contexts, scaling relationships are a quantitative signature of organization, structure, or regularity in a landscape, even if the mechanistic processes responsible for creating such a pattern are unclear. Despite the ubiquity and variety of scaling relationships in physical landscapes, the emergence and development of these relationships tend to be difficult to observe - either because the spatial and/or temporal scales over which they evolve are so great or because the conditions that drive them are so dangerous (e.g. an extreme hazard event). Here, we use a physical experiment to examine dynamic allometry in overwash morphology along a model coastal barrier. We document the emergence of a canonical scaling law for length versus area in overwash deposits (washover). Comparing the experimental features, formed during a single forcing event, to 5 decades of change in real washover morphology from the Ria Formosa barrier system, in southern Portugal, we find differences between patterns of morphometric change at the event scale versus longer timescales. Our results may help inform and test process-based coastal morphodynamic models, which typically use statistical distributions and scaling laws to underpin empirical or semi-empirical parameters at fundamental levels of model architecture. More broadly, this work dovetails with theory for landscape evolution more commonly associated with fluvial and alluvial terrain, offering new evidence from a coastal setting that a landscape may reflect characteristics associated with an equilibrium or steady-state condition even when features within that landscape do not.Funding Agency NERC Natural Environment Research Council NE/N015665/2 Leverhulme Trust RPG-2018-282info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    Investigation of line-of-sight propagation in dense atmosphere, phase 2 Final report, Jun. 1970 - Feb. 1971

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    Effect of microwave absorption and decimetric radio noise in Jovian atmospheres on radio communication in 1 to 10 GHz frequency ban

    Copyright law has become an exclusive system centred around economic exploitation that now serves to discourage creativity – A proposal for reform with a focus on the music industry.

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    This thesis argues that copyright law, in both the United Kingdom and the United States, has become predominantly focused on creating and maintaining and creating new and pre-existing legal interests for economic exploitation. The early eighteenth century aims of copyright law, as put forward by the legislatures, courts, and academics, were not predicated solely on the protection of owners interests. Instead, upon exploration, copyright has moved away from its original objectives such as the dissemination of information and the improvement of learning, and instead has created an environment of exclusive control to procure increased profits in the digital age. This is considered to be inappropriate in the digital era as content recipients now have an increased capacity to creatively re-use digital content in the production of unique and innovative works. The result of these developments has been the creation of an environment of panoptic surveillance and digital licensing that is discouraging creativity based on proprietary rights. This has meant that potential creators and recipients obtain needless licenses, clearances, and permissions under an impulse to avoid the litigation process for either copyright infringement or contractual breaches to avoid legal liability. Ultimately, there has been an emphasis on the control of works, as opposed to creativity, where digital technology and the application of copyright thereof is being utilised by copyright owners, who can avoid the due process of law under the current law. Indeed, the protection of right holder interests can reasonably be said to be analogous to encouraging creativity, but it is suggested that in the digital environment this assumption is perpetuating current business models at the expense of user freedom and creativity. This thesis argues that copyright has been fundamental to creating the current system due to the way it operates in the digital world. To do so, the thesis considers how the internet created new forms of dissemination that were extremely difficult to control with the law and how these same factors represented an economic and ideological challenge to the music industry. To this end, the thesis analyses the role of capitalism and proprietary rights in the development of the current system. This includes how copyright law has influenced the development of the current streaming business model using digital contracts via licensing. The extent to which licenses are now serving to increase the control that copyright holders can exert over their works and the potential for contract to restrict re-use is also considered. The thesis, therefore, suggests that these issues would be reduced if there was a more cost-efficient copyright regime that could increase individual access to the material. This also includes using specific legislation to counteract the issue of contracts in the digital marketplace. To achieve this, the thesis outlines reform proposals which embody the foundational underpinnings behind the creation and existence of copyright like the dissemination of information. This could be achieved through driving down prices which are predicted to create a more financially accessible system. The proposals will also recommend the outlawing of agreements which prevent the application, or otherwise obscure the enforcement, of legitimate copyright limitations. This will be done to the effect that the reforms are still applicable under the agreement. However, this will not affect individual contractual enforceability, except where the terms of the agreement act to otherwise prevent the enforceability of the reforms. As a result, the reforms recognise the underlying principle that copyright is fundamentally a property right. Ultimately, the aim is to lessen the overt focus upon economic exploitation and enhance the transferability of digital assets by freeing up some of the constraints through creating more financially accessible works and limiting the impact of contracts. In so doing, the thesis proposes a ‘capping’ system that places a ‘cap’ on what can be charged for a work. The basic tenet of this system is: (The size of the work) = (The maximum price it can be market for until (x) number of copies/amount are/is sold in accordance with the figure imposed by the capping system). Under the proposed system, rightsholders and distributors will have to declare the accuracy of their numbers under a formal system of registration. Then, once the qualifying (number/amount/duration) of (works) have been sold/licensed in accordance with the rules imposed by the guidelines provided: the work can be sold/licensed at a rate chosen by the owner. If there is a conflict where, for example, a work is otherwise contended to be outside of the regulation of the proposed framework, for whatever reason, it will be for an administrative body to adjudicate on such issues. This system aims to reduce costs overall within copyright which could increase the number of works available due to increased financial accessibility, including the prevention of any undermining by contract. The current copyright systems, based around economic exploitation and proprietary-based exclusivity, have become too influenced by these factors. Recognising this, the proposed system adopts elements from all the factors that have contributed to the creation of the current system. The revised system seeks to lessen the focus on the exploitation of copyrighted goods, by regulating the sale, and re-use, of works. Therefore, the proposals aim to provide a framework that could reduce prices overall and will have an effect beyond enforcement. This will be done by working with capitalism to provide a practical basis towards dealing with the issues raised in the thesis to procure more accepted change. The law is correct as on 10th July 2020

