305 research outputs found
A Call to Action: Examining the Experiences of American Red Cross Disaster Services Volunteers
Disasters come in many forms from natural to technological, and can occur without warning. A disaster causes loss of property, loss of life, and disrupts daily life. In the aftermath of a disaster, there are many organizations that step in to assist those affected. One such organization is the American Red Cross, which trains disaster responders to assist in relief efforts. Disaster services volunteers with Red Cross are trained in a variety of functions, some of which deal more directly with victims of disaster than others. In an effort to understand the unique experiences of volunteers in disaster relief, a series of qualitative interviews were conducted with ten American Red Cross volunteer disaster responders. This study explores how they became interested in volunteering, what they have accomplished since the first time they volunteered for disaster work, what skills they believe they have gained from their work, their perceptions of the persons that they help, and their overall satisfaction with the volunteer experience
Simulation of a flux emergence event and comparison with observations by Hinode
We study the observational signature of flux emergence in the photosphere
using synthetic data from a 3D MHD simulation of the emergence of a twisted
flux tube. Several stages in the emergence process are considered. At every
stage we compute synthetic Stokes spectra of the two iron lines Fe I 6301.5
{\AA} and Fe I 6302.5 {\AA} and degrade the data to the spatial and spectral
resolution of Hinode's SOT/SP. Then, following observational practice, we apply
Milne-Eddington-type inversions to the synthetic spectra in order to retrieve
various atmospheric parameters and compare the results with recent Hinode
observations. During the emergence sequence, the spectral lines sample
different parts of the rising flux tube, revealing its twisted structure. The
horizontal component of the magnetic field retrieved from the simulations is
close to the observed values. The flattening of the flux tube in the
photosphere is caused by radiative cooling, which slows down the ascent of the
tube to the upper solar atmosphere. Consistent with the observations, the
rising magnetized plasma produces a blue shift of the spectral lines during a
large part of the emergence sequence.Comment: A&A Letter, 3 figure
Effect of water volume and water quality on the efficacy of glyphosate on some important weed species in Turkey
The effect of spray water volume and water quality on the performance of three Roundup formulations were investigated in pot experiments to observe whether these factors influence the efficacy of herbicide on three important weed species occurring in Turkey. Sorghum halepense, Cyperus rotundus and Portulaca oleracea were used in the experiments. All Roundup formulations were applied at three different doses with two water volume rates (200 and 600 l/ha) and three different water qualities (clean water, clean water + CaCl2 to simulate hard water and water of Büyük Menderes River). Experiments were carried out at the research station of Adnan Menderes University in the Aydin province of Turkey and replicated twice. Results of the studies showed that the performance of Roundup on weeds was not influenced by herbicide formulation, but significantly affected by water volume as well as water quality. However, the effect of these factors was variable depending on the weed species and the applied herbicide dose. Significant differences were observed mostly at reduced doses more apparently in the case of more sensitive weed species such as P. oleracea and S. halepense. C. rotundus was more tolerant against herbicide so that an influence of investigated factors on the efficacy was observed even with the recommended dose. In general, low volume treatments (200 l/ha) provided significantly higher weed control. Similarly, clean water improved the effectiveness of the herbicide on weeds. These results suggest that using clean spray water and low volume treatments improve the efficacy of glyphosate at the recommended and reduced rates depending on the sensitivities of weed species. Keywords: Cyperus rotundus, formulation, Portulaca oleracea, Sorghum halepenseEinfluss von Wassermenge und -qualität auf die Wirksamkeit von Glyphosat bei wichtigen Unkrautarten in der TürkeiMit Gefäßversuchen wurde der Einfluss von Wassermenge bzw. -qualität auf die Wirksamkeit von drei verschiedenen Roundup-Formulierungen bei wichtigen Unkrautarten in der Türkei untersucht. Sorghum halepense, Cyperus rotundus und Portulaca oleracea wurden bei den Experimenten verwendet. Alle Formulierungen wurden mit drei Aufwandmengen aufgebracht, jede mit 2 verschiedenen Wassermengen (200 und 600 l/ha) und bei drei verschiedenen Wasserqualitäten (reines Wasser, reines Wasser + CaCl2, um die Wasserhärte zu steigern, und Wasser aus dem Büyük Menderes Fluss). Die Versuche wurden am Forschungszentrum der Adnan Menderes Universität in Aydin, Türkei, durchgeführt und zweimal wiederholt. