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ABSTRACT It is commonly admitted that the continuous development of human infrastructure (HI), resulting in natural habitat fragmentation, affects farmland birds by misleading their strategies of nest site selection. Here, we examined how HI in agricultural landscape (AL) could be affecting nest habitat selection of Barbary partridge (BP; Alectoris barbara). A total of 160 BP nests were monitored during 4 years (2017, 2018, 2021, and 2022) in eight Moroccan agricultural zones. We used the generalized linear mixed models and variation partitioning methods to quantify the effects of AL and HI on BP nest occurrence. This occurrence increased with track density (within 300 m of sampled nests) and decreased with built‐up area cover (50 m). Nest occurrence was also associated with the cover of agricultural areas (300 m), distances to the nearest agricultural area, the nearest human settlement, and the nearest track. However, the effect of these covariates depended on distance to the nearest paved road, being close to roads located far away from agricultural areas and tracks and near human settlements and tracks. Overall, our results highlighted a trend to nest close to HI when agricultural areas were relatively remote or less represented. For the effective conservation and management of the Moroccan BP populations, it is critical to keep human infrastructures at a level that allows for maintaining the relative dominance of the agricultural landscape. Further fragmentation of this landscape will impact the ability of this farmland species to select its nesting sites flexibly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dinosaur trackway studies provide valuable insights into extinct animals' locomotor behaviour. Despite limitations arising from the inability to directly observe these trackmakers, speed and gait estimation formulae have become standard tools in the field of dinosaur ichnology. Stride length has traditionally been used to estimate dinosaur average speed and intra-trackway speed variations, but its unilateral focus can overlook some nuances within trackways. Alternatively, the contralateral measure pace length may not always align with the direction of travel. Analysing data from the Mancheon-ri tracksite and others, our results show that step length aligns advantageously along the trackway axis and captures nuanced speed variations. Incorporating additional parameters such as cadence and step duration enriches our understanding of the trackmaker's movements. Cadence summarises the overall rhythm of movement across trackways, and step duration reveals temporal variations between individual steps, offering potential for 3D animated reconstructions of dinosaur behaviour. Despite these methodologies' inherent limitations and assumptions, they provided a more refined understanding of dinosaur locomotion and behavioural patterns. Acknowledging the limitations of studying unobservable trackmakers, our estimations – based on established formulas for hip height and speed – are both rooted in accepted methodologies and remain informative, enhancing our understanding of dinosaur trackmaker behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manufacturers of agricultural machines, when designing, pay a little attention to its impact on soil, thus producing models with high compression loads on the soil or with a small contact area between the tyres/tracks and the soil surface. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the negative impact of both wheeled and tracked agricultural tractors on the soil, in terms of soil compaction, and its causes (i. e. design features of tractor tyres/tracks), during the last six decades (i. e. from 1961 to 2021). Soil compaction is caused by the pressure applied by agricultural machines on the soil through the contact area of their tyres/tracks with the soil surface. So, the main indicator of the negative impact on the soil by the tractors manufactured during the last 60 years, i. e. the average pressure applied by the tyres or tracks of tractors manufactured in EU and in the post-Soviet cuntries from 1961 to 2021 to the soil, was computed. A general decrease of the average pressure of the tyres/tracks on the soil can be observed in 1980s and 1990s, followed by its general increase since 2000, above all for the tractors having power higher than 140 kW. Thus, there is an urgent need to assess spatial and temporal changes in soil vulnerability to compaction, that depends on weather conditions and soil properties, as well as agricultural management practices, and can only be fully assessed by means of a combination of traditional techniques (i. e. use of soil cone penetrometer followed by 2D mapping using GIS or 3D mapping through geostatistics) and mechanical approaches (i. e. computation of agricultural machine parameters – soil contact area). The results show that tractor manufacturers did not take care of reducing soil compaction during the considered period.

