Temperature and Kinematics of CIV Absorption Systems

We use Keck HIRES spectra of three intermediate redshift QSOs to study the physical state and kinematics of the individual components of CIV selected heavy element absorption systems. Fewer than 8 % of all CIV lines with column densities greater than 10^{12.5} cm^{-2} have Doppler parameters b < 6 km/s. A formal decomposition into thermal and non-thermal motion using the simultaneous presence of SiIV gives a mean thermal Doppler parameter b_{therm}(CIV) = 7.2 km/s, corresponding to a temperature of 38,000 K although temperatures possibly in excess of 300,000 K occur occasionally. We also find tentative evidence for a mild increase of temperature with HI column density. Non-thermal motions within components are typically small (< 10 km/s) for most systems, indicative of a quiescent environment. The two-point correlation function (TPCF) of CIV systems on scales up to 500 km/s suggests that there is more than one source of velocity dispersion. The shape of the TPCF can be understood if the CIV systems are caused by ensembles of objects with the kinematics of dwarf galaxies on a small scale, while following the Hubble flow on a larger scale. Individual high redshift CIV components may be the building blocks of future normal galaxies in a hierarchical structure formation scenario.Comment: submitted to the ApJ Letters, March 16, 1996 (in press); (13 Latex pages, 4 Postscript figures, and psfig.sty included

NDM-504: MULTI-PLATFORM TORNADO DAMAGE SCENE PRESERVATION

A severe tornado system produced damage to engineered metal buildings at an industrial facility outside Pampa, TX and toppled several nearby center-pivot irrigation structures. Rapid remote-sensing preservation of this overall damage scene was of particular necessity: access to the industrial facility was prohibited, and the overall size of the center-pivot irrigation system disallowed rapid direct measurement of member displacements. Engineers and architects from West Texas A&M University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Texas Tech University collaborated to acquire and preserve the damage scene for future study, using a suite of existing and emerging platforms: including 3D point clouds derived from aerial FoDAR, aerial drone imaging, terrestrial laser scanning, and terrestrial digital photogrammetry as well as two-dimensional, four-band satellite imaging. Data collection using these various platforms offers guidance for the future remote-sensing preservation of damage scenes, the validation of estimated wind speeds currently employed in the Enhanced Fujita Scale of tornado intensity, and the further development of techniques for automated remote-sensing-based wind damage assessments

NNSA ASC Exascale Environment Planning, Applications Working Group, Report February 2011

The scope of the Apps WG covers three areas of interest: Physics and Engineering Models (PEM), multi-physics Integrated Codes (IC), and Verification and Validation (V&amp;V). Each places different demands on the exascale environment. The exascale challenge will be to provide environments that optimize all three. PEM serve as a test bed for both model development and 'best practices' for IC code development, as well as their use as standalone codes to improve scientific understanding. Rapidly achieving reasonable performance for a small team is the key to maintaining PEM innovation. Thus, the environment must provide the ability to develop portable code at a higher level of abstraction, which can then be tuned, as needed. PEM concentrate their computational footprint in one or a few kernels that must perform efficiently. Their comparative simplicity permits extreme optimization, so the environment must provide the ability to exercise significant control over the lower software and hardware levels. IC serve as the underlying software tools employed for most ASC problems of interest. Often coupling dozens of physics models into very large, very complex applications, ICs are usually the product of hundreds of staff-years of development, with lifetimes measured in decades. Thus, emphasis is placed on portability, maintainability and overall performance, with optimization done on the whole rather than on individual parts. The exascale environment must provide a high-level standardized programming model with effective tools and mechanisms for fault detection and remediation. Finally, V&amp;V addresses the infrastructure and methods to facilitate the assessment of code and model suitability for applications, and uncertainty quantification (UQ) methods for assessment and quantification of margins of uncertainty (QMU). V&amp;V employs both PEM and IC, with somewhat differing goals, i.e., parameter studies and error assessments to determine both the quality of the calculation and to estimate expected deviations of simulations from experiments. The exascale environment must provide a performance envelope suitable both for capacity calculations (high through-put) and full system capability runs (high performance). Analysis of the results place shared demand on both the I/O as well as the visualization subsystems

NDM-505: DEVELOPMENT OF THE ASCE/SEI STANDARD FOR THE ESTIMATION OF TORNADO WIND SPEEDS

Development of the new ASCE/SEI consensus standard for wind speed estimation in tornadoes began in 2014 and is currently underway. The intent of the new standard is to standardize the methods used to estimate the wind speeds in tornadoes including improvements and expansions for the damaged-based Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF Scale), with potential to extend the scope of the standard to include other windstorms. The standard will include sections on the EF Scale, radar measurements, tree fall pattern analysis, data archives, forensic engineering analysis, in-situ measurements (anemometry), and remote-sensing applications. Users of the standard will include wind, structural and forensic engineers, meteorologists, climatologists, forest biologists, risk analysts, hazards modellers, emergency managers, building and infrastructure designers, the insurance industry, and the media. The standard is intended for adoption by the National Weather Service and for use by storm study teams and researchers as a guide for conducting storm surveys and analysis of storm data. Development of the standard highlights the current state-of-the art in wind speed estimation and also identifies areas where new research is needed. Development of the standard will include a public ballot period. The standard is scheduled to be completed in 2019

