Precise Survey Research Articles

Exchange Rate Transmission and Export Activity at the Firm Level

This paper analyses how exchange rate shocks are transmitted at the firm level and establishes a nexus to firm-level export activity. Using precise survey data from a sample of Swiss firms, I find that an appreciation increases the probability of a decrease in firm-level costs, prices and profits. Exchange rate movements are passed through to import prices, absorbed in firm selling prices and lead to adjustments in firm profits. The pattern is non-linear across firms with a varying degree of international exposure. The likelihood of adjustments is increasing in firm-level export share in total turnover. I also show that exchange rate variability affects adjustment probabilities. The analysis suggests that Swiss firms take prices as given. Exchange rate shocks are absorbed through a reduction in both costs and prices, however, these adjustments are not proportional such that overall profits decline during appreciation periods.

５. GNSS解析ソフトウェアのマルチGNSS対応

５. GNSS解析ソフトウェアのマルチGNSS対応

Current status of Kampo medicine curricula in all Japanese medical schools

BackgroundThere have been a few but not precise surveys of the current status of traditional Japanese Kampo education at medical schools in Japan. Our aim was to identify problems and suggest solutions for a standardized Kampo educational model for all medical schools throughout Japan.MethodsWe surveyed all 80 medical schools in Japan regarding eight items related to teaching or studying Kampo medicine: (1) the number of class meetings, target school year(s), and type of classes; (2) presence or absence of full-time instructors; (3) curricula contents; (4) textbooks in use; (5) desire for standardized textbooks; (6) faculty development programmes; (7) course contents; and (8) problems to be solved to promote Kampo education. We conducted descriptive analyses without statistics.ResultsEighty questionnaires were collected (100%). (1) There were 0 to 25 Kampo class meetings during the 6 years of medical school. At least one Kampo class was conducted at 98% of the schools, ≥4 at 84%, ≥8 at 44%, and ≥16 at 5%. Distribution of classes was 19% and 57% for third- and fourth-year students, respectively. (2) Only 29% of schools employed full-time Kampo medicine instructors. (3) Medicine was taught on the basis of traditional Japanese Kampo medicine by 81% of the schools, Chinese medicine by 19%, and Western medicine by 20%. (4) Textbooks were used by 24%. (5) Seventy-four percent considered using standardized textbooks. (6) Thirty-three percent provided faculty development programmes. (7) Regarding course contents, “characteristics” was selected by 94%, “basic concepts” by 84%, and evidence-based medicine by 64%. (8) Among the problems to be solved promptly, curriculum standardization was selected by 63%, preparation of simple textbooks by 51%, and fostering instructors responsible for Kampo education by 65%.ConclusionsJapanese medical schools only offer students a short time to study Kampo medicine, and the impetus to include Kampo medicine in their curricula varies among schools. Future Kampo education at medical schools requires solving several problems, including curriculum standardization.

효율적인 절토사면 관리를 위한 위험도 점수 활용에 관한 연구

Many cut slopes are located near national highways, resulting in large annual damage to infrastructure from the collapse of cut slopes. Therefore, to effectively maintain cut slopes, high-risk slopes should be identified and monitored. In this paper, we evaluate the effectiveness of the management of cut slopes using the risk score calculated from cut-slope inventory data. The inventory survey, as a simple assessment of the characteristics of various slopes, was performed to collect basic data that could be obtained visually in the field for the management of cut slopes. This method is not a precise survey, and it was composed of the general status and characteristics of cut slopes, the inspector`s assessment, and inventory data in order to estimate a risk score for each slope. In this paper, we calculated the risk score by investigating the present status of cut slopes adjacent to 10,461 national roads. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of using risk score data, we compared the score for stable slopes with those of failed cut slopes. Failed cut slopes occurred in sections with the highest risk score. The results show that risk score derived from the inventory survey of cut slopes are useful in the management of cut slopes with risk of failure and in monitoring large numbers of cut slopes.

