Rocky Hill Research Articles

Shading and Water Addition Alleviate the Elemental Limitations of the Early Restoration Community in a Stressful Environment.

Shading and water addition are essential management measures to improve seed germination and early seedling survival; however, little is known about their effects on leaf stoichiometry and nutrient status. We established 90 plant communities with shading and water addition gradients on a rocky hill; leaves of their dominant woody plant species were collected to measure elemental concentrations, and then, stoichiometric variation and nutrient status were analysed. The results showed that the overall effects of shading and water addition significantly altered the concentrations and ratios of nutrient elements; shading largely affected leaf K and P, while water addition mainly affected leaf N and P. The interactions between shading and water addition were significant for most species but disappeared at the community level. Consequently, the nutrient status in leaves was improved by promoting the concentrations and balances of nutrient elements. However, the responses to shading and water addition were marked by species-specific differences, with some plants forming a sensitive group and others distinguished by conservatism. Our findings show that management of the physical environment could improve nutrient element utilization in leaves and alleviate the nutrient limitations. For our site conditions, mild shading (25-35%) and adequate water addition (30 L·m-2) in the early stage of vegetation restoration is recommended to advance community assembly by improving nutrient physiology, directly diminishing the stress of water scarcity and excessive irradiation. These findings explore the underlying mechanisms of shading and water addition that could promote community development and provide guidance for restoration practice.

The Knots of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’s Boar Chase (Lines 1431–7)

ABSTRACT Editors have struggled to reconcile the two appearances of the term knot in the boar chase of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (lines 1431 and 1434) with the competing demands of intelligible syntax and etymological sense. Most opt for the sense “rocky hill” for both, but this forces other terms in the passage, namely umbekesten and even hem (“them”) into the status as very unlikely hapaxes. This essay advocates acceptance of the necessity of emendation at line 1434 as by far the least intrusive solution, and proposes the new possibility of covert, “hiding place, thicket.”

Nepal-China Relation: Tea Horse Road to Belt and Road Initiative

Nepal-China relationship is the oldest in the diplomatic history of Nepal. It is hard to find the beginning point. However, the evidence proves that Manjushree arrived from China to Kathmandu, then cut open a rocky hill called Chobhar to let the water from the enormous lake out whose mud when caked offered itself a fit place to live and cultivate. It is also important to note that the Tea and Horse Road back to the period of the Tang dynasty 618-907 and the Tibetan (Tubo) regime is the next evidence of Sino-Nepal relations, the oldest one. The Lichchhavi period, the Malla period, and the Gorkha Shah King dynasty are full of Sino-Nepal histories. The pilgrim trips from China and Tibet to Nepal and Nepalese trade with Tibet are the major sources of bilateral histories. The Military relationship is also very old, and it starts formally from the time of Kaji Bhim Malla’s military expedition in Tibet. Also, many wars took place between the two countries. However, we have got the best relation up to today and the military relation has been strengthening according to our diplomatic relations. I also would like to mention that the Sino-Nepal relationship has been running more formal rather than people-to-people communication due to our language and geographical barrier in comparison to our southern neighbor. There are many rooms to be researched from Ancient Tea and Horse Road onward present Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Resilience of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to human hunting in precolonial New England: The faunal remains from the Morgan Site (6HT120), Rocky Hill, Connecticut

Resilience – the ability of a system to withstand and recover from perturbation – has become an important concept for archaeologists and investigating resilient natural resource use and management has important implications for understanding sustainability. In precolonial eastern North America, it has been argued that white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were resilient to overhunting by humans, but this hypothesis has been only minimally tested. Here, I analyze a zooarchaeological assemblage from the Morgan Site in central Connecticut, dating to the 11th-14th centuries AD, to evaluate whether deer populations at this time experienced any perceptible hunting pressure. These data suggest that deer at the Morgan Site were not being overhunted. Fragmentation of deer skeletal elements for grease and marrow is consistent with intensive exploitation, but the strong dietary dependence on a highly preferred species like deer, evidence for hunting deer in proximity to the site, and minimal juvenile mortality all indicate that deer were not overexploited. Additionally, most of these deer were especially large-bodied. Given the evidence for a lack of hunting pressure, the large body size of deer observed here may have resulted from anthropogenic ecosystem engineering facilitating deer population growth and contributing to the apparent resilience of the species to predation.