1608+656: A Gravitationally Lensed PostStarburst Radio Galaxy

The gravitational lens system 1608+656 displays four flat-spectrum, pointlike components that are the images of the unresolved core of a double-lobed radio source. The lensing mass is a galaxy at z = 0.630. New spectra of this system enable us to determine a conclusive redshift of 1.394 for the lensed object. The spectra show prominent high-order Balmer absorption lines and Mg II absorption. These lines, and the absence of [O II] emission, indicate that this is a poststarburst or E + A galaxy. It is unique among lensed objects in not being a quasar and among E + A galaxies in having the highest known redshift. Even allowing for lens magnification, the lensed object is a very luminous galaxy, with an absolute magnitude, M(r) = -22.8 mag. The deconvolved infrared image indicates that the galaxy may be slightly resolved. The radio luminosity density of the lobes is L_(1.4) = 5.78 × 10^(25) W Hz^(-1), which puts the source on the boundary between FR I and FR II radio galaxies. Together with the redshift for the lens and a satisfactory mass model, the determination of the lensed object redshift makes this system an excellent candidate for measuring H_0

Public attitudes to inequality in water distribution: Insights from preferences for water reallocation from irrigators to Aboriginal Australians

Water allocation regimes that adjudicate between competing uses are in many countries under pressure to adapt to increasing demands, climate‐driven shortages, expectations for equity of access, as well as societal changes in values and priorities. International authorities expound standards for national allocation regimes that include robust processes for addressing the needs of ‘new entrants' and for varying existing entitlements within sustainable limits. The claims of Indigenous peoples to water represents a newly recognised set of rights and interests that will test the ability of allocation regimes to address the global water governance goal of equity. No study has sought to identify public attitudes or willingness to pay for a fairer allocation of water rights between Indigenous and non‐Indigenous people. We surveyed households from the jurisdictions of Australia's Murray‐Darling Basin, a region undergoing a historic government‐led recovery of water, and found that 69.2% of respondents support the principle of reallocating a small amount of water from irrigators to Aboriginal people via the water market. Using contingent valuation, we estimated households are willing to pay A$21.78 in a one‐off levy. The aggregate value calculated for households in the basin's jurisdictions was A$74.5 million, which is almost double a recent government commitment to fund the acquisition of entitlements for Aboriginal nations of this basin. Results varied by state of residency and affinity with environmental groups. An information treatment that presented narrative accounts from Aboriginal people influenced the results. Insights from this study can inform water reallocation processes

Web‐based Weight Management Programs in an Integrated Health Care Setting: A Randomized, Controlled Trial

Objective : To assess the efficacy of a Web‐based tailored behavioral weight management program compared with Web‐based information‐only weight management materials. Research Methods and Procedures : Participants, 2862 eligible overweight and obese (BMI = 27 to 40 kg/m 2 ) members from four regions of Kaiser Permanente's integrated health care delivery system, were randomized to receive either a tailored expert system or information‐only Web‐based weight management materials. Weight change and program satisfaction were assessed by self‐report through an Internet‐based survey at 3‐ and 6‐month follow‐up periods. Results : Significantly greater weight loss at follow‐up was found among participants assigned to the tailored expert system than among those assigned to the information‐only condition. Subjects in the tailored expert system lost a mean of 3 ± 0.3% of their baseline weight, whereas subjects in the information‐only condition lost a mean of 1.2 ± 0.4% ( p < 0.0004). Participants were also more likely to report that the tailored expert system was personally relevant, helpful, and easy to understand. Notably, 36% of enrollees were African‐American, with enrollment rates higher than the general proportion of African Americans in any of the study regions. Discussion : The results of this large, randomized control trial show the potential benefit of the Web‐based tailored expert system for weight management compared with a Web‐based information‐only weight management program.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93691/1/oby.2006.34.pd

Evaluation of a commercial web-based weight loss and weight loss maintenance program in overweight and obese adults: a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Obesity rates in adults continue to rise and effective treatment programs with a broad reach are urgently required. This paper describes the study protocol for a web-based randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a commercially available program for overweight and obese adult males and females. The aim of this RCT was to determine and compare the efficacy of two web-based interventions for weight loss and maintenance of lost weight.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>Overweight and obese adult males and females were stratified by gender and BMI and randomly assigned to one of three groups for 12-weeks: waitlist control, or basic or enhanced online weight-loss. Control participants were re-randomized to the two weight loss groups at the end of the 12-week period. The basic and enhanced group participants had an option to continue or repeat the 12-week program. If the weight loss goal was achieved at the end of 12, otherwise on completion of 24 weeks of weight loss, participants were re-randomized to one of two online maintenance programs (maintenance basic or maintenance enhanced), until 18 months from commencing the weight loss program. Assessments took place at baseline, three, six, and 18 months after commencing the initial weight loss intervention with control participants repeating the initial assessment after three month of waiting. The primary outcome is body mass index (BMI). Other outcomes include weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, plasma markers of cardiovascular disease risk, dietary intake, eating behaviours, physical activity and quality of life.</p> <p>Both the weight loss and maintenance of lost weight programs were based on social cognitive theory with participants advised to set goals, self-monitor weight, dietary intake and physical activity levels. The enhanced weight loss and maintenance programs provided additional personalized, system-generated feedback on progress and use of the program. Details of the methodological aspects of recruitment, inclusion criteria, randomization, intervention programs, assessments and statistical analyses are described.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Importantly, this paper describes how an RCT of a currently available commercial online program in Australia addresses some of the short falls in the current literature pertaining to the efficacy of web-based weight loss programs.</p> <p>Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) number: ACTRN12610000197033</p