Familial Breast Cancer Registry Program in Patients Referred to the Cancer Institute of Iran

Annually a considerable number of people die because of breast cancer, a common disease among women also in Iran. Identifying risk factors and susceptible people can lead to prevention or at least early diagnosis. Among susceptibility risks, 5-10% of patients have a family history predisposing factor which can influence the risk of incidence among the family. Having a registry program can be a more practical way to screen high risk families for preventive planning. Based on inclusion criteria, a questionnaire was prepared and after a pilot study on a small number of patients, actual data were collected on 400 patients and processed in SPSS 16.0. Totally, 28.2%of the patients were younger than 40 years old and 36.8% had the included criteria for familial breast cancer (FBC). 102 patient's samples could be compared for receptor presentation. Similar to other studies, the number of triple negative breast cancers increased as the age decreased. The high percentage of patients with FBC among 400 cases in this study demonstrates that in order to design an infrastructural diagnostic protocol and screening of patients with FBC, a precise survey related to frequency and founder mutations of FBC is needed nationwide.

Assessing shallow rock conditions over a brine cavern using seismic methods

The 16 July 2008 collapse of a brine well southeast of Artesia, New Mexico, has led to concern about the stability of a brine well facility located in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Characterization, monitoring, and mitigation studies were initiated in 2009, and emergency response procedures are in place should it collapse into a large sinkhole that could threaten nearby structures, two highways and a major irrigation canal. Results of precision survey indicate that differential subsidence is occurring across the facility and is greatest in the vicinity of the brine well. It is anticipated that ground movement-induced fracturing or crushing of competent, shallow caliche horizons could be a precursor to collapse of the material over the brine well cavern into a large sinkhole. A 24-channel seismograph was used to obtain compression wave (p-wave) seismic refraction and refraction microtremor surface wave (s-wave) data at selected locations in the vicinity of the brine well to characterize the condition of the shallow caliche horizons. When intact and unfractured, these caliche horizons are anticipated to be high strength with high seismic p-wave velocities of at least 3,000 m/s. Fracturing or crushing of these materials dramatically reduces the material mass strength and seismic velocities. Shallow seismic profiles totaling about 730 m were completed around the facility. High seismic velocities were interpreted in the caliche adjacent to the highways abutting the facility, while low seismic velocities were interpreted adjacent to a major irrigation canal where measured subsidence was greatest.

Oscillations in the habitable zone around α Centauri B

The Alpha Centauri AB system is an attractive one for radial velocity observations to detect potential exoplanets. The high metallicity of both Alpha Centauri A and B suggest that they could have possessed circumstellar discs capable of forming planets. As the closest star system to the Sun, with well over a century of accurate astrometric measurements (and Alpha Centauri B exhibiting low chromospheric activity) high precision surveys of Alpha Centauri B's potential exoplanetary system are possible with relatively cheap instrumentation. Authors studying habitability in this system typically adopt habitable zones (HZs) based on global radiative balance models that neglect the radiative perturbations of Alpha Centauri A. We investigate the habitability of planets around Alpha Centauri B using 1D latitudinal energy balance models (LEBMs), which fully incorporate the presence of Alpha Centauri A as a means of astronomically forcing terrestrial planet climates. We find that the extent of the HZ is relatively unchanged by the presence of Alpha Centauri A, but there are variations in fractional habitability for planets orbiting at the boundaries of the zone due to Alpha Centauri A, even in the case of zero eccentricity. Temperature oscillations of a few K can be observed at all planetary orbits, the strength of which varies with the planet's ocean fraction and obliquity.

Ostern 326: Gründung der Grabeskirche in Jerusalem

Interdisciplinary research shows that the Constantinian complex of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, consisting of the Basilica (martyrium) and Rotunda (anastastis) were oriented according to the rising sun. The results are based on a precise survey carried out by the University of Florence, which provided the basis for the building analysis and the astronomical examination. The results of the research are: - Orientation day of the Basilica: 8 April, 326 (Preparation or day before the Sabbath/Good Friday/Passion and Death) -Orientation day of the Rotunda: 10 April, 326 (first day of the week/Easter Sunday/Resurrection). Both orientation days refer to the memory of the passion and resurrection of Jesus. Consequently this Christian shrine can be understood as a projection of the Creed as formulated at the Council of Nicea.

A High Precision Survey of the Molecular Dynamics of Mammalian Clathrin-Mediated Endocytosis

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, August 7–August 11, 2011.

