NLTE and LTE Lick indices for red giants from [M/H] 0.0 to -6.0 at SDSS and IDS spectral resolution

We investigate the dependence of the complete system of 22 Lick indices on overall metallicity scaled from solar abundances, [M/H], from the solar value, 0.0, down to the extremely-metal-poor (XMP) value of -6.0, for late-type giant stars (MK luminosity class III, log(g)=2.0) of MK spectral class late-K to late-F (3750 < Teff < 6500 K) of the type that are detected as "fossils" of early galaxy formation in the Galactic halo and in extra-galactic structures. Our investigation is based on synthetic index values, I, derived from atmospheric models and synthetic spectra computed with PHOENIX in LTE and Non-LTE (NLTE), where the synthetic spectra have been convolved to the spectral resolution, R, of both IDS and SDSS (and LAMOST) spectroscopy. We identify nine indices, that we designate "Lick-XMP", that remain both detectable and significantly [M/H]-dependent down to [M/H] values of at least ~-5.0, and down to [M/H] ~ -6.0 in five cases, while also remaining well-behaved . For these nine, we study the dependence of I on NLTE effects, and on spectral resolution. For our LTE I values for spectra of SDSS resolution, we present the fitted polynomial coefficients, C_n, from multi-variate linear regression for I with terms up to third order in the independent variable pairs (Teff, [M/H]), and (V-K, [M/H]), and compare them to the fitted C_n values of Worthey et al. (1994) at IDS spectral resolution.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. Tables 6 and 7 available electronically from the autho

iCapture: Facilitating Spontaneous User-Interaction with Pervasive Displays using Smart Devices

Abstract. The eCampus project at Lancaster University is an inter-disciplinary project aiming to deploy a wide range of situated displays across the University campus in order to create a large per-vasive communications infrastructure. At present, we are conducting a series of parallel research activities in order to investigate how the pervasive communications infrastructure can support the daily needs of staff, students and visitors to the University. This paper introduces one of our current research investigations into how one is able to mediate spontaneous interaction with the pervasive display infrastructure through camera equipped mobile phones (i.e. smart devices).

Enumeration of idempotents in planar diagram monoids

We classify and enumerate the idempotents in several planar diagram monoids: namely, the Motzkin, Jones (a.k.a. Temperley-Lieb) and Kauffman monoids. The classification is in terms of certain vertex- and edge-coloured graphs associated to Motzkin diagrams. The enumeration is necessarily algorithmic in nature, and is based on parameters associated to cycle components of these graphs. We compare our algorithms to existing algorithms for enumerating idempotents in arbitrary (regular *-) semigroups, and give several tables of calculated values.Comment: Majorly revised (new title, new abstract, one additional author), 24 pages, 6 figures, 8 tables, 5 algorithm

Long Term Prognosis after Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) - What is the Role of Baseline Kidney Function and Recovery? A Systematic Review

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Towards Nakba: the failure of the British mandate of Palestine, 1922-1939

In 1922, with the issuance of the Churchill White Paper, the British government committed itself to assuming the responsibilities of the Balfour Declaration and create a bi-national state in the Mandated territory of Palestine. By 1939, the British, represented by the Mandatory Authority, found themselves trapped between a Palestinian-based Zionist movement, itself torn between two competing factions, and a Palestinian Arab nationalist movement whose leadership had collapsed. The internal split between Revisionist Zionism under Ze’ev Jabotinsky and Mainstream Zionism under Chaim Weizmann and, later, David Ben-Gurion prevented the British government from negotiating with a cohesive Zionist organization. The collapse of the highly centralized Palestinian Arab nationalist resistance, led by the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Hajj Amin al-Husseini, in 1937 deprived the British government of a cohesive Arab movement with which they could negotiate. This thesis argues that the factional differences within the broader Arab-Zionist conflict caused the British to fail in accomplishing their goal of a bi-national state in Palestine

The Instruction of Eros: A Content Analysis of Sex Education Texts

This study is a directed content analysis that employs a memetic framework done in order to determine what discourses are evident in, how diversity is represented in, and how intersectionality is represented in two sex education texts, and to compare the relevant frequencies. Theories from the dominant schools of thought concerning sex education and sexuality are enumerated, compared, and contrasted. A historiography of sex education in the United States is provided to establish context for the sampled texts. A explanation of the content analysis process in general and the methodology specifically used in this study is discussed followed by the results of the content analysis along with a discussions of the implications of the data is presented. The texts selected for this study were done so on the basis that they were representative of the conceptualization of the intuitions that created them and used them; specifically the San Francisco Unified School District and the Roman Catholic Magisterium. It is suggested in this study that the sampled texts have striking similarities and stark differences. All coding, categorical, and thematic definitions are provided in the text and in the appendix

