Flooding of December 29, 1984 Through January 2, 1985, in Northern New York State, With Flood Profiles of the Black and Salmon Rivers

Precipitation, snowmelt, and resultant flooding throughout northern New York from December 28 through January 2, 1985, were investigated through a detailed analysis of 56 precipitation stations, 101 stage and/or discharge gaging stations, and 9 miscellaneous measurement sites. Flood damage to property and roads and bridges exceeded $5 million. Lewis and Oswego Counties were declared Federal disaster areas, primarily a result of flooding of the Black River and Salmon River. Storm-precipitation and runoff maps show the storms \u27 greatest intensity to have been over the Tug Hill and southwest Adirondack areas. Total rainfall from December 28 through January 2 was 6.90 inches at Stillwater Reservoir but only 0.69 inches at Lake Placid. New peak discharges of record occurred at 17 gaging stations throughout northern New York, and the maximum discharge at 17 sites had recurrence intervals equal to or greater than 100 years. Computed inflows to 11 major lakes and reservoirs in northern New York indicate that significant volumes of water (as much as 5 inches of storm runoff at Stillwater Reservoir) were stored during the storm-runoff period. Maximum 1-day flood volumes at two gaging stations on the Black River had recurrence intervals greater than 100 years. To help evaluate the extent of flooding, 67 floodmarks were obtained along a 94-mile reach of the Black River from Dexter to Forestport, and several floodmarks were surveyed within major communities along the Salmon River. The floodmarks were obtained primarily near major bridges and dams along these rivers. (Author \u27s abstract

Determinants of Quality of Life in Women with Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review

The morbidity and mortality rates associated with breast cancer are a major public health concern globally. The resulting impairment in the patients’ quality of life (QOL) affects their health, symptoms, and well-being in physical, social, psychological, environmental, and sexual functioning. The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature addressing the determinants of QOL in breast cancer patients. A search of 6 electronic medical databases was undertaken. Employing a rigorous systematic protocol, eligible articles were analyzed and a total of 22 studies that met all eligibility criteria were included in the systematic review. The total sample size was 7,041 women ranging from 30 to 66 years. The determinants of QOL were found to cluster into 10 areas. These include the degree of pain, type and stage of cancer treatment, medical health, cognitive and behavioural factors, emotional health, physical activity and appearance, social factors, age and menopausal status, education and employment status, and ethnicity and religion. The types of breast cancer treatment and psychological parameters were the most common determinants of QOL in breast cancer patients. These insights can help formulate proactive interventions that can be used by patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals to build protective capacities and alleviate challenges to ensure superior quality of life in women with breast cancer

Experimental research activity on additive manufacturing of microwave passive waveguide components

All metal passive waveguide components are key building-blocks of several RF systems used for telecommunications, navigation, imaging, radio-astronomy, and cosmology. The accurate manufacture of these devices in Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies can open the way to a high integration level of microwave functionalities with a significant cost and mass reduction. In the paper, after an introduction on the most common AM technologies with particular detail on selective laser melting (SLM) and stereo-lithography apparatus (SLA) processes, the results on the on-going research activity are discussed. Measured performances are reported for AM prototypes of Ku/K/Ka-band rectangular and circular waveguide lines, microwave filters and a smooth wall horn

Removable Thin Films used for the Abatement and Mitigation of Beryllium

The use of removable thin films for the abatement of hazardous particulates has many advantages. Removable thin films are designed to trap and fix particulates in the film's matrix by adhesion. Thin films can be applied to an existing contaminated area to fix and capture the particulates for removal. The nature of the removable thin films, after sufficient cure time, is such that it can typically be removed as one continuous entity. The removable thin films can be applied to almost any surface type with a high success rate of removal

Maternal dietary fatty acid intake during pregnancy and the risk of preclinical and clinical type 1 diabetes in the offspring.

The aim of the present study was to examine the associations between the maternal intake of fatty acids during pregnancy and the risk of preclinical and clinical type 1 diabetes in the offspring. The study included 4887 children with human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-conferred type 1 diabetes susceptibility born during the years 1997-2004 from the Finnish Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention Study. Maternal diet was assessed with a validated FFQ. The offspring were observed at 3- to 12-month intervals for the appearance of type 1 diabetes-associated autoantibodies and development of clinical type 1 diabetes (average follow-up period: 4·6 years (range 0·5-11·5 years)). Altogether, 240 children developed preclinical type 1 diabetes and 112 children developed clinical type 1 diabetes. Piecewise linear log-hazard survival model and Cox proportional-hazards regression were used for statistical analyses. The maternal intake of palmitic acid (hazard ratio (HR) 0·82, 95 % CI 0·67, 0·99) and high consumption of cheese during pregnancy (highest quarter v. intermediate half HR 0·52, 95 % CI 0·31, 0·87) were associated with a decreased risk of clinical type 1 diabetes. The consumption of sour milk products (HR 1·14, 95 % CI 1·02, 1·28), intake of protein from sour milk (HR 1·15, 95 % CI 1·02, 1·29) and intake of fat from fresh milk (HR 1·43, 95 % CI 1·04, 1·96) were associated with an increased risk of preclinical type 1 diabetes, and the intake of low-fat margarines (HR 0·67, 95 % CI 0·49, 0·92) was associated with a decreased risk. No conclusive associations between maternal fatty acid intake or food consumption during pregnancy and the development of type 1 diabetes in the offspring were detected