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass die Wirksamkeit von Roundup auf die Unkräuter nicht von der Formulierung beeinflusst wurde, aber der Einfluss von Wassermenge bzw. -qualität war signifikant. Jedoch waren die Einflüsse dieser Faktoren von der Unkrautart bzw. von den Aufwandmengen abhängig. Erhebliche Unterschiede wurden bei den reduzierten Aufwandmengen und bei den sensitiveren Arten beobachtet, wie z. B. P. oleracea und S. halepense. C. rotundus war gegenüber dem Herbizid unempfindlicher, so dass die untersuchten Faktoren sogar bei den empfohlenen Aufwandmengen keine Unterschiede der Wirkung verursachten. Im Allgemeinen lieferten Behandlungen mit niedriger Wassermenge signifikant höhere Bekämpfungsgrade. Reines Wasser erhöhte ebenfalls die Wirkung des Herbizids auf die Unkräuter. Aus diesen Ergebnissen geht hervor, dass die Wirksamkeit von Glyphosat bei Anwendung mit reinem Spritzwasser und verringertem Wasseraufwand bei den empfohlenen bzw. reduzierten Aufwandmengen in Abhängigkeit von der Empfindlichkeit der Unkrautarten verbessert wird.Stichwörter: Cyperus rotundus, Formulierung, Portulaca oleracea, Sorghum halepens
Multilingual Word Sense Induction to Improve Web Search Result Clustering
In [12] a novel approach to Web search result clustering based on Word Sense Induction, i.e. the automatic discovery of word senses from raw text was presented; key to the proposed approach is the idea of, first, automatically in- ducing senses for the target query and, second, clustering the search results based on their semantic similarity to the word senses induced. In [1] we proposed an innovative Word Sense Induction method based on multilingual data; key to our approach was the idea that a multilingual context representation, where the context of the words is expanded by considering its translations in different languages, may im- prove the WSI results; the experiments showed a clear per- formance gain. In this paper we give some preliminary ideas to exploit our multilingual Word Sense Induction method to Web search result clustering
The Horizontal Component of Photospheric Plasma Flows During the Emergence of Active Regions on the Sun
The dynamics of horizontal plasma flows during the first hours of the
emergence of active region magnetic flux in the solar photosphere have been
analyzed using SOHO/MDI data. Four active regions emerging near the solar limb
have been considered. It has been found that extended regions of Doppler
velocities with different signs are formed in the first hours of the magnetic
flux emergence in the horizontal velocity field. The flows observed are
directly connected with the emerging magnetic flux; they form at the beginning
of the emergence of active regions and are present for a few hours. The Doppler
velocities of flows observed increase gradually and reach their peak values
4-12 hours after the start of the magnetic flux emergence. The peak values of
the mean (inside the +/-500 m/s isolines) and maximum Doppler velocities are
800-970 m/s and 1410-1700 m/s, respectively. The Doppler velocities observed
substantially exceed the separation velocities of the photospheric magnetic
flux outer boundaries. The asymmetry was detected between velocity structures
of leading and following polarities. Doppler velocity structures located in a
region of leading magnetic polarity are more powerful and exist longer than
those in regions of following polarity. The Doppler velocity asymmetry between
the velocity structures of opposite sign reaches its peak values soon after the
emergence begins and then gradually drops within 7-12 hours. The peak values of
asymmetry for the mean and maximal Doppler velocities reach 240-460 m/s and
710-940 m/s, respectively. An interpretation of the observable flow of
photospheric plasma is given.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables. The results of article were presented
at the ESPM-13 (12-16 September 2011, Rhodes, Greece, Abstract Book p. 102,
P.4.12,
http://astro.academyofathens.gr/espm13/documents/ESPM13_abstract_programme_book.pdf
The Relationship Between Plasma Flow Doppler Velocities and Magnetic Field Parameters During the Emergence of Active Regions at the Solar Photospheric Level
A statistical study has been carried out of the relationship between plasma
flow Doppler velocities and magnetic field parameters during the emergence of
active regions at the solar photospheric level with data acquired by the
Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
(SOHO). We have investigated 224 emerging active regions with different spatial
scales and positions on the solar disc. The following relationships for the
first hours of the emergence of active regions have been analysed: i) of peak
negative Doppler velocities with the position of the emerging active regions on
the solar disc; ii) of peak plasma upflow and downflow Doppler velocities with
the magnetic flux growth rate and magnetic field strength for the active
