Disaster Loses in the Developing World: Evidence from the August 1999 Earthquake in Turkey

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impacts of a natural disaster on a developing country’s economy. In that sense, we look at the impact of August 1999 earthquake in Turkey on two important macroeconomic indicators of the Turkish economy (Real Output and Employment) with recovery policies followed by the government and international donors. Our results indicate that the earthquake had a significant immediate negative impact on both output and employment growth in Turkey. While output growth reverted back to its predisaster pattern after the initial shock, employment growth did not recover. The earthquake had both a short run and long run influence on the Turkish economy. This study will develop understanding of the possible effects of future earthquakes. Also, it will help the Turkish Government evaluate already-applied mitigation measures (like Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool etc.) and guide the preparation for forthcoming disasters since scientists have reached a consensus that a major earthquake is expected in Istanbul.

Dune field pattern formation and recent transporting winds in the Olympia Undae Dune Field, north polar region of Mars

High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) imagery of the central Olympia Undae Dune Field in the north polar region of Mars shows a reticulate dune pattern consisting of two sets of nearly orthogonal dune crestlines, with apparent slipfaces on the primary crests, ubiquitous wind ripples, areas of coarse-grained wind ripples, and deflated interdune areas. Geomorphic evidence and dune field pattern analysis of dune crest length, spacing, defect density, and orientation indicates that the pattern is complex, representing two constructional generations of dunes. The oldest and best-organized generation forms the primary crestlines and is transverse to circumpolar easterly winds. Gross bed form-normal analysis of the younger pattern of crestlines indicates that it emerged with both circumpolar easterly winds and NE winds and is reworking the older pattern. Mapping of secondary flow fields over the dunes indicates that the most recent transporting winds were from the NE. The younger pattern appears to represent an influx of sediment to the dune field associated with the development of the Olympia Cavi reentrant, with NE katabatic winds channeling through the reentrant. A model of the pattern reformation based upon the reconstructed primary winds and resulting secondary flow fields shows that the development of the secondary pattern is controlled by the boundary condition of the older dune topography

Measuring the Regional Economic Response to Hurricane Katrina

Naturkatastrophe; Sturm; Makroökonomischer Einfluss; USA

Serena and Circle Valley medic establishment

Since the commercial release of the burr medics Serens in 1983, and Circle Valley ayearlater, much has been learnt about the establishment and management of these pasture legumes. When sown on suitable soils and with appropriate establishment and management techniques, these medics have the potential to dramatically change farm profitability. This results from both increased production from livestock and from improved cereal crops grown in rotation

Dosimetric impact of gastrointestinal air column in radiation treatment of pancreatic cancer

OBJECTIVE: Dosimetric evaluation of air column in gastrointestinal (GI) structures in intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) of pancreatic cancer. METHODS: Nine sequential patients were retrospectively chosen for dosimetric analysis of air column in the GI apparatus in pancreatic cancer using cone beam CT (CBCT). The four-dimensional CT (4DCT) was used for target and organs at risk (OARs) and non-coplanar IMRT was used for treatment. Once a week, these patients underwent CBCT for air filling, isocentre verification and dose calculations retrospectively. RESULTS: Abdominal air column variation was as great as ±80% between weekly CBCT and 4DCT. Even with such a large air column in the treatment path for pancreatic cancer, changes in anteroposterior dimension were minimal (2.8%). Using IMRT, variations in air column did not correlate dosimetrically with large changes in target volume. An average dosimetric deviation of mere -3.3% and a maximum of -5.5% was observed. CONCLUSION: CBCT revealed large air column in GI structures; however, its impact is minimal for target coverage. Because of the inherent advantage of segmentation in IMRT, where only a small fraction of a given beam passes through the air column, this technique might have an advantage over 3DCRT in treating upper GI malignancies where the daily air column can have significant impact. Advances in knowledge: Radiation treatment of pancreatic cancer has significant challenges due to positioning, imaging of soft tissues and variability of air column in bowels. The dosimetric impact of variable air column is retrospectively studied using CBCT. Even though, the volume of air column changes by ± 80%, its dosimetric impact in IMRT is minimum

A Bayesian Updating Framework for Simulating Marine Energy Converter Drive Train Reliability

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from METSINTRODUCTION: Accurately quantifying and assessing the reliability of Marine Energy Converters (MEC’s) is critical for the successful commercialization of the industry. Without improvements in reliability and hence reductions in operation & maintenance (O&M) costs, the industry will struggle to reach competitive Levelised Cost of Energy (LCoE). At present, due to the nascent stage of the industry and commercial sensitivities there is very little reliability field data available. This presents an issue: how can the reliability of MEC devices be accurately assessed and predicted with a lack of specific reliability data? [...]The support of the ETI and RCUK Energy Program funding for IDCORE (EP/J500847/1) is gratefully acknowledged