ПРИМЕНЕНИЕ ГЕОИНФОРМАЦИОННЫХ СИСТЕМ В ИЗУЧЕНИИ ЛОКАЛЬНОЙ ПОПУЛЯЦИИ АМУРСКОГО ТИГРА С ПОМОЩЬЮ ФОТОМОНИТОРИНГА В ЗАПОВЕДНИКЕ «БАСТАК» И НА СОПРЕДЕЛЬНЫХ ТЕРРИТОРИЯХ

Photo monitoring with the help of camera traps has proven itself as one of the key methods in the study of the Amur tiger, which allows obtaining up-to-date information on the population condition, its number, and its sex and age structure. In the Bastak Nature Reserve, 50 camera traps are installed and operate year-round. They form trapping stations of paired cameras recording a tiger on both sides and correctly identifying it. Based on the obtained photo and video materials for 2022, the authors have analyzed the Amur tiger visits to trapping stations in the cluster «Central» of the reserve Bastak. With the interpolation module, the data analysis was carried out in the QGIS program, which allowed to determine a place most visited by Amur tigers. The site is located in the upper reaches of the Ikura River (Rocky Hill ridge), where adults are most often recorded. A male Bastak (20 meetings), females Cinderella (10 meetings) and Tala (8 meetings) were identified and reflected on the GIS layer. The male named Bastak is regularly noted in the upper reaches of the river with the same name. According to the study results, there is a need in increase of the trapping stations number. It is created the stations location model to fully embrace the Amur tiger habitat by photo monitoring in the cluster “Central” and its protection zone. The data obtained makes the basis for a further study of the predator’s food supply, for getting up-to-date information about the habitat areas and peculiarities of the Amur tiger daily and seasonal activity in the Bastak Reserve and adjacent territories.

Vegetation analysis on the mountain slopes of Yanaimalai in southern Tamil Nadu

Yanaimalai hill in Southern Tamil Nadu is a rocky granite hill having vegetations in the cracks and crevices. The hill absorbs and irradiates heat waves more in summer making vegetation limited. Despite high temperature and erratic weather conditions, certain vegetations survive. A study on identifying the vegetation can pave way for future breeding programmes. Therefore, this study was undertaken during May 22 to June 5, 2022 to identify the vegetation and classify into weeds, shrubs and trees. Fifty sites identified on the mountain slopes and various phytosociological parameters, viz. weed density, relative density, frequency, relative frequency, abundance, importance value index and summer dominance ratio were estimated. From the study, it was confirmed that vegetation species such as Cleome viscosa, Tephrosia purpurea, Cymbopogon citratus, Canthium spp., Morinda tinctoria and Wrightia tinctoria were predominant. Based on the findings, the identified species can be used for further genetic study on high temperature and drought tolerance for various breeding programmes.

The Old Toponymy and New Topography of Zion: Utah, Photography, and Daniel George's Series God to Go West

The Old Toponymy and New Topography of Zion: Utah, Photography, and Daniel George's Series <i>God to Go West</i>

Evaluation of land resilience against natural disasters using ecosystem services approach in Kendari City, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia

Kendari City has multiple disasters hazard, especially floods and landslides. Consequently, the city requires systematic preventive efforts to minimize the potential disaster risk. This study aims to create a spatial model to determine the resilience of the land against floods and landslides with an ecosystem services approach. We used Sentinel-2 and DEMNAS (National Digital Elevation Model of Indonesia) as our primary data collection tools. Sentinel-2 was used to compile land use maps, and DEMNAS was the basis for compiling landform maps. The integration of the two was carried out by the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The results showed that 8,259.98 acres (30.01 percent) of land in Kendari had low resilience to disasters. Those areas are located in a residential area on the TWH (Rocky hill over mixed sedimentary rocks) and KHY (Coalescent estuarine/riverine plain) landforms. The dominant disaster hazard in the area is inundation flooding that occurs almost every year in Kendari. Poor soil infiltration capacity is one factor affecting the area become vulnerable to flooding.