Rainforest change analysis in Eastern Africa : A new multisourced, semi-quantitative approach to investigating more than 100 years of forest cover disturbance

Forest change and disturbance of the past strongly influence the state of today’s forests and their biodiversity. However, knowledge of former forest landscape states can be subject to misunderstanding and the practical management of forests requires the establishment of correct narratives of forest cover change. This thesis therefore investigates the long-term forest change and anthropogenic factors at work within three tropical rain forests of high biodiversity and high use value in Kenya and Uganda. A wide range of data sources are employed for a semi-quantitative analysis. Starting from an existing time series of satellite imagery classifications the research incorporates the visual interpretation of historical aerial photography, forestry records, maps of both topographic and thematic type, archive documents, oral histories, place name meanings, and fossil pollen evidence. GIS is used as the means to manage and focus the evidence and to analyse the wide range of data. In combination the sources allow the building of a narrative characterised by variation across both space and time. The localised reality of forest change is reflected in the inclusion of case studies from which forest narratives of each of the three main forest areas are subsequently constructed. The forest cover time series are extended back to around 1910 for each of the forests and thus to a pre-commercial exploitation state; they reveal losses of 60% and 43% of the forests of Kakamega-Nandi and Mabira respectively. These losses have been arrested in recent years while Budongo Forest has shown negligible change across the full period with the first losses recently occurring outside the forest reserves. The long-term approach has revealed fluctuations in forest cover, most notably in Mabira Forest across the 20th century and in parts of the Kakamega-Nandi area both across decades and across millennia. A landscape view shows these areas to have long-existed as mosaics of forest, woodland and grassland, and the loss of grassland over the last century has exceeded that of forest. The study identifies an historic role for disease and tribal conflict in the creation and protection of forest cover in East Africa but also traces a development in the underlying causes of forest cover change towards commercial and governance factors. The creation of a population time series demonstrates that population density cannot be described as the main driver of deforestation. Two spatially-explicit indices distinguish between locally and commercially-driven disturbances and are compared with an index of forest cover change. Results reveal a localised pattern and that commercial disturbance has played an especially large role in the degradation and fragmentation of the Kakamega-Nandi forests while local disturbance is shown to be most dramatic in Mabira Forest. Most of Budongo Forest has been persistently degraded by systematic commercial exploitation. It is suggested that these forests should be managed with recognition of their mosaic heritage but also as dynamic and changing entities. The study concludes that while the heterogeneity found within forest landscapes is often due to human disturbance, ecologists should also consider natural processes, including variations in past climate, for explanations. The cumulative nature of disturbance is highlighted with the recommendation that past commercial exploitation should be included in any assessment of forest degradation. The use of GIS and the creation of disturbance indices is recommended as a viable means of quantitatively assessing forest degradation and of distinguishing between the contributions of different types of disturbance. The most under-used resources available for researching long-term forest change are stated to be topographic maps and forestry archives. The quantitative data they provide can be usefully supported by qualitative information, most flexibly provided by forest history interviews

Payroll employment data: measuring the effects of annual benchmark revisions

During the recovery from the 2001 recession, the business press and economic analysts used payroll employment data released monthly by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as evidence of protracted weakness in the labor market. But using these monthly releases for this type of analysis can be premature and potentially misleading. The initial BLS releases can differ substantially from payroll employment data that are revised to incorporate information from less timely but more complete sources. ; This article highlights the historical revisions to the aggregate nonfarm payroll employment series. Examining both monthly survey-based revisions and the more extensive annual benchmark revisions, the authors focus specifically on how the sequence of data revisions modifies payroll employment estimates from their initial release. The graphs in the article display the magnitude and direction of each revision from the initial estimate for a particular month to its currently published value, demonstrating that the largest portion of enduring change for the estimates occurs in the benchmark revisions. ; The authors then investigate empirically whether these revisions contain information that can be exploited to anticipate future revisions. The analysis shows that previous benchmark data revisions are useful for explaining the variation in subsequent payroll employment benchmark data. Such information, the authors note, could prove useful for further research aimed at modeling better real-time estimates of employment conditions.Employment (Economic theory)