In this paper, the concept of distributed cognition is used to inform the design, development and trialling of technologies to support Crime Scene Examination is reported. A user trial, with trainee Crime Scene Examiners, was conducted to compare the ways in which evidence search and recovery could be combined with the production of a crime scene report (that must be written at the scene). Participants completed the crime scene report using either the conventional paper form, an electronic form on a tablet computer (to represent the current trend in digitisation of crime scene reports), or a wearable computer (with speech input). While both computer conditions (tablet and wearable) led to faster performance, when compared with the paper condition, there was no difference in content or quality of the reports produced in any of the three conditions; thus, the computer conditions produced acceptable reports in much faster time when compared to conventional practice. Furthermore, activity sampling analysis showed that participants found it much easier to integrate the wearable computer (than either paper forms or tablet computer) into their search and recovery activity.

Ce mémoire vise à analyser les différentes formes de l’appropriation musicale à travers, notamment, un travail de définitions. Nous tenterons plus précisément de déterminer l’influence de l’environnement technoculturel sur l’appropriation, et plus particulièrement comment ces formes ont évolué en passant de la graphosphère à l’audiovidéosphère.

Surface monitoring by using swabs forms a regular part of environmental monitoring of cleanrooms. There are different factors that affect swab recovery, from tip type to enumeration method. One factor, for swabs where the microorganisms are detached from the swab tip and which are then membrane filtered, is the period of vortex mixing. This paper discusses microbial surface sampling, and the factors that affect swab recovery. The paper presents some experimental data where vortex times are considered for a range of microorganisms. The study outcome indicates that 15 seconds vortex mixing is sufficient to obtain microbial recoveries from the swab tip above 50%.

In this pilot study, we point out potential differences between calcaneal trabecular microarchitecture in humans and nonhuman large apes, such as increased degree of anisotropy, reduced bone volume fraction, and very stereotypical orientation of the trabeculae. Even though sample size does not permit us to investigate the issue statistically, the observed differences between humans and other hominoids warrants further in-depth investigation. We also show that some in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com).

his paper is concerned with a computational solution for normal optical flow estimation using space-variant image sampling. The article describes one solution for the problem based on log-Tpol ar images, including the algorithm implementation on digital signal processing hardware. The log-polar structure achieves high data compressing rates by maintaining a high resolution area-the fovea-and a space-variant resolution-the retinal periphery. This sampling scheme enables the implementation of selective processing, characteristic of attentive vision. The solution was developed to be used with an active vision system to pursue moving objects, assuming that the cameras could also move. Some properties of the log-polar structure are also described and the main results of the implementation are presented.

Experimental research involves comparing two or more conditions. One of those conditions in single subject research is often the baseline. Adequate description of the baseline conditions is necessary for evaluating the effects of independent variables, drawing generalizations from studies, and providing information for subsequent replication studies. Suggestions are made about the types of information to include when describing baseline conditions in research reports.

Inorganic ions and trace metals in total suspended particles were measured during the period 2006-2007 at four sites; three urban sites in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) and one nearby rural site in the state of Morelos. SO 4 2− , NO 3 − , Cl − and NH 4 + ions were analyzed by ion chromatography; Na + , K + , Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy, and Al, Cd, Cr, Mn, Pb and V by an atomic absorption spectrometer with a graphite furnace attachment. The results indicated that SO 4 2− was the most abundant ion. All trace elements except Mn and V showed statistically significant differences between sampling sites. Pearson's correlation applied to all data showed a high correlation among SO 4 2− , NO 3 − and NH 4 + , indicating a common anthropogenic origin. In addition, the correlation observed between Ca 2+ and Al indicated a crustal origin, as supported by the enrichment factors. Over the total sampling period, significant differences in particles and trace metals were found between sites and meteorological seasons.

Monte Carlo methods use sampling to produce approximate solutions to problems for which other methods aren't practical. In this homework assignment, we study three uses of Monte Carlo methods: for function minimization, discrete optimization, and counting.

