ERTS-1 image enhancement by optically combining density slices

The technique of density slicing using a photographic film and its application to enhancement of ERTS-1 imagery has proved to be useful for mapping varigated areal phenomena and provides a useful supplement ot the I2S MiniAddcol viewing system. The intial experiments conducted with this film were encouraging, and indicated that this technique of density slicing using readily accessible darkroom facilities and simple darkroom procedures allows rapid, accurate, and facile interpretation of certain areal phenomena to be made from the imagery. The distribution of the tree yucca, Yucca brevifolia Jaegeriana, in the eastern Mojave Desert of Southern California and southern Nevada was used as an example to test the accuracy of the technique for mapping purposes. The distribution was mapped at a relatively high level of accuracy

The Mariner 5 flight path and its determination from tracking data

Mariner 5 flight path and its determination from tracking dat

Volcanosedimentary basins in the Arabian-Nubian Shield: markers of repeated exhumation and denudation in a Neoproterozoic accretionary orogen

The Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS) includes Middle Cryogenian-Ediacaran (790–560 Ma) sedimentary and volcanic terrestrial and shallow-marine successions unconformable on juvenile Cryogenian crust. The oldest were deposited after 780–760 Ma shearing and suturing in the central ANS. Middle Cryogenian basins are associated with ~700 Ma suturing in the northern ANS. Late Cryogenian basins overlapped with and followed 680–640 Ma Nabitah orogenesis in the eastern ANS. Ediacaran successions are found in pull-apart and other types of basins formed in a transpressive setting associated with E-W shortening, NW-trending shearing, and northerly extension during final amalgamation of the ANS. Erosion surfaces truncating metamorphosed arc rocks at the base of these successions are evidence of periodic exhumation and erosion of the evolving ANS crust. The basins are evidence of subsequent subsidence to the base level of alluvial systems or below sea level. Mountains were dissected by valley systems, yet relief was locally low enough to allow for seaways connected to the surrounding Mozambique Ocean. The volcanosedimentary basins of the ANS are excellently exposed and preserved, and form a world-class natural laboratory for testing concepts about crustal growth during the Neoproterozoic and for the acquisition of data to calibrate chemical and isotopic changes, at a time in geologic history that included some of the most important, rapid, and enigmatic changes to Earth’s environment and biota.Peter R. Johnson, Galen P. Halverson, Timothy M. Kusky, Robert J. Stern, and Victoria Peas

Action research and democracy

This contribution explores the relationship between research and learning democracy. Action research is seen as being compatible with the orientation of educational and social work research towards social justice and democracy. Nevertheless, the history of action research is characterized by a tension between democracy and social engineering. In the social-engineering approach, action research is conceptualized as a process of innovation aimed at a specific Bildungsideal. In a democratic approach action research is seen as research based on cooperation between research and practice. However, the notion of democratic action research as opposed to social engineering action research needs to be theorized. So called democratic action research involving the implementation by the researcher of democracy as a model and as a preset goal, reduces cooperation and participation into instruments to reach this goal, and becomes a type of social engineering in itself. We argue that the relationship between action research and democracy is in the acknowledgment of the political dimension of participation: ‘a democratic relationship in which both sides exercise power and shared control over decision-making as well as interpretation’. This implies an open research design and methodology able to understand democracy as a learning process and an ongoing experiment

First Light Measurements of Capella with the Low Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer aboard the Chandra X-ray Observatory

We present the first X-ray spectrum obtained by the Low Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (LETGS) aboard the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The spectrum is of Capella and covers a wavelength range of 5-175 A (2.5-0.07 keV). The measured wavelength resolution, which is in good agreement with ground calibration, is $\Delta \lambda \simeq$ 0.06 A (FWHM). Although in-flight calibration of the LETGS is in progress, the high spectral resolution and unique wavelength coverage of the LETGS are well demonstrated by the results from Capella, a coronal source rich in spectral emission lines. While the primary purpose of this letter is to demonstrate the spectroscopic potential of the LETGS, we also briefly present some preliminary astrophysical results. We discuss plasma parameters derived from line ratios in narrow spectral bands, such as the electron density diagnostics of the He-like triplets of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, as well as resonance scattering of the strong Fe XVII line at 15.014 A.Comment: 4 pages (ApJ letter LaTeX), 2 PostScript figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letters, 200

Military deployment, masculinity and trauma : reviewing the connections

This article reviews the literature on deployment trauma and examines the limitations of conventional understandings of trauma as they relate to veterans’ experiences. It suggests that the failure to take into account social influences and social relationships limits the usefulness of conventional approaches to trauma. The article considers the role that masculinity plays in male veterans’ experience of and sense making about trauma. It is suggested that while formal recognition of posttraumatic stress disorder in the DSM has provided a helpful language for veterans, it is an incomplete response. A new model of masculinity that better enables the male veteran to speak about trauma and to reconnect with others has implications for counselling practice with veterans

Multimodal database of emotional speech, video and gestures

People express emotions through different modalities. Integration of verbal and non-verbal communication channels creates a system in which the message is easier to understand. Expanding the focus to several expression forms can facilitate research on emotion recognition as well as human-machine interaction. In this article, the authors present a Polish emotional database composed of three modalities: facial expressions, body movement and gestures, and speech. The corpora contains recordings registered in studio conditions, acted out by 16 professional actors (8 male and 8 female). The data is labeled with six basic emotions categories, according to Ekman’s emotion categories. To check the quality of performance, all recordings are evaluated by experts and volunteers. The database is available to academic community and might be useful in the study on audio-visual emotion recognition

Spatiotemporal distribution of phycotoxins and their co-occurrence within nearshore waters

Harmful algal blooms (HABs), varying in intensity and causative species, have historically occurred throughout the Chesapeake Bay, U.S.; however, phycotoxin data are sparse. The spatiotemporal distribution of phycotoxins was investigated using solid-phase adsorption toxin tracking (SPATT) across 12 shallow, nearshore sites within the lower Chesapeake Bay and Virginia\u27s coastal bays over one year (2017-2018). Eight toxins, azaspiracid-1 (AZA1), azaspiracid-2 (AZA2), microcystin-LR (MC-LR), domoic acid (DA), okadaic acid (OA), dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX1), pectenotoxin-2 (PTX2), and goniodomin A (GDA) were detected in SPATT extracts. Temporally, phycotoxins were always present in the region, with at least one phycotoxin group (i.e., consisting of OA and DTX1) detected at every time point. Co-occurrence of phycotoxins was also common; two or more toxin groups were observed in 76% of the samples analyzed. Toxin maximums: 0.03 ng AZA2/g resin/day, 0.25 ng DA/g resin/day, 15 ng DTX1/g resin/day, 61 ng OA/g resin/day, 72 ng PTX2/g resin/day, and 102,050 ng GDA/g resin/day were seasonal, with peaks occurring in summer and fall. Spatially, the southern tributary and coastal bay regions harbored the highest amount of total phycotoxins on SPATT over the year, and the former contained the greatest diversity of phycotoxins. The novel detection of AZAs in the region, before a causative species has been identified, supports the use of SPATT as an explorative tool in respect to emerging threats. The lack of karlotoxin in SPATT extracts, but detection of Karlodinium veneficum by microscopy, however, emphasizes that this tool should be considered complementary to, but not a replacement for, more traditional HAB management and monitoring methods