Wild mammals are often difficult to directly observe, especially in woodland and forest habitats with dense vegetation, so surveys of largely indirect signs of their activities (e.g. tracks and spoor) are often a more practical option for monitoring populations. This study compared two different approaches to surveying largely indirect indicators of activity by a range of wild mammals across a gradient of ecosystem integrity in southern Tanzania. Surveys of all such signs of wild mammal activity detected around all identifiable surface water bodies within a 2 km radius of 32 convenient camping locations with perennial surface water were complemented on alternative days with similar surveys along transects between each camp and the next camp that required similar time and effort. For most of the wild mammal species detected, radial surveys around water bodies proved more sensitive than those along transects between them, because the former approach samples distinct and convenient locations that attract most animal species. Transect surveys were found to be more sensitive for only sable (Hippotragus niger) and spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta), which are known to routinely commute considerable distances across their home ranges, and for greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) that seldom drink surface water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elongate tracks with metatarsal marks are a rare type of dinosaur track that have been identified in various locations around the world. These tracks have been attributed to both theropods and ornithischians, and the mechanism of their formation has remained elusive. In this study, we describe well-preserved elongate tracks with metatarsal marks from two adjacent track sites in the Lower Jurassic Fengjiahe Formation in Yunnan Province, China. These tracks occur together with 'normal' tridactyl tracks that lack a metatarsal mark. The tracks were produced by theropod dinosaurs and are consistent with the classic Lower Jurassic Eubrontes-Grallator-Kayentapus assemblage found in the United States. We propose that these elongate tracks are formed by deep penetrations of the foot in soft substrate, where sediment collapses above parts of the descending foot, leaving a shallow surface track that preserves a metatarsal mark. Our findings provide new insights into the locomotion and behaviour of Early Jurassic theropod dinosaurs and highlight the importance of Yunnan Province in the study of dinosaur tracks in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild vertebrates usually avoid ground disturbed by humans with uncertain effects on their distribution and density. We report on a natural experiment that confirms and extends previous conclusions about how the local distribution of capercaillie is affected by track‐based disturbance. We surveyed the birds' droppings in two periods, before and after a predicted increase in disturbance adjacent to an expanding Scottish village, and model the probability of finding droppings in relation to period plus two disturbance gradients – distance to a much disturbed 'entry zone' with a high density of tracks lying adjacent to the village, plus distance to the nearest track. Throughout the study, no droppings were found within the entry zone and their density was depressed up to 400 m from it. Density of droppings was also depressed within 100–120 m of tracks but, compared to a notional scenario without tracks, was threefold greater on ground 120–250 m from tracks. Although the number of cocks counted at the lek in spring showed a small increase, there was an almost threefold decline in the probability of finding capercaillie droppings on and within about 40 m of tracks. We infer that, after the development, birds were less likely to use or cross tracks in pursuit of their daily living requirements, with unknown consequences for their population dynamics and vital rates. Our results have implications for refuge design. Birds on roughly half of a 50 ha refuge should be undisturbed by direct effects of track‐based activities. However, birds shifting away from tracks may themselves cause local increases in density and associated, indirect disturbance such that a refuge would need to be over 300 ha to keep half of it undisturbed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hybrid multiscale model consisting of two coupled modules is used to study the effect of irradiation temperature on the kinetics of the formation of swift heavy ions tracks in silicon carbide (6H-SiC). Excitation of the electronic and atomic subsystems of the material is simulated using the Monte Carlo TREKIS-3 code. The profile of energy transferred to the atomic lattice is used as the initial conditions for molecular-dynamics simulations (using the LAMMPS package) of structural changes in the material near the trajectory of the swift heavy ion. Using the example of Bi-ion irradiation with an energy of 710 MeV, it is found that increasing irradiation temperature leads to an increase in the energy density transferred to the lattice. This induces rapid disordering of the core structure of the track at timescales on the order of 0.25 ps. At irradiation temperatures below 1800 K, subsequent recrystallization of the amorphous region within the cooling track leads to complete restoration of the material structure. At temperatures above the threshold of 1800 K, mass transfer, determined by the ejection of dislocations from the track core, results in the formation of nanoscale voids with a diameter of approximately 3 nm along the ion trajectory. The simulation results are useful for assessing the radiation resistance of silicon carbide under extreme irradiation conditions and for formulating ideas and designing new experiments on high-temperature SiC irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fossil footprints (i.e., tracks) were believed to document arch anatomical evolution, although our recent work has shown that track arches record foot kinematics instead. Analyses of track arches can thereby inform the evolution of human locomotion, although quantifying this 3‐D aspect of track morphology is difficult. Here, we present a volumetric method for measuring the arches of 3‐D models of human tracks and feet, using both Autodesk Maya and Blender software. The method involves generation of a 3‐D object that represents the space beneath the longitudinal arch, and measurement of that arch object's geometry and spatial orientation. We provide relevant tools and guidance for users to apply this technique to their own data. We present