19 research outputs found

    Наукова спадщина О.О. Русова в контексті актуальних проблем української етнології

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    У лютому виповнилося 160 років з дня народження відомого вченого, етнографа, статистика та громадського діяча Олександра Русова.This article is devoted to the famous scholar, ethnographer, civil activist Oleksandr Rusov. All his work was concentrated on the study of Ukrainian folk, their history, life style and language. Among his most prominent works was the foundation of the statistics as the scholarly discipline and its use for the ethnographical studies. Special attention deserves his work “The Statistics of the Ukrainian Population of the European Russia”. His data on Ukrainian and Russian population in various regions at different historical times are very valuable for the contemporary scholars. He actively participated in Ukrainian cultural life: he was the organizer of the first Ukrainian plays on Kyiv stages, the editor of Prague edition of “Kobzar”, and participated in different social and cultural organizations

    A global compilation of dissolved iron measurements: focus on distributions and processes in the Southern Ocean

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    Due to its importance as a limiting nutrient for phytoplankton growth in large regions of the world's oceans, ocean water column observations of concentration of the trace-metal iron (Fe) have increased markedly over recent decades. Here we compile >13 000 global measurements of dissolved Fe (dFe) and make this available to the community. We then conduct a synthesis study focussed on the Southern Ocean, where dFe plays a fundamental role in governing the carbon cycle, using four regions, six basins and five depth intervals as a framework. Our analysis highlights depth-dependent trends in the properties of dFe between different regions and basins. In general, surface dFe is highest in the Atlantic basin and the Antarctic region. While attributing drivers to these patterns is uncertain, inter-basin patterns in surface dFe might be linked to differing degrees of dFe inputs, while variability in biological consumption between regions covaries with the associated surface dFe differences. Opposite to the surface, dFe concentrations at depth are typically higher in the Indian basin and the Subantarctic region. The inter-region trends can be reconciled with similar ligand variability (although only from one cruise), and the inter-basin difference might be explained by differences in hydrothermal inputs suggested by modelling studies (Tagliabue et al., 2010) that await observational confirmation. We find that even in regions where many dFe measurements exist, the processes governing the seasonal evolution of dFe remain enigmatic, suggesting that, aside from broad Subantarctic - Antarctic trends, biological consumption might not be the major driver of dFe variability. This highlights the apparent importance of other processes such as exogenous inputs, physical transport/mixing or dFe recycling processes. Nevertheless, missing measurements during key seasonal transitions make it difficult to better quantify and understand surface water replenishment processes and the seasonal Fe cycle. Finally, we detail the degree of seasonal coverage by region, basin and depth. By synthesising prior measurements, we suggest a role for different processes and highlight key gaps in understanding, which we hope can help structure future research efforts in the Southern Ocean

    Internal waves and the Poincaré equation

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    Internal waves are waves propagating through a body of fluid. They are of importance in the field of geophysical fluid mechanics since their enabling mechanisms (density stratification and rotation) are predominant in Earth's oceans and atmosphere. This thesis consists of several chapters. The first chapter is a general introduction to fluid mechanics and provides a derivation of the Poincaré equation. The two dimensional version of this equation is the spatial analogue of the well know wave equation. Nonetheless it features some extraordinary properties. Some noteworthy aspects of solutions to the equation are reviewed, most notably the occurrence of 'wave attractors', exhibiting a fractal structure. The second chapter discusses the ill-posedness of the problem of solving the equation in closed domains. An efficient discretisation of the Poincaré equation is presented and a regularisation scheme is proposed which deals with the ill-posed nature of the problem. The third chapter considers the addition of a viscous term to the Poincaré equation, thereby transforming the partial differential equation from a hyperbolic equation to an elliptic one. It is believed that addition of such a viscous term has a regularising effect, a hypothesis which we test by numerical computation using a finite element discretisation. Numerically, and using perturbation techniques, we obtain relationships between the viscosity, the damping and the frequency of the waves. Also, we establish bounds on the stability of the solutions, measuring in some sense the degree of ill-posedness. Using the error bound as a criterion we were able, for modest values of the viscosity, to obtain meaningful solutions to the Poincaré problem. For more realistic, lower values of the viscosity we recommend an addition regulatisation. The final chapter describes laboratory experiments, performed at the 'Coriolis turntable' at LEGI, Grenoble. The aim of the experiments was to study the enhanced mixing of density stratification, resulting from reflections of internal waves at boundaries. The practical importance of results on this mixing mechanism lies in the fact that there is some (as yet) unexplained mixing in the Earth's oceans. By analysis of the data obtained during the experiments we establish that internal waves are forced by Ekman pumping at a corner of the domain. This mechanism is also analytically described. Furthermore we establish the formation of wave attractors by considering visualizations of the harmonic components of the flow in vertical planes. From probes injected into the fluid we deduce a dramatically enhanced mixing of the density stratification. Other sources of mixing being too weak to explain this, we offer the hypothesis that internal waves are the main source of this mixing