A High Precision Survey of the Molecular Dynamics of Mammalian Clathrin-Mediated Endocytosis

Author SummaryThe molecular machinery of clathrin-mediated endocytosis concentrates receptors at the cell surface in a patch of membrane that curves into a vesicle, pinches off, and internalizes membrane cargo and a tiny volume of extracellular fluid. We know that dozens of proteins are involved in this process, but precisely when and where they act remains poorly understood. Here we used a fluorescence imaging assay to detect the moment of scission in living cells and used this as a reference point from which to measure the characteristic recruitment signatures of 34 fluorescently tagged endocytic proteins. Pair-wise comparison of these recruitment signatures allowed us to identify seven modules of proteins that were recruited with similar kinetics. For the most part the recruitment signatures were consistent with what was previously known about the proteins' structure and their binding affinities; however, the recruitment signatures for some components (such as some BAR and F-BAR domain proteins) could not have been predicted from existing structural or biochemical data. This study provides a paradigm for mapping molecular dynamics in living cells and provides new insights into the mechanism of clathrin-mediated endocytosis.

A Comparison of Two Open Source LiDAR Surface Classification Algorithms

With the progression of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) towards a mainstream resource management tool, it has become necessary to understand how best to process and analyze the data. While most ground surface identification algorithms remain proprietary and have high purchase costs; a few are openly available, free to use, and are supported by published results. Two of the latter are the multiscale curvature classification and the Boise Center Aerospace Laboratory LiDAR (BCAL) algorithms. This study investigated the accuracy of these two algorithms (and a combination of the two) to create a digital terrain model from a raw LiDAR point cloud in a semi-arid landscape. Accuracy of each algorithm was assessed via comparison with >7,000 high precision survey points stratified across six different cover types. The overall performance of both algorithms differed by only 2%; however, within specific cover types significant differences were observed in accuracy. The results highlight the accuracy of both algorithms across a variety of vegetation types, and ultimately suggest specific scenarios where one approach may outperform the other. Each algorithm produced similar results except in the ceanothus and conifer cover types where BCAL produced lower errors.

Pingos of the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula Area, Northwest Territories

Most pingos have grown in residual ponds left behind by rapid lake drainage through erosion of ice-wedge polygon systems. The field studies (1969-78) have involved precise levelling of numerous bench marks, extensive drilling, detailed temperature measurements, installation of water pressure transducers below permafrost and water (ice) quality, soil, and many other analyses. Precise surveys have been carried out on 17 pingos for periods ranging from 3 to 9 years. The field results show that permafrost aggradation in saturated lake bottom sediments creates the high pore water pressures necessary for pingo growth. The subpermafrost water pressures frequently approach that of the total litho-static pressure of permafrost surrounding a pingo. The water pressure is often great enough to lift a pingo and intrude a sub-pingo water lens beneath it. The basal diameter of a pingo is established in early youth after which time the pingo tends to grow higher, rather than both higher and wider. The shutoff direction of freezing is from periphery to center. When growing pingos have both through going taliks and also permeable sediments at depth, water may be expelled downwards by pore water expulsion from freezing and consolidation from self loading on saturated sediments. Pingos can rupture from bursting of the sub-pingo water lens. Otherwise, pingo failure is at the top and periphery. Hydraulic fracturing is probably important in some pingo failures. Water loss from sub-pingo water lenses causes subsidence with the subsidence pattern being the mirror image of the growth pattern; i.e. greatest subsidence at the top. Small peripheral bulges may result from subsidence. Old pingos collapse from exposure of the ice core to melting by overburden rupture, by mass wasting, and by permafrost creep of the sides.

Monitoring of the refraction coefficient in the lower atmosphere using a controlled setup of simultaneous reciprocal vertical angle measurements