three case studies to demonstrate potential applications. These include, (1) measuring the arches of static and dynamic human feet, (2) comparing the arches of human tracks with the arches of the feet that made them, and (3) direct comparisons of human track and foot arch morphology throughout simulated track formation. The volumetric measurement tool proved robust for measuring 3‐D models of human tracks and feet, in static and dynamic contexts. This tool enables researchers to quantitatively compare arches of fossil hominin tracks, in order to derive biomechanical interpretations from them, and/or offers a different approach for quantifying foot morphology in living humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palaeozoic fossils of whip scorpions (Arachnida: Uropygi: Thelyphonida) are extremely rare, with only seven species of this age previously described. A new species of fossil whip scorpion, as well as the first ichnospecies assignable to this group, are described here from the Carboniferous Narragansett Basin of Massachusetts, USA. A body fossil from the Rhode Island Formation (Moscovian) is referred to as Parilisthelyphonus bryantae gen. nov. sp. nov.. At more than 34 mm long it represents both the largest known Palaeozoic whip scorpion and the first fossil arachnid found in the Rhode Island Formation in ~130 years of scrutiny. The whip scorpion trace fossil, comprising a full-body impression and associated tracks, is described from the subjacent Wamsutta Formation (Late Bashkirian) of Massachusetts, USA as I nmontibusichnus charleshenryturneri igen. nov. isp. nov.. With an estimated body length of less than 10 mm, the producer would be the smallest known Palaeozoic thelyphonid. These discoveries within the Narragansett Basin represent only the second site in the western hemisphere, in what was western Laurasia, to yield Palaeozoic whip scorpions. The Narragansett Basin is of significant Pangaean biogeographical importance among whip scorpion sites, being located between the westernmost Mazon Creek Lagerstätte of Illinois and the eastern assemblage of localities in Europe, and serves as an important new fossil calibration point for phylogenetic studies of this arachnid group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upon entering senior high school, students choose a career track. School counselors/designates through the career guidance advocacy activities play a vital role in student's readiness for related career decision. With this, the study determined the extent of implementation of the Career Guidance Advocacy Program and its relation to the actual career choice of the Senior High School students. A descriptive correlational research design using documentary data was utilized and conducted in 60 selected public secondary schools in the Division of Bohol which involved 1,200 Grade 11&12 students enrolled in school year 2019-2020; with 60 guidance counselors/designates and 60 homeroom advisers. The instrument used were adapted and modified by the researcher based on the guidelines stipulated in Enhance Basic Education Act of 2013; DepEd Order No. 41, series of 2015, and Developing for National Standard for School Counseling in the Philippines questionnaire by Clemeña 2010. The result showed that educational qualification, job description, years of experience, lack of training and resources and time constrained affect the conduct of the career guidance activities. For the actual choice of the students, the majority were not able to follow the NCAE result due to a lot of intervening factors. The test of correlation revealed that the career guidance activities did not directly relate with the choices of the students. Hence, areas for enhancement of the career guidance advocacy program were put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a charged particle spectrometer with an aluminum range filter attached to a CR-39 detector that does not need a calibration curve of energy versus track diameter. A californium (Cf-252) radioactive source with an activity of 160 Bq was used to irradiate groups 1, 2, and 3 of CR-39 detectors, each of five samples, at alpha energies of 2.7, 3.86, and 5.11 MeV. Different alpha energies were achieved by changing the source–detector distance. Two aluminum range filters of thicknesses 17 and 11 μ m were used in conjunction with CR-39 detectors to separate alpha particles according to their energy. The thickness of the filter was determined by the SRIM 2013 version. The tracks in group 1 (bare CR-39) are for alpha particles with energies of 2.7, 3.86, and 5.11 MeV, while the tracks in group 2 (CR39 + 11 μ m filter) are for alpha particles with energies of 3.86 and 5.11 MeV. Alpha particles with an energy of 2.7 MeV are blocked by the 11- μ m Al filter. The filter in group 3 (17 μ m ) blocked alpha particles with energies of 2.7 and 3.86 MeV and allowed the alpha particles of 5.11 MeV to pass and produce tracks. Therefore, the average number of tracks in group 3 is for 5.11 MeV alpha particles. The tracks for alpha particles of energy 3.86 MeV can be found by subtracting the tracks in group 3 from those in group 2. The difference between the average number of tracks in groups 1 and 2 is for alpha particles with an energy of 2.7 MeV. The present method could determine the tracks from each different alpha energy without using the calibration curve of energy versus track diameter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Algerian Historical Journal is the property of Algerian Historical Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The contribution focuses on the educational and didactic project which involved 4-year-old children of the Yellow class of the Ludovico Calza nursery school, in Medicina, during the 2014-2015 school year. For years, the Comprehensive State School of Medicina has been proposing a vertical project called "My country and I", which considers as its main objective the knowledge of the territory and the collaboration with the local educational agencies for the promotion of a sense of identity, of belonging within a community and for the protection of the cultural and environmental assets present. The starting point of our project is the historical re-enactment of the emperor Barbarossa who, intertwining history and legend, continues to raise emotions and to feed the curiosity and imagination of the little ones. This medieval festival, gathering the whole community, provides us with the opportunity to talk about the castle, a magical, fascinating and mysterious place, present in many fairy tales, which offers many ideas to work on.