regions emerging near the solar disc centre (the vertical component of plasma
flows); iii) of peak positive and negative Doppler velocities with the magnetic
flux growth rate and magnetic field strength for the active regions emerging
near the limb (the horizontal component of plasma flows); iv) of the magnetic
flux growth rate with the density of emerging magnetic flux; v) of the Doppler
velocities and magnetic field parameters for the first hours of the appearance
of active regions with the total unsigned magnetic flux at the maximum of their
development.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures. The results of article were presented at the
ESPM-13 (12-16 September 2011, Rhodes, Greece, Abstract Book p. 102-103,
P.4.13,
http://astro.academyofathens.gr/espm13/documents/ESPM13_abstract_programme_book.pdf
A prospective cohort study of dietary patterns of non-western migrants in the Netherlands in relation to risk factors for cardiovascular diseases: HELIUS-Dietary Patterns
Magnetic flux emergence in granular convection: Radiative MHD simulations and observational signatures
We study the emergence of magnetic flux from the near-surface layers of the
solar convection zone into the photosphere. To model magnetic flux emergence,
we carried out a set of numerical radiative magnetohydrodynamics simulations.
Our simulations take into account the effects of compressibility, energy
exchange via radiative transfer, and partial ionization in the equation of
state. All these physical ingredients are essential for a proper treatment of
the problem. Furthermore, the inclusion of radiative transfer allows us to
directly compare the simulation results with actual observations of emerging
flux. We find that the interaction between the magnetic flux tube and the
external flow field has an important influence on the emergent morphology of
the magnetic field. Depending on the initial properties of the flux tube (e.g.
field strength, twist, entropy etc.), the emergence process can also modify the
local granulation pattern. The emergence of magnetic flux tubes with a flux of
Mx disturbs the granulation and leads to the transient appearance of
a dark lane, which is coincident with upflowing material. These results are
consistent with observed properties of emerging magnetic flux.Comment: To appear in A&
Structural Invariance of Sunspot Umbrae Over the Solar Cycle: 1993-2004
Measurements of maximum magnetic flux, minimum intensity, and size are
presented for 12 967 sunspot umbrae detected on the NASA/NSO
spectromagnetograms between 1993 and 2004 to study umbral structure and
strength during the solar cycle. The umbrae are selected using an automated
thresholding technique. Measured umbral intensities are first corrected for a
confirming observation of umbral limb-darkening. Log-normal fits to the
observed size distribution confirm that the size spectrum shape does not vary
with time. The intensity-magnetic flux relationship is found to be steady over
the solar cycle. The dependence of umbral size on the magnetic flux and minimum
intensity are also independent of cycle phase and give linear and quadratic
relations, respectively. While the large sample size does show a low amplitude
oscillation in the mean minimum intensity and maximum magnetic flux correlated
with the solar cycle, this can be explained in terms of variations in the mean
umbral size. These size variations, however, are small and do not substantiate
a meaningful change in the size spectrum of the umbrae generated by the Sun.
Thus, in contrast to previous reports, the observations suggest the equilibrium
structure, as testified by the invariant size-magnetic field relationship, as
well as the mean size (i.e. strength) of sunspot umbrae do not significantly
depend on solar cycle phase.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures. Published in Solar Physic
Positive words carry less information than negative words
We show that the frequency of word use is not only determined by the word
length \cite{Zipf1935} and the average information content
\cite{Piantadosi2011}, but also by its emotional content. We have analyzed
three established lexica of affective word usage in English, German, and
Spanish, to verify that these lexica have a neutral, unbiased, emotional
content. Taking into account the frequency of word usage, we find that words
with a positive emotional content are more frequently used. This lends support
to Pollyanna hypothesis \cite{Boucher1969} that there should be a positive bias
in human expression. We also find that negative words contain more information
than positive words, as the informativeness of a word increases uniformly with
its valence decrease. Our findings support earlier conjectures about (i) the
relation between word frequency and information content, and (ii) the impact of
positive emotions on communication and social links.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, 3 table
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