In the first part of the study, nine estimators of the first-order autoregressive parameter are reviewed and a new estimator is proposed. The relationships and discrepancies between the estimators are discussed in order to achieve a clear differentiation. In the second part of the study, the precision in the estimation of autocorrelation is studied. The performance of the ten lag-one autocorrelation estimators is compared in terms of Mean Square Error (combining bias and variance) using data series generated by Monte Carlo simulation. The results show that there is not a single optimal estimator for all conditions, suggesting that the estimator ought to be chosen according to sample size and to the information available on the possible direction of the serial dependence. Additionally, the probability of labelling an actually existing autocorrelation as statistically significant is explored using Monte Carlo sampling. The power estimates obtained are quite similar among the tests ass...

Comparing species richness among assemblages using sample units: why not use extrapolation methods to standardize different sample sizes?-Oikos 101: 398-410. Comparisons of species richness among assemblages using different sample sizes may produce erroneous conclusions due to the strong positive relationship between richness and sample size. A current way of handling the problem is to standardize sample sizes to the size of the smallest sample in the study. A major criticism about this approach is the loss of information contained in the larger samples. A potential way of solving the problem is to apply extrapolation techniques to smaller samples, and produce an estimated species richness expected to occur if sample size were increased to the same size of the largest sample. We evaluated the reliability of 11 potential extrapolation methods over a range of different data sets and magnitudes of extrapolation. The basic approach adopted in the evaluation process was a comparison between the observed richness in a sample and the estimated richness produced by estimators using a sub-sample of the same sample. The Log-Series estimator was the most robust for the range of data sets and sub-sample sizes used, followed closely by Negative Binomial, SO-J1, Logarithmic, Stout and Vandermeer, and Weibull estimators. When applied to a set of independently replicated samples from a species-rich assemblage, 95% confidence intervals of estimates produced by the six best evaluated methods were comparable to those of observed richness in the samples. Performance of estimators tended to be better for species-rich data sets rather than for those which contained few species. Good estimates were found when extrapolating up to 1.8-2.0 times the size of the sample. We suggest that the use of the best evaluated methods within the range of indicated conditions provides a safe solution to the problem of losing information when standardizing different sample sizes to the size of the smallest sample.

Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of ...

The Mid-Mediterranean Jet has been considered to be, since the 1990s, a more or less continuous surface current meandering across most of the eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea, generating a series of eddies. This relatively recent view of the current, which was not found in earlier circulation diagrams and does not have any theoretical support, emerges more or less from simple statistics applied to any kind of in situ data. Here we use a relatively large set of surface drifter trajectories, which provide reasonable sampling of the area of interest, to show how mesoscale anticyclonic eddies generated elsewhere with specific diameters, locations and displacements, can provide a misleading picture by suggesting the occurrence of a mid basin jet which is actually nothing more than a data analysis artefact.

The Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) of Soultz-sous-Forêts (France) is made of three boreholes (GPK2, GPK3 and GPK4). The hydraulic connection between the wells, which is crucial to get an efficient geothermal exchanger, may be unfortunately hindered by the more or less complete sealing of fractures by hydrothermal neoformed minerals. This paper takes over the recent work of the authors that quantified the amounts of calcite on a random sampling within the three boreholes in order to assess the role of this mineral on the exchanger zone and in particular its influence on the permeability of the flow pathways. In the present study we focused the sampling on the fracture zones that have been identified as flow pathways. Now, all the three wells show high (above 10 wt.%) and moderate to low (between 2.0 and 7.0 wt.%) calcite anomalies. In GPK2, fracture zones with a high conductivity are characterized by high calcite content, and those with a low conductivity by low calcite content. The fracture zones of GPK3 show the opposite relationship: the most efficient flow pathways have a low calcite content, whilst the less conductive show a high calcite content. Fluid flow in GPK4 is mainly accommodated by the fracture zone at 4775 m MD that is not calcite rich. The other fracture zones of GPK4, which are interpreted with a similar and low conductivity, show low, moderate and high calcite contents. These data show clearly that GPK2 is different from GPK3 and GPK4, these two later being more comparable. It suggests that the fracture zones themselves may be of different type, and that the connectivity to the fracture network may be different too. This difference of behaviour is consistent with microseismicity data showing that GPK2 is characterized by a rather compact and well structured network of medium-scale fracture whereas GPK3 and GPK4 are altogether characterized by more localized and discrete fracture zones. Some issues remain such as the occurrence of calcite anomalies with no evident relationship with fracture zones, as well as the occurrence of identified flow pathways with no abnormal calcite content.