Monitoring programs must produce reliable estimates of animal population density to effectively guide management decisions and conservation action. Popular methods used to estimate density rely on visual encounters which are difficult to obtain for many large-bodied mammals in tropical forests. This study uses the Formozov-Malyshev-Pereleshin (FMP) method to produce density estimates for four terrestrial mammals based on track counts collected by Indigenous hunters in the Amazon. The focal species include collared peccary (Peccari tajacu), white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari), lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris), and jaguar (Panthera onca). For each species, track detections were greater than visual detections and were found on more transects with a fewer number of surveys. Density estimates were produced for each focal species in hunted and nonhunted sites. These results were compared against the median of 84 density estimates located in the literature that differentiated between hunted and nonhunted sites in the Amazon. Results demonstrate that the FMP method is a reasonable and cost-efficient method. This method can directly engage Indigenous and other local peoples in research, as opposed to replacing their skills with technologies or professional biologists. Overall, this method complements traditional transect surveys and can improve our understanding and management of wildlife across the tropics.

Copyright of Palíndromo is the property of Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract Observational studies on the characteristics of tropical cyclones (TCs) crossing Mindanao and Visayas Islands, in the southern and central Philippines, respectively, remain limited. To address this research gap, this study investigates the changes in the translational speeds, the direction of motion, and intensities of 8 and 39 landfalling TCs crossing Mindanao and Visayas Islands, respectively, from 1979 to 2020. The intensities, translational speeds, and direction of motions of the TCs were characterized by their position before (approaching point; AP), during (landing point; LP), and after (departing point; DP) traversing through Mindanao and Visayas Islands. The results show a significant linear relationship in the intensity change between AP and DP, indicating a general weakening of TCs as they traverse both island groups. About 5 (29) TCs showed a decrease in intensity based on the maximum sustained wind speed (MSW) after crossing Mindanao (Visayas). The intensity of TCs with at least Typhoon category upon landfall, decreased on average (percentage) by about 23.33 kts (− 25.4%) and 24.29 kts (− 45.5%) after crossing Mindanao and Visayas, respectively. The MSW of weaker TCs decreased on average by about 6.67 kts (− 25.0%) and 8.13 kts (− 20.5%) after traversing Mindanao and Visayas, respectively. Cases with increased (1 TC for Mindanao and 6 TCs for Visayas) and no change in intensities (2 TCs for Mindanao and 4 TCs for Visayas) after crossing the island were also found. Landfalling TCs over Mindanao exhibited a characteristic where those deflected rightward (leftward) at AP tend to be deflected rightward (leftward) at DP, while no pattern was found for the TCs traversing Visayas. Furthermore, TCs moving across Mindanao and Visayas tend to decelerate as they approach and move away from the island. The findings of this study are essential for disaster mitigation and a greater understanding of the TCs behavior in terms of intensity, translational speed, and deflection. (a, c) Frequency distribution of the intensity change over Mindanao and Visayas, respectively. (b, d) Scatter diagram showing the intensity change between AP and DP with respect to different TC categories over Mindanao and Visayas, respectively. The numbers inside the black circles indicate the total number of cases if it is larger than one. The numbers inside the parentheses at the bottom of the figure indicate the total number of cases for the different TC categories.

[Display omitted] • Ion latent tracks in polymer bulk are imaged with scanning electron microscopy. • Amorphization of semicrystalline polymer makes the tracks of swift ions visible. • Soft photo-oxidation allows to obtain fracture surfaces with visible tracks. • Transverse sizes of Kr, Xe and Bi ions in polyethyleneterephthalate are estimated. This paper allows insights into how field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) can be used to observe latent tracks in semicrystalline polymers and to quantitatively estimate track dimensions. The latent tracks were clearly visible on the fractured surfaces of samples subjected to controlled photooxidation. A properly chosen ultraviolet spectrum leads to polymer degradation only in the amorphous regions while the crystalline phase is nearly not affected. The latent tracks were thus visible as structureless stripes surrounded by an inhomogeneous semicrystalline matrix. The latent tracks of Kr, Xe and Bi ions in polyethylene terephthalate were found to be 28–42 nm in diameter, i.e. considerably larger than those estimated by transmission electron microscopy or small-angle scattering methods. In addition, the diameters of the amorphized zones in tracks were estimated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) by analyzing the crystalline-to-amorphous band intensity ratio as a function of ion fluence. Both the FESEM and FTIR techniques provided information on the outer track shell (a halo), thereby complementing other commonly used techniques that characterize a severely damaged central region of the ion track (a core). