AN INVESTIGATION OF MICROSEISMICITY DURING THE 2018 KILAUEA CALDERA COLLAPSE

The 2018 Kīlauea volcano eruption and incremental caldera collapse was accompanied by more than 60,000 seismic events cataloged by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory as well as 62 caldera collapse events that occurred roughly once per day. The majority of seismicity occurred on the eastern side of the caldera between daily collapses. However, the majority of caldera subsidence occurred to the west. To understand the collapse mechanics behind this variance in subsidence and seismicity across the caldera region, repetitive waveforms and source properties can be studied. Repeating seismic events suggest a common source that is not moving or destroyed. At Kīlauea, clusters of repeating events can indicate source processes throughout collapse cycles. REDPy, a repeating earthquake detector tool for Python, cross correlates seismic events to determine repetition. Events are separated into families or listed as orphans if no matches are found. We used data from HVO network stations surrounding Kīlauea’s summit. Possible events were identified using an STA/LTA trigger algorithm with a long-time average trigger of 8 seconds, a short-time average trigger of 1 second, and a trigger on/off range of 1-2.5. A minimum correlation coefficient of 0.7 was used to group over 167,000 recognized events from April 29th to August 2nd into nearly 6,000 families. Of these families, 697 were chosen as ‘clusters of interest’ for including \u3e100 events or persisting for 7 days or more. P-wave first-motions were manually picked for waveforms associated with clusters of interest, these clusters were then located using P-wave arrival times, and focal mechanisms were modeled for viable events to learn more about their source processes and relationship to collapse mechanics. Dilatational first motions dominate our catalog and focal mechanism models have mismatched station polarities indicative of non-double-couple sources. In fact, focal spheres show evidence of reverse motion on ring faults, which is the opposite sense of slip associated with the large, daily caldera collapse events. This change in slip direction suggests that much of the microseismicity results from shortening within the down dropped caldera and rebound in areas adjacent to the caldera

From Fraudsters to Scammers and Cyber-Villains, Tech-Savvy Criminals Are Out to Steal Your Money

Today, more than ever before, criminals are out to steal from your business. However, today, criminals not only use organized shoplifting gangs and engage in armed robberies, but they now also use computers and the internet. Bernie Madoff and Sam Bankman-Fried have joined the lengthy list of well-known criminals before Charles Ponzi. The Fraud Triangle (Cressey, 1973) is based upon Opportunity, Incentive, and Rationalization. The COVID-19 pandemic created a perfect storm of opportunity for would-be scammers. The federal government fueled opportunity with $800 billion in COVID relief funding for the Paycheck Protection Program and up to$400 billion for COVID unemployment relief. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) small businesses are often targeted as they tend to have fewer safeguards in place to prevent fraud. The ACFE reports that the average loss for a small business fraud is $100,000 and an average of five percent of annual revenue. In this paper, the authors provide an overview of current fraud activities and a study of the Traits of Sympathy survey to help examine whether a relationship exists between one’s rationalization and sympathy in their decision to commit fraud in the pre-fraud state. We present research findings and offer recommendations

The global decline of reptiles, deja’ vu amphibians

Reptile species are declining on a global scale. Six significant threats to reptile populations are habitat loss and degradation, introduced invasive species, environmental pollution, disease, unsustainable use, and global climate change

Results of a Tracker Study Conducted Within Constructed Wetlands with Varying Cell Characteristics

2010 S.C. Water Resources Conferences - Science and Policy Challenges for a Sustainable Futur

Results of a Tracker Study Conducted Within Constructed Wetlands with Varying Cell Characteristics

2010 S.C. Water Resources Conferences - Science and Policy Challenges for a Sustainable Futur

Borrelia valaisiana resist complement-mediated killing independently of the recruitment of immune regulators and inactivation of complement components

Spirochetes belonging to the Borrelia (B.) burgdorferi sensu lato complex differ in their resistance to complement-mediated killing, particularly in regard to human serum. In the present study, we elucidate the serum and complement susceptibility of B. valaisiana, a genospecies with the potential to cause Lyme disease in Europe as well as in Asia. Among the investigated isolates, growth of ZWU3 Ny3 was not affected while growth of VS116 and Bv9 was strongly inhibited in the presence of 50% human serum. Analyzing complement activation, complement components C3, C4 and C6 were deposited on the surface of isolates VS116 and Bv9, and similarly the membrane attack complex was formed on their surface. In contrast, no surface-deposited components and no aberrations in cell morphology were detected for serum-resistant ZWU3 Ny3. While further investigating the protective role of bound complement regulators in mediating complement resistance, we discovered that none of the B. valaisiana isolates analyzed bound complement regulators Factor H, Factor H-like protein 1, C4b binding protein or C1 esterase inhibitor. In addition, B. valaisiana also lacked intrinsic proteolytic activity to degrade complement components C3, C3b, C4, C4b, and C5. Taken together, these findings suggest that certain B. valaisiana isolates differ in their capability to resist complement-mediating killing by human serum. The molecular mechanism utilized by B. valaisiana to inhibit bacteriolysis appears not to involve binding of the key host complement regulators of the alternative, classical, and lectin pathways as already known for serum-resistant Lyme disease or relapsing fever borreliae