1] We use a global hydrographic dataset to study the effect of instrument related biases on the estimates of longterm temperature changes in the global ocean since the 1950s. The largest discrepancies are found between the expendable bathythermographs (XBT) and bottle and CTD data, with XBT temperatures being positively biased by 0.2-0.4°C on average. Since the XBT data are the largest proportion of the dataset, this bias results in a significant World Ocean warming artefact when time periods before and after introduction of XBT are compared. Using biascorrected XBT data we argue reduces the ocean heat content change since the 1950s by a factor of 0.62. Our estimate of the ocean heat content increase (0-3000 m) between 1957 -66 and 1987-96 is 12.8Á10 22 J. Because of imperfect sampling this estimate has an uncertainty of at least 8Á10 22 J.

In this paper,w ec onsider the problem of learning to predict the correct pose of a 3D object, assuming orthographic projection and 3D linear transformations. A neural network is trained to learn the desired mapping.F irst, we consider the problem of predicting all possible views that an object can produce.T his is performed by representing the object with a small number of reference views and using algebraic functions of views to construct the space of all possible views that the object can produce.F undamental to this procedurei sam ethodology based on Singular Value Decomposition and Interval Arithmetic for estimating of the ranges of values that the parameterso fa lgebraic functions can assume.Then, a neural network is trained using a number of views (training views) whicha re generated by sampling the space of views of the object. During learning,a training viewispresented to the inputs of the network which is required to respond at its outputs with the parameterso f the algebraic functions used to generate the viewf romt he reference views. Compared to similar approaches in the literature, the proposed approachh as the advantage that it does not requiret he 3D models of the objects or a large number of views, it is extendible to other types of projections, and it is morepractical for object recognition.

Item compilations and booklet design for the main study 3.2.9 Assembling the item blocks for inclusion in the booklets 3.3 Scoring the Assessment Items 3.3.1 General method used to score the constructed-response items 3.3.2 Developing the scoring guides 3.3.3 Item release policy References THE TEACHER EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT STUDY IN MATHEMATICS (TEDS-M) TECHNICAL REPORT

Various sites in the valley of the Sant Cugat stream in Cerdanyola del Vallès (Catalonia) were subject to systematic archaeobotanical sampling to obtain an overview of the crops and agriculture of the area during the Iron Age and late antiquity. In all cases, the most numerous taxa were crop plants. Among these, cereals were clearly predominant at all sites investigated, especially Hordeum vulgare var. vulgare (hulled barley) and Triticum aestivum/ durum (bread or macaroni wheat), both in numbers and frequency. Other cereals, such as Triticum dicoccum (emmer) or Setaria italica (foxtail bristle-grass), were regularly present in considerably lower numbers but in fairly high frequencies. Pulses were much less numerous, although their presence increases in terms of frequency. Among them, clearly the best represented was Lens culinaris (lentil). The results show that the agriculture in the period considered was principally based on winter cereals, with a gradual substitution of hulled barley by bread/hard wheat, accompanied by other cereals of minor importance, led by Triticum dicoccum (emmer), and pulses. The appearance of Vitis (grapevine) in the Iberian period is one of the important characteristics of agriculture in the Iberian world.

Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to a penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number.

Spatio-temporal variations in the water quality of the Chao Phraya River, Thailand, were examined, on average-yearly basis, between 1999 and 2008, from 32 surface water stations from the river origin to the delta. Five water quality parameters viz., DO, BOD, TCB, FCB, NH3-N and water temperature were used in the analysis. Analysis was performed by using the Self Organizing Maps. Four distinct spatially approached clusters were classified, according to the similarity of water quality parameters, while temporal variations of most of the surface water stations were not obviously observed. The worst water quality condition was at the stations near the river delta and highly related to anthropogenic stresses. Result from the correspondence analysis showed that, except for the cluster of the worst water quality, the stations of the remaining three clusters were overlapped. There was no statistical difference in water temperature among clusters but the expected effects from climate change should be a precautionary focus since the will eventually affect the water quality.

