MOLES3: implementing an ISO standards driven data catalogue

ISO19156 Observations and Measurements (O&M) provides a standardised framework for organising information about the collection of information about the environment. Here we describe the implementation of a specialisation of O&M for environmental data, the Metadata Objects for Linking Environmental Sciences (MOLES3). MOLES3 provides support for organising information about data, and for user navigation around data holdings. The implementation described here, “CEDA-MOLES”, also supports data management functions for the Centre for Environmental Data Archival, CEDA. The previous iteration of MOLES (MOLES2) saw active use over five years, being replaced by CEDA-MOLES in late 2014. During that period important lessons were learnt both about the information needed, as well as how to design and maintain the necessary information systems. In this paper we review the problems encountered in MOLES2; how and why CEDA-MOLES was developed and engineered; the migration of information holdings from MOLES2 to CEDA-MOLES; and, finally, provide an early assessment of MOLES3 (as implemented in CEDA-MOLES) and its limitations. Key drivers for the MOLES3 development included the necessity for improved data provenance, for further structured information to support ISO19115 discovery metadata export (for EU INSPIRE compliance), and to provide appropriate fixed landing pages for Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) in the presence of evolving datasets. Key lessons learned included the importance of minimising information structure in free text fields, and the necessity to support as much agility in the information infrastructure as possible without compromising on maintainability both by those using the systems internally and externally (e.g. citing in to the information infrastructure), and those responsible for the systems themselves. The migration itself needed to ensure continuity of service and traceability of archived assets

Relationship between perceived benefits and social influence towards Self Disclosure and Behavioral Intention in Web 2.0

The data gathering was conducted from September 2011 until October 2011 using Google document online survey. A total of 201 university students which comprises respondents from two faculties, Labuan School of International Business and Finance (LSIBF) and Labuan School of Informatics Science (LSIS) participated in the online survey. The main objective of the research is to explore the relationship between performance expectancy, effort expectancy and social influence towards behavioral intention as well as self-disclosure intention in Web 2.0. One of the key findings in this area of research was although an innovation or technology tool may be useful and ease to use, users may not be able to see the relevant of exposing private information about themselves to an unknown person online or even to the service provider. Furthermore, the analysis also revealed that social influence has a significant effect on self-disclosure intention. Another key finding proposed that the dimension of perceived benefits (combination of two original dimensions namely performance expectancy and effort expectancy) be used to understand users perception on Web 2.0

The association of cold weather and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in the island of Ireland between 1984 and 2007

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Background This study aimed to assess the relationship between cold temperature and daily mortality in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and Northern Ireland (NI), and to explore any differences in the population responses between the two jurisdictions. Methods A time-stratified case-crossover approach was used to examine this relationship in two adult national populations, between 1984 and 2007. Daily mortality risk was examined in association with exposure to daily maximum temperatures on the same day and up to 6 weeks preceding death, during the winter (December-February) and cold period (October-March), using distributed lag models. Model stratification by age and gender assessed for modification of the cold weather-mortality relationship. Results In the ROI, the impact of cold weather in winter persisted up to 35 days, with a cumulative mortality increase for all-causes of 6.4% (95%CI=4.8%-7.9%) in relation to every 1oC drop in daily maximum temperature, similar increases for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke, and twice as much for respiratory causes. In NI, these associations were less pronounced for CVD causes, and overall extended up to 28 days. Effects of cold weather on mortality increased with age in both jurisdictions, and some suggestive gender differences were observed. Conclusions The study findings indicated strong cold weather-mortality associations in the island of Ireland; these effects were less persistent, and for CVD mortality, smaller in NI than in the ROI. Together with suggestive differences in associations by age and gender between the two Irish jurisdictions, the findings suggest potential contribution of underlying societal differences, and require further exploration. The evidence provided here will hope to contribute to the current efforts to modify fuel policy and reduce winter mortality in Ireland

Sequential Lonsdaleite to Diamond Formation in Ureilite Meteorites via In Situ Chemical Fluid/Vapor Deposition.

Ureilite meteorites are arguably our only large suite of samples from the mantle of a dwarf planet and typically contain greater abundances of diamond than any known rock. Some also contain lonsdaleite, which may be harder than diamond. Here, we use electron microscopy to map the relative distribution of coexisting lonsdaleite, diamond, and graphite in ureilites. These maps show that lonsdaleite tends to occur as polycrystalline grains, sometimes with distinctive fold morphologies, partially replaced by diamond + graphite in rims and cross-cutting veins. These observations provide strong evidence for how the carbon phases formed in ureilites, which, despite much conjecture and seemingly conflicting observations, has not been resolved. We suggest that lonsdaleite formed by pseudomorphic replacement of primary graphite shapes, facilitated by a supercritical C-H-O-S fluid during rapid decompression and cooling. Diamond + graphite formed after lonsdaleite via ongoing reaction with C-H-O-S gas. This graphite > lonsdaleite > diamond + graphite formation process is akin to industrial chemical vapor deposition but operates at higher pressure (∼1-100 bar) and provides a pathway toward manufacture of shaped lonsdaleite for industrial application. It also provides a unique model for ureilites that can reconcile all conflicting observations relating to diamond formation

A small S-MIF signal in Martian regolith pyrite: Implications for the atmosphere

keywords: Sulfur, sulfate, Mars, S-MIF, regolith, atmosphereThe past Martian atmosphere is often compared to the Archean Earth’s as both were dominated by CO2-rich and O2-poor chemistries. Archean Earth rocks preserve mass-independently fractionated sulfur isotopes (S-MIF; non-zero Δ33S and Δ36S), originating from photochemistry in an anoxic atmosphere. Thus, Martian crustal rocks might also be expected to preserve a S-MIF signature, providing insights into past atmospheric chemistry. We have used secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) to investigate in situ, the sulfur isotope systematics of NWA 8171 (paired to NWA 7034), a Martian polymict breccia containing pyrite that formed through hydrothermal sulfur addition in a near-surface regolith setting. In this meteorite, pyrite grains have a weighted mean of Δ33S of -0.14 ± 0.08 ‰ and Δ36S = -0.70 ± 0.40 ‰ (2 s.e.m.), so the S-MIF signature is subtle. Sulfur isotope data for four additional shergottites yield Δ33S values that are not resolvable from zero, as in previous studies of shergottites. At first glance the result for the polymict breccia might seem surprising, but no Martian meteorite yet has yielded a S-MIF signature akin to the large deviations seen on Earth. We suggest that S-MIF-bearing aerosols (H2SO4 and S8) were produced when volcanic activity pushed a typically oxidising Martian atmosphere into a reduced state. After rain-out of these aerosols, S8 would tend to be oxidised by chlorate, dampening the S-MIF signal, which might be somewhat retained in the more abundant photolytic sulfate. Then in the regolith, mixing of aqueous surface-derived sulfate with igneous sulfide (the latter with zero MIF), to form the abundant pyrite seen in NWA 8171, would further dampen the S-MIF signal. Nonetheless, the small negative Δ33S anomalies seen in Martian meteorites imply that volcanic activity was sufficient to produce a reducing atmosphere at times. This volcanically-driven atmospheric evolution would tend to produce high levels of carbonyl sulfide (OCS). Given that OCS is a relatively long-lived strong greenhouse gas, the S-MIF signal implies that volcanism periodically generated warmer conditions, perhaps offering an evidence-based solution to the young wet Mars paradox