Abstract TP231: Irisin, Elicited By Low Frequency Whole Body Vibration Or Exogenously, Improves Post-Stroke Cognition And Reduces Infarct Volume In Middle-Aged Rats

Significance: Low frequency whole body vibration (LFV) at 40 Hz, a low impact form of exercise, for a month following mild transient middle-cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) reduces infarct volume and improves motor function in reproductively senescent, middle-aged female rats (1). In humans, LFV was shown to increase circulating levels of irisin, a skeletal muscle-derived hormone. Irisin has also been shown to play a crucial role in preserving mitochondrial function, preventing oxidative stress, and elevating expression of BDNF, among other neuroprotective measures. The current study aims to investigate the efficacy of LFV in ameliorating post-tMCAO cognitive deficits and to determine the putative role of irisin in conferring the benefits of LFV in middle-aged rats. Methods: Middle-aged rats of both sexes (5-8) were randomly assigned to tMCAO (90 min), or sham surgery followed by exposure to either LFV (twice a day for 15 min each for 5 days a week over a month) or no LFV treatment groups. Following the last LFV treatment, rats were tested for hippocampus-dependent learning and memory using a water maze followed harvesting brain and blood samples for histopathological and inflammatory marker analyses, respectively. In a parallel experiment in the absence of LFV, middle-aged female rats were randomly assigned to either saline or irisin treatment following tMCAO. Recombinant irisin was purchased from PeproTech (Rocky Hill, NJ). Rats were treated with irisin (0.2 μg/g BW; IP) or saline for a month followed by their brains were assessed by histopathology. Results: Post-tMCAO LFV significantly lessens cognitive deficits in rats of both sexes. It also significantly decreased circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines and increased serum levels of native irisin. Quantification of infarct volume irisin-treated rats demonstrated that, compared to saline, infarct volume was significantly reduced. Saline treatment resulted in 234 ± 30 mm 3 , while irisin treatment yielded 128 ± 34 mm 3 (p&lt;0.05) of infarct volume. Conclusion: Irisin, either as elicited by LFV or administered exogenously without LFV, regulates brain metabolism and inflammation and its beneficial effects can be stimulated by LFV.Reference: 1. Raval, A.P., et al., Int J Mol Sci, 2018. 19 (9).