Sampling from large networks represents a fundamental challenge for social network research. In this paper, we explore the sensitivity of different sampling techniques (node sampling , edge sampling, random walk sampling, and snowball sampling) on social networks with attributes. We consider the special case of networks (i) where we have one attribute with two values (e.g., male and female in the case of gender), (ii) where the size of the two groups is unequal (e.g., a male majority and a female minority), and (iii) where nodes with the same or different attribute value attract or repel each other (i.e., homophilic or heterophilic behavior). We evaluate the different sampling techniques with respect to conserving the position of nodes and the visibility of groups in such networks. Experiments are conducted both on synthetic and empirical social networks. Our results provide evidence that different network sampling techniques are highly sensitive with regard to capturing the expected centrality of nodes, and that their accuracy depends on relative group size differences and on the level of homophily that can be observed in the network. We conclude that uninformed sampling from social networks with attributes thus can significantly impair the ability of researchers to draw valid conclusions about the centrality of nodes and the visibility or invisibility of groups in social networks.

Middle school students' experiences at afterschool programs were compared as they participated in different types of activities and with different social partners. The students (N = 165) attended eight programs in three Midwestern states. A total of 1,596 experiences were randomly sampled using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) during 1 week in the fall of 2001 and 1 week in the spring of 2002. Student engagement was conceptualized as the simultaneous experience of concentration, interest, and enjoyment. Students reported high levels of engagement while participating in sports activities and arts enrichment activities at the after-school programs, and low levels of engagement while completing homework at programs. They reported being more engaged in activities involving both adults and peers than activities with peers only. Concentrated effort, intrinsic motivation, and positive and negative mood states were also compared by program activities and social partners. Findings about participants' subjective experiences and engagement in specific program activities have implications for understanding after-school programs as a context for youth development.

This paper describes a novel extension of the photon mapping algorithm, capable of handling both volume multiple inelastic scattering and curved light paths simultaneously. The extension is based on the Full Radiative Transfer Equation (FRTE) and Fermat's law, and yields physically accurate, high-dynamic data than can be used for image generation or for other simulation purposes, such as driving simulators, underwater vision or lighting studies in architecture. Photons are traced into the participating medium with a varying index of refraction, and their curved trajectories followed (curved paths are the cause of certain atmospheric effects such as mirages or rippling desert images). Every time a photon is absorbed, a Russian roulette algorithm based on the quantum efficiency of the medium determines whether the inelastic scattering event takes place (causing volume fluorescence). The simulation of both underwater and atmospheric effects is shown, providing a global illumination solution without the restrictions of previous approaches.

Consider a stochastic process (X; A), where X represents the evolution of a system over time, and A is an associated point process that has stationary independent increments. Suppose we are interested in estimating the time average frequency of the process X being in a set of states. Often it is more convenient to have a sampling procedure for estimating the time average based on averaging the observed values of X (Tn) (Tn being a point of A) over a long period of time: the event average of the process. In this paper we examine the situation when the two procedures-event averaging and time averaging-produce the same estimate (the ASTA property: Arrivals See Time Averages). We prove a result stronger than ASTA. Under a lack-of-anticipation assumption we prove that the point process, A, restricted to any set of states, has the same probabilistic structure as the original point process. In particular, if the original point process is Poisson the new point process is still Poisson with the same parameter as the original point process. We develop our results in the more general setting of a stochastic process (X; A), that is, a process with an imbedded cumulative process, A = {A(t); t ¿ 0}, which is assumed to be a Levy process with non-decreasing sample paths. This framework allows for modeling uid processes, as well as compound Poisson processes with non-integer increments. First, we state the result in discrete time; the discrete-time result is then extended to the continuous-time case using limiting arguments and weak-convergence theory. As a corollary we give a proof of ASTA under weak conditions and a simple, intuitive proof of (Poisson Arrivals See Time Averages) under the standard conditions. The results are useful in queueing and statistical sampling theory.

