The earliest mention of a black bag.

A black bag, needed especially for home visits, has been used since the time of Hippocrates who, in his treatise "On good manners", gave the first detailed description of a medical bag with guidelines for the required equipment and structure. Ancient Egyptian and Palestinian references also date back at least two millenniums

Foraging ecology of male Cerulean Warblers and other Neotropical migrants

Understanding foraging ecology provides insight into species resource requirements and overall conservation needs. We examined foraging behavior and tree species selection of male Cerulean Warblers (Dendroica cerulea ) (n = 673) in response to varying degrees of habitat disturbance from silvicultural treatments at four study sites in West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio, during the 2006 and 2007 breeding seasons. Cerulean Warblers foraged primarily in the forest canopy, along branch tips by gleaning insects off leaf surfaces, often adjacent to canopy gaps, both pre- and post-harvest. Tree species availability, based on importance values (IV) calculated from density, frequency and basal areas, differed from tree species used for foraging both pre- and post-harvest (p \u3c 0.01). Preferred species included hickory (Carya spp.), sugar maple (Acer saccharum ), and chestnut oak (Quercus prinus), although red oak (Quercus rubra) was strongly avoided. Tree species selection changed little post-harvest in all silvicultural treatments. Aerial foraging increased after harvests. Cerulean Warblers exhibited selection preferences, suggesting, maintaining availability of preferred tree species is important for management of Cerulean Warbler populations.;Species resource requirements are an important component of habitat selection. We investigated foraging ecology and tree species selection of five Neotropical migrant species (n = 679); American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla ), Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia), Hooded Warbler (Wilsonia citrine), Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus), and Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea) at three study sites in West Virginia during breeding seasons of 2006 and 2007. We analyzed influences of habitat disturbance from silvicultural treatments implemented during the non-breeding season between years. Tree species availability, based on importance values (IV) calculated from relative density, frequency, and basal area, differed from tree species used for foraging pre and post-treatment. Species varied in their preferred maneuver types and degree of tree species selectivity. Aerial maneuvers increased post-treatment for all species except Black-and-white Warblers. At the guild level, sugar maples were preferred and red oaks were avoided. Tree species selection changed little post-harvest. Red-eyed Vireos and post-harvest American Redstarts exhibited significant tree species selection preferences (P \u3c 0.05) although Scarlet Tanagers were near-significant in tree species selection (P = 0.06).;Foraging ecology studies could be biased due to disparity in initial detection probabilities of foraging birds among tree species or foraging behaviors because it might be easier to detect a foraging bird when it is in certain tree species, lower in the canopy, or using aerial foraging maneuvers. Our study investigated whether the initial foraging observation is biased based on 1521 paired, single-point foraging observations for six species of arboreal foraging Neotropical migrants in two study sites in West Virginia and one in Kentucky in 2006 and 2007. We did not detect a significant difference in tree species used for foraging between the initial and second foraging observation (P ≥ 0.62). Foraging maneuvers and foraging height generally were not significantly different (P ≥ 0.09) between the two foraging observations for the six avian species tested. We conclude that the initial detection of foraging birds would not have a major influence on interpretation of foraging substrate or behavioral preferences

Alexandre Yersin's explorations (1892-1894) in French Indochina before the discovery of the plague bacillus.

Alexandre Yersin, the great French discoverer of yersinia pestis, was a keen explorer of unknown lands. At the age of 30, a member of the French Colonial Health service, he set off to fulfil his intimate dream and explore other continents. For almost two years and three long expeditions, he journeyed through widely unknown regions in the province of the French Indochina, in southeast Asia, territories of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. This article presents vignettes from his explorations. During his difficult travels, he carefully planned and noted his itineraries; designed new routes, but also observed and recorded sociodemographic and environmental data and unidentified diseases. The immature science of late 19th century geography had the strength to allure such an influential medical figure and place him among the early medical geographers. His journeys, observations and recordings brought to Yersin great experience, and he made his most important scientific contributions after he had concluded his explorations

Multiresolution analysis in statistical mechanics. I. Using wavelets to calculate thermodynamic properties

The wavelet transform, a family of orthonormal bases, is introduced as a technique for performing multiresolution analysis in statistical mechanics. The wavelet transform is a hierarchical technique designed to separate data sets into sets representing local averages and local differences. Although one-to-one transformations of data sets are possible, the advantage of the wavelet transform is as an approximation scheme for the efficient calculation of thermodynamic and ensemble properties. Even under the most drastic of approximations, the resulting errors in the values obtained for average absolute magnetization, free energy, and heat capacity are on the order of 10%, with a corresponding computational efficiency gain of two orders of magnitude for a system such as a $4\times 4$ Ising lattice. In addition, the errors in the results tend toward zero in the neighborhood of fixed points, as determined by renormalization group theory.Comment: 13 pages plus 7 figures (PNG

Horizontal Mergers: Law, Policy, and Economics

The legality of a horizontal merger under section 7 of the Clayton Act turns on a reckoning of its social costs and benefits. This paper reviews what economics has to say about that reckoning and explores the relationship between economic learning and merger law and policy

Horizontal Mergers: Law, Policy, and Economics

The legality of a horizontal merger under section 7 of the Clayton Act turns on a reckoning of its social costs and benefits. This paper reviews what economics has to say about that reckoning and explores the relationship between economic learning and merger law and policy

Suited for Spacewalking: A Teacher's Guide with Activities for Technology Education, Mathematics, and Science

A Teacher's Guide with Activities for Technology Education, Mathematics, and Science National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Human Resources and Education Education Division Washington, DC Education Working Group NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, Texas This publication is in the Public Domain and is not protected by copyright. Permission is not required for duplication

Near-surface structure of the North Anatolian Fault zone from Rayleigh and Love wave tomography using ambient seismic noise

We use observations of surface waves in the ambient noise field recorded at a dense seismic array to image the North Anatolian Fault zone (NAFZ) in the region of the 1999 magnitude 7.6 Izmit earthquake in western Turkey. The NAFZ is a major strike-slip fault system extending similar to 1200 km across northern Turkey that poses a high level of seismic hazard, particularly to the city of Istanbul. We obtain maps of phase velocity variation using surface wave tomography applied to Rayleigh and Love waves and construct high-resolution images of S-wave velocity in the upper 10 km of a 70 x 30 km region around Lake Sapanca. We observe low S-wave velocities ( 3.2 km s(-1)) associated with a shallow crystalline basement. We measure azimuthal anisotropy in our phase velocity observations, with the fast direction seeming to align with the strike of the fault at periods shorter than 4 s. At longer periods up to 10 s, the fast direction aligns with the direction of maximum extension for the region (similar to 45 degrees). The signatures of both the northern and southern branches of the NAFZ are clearly associated with strong gradients in seismic velocity that also denote the boundaries of major tectonic units. Our results support the conclusion that the development of the NAFZ has exploited this pre-existing contrast in physical properties.Peer reviewe