Artifact New York: Family Correspondence from the American Revolution

Artifact New YorkFamily Correspondence from the American Revolution John L. Scherer (bio) Click for larger view View full resolution Image 1. Letter to Richard Betts, Beekman Precinct, Dutchess County, from his sister Millicent and her husband, Nathaniel Selleck, of Huntington, Long Island, dated September 9, 1783. courtesy of manuscripts and special collections, new york state library. [End Page 389] Robert (1750–1836) and Richard (1756–1840) Betts were brothers, sons of Augustine Betts (c. 1728–1813), a hat maker, and Kiziah Wiggins (c. 1732–1811) of Flushing, Jamaica, Huntington, and later North Hempstead, Long Island. Robert was born at Rocky Hill, Flushing, New York, in 1750, and Richard was born at Jamaica on July 16, 1756. These brothers, although in later life separated by distance, were always very close. Both served in the American Revolution and fought the British in battles around Manhattan, Long Island, and Westchester County. Later they shared correspondence that gave an insight into their lives and personalities. Robert's son, Oliver, would marry Richard's daughter, Abigail. The Revolutionary War pension records for Robert and Richard reveal a considerable amount of information concerning their service in the war, and a packet of letters and papers spanning the years 1779 through 1834 supplement the information on their personal lives. These papers descended to James Hill Betts (1899–1991) of Kingston, New York, from his great-grandparents, Oliver Betts (1801–73), son of Robert Betts, and Abigail Betts (1810–92), daughter of Richard Betts. This first-cousin marriage connected the two families. Unfortunately, James Betts transcribed the papers as best as he could and destroyed most of the originals because of their poor condition. However, two of the original letters managed to make it in to the New York State Library Special Collections. Robert served as one of George Washington's spies in the Secret Service, and his brother Richard served much of his time as a clerk in the supply depot at Fishkill. Richard was also involved in the attack on the fort at Setauket, Long Island, in 1777, and in 1778 in helping build the fort at West Point. After he was discharged, Richard made his home at Beekman Precinct in Dutchess County, New York, and Robert returned to Long Island making his home at Huntington. Huntington was a patriot stronghold at a time when much of Long Island, including Hempstead, had Loyalist tendencies. Richard soon became a Quaker. A letter to him from an important leader in the Quaker faith, Peter Lossing Jr. of Ponquogue, Long Island, dated September 12, 1783, [End Page 390] discusses various principles of the Quaker religion. Only three days before this letter was written to Richard, his sister Millicent and her husband, Nathaniel Selleck, of Huntington had written in a letter dated September 9, 1783, that their son, Richard, had died on August 27 and that she was just getting over the "Bloody flu." After giving news of relatives, Millicent indicated that the British troops were now lying nearby to help and protect Loyalists who would be leaving the Island. The Treaty of Paris had been signed only six days before on September 3, 1783, and the war was officially over. The British were preparing to leave New York and Long Island. November 25, 1783, was evacuation day in New York City, the headquarters for the British army since September 1776. The harbor was filled with British sailing ships jammed with 7,500 troops. They were going home, leaving America to its destiny. On December 4, the British were evacuated from Long Island, the same day that George Washington bid farewell to his troops at Fraunce's Tavern in New York City. Robert Betts wrote from his home at Huntington, Long Island, to his brother Richard at Beekman Precinct. The letter is dated December 13, 1783, only days after the British troops left. Dear Brother, I now with pleasure take pen in hand to inform you that through the mercies of god I enjoy perfect health hoping to find you in the same. Now dear brother I sincerely congratulate you on the happy event that has taken place since I last saw you, namely peace to our injured opprest...

A Preliminary study on material properties of the Zerzevan Castle, Turkey

Zerzevan is a recently discovered castle, situated on a rocky hill in the province of Diyarbakır, southeastern Turkey. Like many other Medieval defensive artifacts, Zerzevan Castle has also erected to protect the site against the incursions of enemies and to dominate the land. Zerzevan Castle, as a former military base of the Roman Empire, consists of such remains as churches, tombs observation towers, cisterns, arsenal, canals and city walls. The archaeological excavations conducted in the site revealed the existence of various underground structures, among them a temple of Mithraism, a mystery religion. The temple is considered as the first and unique Mithraeum located on the eastern border of the Roman Empire. The castle has been constructed by employing natural stones. Similar to that of the stone artifacts around the world, the Zerzevan Castle has also suffered from stone deterioration and stability problems. The present study aims to characterize stone used in the Zerzevan Castle as a building material. The study also aims to characterize the provenance of the stone material utilized in the monuments of that archaeological site. For this purpose, samples were collected from the building façade and stone quarry located on the site. The samples then used to determine their petrographic, chemical and some of the physico-mechanical properties. The preliminary results demonstrate that the stone employed in the construction of the Castle is calcitic dolomite. Moreover, the great similarities in chemical compositions of the samples collected from the building and the quarry indicate that the stone material employed in the construction was most probably extracted from the nearby quarries.

