The evolution and distribution of the Israeli modern retailers

This paper is concerned with the structure and dynamics of modern retail facilities in Israel. It presents the first comprehensive quantitative study of the recent trends in Israeli retail. On the basis of an unique database that includes sizes and locations of retailers for a number of years, we test and challenge some of the traditional theories, as well as the latest approaches to the analysis of urban systems. Recent approaches view cities as self-organizing systems and utilize complexity theory and concepts of order. In the case of Israeli retail application of alternate methods of analysis suggests that the conventional regularities such as rank-size rule, as is implied by the central place theory or the more general power law do not hold. The findings reveal that the sizes of modern retailers display an exponential distribution, consistent across time and scale. This signifies a presence of stable regularity in the structure of retail sizes. Exponential distribution of the retail sizes is shown to reflect a lack of interdependence between the existing and the planned retail facilities. The issue of order versus randomness and self-organization in the size distribution of retailers remains debatable and requires further development of tools and universal criteria for analyzing complex systems.     

Investigating the transport dynamics and the properties of bedload material with a hydro‐acoustic measuring system

This article deals with the following two questions. Are acoustic measurements in running waters appropriate for a highly resolved investigation of the bedload transport? Which characterizations of the bedload regarding mass and shape are possible via the acoustic signals? The signals were recorded by means of data recorders (Tascam Inc. DAP1 Portable Data Recorder) and hydrophones (International Transducer Corp. ITC‐4001 A). The ITC‐4001 is a shallow water omnidirectional transducer containing a flexural disc transducer utilizing Channelite‐5400 ceramics mounted in a rugged corrosion‐resistant housing. These hydrophones were screwed onto the bottom side of stainless steel plates, serving as a contact surface for the bedload in motion above them. After more than 100 series of tests in the laboratory, which indicated the basic relations between the dimension, shape and weight of the bedload and the resulting signal, field tests of the measuring system were conducted. By artificially produced flood waves in the small brooks Riverisbach, Olewiger Bach and by a winter flood wave in the River Moselle, it is possible to elaborate similar structures of the signal course of the bedload movement. The highest transport rates can be observed at the beginning of the increasing limbs and behind the peaks of the waves. At the beginning of the waves, the increasing transport power of the water and the loose material can be considered as the cause for this result. The high stream velocity behind the wave peaks explains the increase in the bedload transport so that material from the channel beds is unfastened and will be mobilized. The characterization of the bedload regarding the shape and mass is still limited regarding the field measurements and could be solved only for homogeneous grain sizes and single stones under laboratory conditions. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Solar radio fluxes as indices of solar activity

The daily solar radio flux values at 9400, 3750, 2000 and 1000 MHz and at 2800 MHz observed since 1957 at Toyokawa and Ottawa, respectively, have been used to provide new information on the solar radio fluxes as indices of solar activity. After an examination of the yearly mean values at each frequency, another investigation based on mean ratios during periods of 18 or 6 months indicates that a close connection is observed between the radio fluxes in the cm region and that anomalies related to calibration problems can be detected. The regression analysis of the daily values of the fluxes during at least 25 years and a special test on the sensitivity may provide final information on the stability of the data with respect to time and solar activity. The method is capable of detecting long-term trends corresponding to instrumental drifts. Such information is essential to our understanding of anomalies detected in the observations of u.v. and X-ray irradiances. However, such a method is based on a linear relationship. When a quadratic form, as it is observed in the decimeter region, is adopted, the effect of the various levels of activity in a solar cycle must be considered.     

Solar indices and solar u.v.-irradiances

Solar radio fluxes, Zurich relative sunspot number R_z, and Solar Call plage indexes daily values for the period 1957–1980 are analyzed in order to test the stability of the series with respect to time and solar activity. It is found that between the series of the 3,8 and 10 cm radio fluxes and the series of R_z no significant trend with time, solar activity or solar cycle exists when mean values for periods of the order of one year are considered.Then, the daily solar u.v.-irradiances measured since 1969 for H-Lyman-alpha and-beta, the Hel-resonance line and HeII-Lyman-alpha are compared with the 10.7 cm radio fluxes and adjusted. After adjustment, the behaviour of the four series of irradiances with respect to the 10.7 cm flux shows a similar structure as the behaviour typical for the series of the 3 cm or the 8 cm fluxes.This adjustment allows the determination of the slope of the mean variation of the u.v.-irradiances with solar activity. The increases from solar minimum to solar maximum related to the minimum values are respectively : 60% for H-Lyman-alpha, 80% for H-Lyman-beta and 90% for Hel and Hell.     

