MAIS imaging spectrometer data analysis for Ni-Cu prospecting in ultramafic rocks of the Jinchuan group,China

The Jinchuan intrusion, situated in the Gansu province of China some 30 km NE of Yongcang city is an ultramafic dyke-like body emplaced in the Longshoushan uplifted terrain on the southwest margin of the Sino-Korea platform. The intrusion is 6 km long, 35 m wide and hosts a major Ni-Cu sulfide deposit. The main stratigraphic units include the highly metamorphosed Lower Proterozoic Longshoushan group and the less extensively metamorphosed Dongzigou and Hanmushan groups of Middle and Upper Proterozoic age. The Longshoushan group consists of serpentine marble, schist, gneiss and plagioclase amphibolite. The Dongzigou group comprises schists and granitic rocks. The Hanmushan group basically is represented by a large variety of volcanics. Small mafic-ultramafic intrusions are located along faults in the Jinchuan terrain. These ultramafic rock bodies show a concentric zoning with a core of dunites and olivine pyroxenites forming the margins of the bodies. Hydrothermal alteration (mainly serpentinization) has affected the rocks of the ultramafic bodies to a variable extent; the dunites are extensively altered whereas the pyroxene rich units are relatively fresh. Field spectroscopy is used to spectrally characterize the major rock units. Imaging spectrometer data was flown during the end of July until beginning of August of 1993 with a Chinese imaging spectrometer instrument called MAIS: the Modular Airborne Imaging Spectrometer. Feature characterization permits lithologic mapping from MAIS data. This aids in mineral potential mapping in the Jinchuan region and permits the identification of areas of possible Ni-Cu deposits.     

Use of satellite-derived emissivity to detect coalfire-related surface temperature anomalies in Jharia coalfield,India

Among natural geo-hazards, spontaneous combustion of coal is unique in nature but common in most coal-producing countries. Coalfires can occur in coal seams and stockpiles of coal at ambient temperature in certain conditions, e.g. those concerning coal type, exposed area and moisture content. Once started, coalfires are difficult to extinguish and sometimes cannot be controlled. In addition to burning millions of tonnes of coal, the fires have enormous negative impacts on local and global environments. In the field of coalfire study, remote sensing is used as a powerful tool to detect and monitor coalfires. Nevertheless, most remote-sensing coalfire studies are based on a fixed emissivity (0.95 or 0.96) which is contrary to the real representation of the Earth's surface. In this research, Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER)-derived emissivity was used to detect coalfire-related surface anomalies in an Indian coal mining region. Later, the temperature anomalies detected were validated with ground truth data. Additionally, the ASTER-derived emissivity value was used to extract surface temperatures from Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) thermal infrared (TIR) data.     

Network virtualization in energy-efficient office environments

The rising costs of energy and world-wide desire to reduce CO₂ emissions has led to an increased concern over the energy efficiency of information and communication technology. Whilst much of this concern has focused on data centres, office environments (and the computing equipment that they contain) have also been identified as a significant consumer of energy. Office environments offer great potential for energy savings, given that computing equipment often remains powered for 24 h per day, and for a large part of this period is underutilised or idle. This paper proposes an energy-efficient office management approach based on resource virtualization, power management, and resource sharing. Evaluations indicate that about 75% energy savings are achievable in office environments without a significant interruption of provided services. A core element of this office management is a peer-to-peer network that interconnects office hosts, achieves addressing and mediation, and manages energy efficiency within the office environment. Several peer-to-peer approaches are suggested and discussed in this paper. Two of the approaches are evaluated, based on a discrete-event simulation.     

The Open Mobile Alliance Digital Rights Management [Standards in a Nutshell]

The Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) is an industry forum with nearly 400 members representing the entire mobile industry value chain, including the telecommunications, information technology, and content industries. The OMA focuses on developing market-driven, interoperable mobile service enablers for the rapidly converging communications, entertainment, and media worlds. OMA digital rights management (DRM) systems are important examples of such enablers. Although they have been developed for the mobile market, these systems assume network and bearer-agnostic delivery of the content over Internet protocol (IP). This assumption makes OMA DRM systems suitable for use in any environment where the content is delivered over IP, which is true of a very wide array of applications. In this article, we present an overview of the OMA DRM systems and describe their most important features     

Nitrogen utilization from diluted and undiluted nitric acid treated cattle slurry following surface application to grassland

Acidification of cattle slurry with nitric acid to pH 4.5 was studied on experimental dairy farms in the Netherlands as a measure to reduce ammonia losses. This paper presents the results of two field experiments, carried out to assess the utilization of nitrogen (N) from nitric acid treated cattle slurry following surface application to grassland. Three aspects were studied: (i) the utilization of N from nitric acid treated cattle slurry following a single surface application to grassland; (ii) the effects of multiple applications of nitric acid treated cattle slurry on N utilization, residual inorganic N in the soil and sward quality; and (iii) the residual effects of nitric acid treated slurry on DM and N yield. In these experiments undiluted acidified slurry (UAS) and diluted acidified slurry (DAS) were compared with calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN). Apparent N recoveries (ANR) and apparent N efficiencies (ANE) were calculated on the basis of inorganic N in applied fertilizer and slurries. Following single applications of UAS and CAN on the sward on the clay soil, the average ANR values of UAS and CAN were 0.74 and 0.75 kg kg^-1, respectively. The average ANE values of UAS and CAN were 30.3 and 29.5 kg DM per kg N, respectively. Single applications of DAS and CAN on the sandy soil resulted in average ANR values of 0.65 and 0.84 kg kg^-1 and average ANE values of 24.1 and 29.2 kg DM per kg N for DAS and CAN, respectively. On average, the direct ANR values after four successive applications of CAN, UAS or DAS were 0.82, 0.82 and 0.74 kg kg^-1, respectively and the direct ANE values were 28.4, 27.8 and 27.0 kg DM per kg N. On the sandy soil, the amount of residual inorganic N in the soil after the 4th cut increased with increasing rates of inorganic N application, with a slightly higher amount on plots treated with acidified slurry than on plots fertilized with CAN. On the clay soil, the amount of residual inorganic N was not affected by N application rate nor N source. On average, the residual ANR values, in the unfertilized 5th and 6th cuts, of CAN, UAS or DAS were 0.08, 0.10 and 0.09 kg kg^-1, respectively and the residual ANE values were 2.7, 3.3 and 3.0 kg DM per kg N. It was concluded that nitric acid treated cattle slurry is an effective N fertilizer on grassland and that the residual effect of nitric acid treated cattle slurry is only marginally higher than that of CAN. Repeated applications of nitric acid treated cattle slurry did not affect sward composition.     

Using the common-sense model to predict risk perception and disease-related worry in individuals at increased risk for venous thrombosis.

Objective: This study applied the Common-Sense Model (CSM) to predict risk perception and disease-related worry in 174 individuals with a genetic predisposition to venous thrombosis (thrombophilia). Design: Participants completed an adapted version of the Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R) and measures assessing risk perception and worry. Results: Regression analyses revealed that illness perceptions were predictors of risk perception and thrombosis worry. The hypothesis that illness perceptions mediate the relationship between a person's experience of venous thrombosis and perceived risk and thrombosis worry could not be confirmed. Conclusions: Further research should refine the IPQ-R for populations at risk of a disease and examine the value of the CSM in explaining the relationship between risk perception, worry, and health behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)