ISDM (Integrated Social Network Decision Models) is a methodology and tool kit which supports full planning cycles for SSTR, disaster relief and humanitarian missions in cross-cultural environments.  ISDM guides users in developing a decision model that enhances the efficient collection and analysis of model-related data, especially from non-cooperative populations. ISDM also guides users in useful analysis while seamlessly accounting for missing or incomplete data; finally reintegrating the findings into the decision model for understanding.
As part of our continued testing of ISDM, we conducted a one-day “flash” study at UCLA to verify that the entire system could function both rapidly and effectively as a single integrated unit.  The study involved one graduate student and several undergraduate students, none of whom had any prior exposure to the ISDM methodology or toolkit.  We presented them with a scenario in which an academic institution was greatly concerned about the pervasiveness of cheating on tests.  The scenario required the student team to address the problem of potential strategies, resources and inherent uncertainties by gathering data from students on campus.
The “flash” study dramatically demonstrated how rapidly ISDM could be used by untrained users as a complete process that begins with an uncertainty to be understood and ends with a confident decision based on robust analysis of empirical data.  The entire process for our “flash” study was completed in a fraction of a day!  The process steps comprised: (1) problem understanding; (2) survey generation; (3) data collection; (4) analysis; and (5) selecting an optimal strategy based on the new intelligence and enhanced understanding of the situation.

The American Conference of Governmental Industrial hygienists (ACGIH) lowered the threshold limit value (TLV) for respirable crystalline silica (RCS) exposure from 0.05 to 0.025 mg m 23 in 2006. For a working environment with an airborne dust concentration near this lowered TLV, the sample collected with current standard respirable aerosol samplers might not provide enough RCS for quantitative analysis. Adopting high flow rate sampling devices for respirable dust containing silica may provide a sufficient amount of RCS to be above the limit of quantification even for samples collected for less than full shift. The performances of three high flow rate respirable samplers (CIP10-R, GK2.69, and FSP10) have been evaluated in this study. Eleven different sizes of monodisperse aerosols of ammonium fluorescein were generated with a vibrating orifice aerosol generator in a calm air chamber in order to determine the sampling efficiency of each sampler. Aluminum oxide particles generated by a fluidized bed aerosol generator were used to test (i) the uniformity of a modified calm air chamber, (ii) the effect of loading on the sampling efficiency, and (iii) the performance of dust collection compared to lower flow rate cyclones in common use in the USA (10-mm nylon and Higgins-Dewell cyclones). The coefficient of variation for eight simultaneous samples in the modified calm air chamber ranged from 1.9 to 6.1% for triplicate measures of three different aerosols. The 50% cutoff size ( 50 d ae ) of the high flow rate samplers operated at the flow rates recommended by manufacturers were determined as 4.7, 4.1, and 4.8 mm for CIP10-R, GK2.69, and FSP10, respectively. The mass concentration ratio of the high flow rate samplers to the low flow rate cyclones decreased with decreasing mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) and high flow rate samplers collected more dust than low flow rate samplers by a range of 2-11 times based on gravimetric analysis. Dust loading inside the high flow rate samplers does not appear to affect the particle separation in either FSP10 or GK2.69. The high flow rate samplers overestimated compared to the International Standards Organization/ Comité Européen de Normalisation/ACGIH respirable convention [up to 40% at large MMAD (27.5 mm)] and could provide overestimated exposure data with the current flow rates. However, both cyclones appeared to be able to provide relatively unbiased assessments of RCS when their flow rates were adjusted.

Corporations of all sizes form teams in order to tackle quality problems. Often, these teams are given a quantifiable goal such as ''reduce defects by 40% within the next two months.'' In order to assess whether or not the goal has been met, data must be gathered. In this article, we develop methods for determining the sample sizes necessary for detecting relative quality improvements, with specified probability, in finite and infinite populations. We provide formulas for the calculations and use the Solver function in Excel to implement normal approximations to the solutions. In addition, we provide methods, based on the hypergeometric distribution, for finding the exact error rates (a and b) for given samples sizes. A real-life example is discussed and modified to illustrate cases with finite and infinite populations.