Stochastic forecasting of mine water inrushes

An event-based stochastic forecasting approach is used to model water inrushes into underground works under karstic water hazard. The stochastic properties of inrushes are related to the statistical properties of fissures in the karstic rock. The probability distributions (DF) of five random variables of interest in design are estimated; namely, inrush yield q, number N of inrushes per unit area, distance L between inrushes, maximum q_max in N events and total yield Q. The phenomenological hypotheses of log normal DF of q and Poisson DF of N are reinforced by observation data. On the basis of these DF, a Monte Carlo simulation of a spatial Poisson process of inrushes is run to estimate the DF of q_max and Q. The derivation of Bayesian DF to account for parameter uncertainty is discussed. The stochastic model is used for design and operation of minewater control facilities in the Transdanubian karstic region of Hungary.     

New Early Permian paleomagnetic results from the Brive basin (French Massif Central) and their implications for Late Variscan tectonics

In order to assess the structural evolution of the Brive basin and the Paleozoic activity of surrounding major faults in the French Massif Central, we carried out a paleomagnetic study on Early Permian rocks from this basin. Positive-fold tests and solely reversed polarities indicate that the characteristic remanent magnetization is likely to be primary. Early Permian tilt-corrected site mean declinations vary from 207°–167° indicating that the Brive basin experienced internal vertical-axis rotations. On the contrary, Late Permian paleomagnetic site means exhibit a circular Fisherian distribution showing no relative rotations. Detailed analyses of Permian paleomagnetic data from five contemporaneous basins of the French Massif Central reveal that these basins share the same equatorial paleolatitude with stable Europe throughout the Permian. However, in Early Permian, three of the five basins experienced differential rotations. The Saint-Affrique basin not only suffered internal deformation during the Early Permian, but the basin as a whole underwent a full-scale counterclockwise vertical-axis block rotation with respect to stable Europe. As a consequence, paleomagnetic data from similar late orogenic basins have to be thus carefully considered for establishment of Apparent Polar Wander paths.     

Stratigraphic evidence of human disturbance in an estuary

Prior to European settlement, oligohaline and mesohaline sections of Chesapeake Bay draining Piedmont saprolite supported diverse and abundant diatom and macrophyte populations. Compositional changes in diatoms and macrophytes in oligohaline sections correspond with 17th- and 19th-century deforestation and increased siltation, while effects on downstream populations were less notable. After deforestation, previously sparse diatom populations in a mesohaline estuary draining sandy Coastal Plain soils became more abundant. Fertilization of cultivated land was accompanied by increased production of both attached and free-floating diatoms. After the discharge of sewage, diatom populations increased enormously in the affected areas, followed by a dramatic decrease. The decrease suggests silica limitation after intense phosphorus enrichment. The loss of macrophytes and increase in planktonic diatoms in oligohaline areas in recent years resemble the historical sequences observed in lakes undergoing eutrophication. However, in the estuary, similar declines have also occurred in macrophyte populations in mesohaline areas where eutrophication is much less severe, but where chlorine and herbicide toxicity during the past 20 yr is similar to upstream areas.     

Technetium-99 content in some marine organisms collected near La Hague,France

Analyses for ⁹⁹Tc in some marine biological samples taken near the outlet of the low level radioactive effluent pipeline of the nuclear reprocessing plant of La Hague, France, gave positive results. From 500 to 3500 pCi kg^?1 wet weight of ⁹⁹Tc were observed in brown algae; Fucus sp. appeared to be a good indicator of this long-lived radionuclide in a marine environment.