A great deal of empirical studies have investigated the characteristics of terrestrial refraction. However, only few of these are concerned with short‐term fluctuations of refraction influences. The aim of the present work is to analyze the short‐term characteristics (amplitudes and variations at scales of minutes to hours) of terrestrial refraction in the lower atmosphere around 1.8 m above the grass surface. We apply the known method of simultaneous reciprocal vertical angle measurements to derive time series of the refraction coefficient k as a measure for refraction. Our study uses a new setup of two pairs of total stations for parallel observations of the refraction coefficient along adjacent lines of sight. Such a controlled experiment not only allows us to determine refraction coefficients independently but also to assess measurement errors from the residuals between refraction coefficient pairs. Over five observation days in the summer of 2008, a total of 33 h of parallel observation data of the refraction coefficient were collected at sampling frequencies of 1 min. On one observation day, unique parallel observations of the refraction coefficient along three lines of sight with a total of six total stations were possible. For mostly sunny days, we found wave‐like and sawtooth‐like fluctuations of the refraction coefficient with amplitudes of 1–1.5 at time scales of 10–30 min. On cloudy days, the amplitudes of fluctuations were on the order of 0.5. Our refraction experiments show a variation range of k between −4 and +16 near the ground on sunny summer days. This equates to vertical temperature gradients between −0.5 and −0.1 K/m during the day and 1–2 K/m shortly after sunset. Cloud cover reduces the variability of k to a range of −2 to +5. Our results show that the frequently used Gaussian refraction coefficient of +0.13 is not suited for describing refraction effects in the lower atmosphere. As a conclusion, our results may be helpful to better assess the role of refraction in near‐ground precision surveys, such as geometric levelling or trigonometric heighting.

Time-variable gravity from space and present-day mass redistribution in theEarth system

Since 2002, the US–German GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) mission has been providing a precise survey of Earth's time-variable gravity field, with unprecedented temporal and spatial sampling. GRACE time-variable gravity fields provide a means of measuring temporal and spatial variations of mass redistribution within the Earth system. The GRACE mission has launched a new era in studying a series of geophysical problems ranging from deep Earth structure to tracking mass redistribution on and near the surface of the Earth. GRACE has greatly improved understanding of mass redistribution in various compartments of the climate system (atmosphere, oceans, terrestrial water, and cryosphere). In this review, we use examples to show how GRACE has fundamentally enriched a number of fields, including (but not limited to) the global water cycle and land hydrology, mass balance of polar ice sheets and mountain glaciers, ocean mass and global sea level change, and solid Earth geophysics.

Microprospección arqueológica en Giribaile (Vilches, Jaén). Protocolo de trabajo

We are interested in developing more rigorous and precise survey methods to get a recording protocol. Experimental studies have been developed during decades around the world, especially in the Mediterranean area. It is necessary to introduce these good methodologies, such as the statistic analysis of surface collections, in Spanish archaeological practices. Standardised observations, the spatial control of the recording systems and the explanation of the methods used are very important to obtain good results in current research projects. The archaeological survey that we carried out at the Iberian oppidum of Giribaile in 2004-2005 allowed us to progress in our knowledge of the internal complexity and the chronological sequence of the site and it represents a study case that illustrates some of the possibilities that we hope obtain. The “microsurvey” method, based on systematic archaeological sampling, tries to adapt and improve the classical surface survey theory.

Precise Control Survey for Erecting the Steel Pylons of the Third Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, China: Case Study

The third Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge is a steel pylon cable stayed bridge. Such a structure is new in China and therefore brings new challenges to the work of control surveys. This paper describes the survey methods used for building and erecting the steel pylons and for construction of the steel tower. The survey methods adopted have proven successful and can be used as reference for similar projects in the future.

Integrated GPS and Pseudolite positioning for deformation monitoring

The pseudolite-augmented GPS technique can overcome the limitations of GPS-only surveys in unfavourable environments, like urban areas, deep open-pit mines and valleys. However, several problems need to be solved before pseudolites can be employed in precise surveys. This paper discusses the potential use of pseudolites for deformation monitoring in unfavourable survey environments. An analysis was conducted to illustrate how pseudolite measurements can improve the strength of the positioning geometry at a hydro-power dam. The methodology for the integration of GPS and pseudolite measurements has been developed, in particular the method/strategy to calibrate the pseudolite multipath effect, one of the severe sources of errors in pseudolite measurements. A set of real GPS pseudolite observations based on a 10×20 m network was processed to demonstrate the usefulness of the developed methodology.

