Seismic wavefield visualizations with AlpArray and AdriaArray

The dense network of broadband seismometers in the alpine region is making it possible to resolve the seismic waves moving across the array in fine detail. These animations allow for an insight into the wave field dynamics, but processing the data poses several challenges, especially in bringing the amplitudes across the array into a range where they can be usefully shown alongside each other, and filtering the data to bring out the seismic phases visually from the shorter period noise. Here, we use a normalisation method based on the envelopes of the long-period lowpass filtered waveforms. The waveforms are then also band-pass filtered. The amplitudes are represented in color, with red being positive and blue being negative, as well as marker sizes in the animations for vertical component data. An estimate for the wave propagation of the most important seismic phases is performed via TauPy, and this estimate is drawn into the animation as coloured lines of theoretical wavefronts to facilitate the association of the visible wavefronts with them. The horizontal component is shown as well, but here the color is used to represent horizontal direction, while the marker size still corresponds to amplitude. The colour wheel encoding the directional information is shown in the top right, with white and black corresponding to radial polarisation and red and blue to transversal polarisation of the seismic waves. These animations can provide an intuitive, visual way to gain an understanding of seismic waves. They can also showcase the data quality, and might represent an early step in identifying specific problems at a glance over the whole array, like polarity errors or strong station noise level

Historiadores indígenas y mestizos novohispanos. Siglos XVI - XVII.

Sin resume

Ten years of integrated care for the older in France

<p><strong>Background:</strong> This paper analyzes progress made toward the integration of the French health care system for the older and chronically ill population.</p><p><strong>Policies:</strong> Over the last ten years, the French health care system has been principally influenced by two competing linkage models that failed to integrate social and health care services: local information and coordination centers, governed by the social field, and the gerontological health networks governed by the health field. In response to this fragmentation, Homes for the Integration and Autonomy for Alzheimer patients (MAIAs) is currently being implemented at experimental sites in the French national Alzheimer plan, using an evidence-based model of integrated care. In addition, the state's reforms recently created regional health agencies (ARSs) by merging seven strategic institutions to manage the overall delivery of care.</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> The French health care system is moving from a linkage-based model to a more integrated care system. We draw some early lessons from these changes, including the importance of national leadership and governance and a change management strategy that uses both top-down and bottom-up approaches to implement these reforms.</p

Solar farm cable layout optimization as a graph problem

We introduce the Solar Farm Cable Layout Problem (SoFaCLaP), a novel graph-theoretic optimization problem. SoFaCLaP formalizes the task of finding a cost-optimal cable layout in a solar farm where PV string positions are already determined but the positions of other components such as transformers can be picked from a set of candidate positions. The problem statement incorporates a network flow model in which the flow value of a connection represents the number of strings that are (indirectly) connected to a transformer via this connection. A mixed-integer linear program (MILP) formulation is proposed that uses binary variables to indicate which of several available cable types is chosen for each connection. We propose a framework to randomly generate benchmark instances to evaluate any algorithmic approach to SoFaCLaP. In particular, we generate a set of instances based on real-world solar farm characteristics. With an extensive evaluation of the MILP formulation on those instances we establish mixed-integer linear programming as a baseline for future algorithmic approaches to finding solar farm cable layouts

NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF INDIRECT ICE STORAGE SYSTEMS PERFORMANCE

A numerical investigation regarding the charging process behavior occurring in a typical indirect ice storage tank is presented. It consists of analyzing the heat transfer and removal of energy, applicable to storage systems, which are chiller-based. In this sense the secondary coolant circulates through a heat exchanger that is submerged in a tank of water and it is used to freeze (charge) the phase-change material (water), which never leaves the storage tank. The thermal exchange process is investigated considering the storage tank in two different positions. In the first one the storage tank is in the vertical position, while for the second, it is horizontally positioned. The storage tank is represented by a channel formed by parallel flat plates, one of which is the heat exchanger. Our task is to provide helpful qualitative results for the heat transfer performance of ice storage tanks. The results are analysed through streamlines and isotherms, for specific instants of time. Further, the heat transfer effectiveness, average heat flux and solid formed at one of the two plates of the channel, are compared for the vertical and horizontal positions of the channel

Michael Oppitz primo socio onorario dell’Associazione Antropologica Alto Adige

News.Novità

Iron Deficiency in Patients With Congestive Heart Failure

A large percentage of patients with chronic heart failure (HF) have anemia, defined as hemoglobin (Hb) of &lt;12 g/dl, hovering around 30% in non-hospitalized HF patients and about 50% of hospitalized patients.1,2 The presence of anemia is an independent risk factor, associated with increased rates of mortality, HF hospitalization and morbidity. The cause of anemia in HF is multifactorial with 63.8% of patients having at least two factors that cause anemia. Chronic kidney insufficiency, iron deficiency, vitamin B12 deficiency, hemodilution, chronic diseases, and cachexia are the most common causes.3   Iron deficiency with or without anemia is common in patients with HF, relates to disease severity, and is a strong and independent predictor of outcome.4 Iron deficiency is defined as a ferritin level &lt; 100μg/L or ferritin level 100-299 μg/L with a transferrin saturation &lt; 20%.4 Anemic patients were more often iron deficient than non anemic patients.  There are two types of iron deficiency, the absolute and the functional iron deficiency (Fig. 2)... (excerpt