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Railway Signalling & Communication Engineering is the property of Railway Signalling & Communication Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Observational studies on the characteristics of tropical cyclones (TCs) crossing Mindanao and Visayas Islands, in the southern and central Philippines, respectively, remain limited. To address this research gap, this study investigates the changes in the translational speeds, the direction of motion, and intensities of 8 and 39 landfalling TCs crossing Mindanao and Visayas Islands, respectively, from 1979 to 2020. The intensities, translational speeds, and direction of motions of the TCs were characterized by their position before (approaching point; AP), during (landing point; LP), and after (departing point; DP) traversing through Mindanao and Visayas Islands. The results show a significant linear relationship in the intensity change between AP and DP, indicating a general weakening of TCs as they traverse both island groups. About 5 (29) TCs showed a decrease in intensity based on the maximum sustained wind speed (MSW) after crossing Mindanao (Visayas). The intensity of TCs with at least Typhoon category upon landfall, decreased on average (percentage) by about 23.33 kts (− 25.4%) and 24.29 kts (− 45.5%) after crossing Mindanao and Visayas, respectively. The MSW of weaker TCs decreased on average by about 6.67 kts (− 25.0%) and 8.13 kts (− 20.5%) after traversing Mindanao and Visayas, respectively. Cases with increased (1 TC for Mindanao and 6 TCs for Visayas) and no change in intensities (2 TCs for Mindanao and 4 TCs for Visayas) after crossing the island were also found. Landfalling TCs over Mindanao exhibited a characteristic where those deflected rightward (leftward) at AP tend to be deflected rightward (leftward) at DP, while no pattern was found for the TCs traversing Visayas. Furthermore, TCs moving across Mindanao and Visayas tend to decelerate as they approach and move away from the island. The findings of this study are essential for disaster mitigation and a greater understanding of the TCs behavior in terms of intensity, translational speed, and deflection. (a, c) Frequency distribution of the intensity change over Mindanao and Visayas, respectively. (b, d) Scatter diagram showing the intensity change between AP and DP with respect to different TC categories over Mindanao and Visayas, respectively. The numbers inside the black circles indicate the total number of cases if it is larger than one. The numbers inside the parentheses at the bottom of the figure indicate the total number of cases for the different TC categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The upper diluvial boundary is difficult to determine in some areas, such as the Arctic coast of North America and the fossil locations of Australian marsupials. An even more difficult area is the top layers of sedimentary rocks of the southern and central High Plains where numerous mammal and other fossils are buried. Despite evidence of a post-Flood paleoenvironment of Agate Fossil Beds National Monument and Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historic Park, they likely are within the Ogallala Group (two or more formations). The Ogallala Group is widespread and thin and was spread hundreds of kilometers east. About half of its top was subsequently eroded. Quartzite rocks from the Rocky Mountains are marked with percussion marks indicating torrential flow. Some quartzite cobbles and boulders have spread 800 km from their source in the southern Rocky Mountains and are found on valley interfluves in central Texas. Most of the fossils in the Group are of animals not living today or during the Ice Age. It is difficult to explain how many millions of animals were buried in the southern and central High Plains with a post-Flood scenario. It is easier to explain that the animals were buried during the Genesis Flood. The apparent post-Flood features can be explained by the BEDS Model. Grass seed fossils associated with a rhino could be because grass fossils are very abundant in the Ogallala Formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Adab Al-Kufa is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Hominin footprints have not traditionally played prominent roles in paleoanthropological studies, aside from the famous 3.66 Ma footprints discovered at Laetoli, Tanzania in the late 1970s. This contrasts with the importance of trace fossils (ichnology) in the broader field of paleontology. Lack of attention to hominin footprints can probably be explained by perceptions that these are exceptionally rare and "curiosities" rather than sources of data that yield insights on par with skeletal fossils or artifacts. In recent years, however, discoveries of hominin footprints have surged in frequency, shining important new light on anatomy, locomotion, behaviors, and environments from a wide variety of times and places. Here, we discuss why these data are often overlooked and consider whether they are as "rare" as previously assumed. We review new ways footprint data are being used to address questions about hominin paleobiology, and we outline key opportunities for future research in hominin ichnology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Didattica della Storia: Journal of Research & Didactics of History is the property of Centro internazionale di Didattica della storia e del patrimonio (DiPaSt), Universita di Bologna and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of ANAFORA is the property of Anafora and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The methodology for personnel monitoring of neutrons in the intermediate and fast energy range using CR-39 solid-state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs) is well established. This study presents the dosimetric response of boron-doped (carborane) CR-39 detector for the measurement of thermal neutrons. It includes optimization of etching process, minimum detection limit (MDL), and thermal neutron sensitivity. Duration of low frequency (100 Hz) and high frequency (3.5 kHz) for elevated temperature electrochemical etching was optimized as 4 h and 50 minutes respectively, and used for the response characteristic study. The measured thermal neutron sensitivity and MDL were 743 ± 13 tracks cm−2 mSv−1 and 0.02 mSv, respectively. This study is useful for thermal neutron monitoring in reactor, accelerator, and all other nuclear facility environment.