3D numerical modelling for interpreting topographic effects in rocky hills for Seismic Microzonation: The case study of Arquata del Tronto hamlet

The 2016–2017 seismic sequence in the Central Apennines (Italy) demonstrated, once again, the relevant role of the differentiated seismic effects related to different features in complex geological contexts at a short distance (i.e. soft sediment-filled valley, hilly relieves, complex buried geometries). The heavy damages of old settlements located on the top of a rocky hill, such as Arquata del Tronto hill, raised the question on the main role of three-dimensional movements of asymmetrical isolated rocky reliefs in generating disruptions during the seismic shaking. In order to shed light on these effects, the writing authors analysed the seismic response of a digital 3D model of the Arquata del Tronto hill, that was constructed by considering the topography and the underground geological settings of the area. The seismic response was evaluated through 3D numerical simulations of seismic waves propagation with the spectral element method for the period range 0.1–1 s, that covers the typical resonance frequencies of the buildings involved in the studied case. The obtained results explain the recorded strong motion at Arquata site and are consistent with the observed heterogeneous damage distribution. This study evidences the need for accurate 3D models in the evaluation of the seismic response of ridges with topographic and geological asymmetries and demonstrates that the common usage of 2D simplified simulations to approximate the 3D seismic behaviour is not correct. Additionally, the study points out the paramount role that the characterization in engineering - geological terms plays in the numerical 3D simulation of the seismic site response. Thus, in microzoning studies, simplifications related to both dimensional and geo-litho-seismic characterizations should be avoided.

"Scadența" de Horia Liman – obiceiuri ancestrale într-un spațiu izolat / “The Deadline” by Horia Liman – Ancestral customs in an isolated space

In his novel, “The Deadline”, Horia Liman depicts the history of an authentic world governed by unwritten laws belonging to the morality of the common man, especially to the honour code. In a poor isolated community from Oaș, placed on a rocky hill, where only the nettles grow, the knapsack and the knife are held in high esteem. The atmosphere of the novel, its characters and their features, the difficult life and the unwritten laws are gradually unveiled through significant events.

A rocky hill on the continuous ejecta of Ziwei crater revealed by the Chang'e-3 mission

A rocky hill on the continuous ejecta of Ziwei crater revealed by the Chang'e-3 mission

A rocky hill on the continuous ejecta of Ziwei crater revealed by the Chang’e-3 mission

The Chinese Chang'e-3 mission landed close to the eastern rim of the ~450 m diameter Ziwei crater. Regional stratigraphy of the landing site and impact excavation model suggest that the bulk continuous ejecta deposits of the Ziwei crater are composed by Erathothenian-aged mare basalts. Along the traverse of the Yutu rover, the western segment features a gentle topographic uplift (~0.5 m high over ~4 m), which is spatially connected with the structurally-uplifted crater rim. Assuming that this broad topographic uplift has physical properties discontinuous with materials below, we use data returned by the high-frequency lunar penetrating radar onboard the Yutu rover to estimate the possible range of relative permittivity for this topographic uplift. Only when the relative permittivity is ~9 is the observed radar reflection consistent with the observed topography, suggesting that the topographic uplift is composed of basaltic blocks that were excavated by the Ziwei crater. This result is consistent both with the impact excavation model that predicts deeper basaltic materials being deposited closer to the crater rim, and with observation of numerous half-buried boulders on the surface of this hill. We note that this study is the first to use topography and radargram data to estimate the relative permittivity of lunar surface uplifts, an approach that has had many successful applications on Mars. Similar approaches can apply other ground penetrating radar data for the Moon, such as will be available from the ongoing Chang'e-4 mission.

Rocky Hill: A Legal Breakthrough in the Consideration of Climate Change and Social Impacts of Coal Mines

Rocky Hill: A Legal Breakthrough in the Consideration of Climate Change and Social Impacts of Coal Mines

Forces for change in social impact assessment

ABSTRACT Social impact assessment (SIA) is experiencing both evolutionary and revolutionary forces for change. Using the example of New South Wales, Australia, forces for change include community pressure and shifting expectations, industry desire for clarity and certainty, departmental leadership, a collaborative approach to policy development, and perceived legitimacy of the guideline itself. Inhibiting these forces are general resistance to change, a concern around costs of good SIA, unfamiliarity with social sciences, and insufficient practitioner capacity. The recent Rocky Hill judgement, which highlights concepts such as community cohesion, sense of place, and distributive equity, may accelerate change. However, there is also a need to build capacity among SIA practitioners, and afford sufficient time and budget to meet the standard of leading-practice guidelines. At the same time, unfolding trends such as the climate change and extinction crises, the gendered nature of development, ever-widening inequalities, and ‘post-truth’ discourses may catalyse more revolutionary change in SIA practice – changes that paradoxically may enable SIA to reclaim its social-science principles and the overarching goal of sustainable social development.