We discuss the clustering of 234 environmental samples resulting from an extensive monitoring program concerning soil lead content, plant lead content, traffic density, and distance from the road at different sampling locations in former East Germany. Considering the structure of data and the unsatisfactory results obtained applying classical clustering and principal component analysis, it appeared evident that fuzzy clustering could be one of the best solutions. In the following order we used different fuzzy clustering algorithms, namely, the fuzzy c-means (FCM) algorithm, the Gustafson-Kessel (GK) algorithm, which may detect clusters of ellipsoidal shapes in data by introducing an adaptive distance norm for each cluster, and the fuzzy c-varieties (FCV) algorithm, which was developed for recognition of r-dimensional linear varieties in high-dimensional data (lines, planes or hyperplanes). Fuzzy clustering with convex combination of point prototypes and different multidimensional linear prototypes is also discussed and applied for the first time in analytical chemistry (environmetrics). The results obtained in this study show the advantages of the FCV and GK algorithms over the FCM algorithm. The performance of each algorithm is illustrated by graphs and evaluated by the values of some conventional cluster validity indices. The values of the validity indices are in very good agreement with the quality of the clustering results.

We used a standardised behavioural surveillance survey (BSS), modified to be directly relevant to populations in conflict and post-conflict settings as well as to their surrounding host populations, to survey the populations of a refugee settlement in southwestern Uganda and its surrounding area. Two-stage probability sampling was used to conduct 800 interviews in each population. The BSS questionnaire adapted for displaced populations was administered to adults aged 15-59 years. It collected information on HIV knowledge, attitudes and practices; issues before, during and after displacement; level of interaction and sexual exploitation among the refugees and host communities (i.e., nationals). Population parameters were compared and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for core HIV indicators. The demographic characteristics were similar (except for educational achievement), and HIV awareness was very high (>95%) in both populations. The refugees reported more-accepting attitudes towards persons with HIV than did nationals (19% versus 13%; p < 0.01). More refugees than nationals reported ever having had transactional sex (10% versus 6%; p < 0.01), which mostly occurred post-displacement. Five percent of females among both the refugees and nationals reported experiencing forced sex, which mostly occurred post-displacement and after the arrival of refugees, respectively. Nationals reported more frequent travel to refugee settlements than reported by refugees to national villages (22% versus 11%; p < 0.01). The high mobility and frequent interactions of these two populations suggest that integrated HIV programmes should be developed and would be an efficient use of resources. Evidence suggesting that female refugees may be at elevated risk for HIV infection, due to forced sex, transactional sex and other vulnerabilities, warrants further examination through qualitative research. The findings indicate a need for additional, focused HIV-prevention programmes, such as youth education, for both refugees and Ugandan nationals.

This paper proposes a stochastic programming model and solution algorithm for solving supply chain network design problems of a realistic scale. Existing approaches for these problems are either restricted to deterministic environments or can only address a modest number of scenarios for the uncertain problem parameters. Our solution methodology integrates a recently proposed sampling strategy, the sample average approximation (SAA) scheme, with an accelerated Benders decomposition algorithm to quickly compute high quality solutions to large-scale stochastic supply chain design problems with a huge (potentially infinite) number of scenarios. A computational study involving two real supply chain networks are presented to highlight the significance of the stochastic model as well as the efficiency of the proposed solution strategy.

Extant data collected through the Experience Sampling Method-a signal contingent method for gathering data about students' immediate experienceswere analyzed to describe adolescents' subjective experiences doing homework. Analyses were conducted to explore variation in subjective experience in relation to the contexts in which homework was completed, and in relation to academic and social-emotional outcomes. Students' cognitive, affective, and motivational states showed significant variations depending on who they were with when they were doing homework, as well as whether homework was their primary or secondary activity. Variations in the quality of homework experience were, in turn, significantly associated with several outcomes, such as self-esteem, future expectations, and school grades. Findings are discussed in terms of contributions to the homework literature by addressing the much needed link between homework and students' cognitive, affective, and motivational states.

