VP AND VS DETERMINATION OF THE OUTCROPING ROCK UNITS IN THE MERIDA METROPOLITAN AREA, VENEZUELA

Para los alrededores del área metropolitana de Mérida se determinó, mediante sísmica de refracción, las velocidades de propagación de las ondas P (Vp) y S (Vs) en los afloramientos de los distintos tipos de rocas predominantes de las asociaciones Sierra Nevada, Tostos y Mucuchachí, y las formaciones Palmarito, Sabaneta, La Quinta, Aguardiente, La Luna y San Javier. Para los casos de las asociaciones Sierra Nevada y Tostos, la Vs se calculó a partir de la Vp y el coeficiente de Poisson. La extensión de las líneas sísmicas varió de 24 m a 26 m, utilizando en todos los casos 48 geófonos verticales e igual número de horizontales, y como fuente de energía una mandarria. La adquisición de los registros sísmicos fue llevada a cabo directamente sobre los afloramientos, por lo que en los casos de rocas más competentes no se pudo insertar directamente los geófonos, y como medida alternativa se utilizó la técnica de insertarlos en bloques de concreto. Los arribos de las ondas P se obtuvieron de los registros de los geófonos verticales y los de la S (SH) de los horizontales. Los resultados de este trabajo ofrecen, información de las velocidades de las ondas P y S de las principales tipo de roca en superficie, y puede servir de complemento a investigaciones de sísmica profunda.For the predominant rock type of outcrops in the surroundings of the metropolitan area of Mérida city,compressional (Vp) and shear (Vs) wave velocities were determined using seismic refraction. These outcrops correspond to the Sierra Nevada, Tostos, and Mucuchachí Associations, and Palmarito, Sabaneta, La Quinta, Aguardiente, La Luna, and San Javier formations. Vs values for Sierra Nevada and Tostos Associations were estimated from Vp values and laboratory measured Poisson ratio. The length of the seismic lines ranged from 24 m to 26 m, using for all cases 48 vertical geophones and an equal number of horizontal geophones. A sledgehammer was used as energy source. The seismic acquisition was carried out directly from the outcrops. However, for the cases of more competent rocks, the geophones could not be placed directly, so they were inserted in concrete blocks to keep them firm and vertical. The P waves arrivals were obtained via the vertical geophones and the S (SH) waves arrivals were obtained via the horizontal geophones. The results of this investigation offer information of P and S wave velocities of the main surface rock types, which could be useful as complementary data for future deep seismic sounding studies

VP AND VS DETERMINATION OF THE OUTCROPING ROCK UNITS IN THE MERIDA METROPOLITAN AREA, VENEZUELA

Para los alrededores del área metropolitana de Mérida se determinó, mediante sísmica de refracción, las velocidades de propagación de las ondas P (Vp) y S (Vs) en los afloramientos de los distintos tipos de rocas predominantes de las asociaciones Sierra Nevada, Tostos y Mucuchachí, y las formaciones Palmarito, Sabaneta, La Quinta, Aguardiente, La Luna y San Javier. Para los casos de las asociaciones Sierra Nevada y Tostos, la Vs se calculó a partir de la Vp y el coeficiente de Poisson. La extensión de las líneas sísmicas varió de 24 m a 26 m, utilizando en todos los casos 48 geófonos verticales e igual número de horizontales, y como fuente de energía una mandarria. La adquisición de los registros sísmicos fue llevada a cabo directamente sobre los afloramientos, por lo que en los casos de rocas más competentes no se pudo insertar directamente los geófonos, y como medida alternativa se utilizó la técnica de insertarlos en bloques de concreto. Los arribos de las ondas P se obtuvieron de los registros de los geófonos verticales y los de la S (SH) de los horizontales. Los resultados de este trabajo ofrecen, información de las velocidades de las ondas P y S de las principales tipo de roca en superficie, y puede servir de complemento a investigaciones de sísmica profunda.For the predominant rock type of outcrops in the surroundings of the metropolitan area of Mérida city,compressional (Vp) and shear (Vs) wave velocities were determined using seismic refraction. These outcrops correspond to the Sierra Nevada, Tostos, and Mucuchachí Associations, and Palmarito, Sabaneta, La Quinta, Aguardiente, La Luna, and San Javier formations. Vs values for Sierra Nevada and Tostos Associations were estimated from Vp values and laboratory measured Poisson ratio. The length of the seismic lines ranged from 24 m to 26 m, using for all cases 48 vertical geophones and an equal number of horizontal geophones. A sledgehammer was used as energy source. The seismic acquisition was carried out directly from the outcrops. However, for the cases of more competent rocks, the geophones could not be placed directly, so they were inserted in concrete blocks to keep them firm and vertical. The P waves arrivals were obtained via the vertical geophones and the S (SH) waves arrivals were obtained via the horizontal geophones. The results of this investigation offer information of P and S wave velocities of the main surface rock types, which could be useful as complementary data for future deep seismic sounding studies