    Erythropoietic protoporphyria

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    Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73642/1/j.1537-2995.2004.04058.x.pd

    Heavy metal toxicity as a kill mechanism in impact caused mass extinctions

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    Heavy metals that are known to be toxic exist in carbonaceous chrondrites at abundances considerably in excess to that of the terrestrial crust. An impactor of relatively undifferentiated cosmic matter would inject into the terrestrial environment large quantities of toxic elements. The abundances of toxic metals found in the Allende CV carbonaceous chondrite and the ratio of meteoritic abundance to crustal abundance are: Cr, 3630 PPM, 30X; Co, 662 PPM, 23X; ni, 13300 PPm, 134X; se, 8.2 PPM, 164X; Os, 0.828 PPM, 166X. The resulting areal density for global dispersal of impactor derived heavy metals and their dilution with terrestrial ejecta are important factors in the determination of the significance of impactor heavy metal toxicity as a kill mechanism in impact caused mass extinctions. A 10 km-diameter asteroid having a density of 3 gram per cu cm would yield a global areal density of impact dispersed chondritic material of 3 kg per square meter. The present areal density of living matter on the terrestrial land surface is 1 kg per square meter. Dilution of impactor material with terrestrial ejecta is determined by energetics, with the mass of ejecta estimated to be in the range of 10 to 100 times that of the mass of the impactor. Because a pelagic impact would be the most likely case, the result would be a heavy metal rainout

    A question of journalism ethics

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    Nontransfusion hazards of autologous blood donation

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    Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72837/1/j.1537-2995.2001.41010152.x.pd

    The Ghana Report

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    https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/crs_books/1592/thumbnail.jp

    Cylindrical Algebraic Sub-Decompositions

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    Cylindrical algebraic decompositions (CADs) are a key tool in real algebraic geometry, used primarily for eliminating quantifiers over the reals and studying semi-algebraic sets. In this paper we introduce cylindrical algebraic sub-decompositions (sub-CADs), which are subsets of CADs containing all the information needed to specify a solution for a given problem. We define two new types of sub-CAD: variety sub-CADs which are those cells in a CAD lying on a designated variety; and layered sub-CADs which have only those cells of dimension higher than a specified value. We present algorithms to produce these and describe how the two approaches may be combined with each other and the recent theory of truth-table invariant CAD. We give a complexity analysis showing that these techniques can offer substantial theoretical savings, which is supported by experimentation using an implementation in Maple.Comment: 26 page
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