Dinosaur fossils of the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian–Albian) Eumeralla Formation (Otway Basin) of Victoria provide insights into the faunal and ichnofaunal diversity of southern hemisphere high latitude dinosaurs during the initial separation of Australia from Antarctica. To date, at least eight dinosaur fossil locations have been reported from this formation. In this paper, we describe a new tracksite locality along the coastline of Wattle Hill that represents the most westerly occurrence of dinosaur fossils in the state. Some of the Wattle Hill prints resemble tracks attributed to ornithopodan trackmakers from neighbouring tracksites of the Eumeralla Formation (Knowledge Creek, Browns Creek), while others resemble bird prints. The site also preserves a large non-avian theropod footprint that resembles Megalosauropus prints from the Lower Cretaceous (Valanginian–Barremian) Broome Sandstone, Western Australia that if correct, extends the temporospatial range of this ichnogenus. The Wattle Hill tracks vary in their erosion between and within tracksites, from a natural mould (concave epirelief), transmitted tracks, possibly penetrative tracks and infilled reliefs that resemble (but differ from) natural casts. With the constant weathering of the Eumeralla Formation exposures, it seems likely that additional dinosaur tracks fossils will be discovered with continued Victorian coastal explorations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a proposed model of diagnostic evaluation for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at a large-scale ASD specialty center. Our center has implemented age-based diagnostic tracks within an interdisciplinary team evaluation approach to assessing ASD. Data were collected as part of a program evaluation and included responses from provider surveys as well as patient medical record reviews. The results from 803 patients were included. The diagnostic outcomes, time for evaluation, and appropriateness of referral were analyzed in patients referred to the Younger (n = 155) and Older (n = 648) diagnostic tracks. In 92.8% of cases referred to the clinic's standard team evaluation model, the provider teams were able to make a diagnostic decision within the allotted evaluation time. The results from an additional diagnostic pathway, termed the Autism Psych Team (APT), within the older track were also presented. The intake providers had the option to triage older patients to this pathway when they anticipated that the patient might be diagnostically complex. Most patients (45.1%) triaged to the APT were referred due to psychiatric complexity. In 96% of APT cases, the APT providers felt the patient was an appropriate referral. Overall, these results suggest a method to efficiently triage patients to diagnostic models equipped to serve them within a high-volume ASD center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Al-Anbar University for Islamic Sciences is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article examines the liminal nature of the two central female characters in Louise Erdrich’s novel Tracks. Despite appearing as opposites, Fleur and Pauline, members of the Chippewa tribe, are both portrayed as socially abject and victims of the inexorable social transformation brought about by American imperialism to establish patriarchy and capitalism. Enhanced through magical realism, their animality and monstrosity call attention to a liminal femininity trapped in a social order that seeks to subjugate it. The novel also considers female sexual agency and different modes of exerting and losing control in encounters defined by sexual objectification and the male gaze. Fleur’s and Pauline’s stories demonstrate how the female body becomes a site of colonial enterprise, which devalues, exploits, and nearly eradicates the Native American community, their culture, and philosophies.

The North Indian Ocean is a region with a high coastal population and a low-lying delta, making it a high-risk region for tropical cyclone impacts. A 30-year period from 1989–2018 has been used to examine the TC landfalling exposure in the North Indian Ocean and its changes by considering 30 years of IBTrACs data, ERA5 atmospheric data, and 20 years of TRMM and DAV data. A total of 185 TCs made landfall in the NIO during the 30-year period with the majority of the TCs making landfall during the pre- and post-monsoon seasons. Rainfall associated with landfalling TCs decreased in the last 10 years of analysis (2009–2018) compared to the first 10 years of available data from 1999–2008. During the monsoon, TC activity is relatively lower compared to the post-monsoon periods, even though higher accumulated TC-associated rainfall typically occurs during the monsoon period, particularly along the eastern coastlines of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. The TC winds impact most of the Bay of Bengal coastline, including Sri Lanka. The spatial distribution of landfalling TCs changes with the season, with most of the landfalling activity occurring during the pre- and post-monsoon periods. Interestingly, more recent TC activity has shifted to the northeast India and Bangladesh coasts, suggesting that these regions may be more vulnerable to TC impacts in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the state-of-the-art of locomotion systems for ground mobile robots comprising tracks. Tracked locomotion, due to the large contact surface with the ground, is particularly suitable for tackling soft, yielding, and irregular terrains, but is characterized by lower speed and energy efficiency than wheeled locomotion, and lower obstacle-climbing capability than legged locomotion. Therefore, in recent years academic and industrial researchers have designed a wide variety of hybrid solutions, combining tracks with legs and wheels. The paper proposes three possible parallel taxonomies, based on body architecture, track profile, and track type, to help designers select the most suitable architecture on the basis of the operative necessities. Moreover, modeling, simulation, and design methodologies for tracked ground mobile robots are recalled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An integration soil contact model