Cross-sectional, longitudinal, and dynamic associations among big five personality traits and resilience in primarily female, upper-middle class, ethnically diverse U.S. adolescents

In this study, we examined how Big Five personality traits relate to outcome-based resilience in primarily female, upper-middle class, ethnically diverse U.S. adolescents (baseline N = 535; age range = 15–17) oversampled on elevated neuroticism. Cross-sectional, prospective-longitudinal, and dynamic analyses were performed with 8-year longitudinal data. Using a residualization approach, we approximated resilience as low stressor reactivity, calculated by regressing depression and anxiety diagnosis severity onto chronic stressor exposure over 1-year periods. Cross-sectional associations with stressor reactivity were observed for neuroticism (positive), extraversion (negative), openness (positive), and conscientiousness (negative). A positive prospective-longitudinal association with stressor reactivity was observed for neuroticism. In contemporaneous and lagged dynamic analyses, within-persons dynamics and mean levels of neuroticism (positive) and extraversion (negative) were associated with stressor reactivity. There were also unique associations with stressor reactivity for neuroticism (positive), extraversion (negative), and agreeableness (positive). Results indicate relevance of mean levels and intraindividual dynamics of personality, particularly neuroticism, for resilience in adolescents

Results of an Intensive Water Quality Study of the Middle and Lower Savannah River Basin

2010 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Science and Policy Challenges for a Sustainable Futur

A megbocsátás pszichológiája: kialakulása, hatásai és fejlesztése

A megbocsátás az interperszonális sérelmekre adott egyik lehetséges válasznak tekinthető, melynek fókuszában a sérelmet elszenvedő személy kognitív, érzelmi és viselkedéses válaszaiban bekövetkező proszociális változás áll. A megbocsátás mentális és fizikai egészségre kifejtett pozitív hatása jól dokumentált. Magas szintje alacsony szorongás- és depressziószinttel társul, illetve sikeresen csökkenti a stresszre adott fizikai választ (kortizol és kardiovaszkuláris reaktivitás). A megbocsátást - hatásai alapján - olyan emóció fókuszú megküzdési módként definiálhatjuk, mely sikeresen csökkenti az interperszonális sérelem nyomán kialakult stresszreakciót. Az utóbbi években számos intervenciós technikát dolgoztak ki, melyek a megbocsátás támogatását, illetve fejlesztését tűzték ki célként. Ezek a módszerek általában sikeresen növelik a megbocsátásra való hajlandóságot.</o:p

Characterization of three Agrobacterium tumefaciens avirulent mutants with chromosomal mutations that affect induction of vir genes.

Three Agrobacterium tumefaciens mutants with chromosomal mutations that affect bacterial virulence were isolated by transposon mutagenesis. Two of the mutants were avirulent on all hosts tested. The third mutant, Ivr-211, was a host range mutant which was avirulent on Bryophyllum diagremontiana, Nicotiana tabacum, N. debneyi, N. glauca, and Daucus carota but was virulent on Zinnia elegans and Lycopersicon esculentum (tomato). That the mutant phenotype was due to the transposon insertion was determined by cloning the DNA containing the transposon insertion and using the cloned DNA to replace the wild-type DNA in the parent bacterial strain by marker exchange. The transposon insertions in the three mutants mapped at three widely separated locations on the bacterial chromosome. The effects of the mutations on various steps in tumor formation were examined. All three mutants showed no alteration in binding to carrot cells. However, none of the mutants showed any induction of vir genes by acetosyringone under conditions in which the parent strain showed vir gene induction. When the mutant bacteria were examined for changes in surface components, it was found that all three of the mutants showed a similar alteration in lipopolysaccharide (LPS). LPS from the mutants was larger in size and more heavily saccharide substituted than LPS from the parent strain. Two of the mutants showed no detectable alteration in outer membrane and periplasmic space proteins. The third mutant, Ivr-225, was missing a 79-kDa surface peptide. The reason(s) for the failure of vir gene induction in these mutants and its relationship, if any, to the observed alteration in LPS are unknown