Tick paralysis in the Karoo areas of South Africa

1. Four forms of tick paralysis in South Africa may be distinguished, which differ as regards the clinical picture and are associated with four distinct tick species. 2. The literature dealing with tick paralysis in South Africa is briefly reviewed. 3. The seasonal occurrence of the adults, nymphae and larvae of I. rubicundus is given. 4. The adult is both nocturnal and diurnal and it is possible to demonstrate a peak in diurnal activity between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. 5. The immature stages are exclusively nocturnal. 6. The influence of temperature upon larval activity is demonstrated graphically. 7. A host list is given which shows that the Menotyphla and Lagomorpha play the main role as hosts of the immature stages. The Artiodactyla constitute the main hosts of the adult tick amongst the wild animals. The tick is not found on birds. 8. The attachment sites of the adult stages on adult sheep and lambs are given and the chances of reaching full engorgement on the different regions of the body of the sheep arc discussed. The preferential sites for I. rubicundus and I. ricinus are compared and the differences in habit of these two species on sheep described. 9. The time required by the female to reach full engorgement in different situations on the bodies of sheep is given. 10. The stages of engorgement normally observed are described and exceptions to this rule are discussed. 11. The percentage of females that fail to reach full engorgement on sheep is shown to increase with the time the sheep spends in tick-infested veld. 12. The influence of copulation upon the rate of engorgement is discussed. 13. The use of tethered sheep in tick-infested veld as a means of tick survey is discussed. 14. An improvement on the standard technique of dragging for ticks, for use in the Karoo shrub, is described. 15. The attraction of different materials to I. rubicundus tested by the dragging technique in the field has been investigated. 16. Seven species of ticks found during the course of dragging are noted. 17. The uniformity of distribution of I. rubicundus larvae in the field is discussed. 18. The factors responsible for the losses of ticks from the apparatus during the course of dragging are demonstrated graphically and discussed. 19. A map showing the distribution of I. rubicundus and the occurrence of tick paralysis in relation to veld (pasture) types in a selected area in the Sneeuberg Range is included. 20. The ecological investigations of overseas workers on other tick species are reviewed briefly for comparison with the findings relating to I. rubicundus in South Africa. 21. An association between tick incidence and deterioration of pasture in the case of I. rubicundus is found to follow a pattern similar to that of I. ricinus in Britain. 22. The hatching and survival of the larvae of I. rubicundus are shown to represent phases of the life-cycle more susceptible to unsuitable environment than any other stage. 23. Experimental studies on the hatching and survival of eggs placed in decaying plant material under certain shrubs and rank grasses are described and compared with the differences observed when grasses are not allowed to become rank. 24. Significant differences in tick densities are shown to occur in different naturally-infested veld types. Sweet-grass mountain veld, constituting the original coverage of all mountains in the area under investigation, is not suited to the completion of the life-cycle of the tick. 25. The role played by Rhus erosa in the creation of suitable environmental conditions for the tick is pointed out. 26. The time required for bringing about an alteration in the existing plant associations by applying different methods of pasture management is discussed. 27. The influence of the regular dipping of sheep upon the incidence of I. rubicundus is demonstrated. 28. The exclusion of sheep from tick-infested camps during the active season of I. rubicundus is shown to have no effect upon the incidence of the tick. 29. The influence of veld fires upon the tick is pointed out. 30. The recommendations of other investigators for the control of I. rubicundus by dipping are compared with the application of dipping to the control of I. ricinus. 31. The specific efficacy of insecticides against the tick as found by a laboratory method, the ability of the insecticide to diffuse along the wool fibres and the quantity of insecticide deposited in the fleece rather than the concentration of the wash in the dipping tank, are shown to be the decisive factors governing the period of protection obtained against I. rubicundus. 32. BHC is shown to be capable of protecting woolled sheep against I. rubicundus for a period exceeding 18 weeks when 4·75 gm. of the gamma isomer is deposited per sheep. 33. Dieldrin is shown to protect woolled sheep for approximately 11 weeks when 7 gm. of the active ingredient is deposited per sheep. 34. The protection of sheep against Rhipicephalus evertsi and Hyalomma spp. by BHC has been tested. 35. The experience gained in the application of the foot- or walk-through bath for sheep is given.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 300dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format