Sediment traps were deployed on the Northwest Shelf (NWS) of Australia in November 1996, to determine fluxes of organic matter and inorganic elements from the photic zone to deeper waters in a transect extending from Exmouth Shelf to Exmouth Plateau. Infiltrex II water samplers collected particulate and dissolved organics from the water column near the trap sites. Surface sediments and sediment cores were also collected over the study region. Lipid biomarkers were used to determine the sources of organic carbon and its cycling processes on the NWS.Dry weight fluxes from the traps ranged from 124 to 616 mg m−2 day−1and particulate organic carbon (POC) fluxes ranged from 22 to 42 mg m−2 day−1. The biogenic lipids consisted of biomarkers indicative of marine zooplankton, phytoplankton and bacteria, plus traces of land plant markers. A large contribution of unresolved complex material (UCM), which is indicative of petroleum, was detected at four times the biogenic hydrocarbon flux at shallow stations, and up to seven times the biogenic hydrocarbon flux at the most offshore station.There is essentially no river input, and only trace aeolian-derived material to contribute to primary production on the NWS of Australia. Most of the organic matter produced are rapidly recycled in the water column and the small fraction of lipids that settle to the sediments is already partially degraded and undergoes further rapid degradation in the surface sediments. Natural oil seeps also provide utilisable organic carbon to the system. The production and vertical flux rates of organics determined in this study are comparable to those reported in studies of shallow traps in oceanic areas from long-term studies in the Arabian Sea, and other coastal margins such as the Bay of Biscay (France) and California (USA).In offshore areas, most “living” lipid materials passed through the GFF filters thus invalidating POC estimates based on high volume sampling. To adequately assess living (particulate) carbon, gentle filtration of low volume seawater samples is more accurate, as shown by this solid phase absorption study of individual lipid biomarkers.

Samples of polyethylene pellets were collected at 30 beaches from 17 countries and analyzed for organochlorine compounds. PCB concentrations in the pellets were highest on US coasts, followed by western Europe and Japan, and were lower in tropical Asia, southern Africa and Australia. This spatial pattern reflected regional differences in the usage of PCBs and was positively correlated with data from Mussel Watch, another monitoring approach. DDTs showed high concentrations on the US west coast and in Vietnam. In Vietnam, DDT was predominant over its metabolites (DDE and DDD), suggesting the principal source may be current usage of the pesticide for malaria control. High concentrations of pesticide HCHs were detected in the pellets from southern Africa, suggesting current usage of the pesticides in southern Africa. This study demonstrates the utility and feasibility of the International Pellet Watch approach to monitor POPs at a global scale.

We suggest a new procedure for defining the boundaries of the strata in highly skewed populations, usual in auditing, which is much easier to use than the commonly used cumulative root frequency method of Hodges (1957, 1959). We implement it on two audit populations, one a population of debtors in an Irish firm, and the other a population of sales and use tax liabilities in the US. Our results show that the new method compares favourably with the cumulative root frequency method in terms of the accuracy of the estimates.

A baseline survey of small and medium scale poultry enterprises were carried out in Enugu and Lagos States of Nigeria. The primary purpose of the study is to determine the prospects for the commercialization of the poultry industry in Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling method was employed in the selection of representative small and medium scale poultry farms and farmers from the two target states. Characteristics of both small and medium-scale poultry farms, baseline performance indicators as well as needs assessment of poultry farmers, among other information, were elicited and documented. It was established that the identified constraints, notwithstanding, small and medium scale poultry production holds great potential for commercialistion. It was recommended that there is the need for provision of gender-sensitive technologies (eg hatcheries, feed mills, processing equipment etc), formation of cooperatives by poultry farmers, public-private partnership, capacity building of poultry f...

The combined remediation mechanisms of volatilization and biodegradation in the vadose zone were investigated for naphthalene remediation at a creosote-contaminated site where a poplar tree-based phytoremediation system has been installed. Concurrent field and laboratory experiments were conducted to study the transport and biodegradation of naphthalene in the vadose zone. Soil gas sampling showed that more than 90% of the naphthalene vapors were biodegraded aerobically within 5-10 cm above the water table during the summer months. Peak naphthalene soil gas concentrations were observed in the late summer, corresponding with peak naphthalene aqueous concentrations and the minimum saturated zone thickness. An analytical solution was developed for vapor transport where the diffusion coefficient and firstorder biodegradation rate vary vertically in two discrete zones. First-order aerobic biodegradation rates in laboratory columns using unsaturated site soil ranged from 5 to 28 days-1 with a mean rate of 11 days-1. The observed naphthalene mass flux at the source (3.3-22 µg cm-2 d-1) was enhanced by aerobic biodegradation and was greater than the mean observed flux in the abiotic control column and the maximum theoretical mass flux by factors of 7 and 28, respectively.