Newly Emerging Geosites in the Polish Western Outer Carpathians as an Asset for Geoeducation and Geotourism

This study focuses on Flysch Carpathian river valleys recently reshaped by the fluvial erosion. Geological structures of these mountains are rather monotonous. However, numerous floods that occurred in recent decades and the abrasion of banks of water reservoirs have made many parts of valleys particularly interesting not only for geologists but also for tourists and for local people as a pleasant place for recreation. New outcrops of flysch sediments appear in different spatial and social contexts. On the basis fieldwork observations in years 2009–2018, four case studies of the newly emerging geosites in the Polish Flysch Carpathians are presented. In one case, few people seem to notice the new geosite. In two other cases, local communities have taken initiatives to use the newly emerging geosites for education. The fourth case is the walking path at the foothill of a rocky hill with the reconstructed medieval castle at the top. The owner of the castle arranged this path as an additional commercial attraction for visitors of the castle. The author analyses also possibilities of the formal protection of the newly emerging geosites within the existing Polish nature protection system. Finally lessons that can be learnt from these activities for other Carpathian communities are presented.

Morphogenesis of New Straits and Islands Originated in the European Arctic Since the 1980s

Several new islands and many islets have appeared in the European Arctic since the end of the 20th century due to glacial recession under climate warming. The specificity of the formation of each individual strait and island is shown in the paper (apart from its location and timing of its origin). Analysis of available maps and satellite images of all three European Arctic archipelagos, from different times since 1909–1910, was the main research method. There are three pathways of the morphogenesis of the new islands: (1) simultaneous recession of glaciers from both sides of a depression in bedrock being a potential strait (typical in Franz Josef Land), (2) uncovering a rocky hill (which protrudes from a depression in bedrock) from under a receding glacier, (3) recession of one glacier which had reached a rocky fragment of a coastline (e.g., headland or peninsula), being a potential new island, during a maximum extent of this glacier during the Little Ice Age (in the beginning of the 20th century). Additional straits and islands are currently at the stage of formation and will continue to form in the European Arctic in the case of further warming or stabilization of the current climate conditions.

Neurokinin-1 Receptor Antagonism Ameliorates Dry Eye Disease by Inhibiting Antigen-Presenting Cell Maturation and T Helper 17 Cell Activation

Neuroinflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of ocular surface disease, including dry eye disease (DED), but little is known about the contribution of substance P (SP) to DED. In this study, we investigated the expression of SP at the ocular surface and evaluated its effect on maturation of antigen-presenting cells (APCs), the key cell component involved in the induction of type 17 helper T-cell (Th17) response in DED. The effect of topical blockade of SP signaling was further investigated using neurokinin-1 receptor (NK1R) inhibitors on APC maturation, Th17 cell activation, and disease severity in a mouse model of DED. The results demonstrate that SP is constitutively expressed at the ocular surface, and trigeminal ganglion neurons are the major source of SP in DED. SP derived from trigeminal ganglion enhanced the expression of major histocompatibility complex class II maturation marker by bone marrow-derived dendritic cells, an effect that is abrogated by blockade of SP signaling using NK1R antagonist spantide. Finally, using a well-established murine model of DED, topical treatment of DED mice with NK1R antagonists CP-99,994 and L-733,060 suppressed APC acquisition of major histocompatibility complex class II, reduced Th17 cell activity, and ameliorated DED severity. These findings are of translational value, as they suggest that antagonizing NK1R-mediated SP signaling may be an effective strategy in suppressing Th17-mediated ocular surface disease.