and a modular terramechanics simulator VieteriSim for vehicles running on wheels and tracks were developed. The presented computational method extends the soil contact model by introducing a user defined pressure-sinkage relationship according to a theoretical function or an experimental data set, a numerical integration of pressure over a contact area with a desired resolution and vector based rolling resistance coefficient calculation. The convergence of the model and the capability of the computational method are demonstrated by simulating a cut-to-length timber forwarder running on a soft terrain with and without bogie tracks. [Display omitted] • Integration Soil Contact Model, physics based vehicle-terrain interaction modeling. • Modularity of the simulator enables user choice of vehicle and soil properties. • Supports both wheeled and tracked vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• First known cyclist market survey focused specifically on the experience of cyclists related to safety around trams. • Track-skid incidents are more common than track-wedge incidents, track-wedging more likely to result in injury. • In the last five years, 21% of respondents were involved in at least one tram-track-related crash. • Track-skidding was found to be associated with wet conditions and having low experience of cycling. • Track-wedging was more likely amongst those cycling > 10 years and aged < 45 years. Tram systems present safety risks to cyclists, however only limited research has explored this topic, of which most has focused on crash and hospital data, and severe crash events. This paper presents the first known cyclist market survey focused specifically on the experience of cyclists related to safety around trams, including unreported incidents and those that did not result in hospital attendance. Findings suggest that track-skid incidents are more common than track-wedge incidents, in contrast to previous research that emphasizes track-wedging as a larger issue than skidding. This is may be explained by the differing outcomes, with track-wedging more likely to result in injury. This research is thus significant in identifying track skidding as a major risk concern, causing a majority of crashes, while also confirming that track wedging is the major severity concern. In the last five years, 21% of respondents were involved in at least one tram-track-related crash. This was less than the share of respondents involved in falls (50%), crashes relating to road defects (36%) or collisions with motor vehicles (29%). However, half of survey respondents (52%) reported cycling on roads with tram tracks for 0–20% of their cycling, which might suggest that tram track-related crash rates are high given that most inner-city cycling occurs on roads without tracks. Track-skidding was found to be associated with wet conditions. Those involved in at least one track-skid in the last five years where more likely to have been cycling more than 3 years, but involvement in track-wedging was more likely amongst those cycling > 10 years and aged < 45 years. Implications for research and practice are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the radon emissions from building structures to determine optimal strategies for either preventing radon infiltration into buildings or decreasing its concentration in occupied areas is essential. This research presents a study of different methodologies for determining the radon exhalation rate in three samples of granite: two techniques based on passive detectors (Electret Ion Chamber (EIC) and Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors (SSNTD)) and one technique based on the use of a continuous radon detector. The operating principle of the three methodologies is based on the accumulation of radon inside an experimental container, hermetically sealed. Passive detectors offer the concentration measurement, integrated over time, while the continuous detector monitors the increase in concentration hour by hour. In this last case, three mathematical models have been applied to adjust the experimental results. According to a previous radiological characterization of the building material samples, those exceeding the legal limit of the radioactive activity index (I = 1) have been analyzed: Rose Porriño granite, Blue Vizag granite and Julia Cream granite. The obtained results indicate that the five methodologies used present radon exhalation rate values within a consistent range for each sample. Therefore, the protocols detailed in this work could be used interchangeably to calculate the radon gas exhalation rates in building materials, providing flexibility in selecting the most suitable method depending specific experimental requirements or constraints. • Radon exhalation rate in building materials has been determined. • Developed different methodologies to measure radon exhalation rate. • Passive and continuous detectors procedures have been validated through experimental results. • Reduction of sampling times compared to ISO 11665-9 procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The methodology for personnel monitoring of neutrons in the intermediate and fast energy range using CR-39 solid-state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs) is well established. This study presents the dosimetric response of boron-doped (carborane) CR-39 detector for the measurement of thermal neutrons. It includes optimization of etching process, minimum detection limit (MDL), and thermal neutron sensitivity. Duration of low frequency (100 Hz) and high frequency (3.5 kHz) for elevated temperature electrochemical etching was optimized as 4 h and 50 minutes respectively, and used for the response characteristic study. The measured thermal neutron sensitivity and MDL were 743 ± 13 tracks cm−2 mSv−1 and 0.02 mSv, respectively. This study is useful for thermal neutron monitoring in reactor, accelerator, and all other nuclear facility environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2019 Association for the Study of Australian Literature Conference took as its theme the subject of 'dirt', and inspired this paper which examines the 'journeys into dirt' by explorer figures in Patrick White's 1957 novel Voss and Robyn Davidson's 