The long-term objective of this research is to develop a theoretical foundation for the design of new multi-static sonar concepts for littoral seabed imaging and mine counter measures (MCM) operations. Multistatic configurations have been made possible by the development with ONR support of new inexpensive autonomous underwater vehicle technology. OBJECTIVES The specific objective of this project is to develop and validate theoretical and numerical models of the 3-D spatial statistics of the seismo-acoustic field produced by targets on and within a rough elastic seabed. These models are then applied to develop an improved understanding of the dominant physical processes governing the performance of moderate-to-high frequency sonar systems for detection and classification of objects above and below the seabed in shallow water environments.

suspended particulate samples were collected at three stations in the Canadian Arctic between 1979 and 1984. The halogens, Cl, Br and I were determined, along with a comprehensive suite of elements and ions. As was previously observed in Alaska, Br was found to peak every year just after the Arctic dawn, reaching concentrations of two orders of magnitude greater than could be explained by marine, automotive and crustal sources. Chlorine concentration correlated closely with that of Na, indicating a marine origin. It was found to be strongly depleted relative to Na during periods of high sulphate concentration. Iodine was found to be enormously enriched relative to seawater by a factor of looCrlO,ooO. The enrichment was least during the early winter when marine aerosol concentrations were at their highest. At locations remote from open oceans I con~ntrations exhibited two annual peaks, one in the spring, and one during the early autumn. No clear correlations with other parameters could be found for these peaks. At locations close to open ocean, concentrations were higher than at the inland sites and did not vary seasonally.

Basic to many psychological investigations is the question of agreement between observers who independently categorize people. Several recent studies have proposed measures of agredment when a set of' ominal scale categories have been pre-defined and imposed on both observers. This study, in contrast, developes a measure of agreement for setting's where, observers independently define their own categories. Thus, it is possible for observers to delineate different numbers of categories, with different names. Computational formulae for the mean and variance of the proposed :agreement measure are given; further, a statistic with a large-Aample normal distribution is suggested for-testing the.null hypothesis of random agreement. A computer based conpatisOn of the large sample approximation with the exact distribution of the test statistic shows a generally good fit, even for moderate sample sizes. Finally, a worked example-involviAg two psychologists' classifications of children illustrates the computations. (Author)

Aim The aims of this study are to resolve terminological confusion around different types of species-area relationships (SARs) and their delimitation from species sampling relationships (SSRs), to provide a comprehensive overview of models and analytical methods for SARs, to evaluate these theoretically and empirically, and to suggest a more consistent approach for the treatment of species-area data.

Since Flint returned to its pre-crisis source of drinking water close to 25,000 water samples have been collected and tested for lead and copper in more than 10,000 residences. This paper presents the first analysis and time trend modeling of lead data, providing new insights about the impact of this intervention. The analysis started with geocoding all water lead levels (WLL) measured during an 11-month period following the return to the Detroit water supply. Each data was allocated to the corresponding tax parcel unit and linked to secondary datasets, such as the composition of service lines, year built, or census tract poverty level. Only data collected on residential parcels within the City limits were used in the analysis. One key feature of Flint data is their collection through two different sampling initiatives: (i) voluntary or homeowner-driven sampling whereby concerned citizens decided to acquire a testing kit and conduct sampling on their own (non-sentinel sites), and (ii) State-controlled sampling where data were collected bi-weekly at selected sites after training of residents by technical teams (sentinel sites). Temporal trends modeled from these two datasets were found to be statistically different with fewer sentinel data exceeding WLL thresholds ranging from 10 to 50 g/L. Even after adjusting for housing characteristics the odds ratio (OR) of measuring WLL above 15 g/L at non-sentinel sites is significantly greater than 1 (OR=1.480) and it increases with the threshold (OR= 2.055 for 50 g/L). Joinpoint regression showed that the city-wide percentage of WLL data above 15 g/L displayed four successive trends since the return to Detroit Water System. Despite the recent improvement in water quality, the culprit for differences between sampling programs needs to be identified as it impacts exposure assessment and might influence whether there is compliance or not with the Lead and Copper Rule.