The Kyle Mammoth Project: An Archaeological, Paleoecological and Taphonomic Analysis

In 1964 the remains of a Woolly Mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) was unearthed near the small farming community of Kyle, Saskatchewan. The salvage excavation that was conducted by the Natural History Museum of Saskatchewan (now the Royal Saskatchewan Museum) uncovered roughly twenty percent of a single animal which was determined to have died of natural causes twelve thousand years ago. No further analysis was ever conducted on the remains until now. The combination of a radiocarbon date that was obtained in 1964 that concluded a time frame congruent with Clovis occupation in North America and known Clovis occupation within the area surrounding Kyle prompted a more thorough taphonomic analysis to be conducted on the remains. The objective for the analysis was to use the identification of postmortem taphonomic markers such as intentional bone breakage patterns and cutmarks as a proxy for human intervention with the Kyle mammoth. An additional antemortem analysis was included to account for a healed lesion that was discovered on a thoracic vertebra. The cause of the lesion, although not concluded, raises questions as to human association with this particular mammoth as well as a pathological aspect relating to a well-documented phenomenon that occurred in Eurasian Woolly Mammoths. The addition of an osteological analysis sheds light on the species, sex, and age at death of the animal and an archaeological and paleocological background supplements the notion of human and proboscidean interactions by shedding light on the environment surrounding the area of Kyle roughly 12,000 years ago and the possibility of the two species coexisting in southwestern Saskatchewan

NASA-Langley helicopter tower instrumentation systems

Background information is presented for the helicopter rotor test facility, in preface to a more detailed discussion of major subsystems equipment, including error considerations, frequency response, and display instrumentation

Public preferences for using quantitative faecal immunochemical test (FIT) vs colonoscopy (CC) as diagnostic test for colorectal cancer: Evidence from an online survey

Background: There has been interest in using the non-invasive, home-based quantitative faecal immunochemical test (FIT) to rule out colorectal cancer (CRC) in high-risk symptomatic patients. Aim: To elicit public preferences for FIT versus colonoscopy (CC) and its delivery in primary care. Design & setting: A cross-sectional online survey in England. Method: A total of 1057 adults (without CRC symptoms and diagnosis) aged 40–59 years were invited from an English online survey panel. Responders were asked to imagine they had been experiencing CRC symptoms that would qualify them for a diagnostic test. Participants were presented with choices between CC and FIT in ascending order of number of CRCs missed by FIT (from 1–10%). It was measured at what number of missed CRCs responders preferred CC over FIT. Results: While 150 participants did not want either of the tests when both missed 1% CRCs, the majority (n = 741, 70.0%) preferred FIT to CC at that level of accuracy. However, this preference reduced to 427 (40.4%) when FIT missed one additional cancer. Women were more likely to tolerate missing CRC when using FIT. Having lower numeracy and perceiving a higher level of risk meant participants were less likely to tolerate a false negative test. Most of those who chose FIT preferred to return it by mail (62.2%), to be informed about normal test results by letter (42.1%), and about abnormal test results face to face (32.5%). Conclusion: While the majority of participants preferred FIT over CC when both tests had the same sensitivity, tolerance for missed CRCs was low

Buoyant Venus station mission feasibility study for 1972 and 1973 launch opportunities. Volume 3 - Configuration definition. Part 2 - Appendixes Final report

Buoyant Venus station mission study for 1972 - 1973 launch period - backup data including atmospheric models, heat shield requirements, etc

Climate Change Effects on Slope Stability

Global warming is taking place and there is no doubt that the stability of natural and artificial slopes is influenced by climate change. In this context, the present study intends to show, as more quantitatively as possible, the effects of climate change on slopes stability. The analysis was developed considering a non-static approach suitable for meteorological phenomena which are expected to change in the next years. In the analysis a statistical method was combined with a mechanical one: the forecasts of the intensity growth of heavy precipitation were used, as well as the physical laws for describing the response of groundwater table to these rainfall events and the resulting slopes stability. A case study located in Monchiero (Cn), Italy, was used as a test for the analysis and the forecasts described above