1980 memoir Tracks. Drawing on theory of dirt developed by material ecocritic Helen Sullivan and by philosopher Olli Lagerspetz we demonstrate that the narratives of their travels show them engaged in transformative encounters with the Australian desert. In doing so we challenge Tom Lynch's reading of the two texts as 'traversals' which portray the desert as 'alien, hostile and undifferentiated void'. Using Keith Garebian's distinction between 'desert' and 'garden' we examine how these explorers find and respond to 'the garden in the desert'. Davidson couches her memoir as an exploration narrative and treats the desert as a 'lived space' which she 'writes home'; having learned how to 'be' in it, and so to 'recover' the garden in the desert. Like her, Voss and his companions experience the desert as beautiful and inspirational, even, at times, nurturant and sustaining. Since Voss's orientation is spiritual and transcendent, however, White's treatment of the desert shows conceptual and corporeal boundaries between human and environment shifting and fading in their interaction with it. In both texts episodes occur of immersion in dirt – dust in Tracks and mud in Voss – which serve to illustrate and to emphasise the interconnectedness we humans have with the essential, elemental environment of dirt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to identify the consequences of the stream followed in high school on the professional opportunities of baccalaureate holders at the beginning of their career. By combining the 1995 panel of secondary level pupils with the survey on entry into adult life, we are able to identify the effects that grouping pupils by track at secondary level has on the early stages of their professional careers. This rich database allows us to account for this grouping of different students in different streams. A mediation analysis makes it possible to estimate the extent of the divergence in trajectories according to the stream, whether or not the baccalaureate holders continued their studies. The results highlight the importance of taking into account the characteristics of students prior to orientation when comparing the early career opportunities of baccalaureate holders. Mediation analysis also allows us to identify a complex dynamic between academic skills and levels of qualification, which tends to partially conceal inequalities between women and men at the beginning of their careers, whereas the track of the baccalaureate obtained tends to explain them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2019 Association for the Study of Australian Literature Conference took as its theme the subject of ‘dirt’, and inspired this paper which examines the ‘journeys into dirt’ by explorer figures in Patrick White’s 1957 novel Voss and Robyn Davidson’s 1980 memoir Tracks. Drawing on theory of dirt developed by material ecocritic Helen Sullivan and by philosopher Olli Lagerspetz we demonstrate that the narratives of their travels show them engaged in transformative encounters with the Australian desert. In doing so we challenge Tom Lynch’s reading of the two texts as ‘traversals’ which portray the desert as ‘alien, hostile and undifferentiated void’. Using Keith Garebian’s distinction between ‘desert’ and ‘garden’ we examine how these explorers find and respond to ‘the garden in the desert’. Davidson couches her memoir as an exploration narrative and treats the desert as a ‘lived space’ which she ‘writes home’; having learned how to ‘be’ in it, and so to ‘recover’ the garden in the desert. Like her, Voss and his companions experience the desert as beautiful and inspirational, even, at times, nurturant and sustaining. Since Voss’s orientation is spiritual and transcendent, however, White’s treatment of the desert shows conceptual and corporeal boundaries between human and environment shifting and fading in their interaction with it. In both texts episodes occur of immersion in dirt – dust in Tracks and mud in Voss – which serve to illustrate and to emphasise the interconnectedness we humans have with the essential, elemental environment of dirt.

Track radii Re induced by swift heavy ions are studied. The experimental track data are analyzed in Gd2Ti2O7 pyrochlore in the range Se = 6−54 keV nm−1 (Se: electronic stopping power), including irradiations by low‐ and high‐velocity ions. The Analytical Thermal Spike Model (ATSM) is applied, whose main features are reviewed. The track data of Gd2Ti2O7 exhibit scaling features which mean simple quantitative relationships with track sizes of other insulators controlled only by a single materials parameter (MP), the melting temperature Tm. The Re2−Se track evolution curve is described in the whole range of Se without the application of any individual fitting parameter and MPs apart from Tm; the thresholds for track formation are Set = 6.1 and 14.4 keV nm−1 for E < 2 MeV/nucleon and E > 8 MeV/nucleon, respectively. The unique role of Tm is a highly important limitation for the mechanism of track formation. The practical consequences of the results are discussed with respect to the estimation of irradiation parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Track radii Re induced by swift heavy ions are studied. The experimental track data are analyzed in Gd2Ti2O7 pyrochlore in the range Se = 6−54 keV nm−1 (Se: electronic stopping power), including irradiations by low‐ and high‐velocity ions. The Analytical Thermal Spike Model (ATSM) is applied, whose main features are reviewed. The track data of Gd2Ti2O7 exhibit scaling features which mean simple quantitative relationships with track sizes of other insulators controlled only by a single materials parameter (MP), the melting temperature Tm. The Re2−Se track evolution curve is described in the whole range of Se without the application of any individual fitting parameter and MPs apart from Tm; the thresholds for track formation are Set = 6.1 and 14.4 keV nm−1 for E < 2 MeV/nucleon and E > 8 MeV/nucleon, respectively. The unique role of Tm is a highly important limitation for the mechanism of track formation. The practical consequences of the results are discussed with respect to the estimation of irradiation parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]