Contributors to chromium isotope variation of meteorites

We report the results of a comprehensive, high precision survey of the Cr isotopic compositions of primitive chondrites, along with some differentiated meteorites. To ensure complete dissolution of our samples, they were first fused with lithium borate–tetraborate at 1050–1000 °C. Relative to the NIST Cr standard SRM 3112a, carbonaceous chondrites exhibit excesses in 54Cr/ 52Cr from 0.4 to 1.6 ε (1 ε = 1 part in 10,000), and ordinary chondrites display a common 54Cr/ 52Cr deficit of ∼0.4 ε. Analyses of acid-digestion residues of chondrites show that carbonaceous and ordinary chondrites share a common 54Cr-enriched carrier, which is characterized by a large excess in 54Cr/ 52Cr (up to 200 ε) associated with a very small deficit in 53Cr/ 52Cr (<2 ε). We did not find 54Cr anomalies in either bulk enstatite chondrites or in leachates of their acid-digestion residues. This either requires that the enstatite chondrite parent bodies did not incorporate the 54Cr anomaly carrier phase during their accretion, or the phase was destroyed by parent body metamorphism. Chromium in the terrestrial rocks and lunar samples analyzed here show no deviation from the NIST SRM 3112a Cr standard. The eucrite and Martian meteorites studied exhibit small deficits in 54Cr/ 52Cr. The 54Cr/ 52Cr variations among different meteorite classes suggest that there was a spatial and/or temporal heterogeneity in the distribution of a 54Cr-rich component in the inner Solar System. We confirm the correlated excesses in 54Cr/ 52Cr and 53Cr/ 52Cr for bulk carbonaceous chondrites, but the new data yield a steeper slope (∼6.6) than that reported in Shukolyukov and Lugmair (2006). The correlated excesses may affect the use of the Mn–Cr chronometer in carbonaceous chondrites. We could not confirm the bulk carbonaceous chondrite Mn–Cr isochron reported by Shukolyukov and Lugmair (2006) and Moynier et al. (2007), mostly because we find much smaller total variations in ε 53Cr (∼0.2). All bulk chondrites have small ε 53Cr excesses (up to 0.3) relative to the Earth, most likely reflecting the sub-chondritic Mn/Cr ratio of the Earth. The ε 53Cr variations in chondrites do seem to grossly correlate with Mn/Cr and yield an initial Solar System 53Mn/ 55Mn value of 5.4(±2.4) × 10 −6, corresponding to an absolute age of 4566.4 (±2.2) Ma. Nuclear interactions with cosmic rays result in coupled excesses in ε 54Cr and ε 53Cr with a ∼4:1 ratio in phases with high Fe/Cr. These are most dramatically demonstrated in the iron meteorite Carbo, showing excesses in ε 54Cr of up to 140 ε. These new results show that the Mn–Cr chronometer should be used with caution in samples/minerals with high Fe/Cr and long cosmic ray exposure ages.

Subjective assessment of mastication as parameter for successful prosthetic therapy

Introduction. Success in functional rehabilitation of the craniomandibular system in patients without teeth, which have total prosthesis, can be assessed using different clinical and functional methods. Subjective assessment, motivation, comfort level and functional efficacy are important elements for adaptation to dental prosthesis as well as base for success in prosthetic therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the importance of subjective assessment of the mastication in people with new dental prosthesis as well as to assess the value of that parameter in determining the successful prosthetic therapy. Material and Methods. Study was conducted at the Dental Clinic in Novi Sad. Thirty patients (16 males and 14 females) with average age of 62.5 years who received total prosthesis were included. Analysis was done according to the data from the medical records and conducted survey in the form of questionnaire which was adjusted to our clinical examinations. Results. Results showed that 96.6% of the patients were satisfied with new prosthesis. Subjective assessment of the quality of their mastication before therapy showed that 63.4% consider their mastication as unsatisfied, 26.6% satisfied while 10% of toothless patients thought their mastication was good. Statistic analysis showed there was significant difference in subjective assessment before and after the therapy (p&lt;0.01). In fact, there was significant connection between subjective assessment of the mastication and satisfaction with new prosthesis and therapy at all (p&lt;0.01). Conclusion. Patients satisfaction with total prosthesis and subjective assessment of mastication are in direct correlation with successful prosthetic treatment. Results of subjective assessment of the mastication are important and can be used as a parameter for success along with precise survey.

Resolution and quality assurance in near-surface geophysical surveys: A multimethod field trial and results

Characterization of subsurface materials almost always requires the measurement of multiple physical parameters, and therefore involves multiple geophysical surveys. The integration of the multiple data sets is the key to detailed interpretations. Following this logic, the key elements of a near-surface survey become the ability to make multiple precise survey measurements and integrate them. Technological developments in precise positioning, data logging, and GIS data manipulation provide the potential for major advances in near-surface surveys in both areas.