"Live in the country with faith": Jane and Ralph Whitehead, The Simple Life Movement, and Arts and Crafts in The United States, England, and on The Continent, 1870-1930

American artist Jane Byrd McCall Whitehead (1858-1955) and her English husband Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead (1854-1929) are best known for co-founding the Byrdcliffe Art and Crafts school and colony in Woodstock, New York, which was active from 1903 into the present. Long before Byrdcliffe, however, the Whiteheads formulated plans for an "art convent" founded on principles of the simple life movement. A rejection of repressive social mores and materialistic behavior and a critique of social inequality in the modern world, the Whiteheads' simple life was enacted in rural places where nature served as a model for spirituality and aesthetics in art and the built environment, and where handwork in the form of art and craft and working the land were balanced with intellectual activity, leisure time and socializing in order to improve physical and psychological well being. This dissertation uses the wealth of primary source material on the Whiteheads--their personal papers, photographs documenting their lives, arts and crafts by them and their circle, built environs and landscapes--to trace the evolution of simple living as it was holistically expressed in the lifestyle and environs they constructed in their early years abroad; their first attempt at simple living as a married couple at Arcady in Montecito, California; and finally, their mature expression at Byrdcliffe in Woodstock, New York. Incorporating an interdisciplinary methodology involving a material culture approach that looks at the man-altered world as evidence for social and cultural history, this is the first scholarly effort to explore what simple living meant and looked like to these particular individuals, and the first project to look at the interconnectedness of simple living on a bi-coastal United States and trans-Atlantic scale between 1870-1930. It also seeks to restore an understanding of Jane's contributions to the simple life environs and art schools she formulated collaboratively with her husband, which were previously attributed solely to Ralph

Energy Dispersive X-Ray Microanalysis of the Dentin in Rat Molars after Corticosteroid Treatment

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) composition of corticosteroid induced dentin was the same as in normally developed dentin. Seven rats were given corticosteroids intravenously and three rats served as controls. Energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDX) was carried out on the axially sawn roots of the molars. Measurements were made at 20 sites, equally distributed in the buccal, mesial, lingual and distal direction. The results showed that the Ca/P ratio (weight %) was slightly above 2.0 in both the experimental and the control group, indicating that the corticosteroid induced dentin had a normal Ca/P ratio. However, different degrees of mineralization were found in different directions of the roots

A method for generating skewed random numbers using two overlapping uniform distributions

The objective of this work was to implement and evaluate a method for generating skewed random numbers using a combination of uniform random numbers. The method provides a simple and accurate way of generating skewed random numbers from the specified first three moments without an a priori specification of the probability density function. We describe the procedure for generating skewed random numbers from unifon-n random numbers, and show that it accurately produces random numbers with the desired first three moments over a range of skewness values. We also show that in the limit of zero skewness, the distribution of random numbers is an accurate approximation to the Gaussian probability density function. Future work win use this method to provide skewed random numbers for a Langevin equation model for diffusion in skewed turbulence

Methods for determining the height of the atmospheric boundary layer

The Atmospheric Release Advisory Capability (ARAC) is an operational emergency response program which provides real-time dose assessments of airborne pollutant releases. This report reviews methodologies for determining the height of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), which were investigated for use in the next generation of ARAC diagnostic and dispersion models. The ABL height, hABL, is an essential parameter in atmospheric dispersion modeling, controlling the extent of the vertical mixing of pollutants near the surface. Although eventually instrumentation (radiosonde, lidar, sodar, etc.) may provide accurate means for determining hABL, at present the availability of such data is too limited to provide a general capability for ARAC. The current operational ARAC diagnostic models use a fixed value of hABL for any given time. ARAC� s new models support a horizontally-varying atmospheric boundary layer height, which is used to generate meteorological (mean wind, temperature, etc.) and turbulence fields. The purpose of the present work is to develop methods to derive the ABL height for all atmospheric stability regimes. One of our key requirements is to provide approaches which are applicable to routinely available data, which may be of limited temporal and spatial resolution. The final objective is to generate a consistent set of meteorological and turbulence or eddy diffusivity fields to drive the new ARAC dispersion model. A number of alternative definitions of the atmospheric boundary layer exist, leading to different approaches to deriving hABL. The definitions are based on either the turbulence characteristics of the atmosphere or the vertical structure of one or more meteorological variables. Most diagnostic analyses determine hABL from profiles of temperature or occasionally wind. A class of methods of considerable current interest are based on Richardson number criteria. Prognostic methods calculate the time evolution of the top of the ABL from a rate equation. A number of commonly used methods of both types are reviewed along with considerations on their applicability to various types of meteorological data and atmospheric conditions