Effects of Time of Day and Sleep Deprivation on Motorcycle-Driving Performance

The aim of this study was to investigate whether motorcycle handling capabilities – measured by means of the efficiency of emergency manoeuvres – were dependent on prior sleep deprivation and time of day. Twelve male participants voluntarily took part in four test sessions, starting at 6 a.m., 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 6 p.m., following a night either with or without sleep. Each test session comprised temperature and sleepiness measurements, before three different types of motorcycling tests were initiated: (1) stability in straight ahead riding at low speed (in “slow motion” mode and in “brakes and clutch” mode), (2) emergency braking and (3) crash avoidance tasks performed at 20 kph and 40 kph. The results indicate that motorcycle control at low speed depends on time of day, with an improvement in performance throughout the day. Emergency braking performance is affected at both speeds by time of day, with poorer performance (longer total stopping distance, reaction time and braking distance) in the morning, and also by sleep deprivation, from measurements obtained at 40 kph (incorrect initial speed). Except for a tendency observed after the sleepless night to deviate from the initial speed, it seems that crash avoidance capabilities are quite unaffected by the two disturbance factors. Consequently, some motorcycle handling capabilities (stability at low speed and emergency braking) change in the same way as the diurnal fluctuation observed in body temperature and sleepiness, whereas for others (crash avoidance) the participants were able to maintain their initial performance level despite the high levels of sleepiness recorded after a sleepless night. Motorcycle riders have to be aware that their handling capabilities are limited in the early morning and/or after sleep deprivation. Both these situations can increase the risk of falls and of being involved in a road accident

"Compensated hyperosmolarity" of cerebrospinal fluid and the development of hydrocephalus

Acute osmolar loading of cerebrospinal fluid within one lateral ventricle of dogs was examined as a cause of water extraction from the bloodstream and an increase in intracranial pressure. We have shown that a certain amount of 3H2O from the bloodstream enters osmotically loaded cerebrospinal fluid significantly faster, hence causing a significant increase in intracranial pressure. The noted phenomenon in which intracranial pressure still significantly increases, but in which the hyperosmolarity of the cerebrospinal fluid is no longer present, was named "compensated hyperosmolarity". In the case of the sub-chronic application of hyperosmolar solutions into cat ventricles, we observed an increase in cerebrospinal fluid volume and a more pronounced development of hydrocephalus in the area of application, but without significant increase in intracranial pressure and without blockage of cerebrospinal fluid pathways. These results support the newly proposed hypothesis of cerebrospinal fluid hydrodynamics and the ability to develop new strategies for the treatment of cerebrospinal fluid-related diseases. ----- KEYWORDS: CM, CP, CSF, HRP, ICP, ISF, LLV, RLV, SAS, SD, cerebrospinal fluid, cerebrospinal fluid hydrodynamics, cerebrospinal fluid hyperosmolarity, choroid plexus, cisterna magna, horseradish peroxidase, hydrocephalus, interstitial fluid, intracranial pressure, left lateral ventricle, right lateral ventricle, standard deviation, subarachnoid spac

Development of hydrocephalus and classical hypothesis of cerebrospinal fluid hydrodynamics: facts and illusions

According to the classical hypothesis of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) hydrodynamics, CSF is produced inside the brain ventricles, than it circulates like a slow river toward the cortical subarachnoid space, and finally it is absorbed into the venous sinuses. Some pathological conditions, primarily hydrocephalus, have also been interpreted based on this hypothesis. The development of hydrocephalus is explained as an imbalance between CSF formation and absorption, where more CSF is formed than is absorbed, which results in an abnormal increase in the CSF volume inside the cranial CSF spaces. It is believed that the reason for the imbalance is the obstruction of the CSF pathways between the site of CSF formation and the site of its absorption, which diminishes or prevents CSF outflow from the cranium. In spite of the general acceptance of the classical hypothesis, there are a considerable number of experimental results that do not support such a hypothesis and the generally accepted pathophysiology of hydrocephalus. A recently proposed new working hypothesis suggests that osmotic and hydrostatic forces at the central nervous system microvessels are crucial for the regulation of interstial fluid and CSF volume which constitute a functional unit. Based on that hypothesis, the generally accepted mechanisms of hydrocephalus development are not plausible. Therefore, the recent understanding of the correlation between CSF physiology and the development of hydrocephalus has been thoroughly presented, analyzed and evaluated, and new insights into hydrocephalus etiopathology have been proposed, which are in accordance with the experimental data and the new working hypothesis