    Highly luminescent water-soluble CdTe quantum dots

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    Colloidal CdTe quantum dots prepared in TOP/DDA (trioctylphosphine/dodecylamine) are transferred into water by the use of aminoethanethiol.HCl (AET) or mercaptopropionic acid (MPA). This results in an increase in the photoluminescence quantum efficiency and a longer exciton lifetime. For the first time, water-soluble semiconductor nanocrystals presenting simultaneously high band-edge photoluminescence quantum efficiencies (as high as 60% at room temperature), monoexponential exciton decays, and no observable defect-related emission are obtained

    Modeling of Salmonella Contamination in the Pig Slaughterhouse

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    In this article we present a model for Salmonella contamination of pig carcasses in the slaughterhouse. This model forms part of a larger QMRA (quantitative microbial risk assessment) on Salmonella in slaughter and breeder pigs, which uses a generic model framework that can be parameterized for European member states, to describe the entire chain from farm-to-consumption and the resultant human illness. We focus on model construction, giving mathematical formulae to describe Salmonella concentrations on individual pigs and slaughter equipment at different stages of the slaughter process. Variability among individual pigs and over slaughterhouses is incorporated using statistical distributions, and simulated by Monte Carlo iteration. We present the results over the various slaughter stages and show that such a framework is especially suitable to investigate the effect of various interventions. In this article we present the results of the slaughterhouse module for two case study member states. The model outcome represents an increase in average prevalence of Salmonella contamination and Salmonella numbers at dehairing and a decrease of Salmonella numbers at scalding. These results show good agreement when compared to several other QMRAs and microbiological studies

    Characterization of the Human Risk of Salmonellosis Related to Consumption of Pork Products in Different E.U. Countries Based on a QMRA

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    In response to the European Food Safety Authority's wish to assess the reduction of human cases of salmonellosis by implementing control measures at different points in the farm-to-consumption chain for pork products, a quantitative microbiological risk assessment (QMRA) was developed. The model simulated the occurrence of Salmonella from the farm to consumption of pork cuts, minced meat, and fermented ready-to-eat sausage, respectively, and a dose-response model was used to estimate the probability of illness at consumption. The QMRA has a generic structure with a defined set of variables, whose values are changed according to the E.U. member state (MS) of interest. In this article we demonstrate the use of the QMRA in four MSs, representing different types of countries. The predicted probability of illness from the QMRA was between 1 in 100,000 and 1 in 10 million per serving across all three product types. Fermented ready-to-eat sausage imposed the highest probability of illness per serving in all countries, whereas the risks per serving of minced meat and pork chops were similar within each MS. For each of the products, the risk varied by a factor of 100 between the four MSs. The influence of lack of information for different variables was assessed by rerunning the model with alternative, more extreme, values. Out of the large number of uncertain variables, only a few of them have a strong influence on the probability of illness, in particular those describing the preparation at home and consumption

    Soil biota in a megadiverse country: Current knowledge and future research directions in South Africa

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    Soils are integral to agricultural productivity, biodiversity, and the maintenance of ecosystem services. However, soil ecosystem research depends on foundational biological knowledge that is often missing. In this review, we present a comprehensive, cross-taxa overview of the soil biota of South Africa. We discuss the literature and sampling methods used to assess soil biota, the available taxonomic expertise and main collections within South Africa, the availability of identification guides and online resources, and the status and distribution of described species. We include species lists for all South African soil biota and, for groups with sufficient distribution records, species richness maps. Despite South Africa being only 0.8% of the earth’s terrestrial area, it contains nearly 1.8% of the world’s described soil species (mean per taxon 3.64%, range 0.17–15%; n = 36 groups), with nematodes and earthworms showing a remarkable (6.4 and 7.7%) proportion of globally described diversity. Endemism is high for most groups, ranging from 33–92%. However, major knowledge gaps exist for most soil biota groups. While sampling has been relatively comprehensive in some areas for a few groups (particularly those with direct socioeconomic impacts), the Nama-Karoo, Northern Cape and Eastern Cape are poorly sampled. Natural soils in biodiversity hotspots, such as the Fynbos Biome, are also understudied. We argue that a more integrative approach to acquiring foundational knowledge in soil biodiversity is needed if applied soil research is to be effective in ensuring sustainable soil health. Considerable investment will be required to bring our understanding of the soil biodiversity in this megadiverse region to a level where the Millennium Development Goals can be reached
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