Numerical simulation of the Langevin equation for skewed turbulence

In this paper the authors present a numerical method for the generalized Langevin equation of motion with skewed random forcing for the case of homogeneous, skewed turbulence. The authors begin by showing how the analytic solution to the Langevin equation for this case can be used to determine the relationship between the particle velocity moments and the properties of the skewed random force. They then present a numerical method that uses simple probability distribution functions to simulate the effect of the random force. The numerical solution is shown to be exact in the limit of infinitesimal time steps, and to be within acceptable error limits when practical time steps are used

NARAC SOFTWARE QUALITY ASSURANCE: ADAPTING FORMALISM TO MEET VARYING NEEDS

The National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center (NARAC) provides tools and services that predict and map the spread of hazardous material accidentally or intentionally released into the atmosphere. NARAC is a full function system that can meet a wide range of needs with a particular focus on emergency response. The NARAC system relies on computer software in the form of models of the atmosphere and related physical processes supported by a framework for data acquisition and management, user interface, visualization, communications and security. All aspects of the program's operations and research efforts are predicated to varying degrees on the reliable and correct performance of this software. Consequently, software quality assurance (SQA) is an essential component of the NARAC program. The NARAC models and system span different levels of sophistication, fidelity and complexity. These different levels require related but different approaches to SQA. To illustrate this, two different levels of software complexity are considered in this paper. As a relatively simple example, the SQA procedures that are being used for HotSpot, a straight-line Gaussian model focused on radiological releases, are described. At the other extreme, the SQA issues that must be considered and balanced for the more complex NARAC system are reviewed

Overview of the National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center's urban research and development activities

This presentation describes the tools and services provided by the National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center (NARAC) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) for modeling the impacts of airborne hazardous materials. NARAC provides atmospheric plume modeling tools and services for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear airborne hazards. NARAC can simulate downwind effects from a variety of scenarios, including fires, industrial and transportation accidents, radiation dispersal device explosions, hazardous material spills, sprayers, nuclear power plant accidents, and nuclear detonations. NARAC collaborates on radiological dispersion source terms and effects models with Sandia National Laboratories and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. NARAC was designated the interim provider of capabilities for the Department of Homeland Security's Interagency Modeling and Atmospheric Assessment Center by the Homeland Security Council in April 2004. The NARAC suite of software tools include simple stand-alone, local-scale plume modeling tools for end-user's computers, and Web- and Internet-based software to access advanced modeling tools and expert analyses from the national center at LLNL. Initial automated, 3-D predictions of plume exposure limits and protective action guidelines for emergency responders and managers are available from the center in 5-10 minutes. These can be followed immediately by quality-assured, refined analyses by 24 x 7 on-duty or on-call NARAC staff. NARAC continues to refine calculations using updated on-scene information, including measurements, until all airborne releases have stopped and the hazardous threats are mapped and impacts assessed. Model predictions include the 3-D spatial and time-varying effects of weather, land use, and terrain, on scales from the local to regional to global. Real-time meteorological data and forecasts are provided by redundant communications links to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force, as well as an in-house mesoscale numerical weather prediction model. NARAC provides an easy-to-use Geographical Information System (GIS) for display of plume predictions with affected population counts and detailed maps, and the ability to export plume predictions to other standard GIS capabilities. Data collection and product distribution is provided through a variety of communication methods, including dial-up, satellite, and wired and wireless networks. Ongoing research and development activities will be highlighted. The NARAC scientific support team is developing urban parameterizations for use in a regional dispersion model (see companion paper by Delle Monache). Modifications to the numerical weather prediction model WRF to account for characteristics of urban dynamics are also in progress, as is boundary-layer turbulence model development for simulations with resolutions greater than 1km. The NARAC building-resolving computational fluid dynamics capability, FEM3MP, enjoys ongoing development activities such as the expansion of its ability to model releases of dense gases. Other research activities include sensor-data fusion, such as the reconstruction of unknown source terms from sparse and disparate observations