Maternal Risk of Breeding Failure Remained Low throughout the Demographic Transitions in Fertility and Age at First Reproduction in Finland

Radical declines in fertility and postponement of first reproduction during the recent human demographic transitions have posed a challenge to interpreting human behaviour in evolutionary terms. This challenge has stemmed from insufficient evolutionary insight into individual reproductive decision-making and the rarity of datasets recording individual long-term reproductive success throughout the transitions. We use such data from about 2,000 Finnish mothers (first births: 1880s to 1970s) to show that changes in the maternal risk of breeding failure (no offspring raised to adulthood) underlay shifts in both fertility and first reproduction. With steady improvements in offspring survival, the expected fertility required to satisfy a low risk of breeding failure became lower and observed maternal fertility subsequently declined through an earlier age at last reproduction. Postponement of the age at first reproduction began when this risk approximated zero–even for mothers starting reproduction late. Interestingly, despite vastly differing fertility rates at different stages of the transitions, the number of offspring successfully raised to breeding per mother remained relatively constant over the period. Our results stress the importance of assessing the long-term success of reproductive strategies by including measures of offspring quality and suggest that avoidance of breeding failure may explain several key features of recent life-history shifts in industrialized societies

Characteristic Mode Analysis of Multi-Octave Asymmetric Dipoles

This paper discusses the impedance and front-to-back ratio performance of asymmetric dipoles. These parameters are very important when the antennas are placed over a conductive ground plane and should operate over multi-octave frequency bands. The operation of these antennas is usually described relying on analogies with more classical structures such as symmetric dipoles and tapered slot antennas. To provide a solid theoretical background to this intuition, this work presents the application of characteristic mode analysis to multi-octave dipole antennas. Firstly, a brief review of the main characteristic mode content is presented. Then, characteristic mode analysis is applied to three antenna concepts to emphasize how their geometry impacts on the relevant figures of merit. This allows to draw some conclusions on the achievable performance by different designs

Rescue leadless pacemaker implantation in a pacemaker-dependent patient with congenital heart disease and no alternative routes for pacing

Congenital heart disease patients are considered a unique group of patients regarding their high risk of conduction abnormalities, whether de novo or surgically induced, and the challenges in both implantation and management of device related complications. We present a case of a pacemaker-dependent patient with congenital heart disease who experienced complications of both previous epicardial and transvenous pacing which rendered her a non-suitable candidate of both routes

Altruism and sacrifice : mafia free gift giving in south Italy

As a social phenomenon that torments modern states, mafia receives considerable political and legal attention. The term mafia itself is often directly related to criminality and violence. Thus far violence has been employed as an analytical construct that could explain compliance with the mafia ethos. Nevertheless this schema fails to take into consideration possible discourses that make mafia tolerable. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in Reggio Calabria, South Italy, this paper explores distinctive mafia notions of giving and charity. Mafia free gifts, albeit rare, are paradoxical in the sense that through elaborate speech registers both the donor and the recipient debase the very act of gift-giving so as not to be bound in relations of reciprocity and obligation. These mafia gifts, which have so far escaped anthropological attention, are conceptualised as tropes of worldly imagining aspiring to non-worldly discourses. Status, umiltà, duty and sacrifice frame free gifting as accorded to the overt religious rhetoric of mafia hierarchy. In this paper I argue that a) free gifting embraces a series of complex non-violent discourses which relate closely to religious duty and altruism but work alongside capitalist systems b) in principal these gifts do not bind people, yet are imbued with the potential of a relation.PostprintPeer reviewe

Cork : properties, capabilities and applications

Cork is a natural, renewable, sustainable raw material that has been used for many centuries. As a result of this very long term interest, the scientific literature on cork is extensive. The present review focuses on the chemical composition, physical and mechanical properties of cork and on its products and sub-products. The substantial efforts to fully characterise cork, as well as new developments and evolving research, are reviewed, beginning with its histology, growth and morphology (at macro- and microscales). The chemical structure is analysed in detail, covering both the materials that form the wall structure and the low molecular weight, extractable components. The unique properties of cork are discussed and correlated with current knowledge on morphology and chemical structure. Finally, the important industrial applications of cork are reviewed, in the context of research to provide cork with novel, high added-value applications