University of South Carolina

About: University of South Carolina is a education organization based out in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 25792 authors who have published 59995 publications receiving 2246122 citations. The organization is also known as: USC & U.S.C..

The landscape of disaster resilience indicators in the USA

Abstract: The landscape of disaster resilience indicators is littered with wide range of tools, scorecards, indices that purport to measure disaster resilience in some manner. This paper examines the existing qualitative and quantitative approaches to resilience assessment in order to delineate common concepts and variables. Twenty seven different resilience assessment tools, indices, and scorecards were examined. Four different parameters were used to distinguish between them—focus (on assets baseline conditions); spatial orientation (local to global), methodology (top down or bottom up), and domain area (characteristics to capacities). There is no dominant approach across these characteristics. In a more detailed procedure, fourteen empirically based case studies were examined that had actually implemented one of the aforementioned tools, indices, or scorecards to look for overlaps in both concepts measured and variables. The most common elements in all the assessment approaches can be divided into attributes and assets (economic, social, environmental, infrastructure) and capacities (social capital, community functions, connectivity, and planning). The greatest variable overlap in the case studies is with specific measures of social capital based on religious affiliation and civic organizations, and for health access (measured by the number of physicians). Based on the analysis a core set of attributes/assets, capacities, and proxy measures are presented as a path forward, recognizing that new data may be required to adequately measure many of the dimensions of community disaster resilience.

Transformation of Dissolved and Particulate Materials on Continental Shelves Influenced by Large Rivers: Plume Processes

Abstract: The world's ten largest rivers transport approximately 40% of the fresh water and particulate materials entering the ocean. The impact of large rivers is important on a regional/continental scale (e.g. the Mississippi drains ∼40% of the conterminous US and carries approximately 65% of all the suspended solids and dissolved solutes that enter the ocean from the US) and on a global scale (e.g. the Amazon River annually supplies approximately 20% of all the freshwater that enters the ocean; e.g. approximately 85% of all sedimenting organic carbon in the ocean accumulates in coastal margin regions). River plume processes are affected by a suite of complex factors that are not fully understood. It is clear however, that the composition, concentration and delivery of terrestrial materials by large rivers cannot be understood by simply scaling up the magnitudes and impacts of dominant processes in smaller rivers. Because of high rates of particulate and water discharge, the estuarine processes associated with major rivers usually take place on the adjacent continental shelf instead of in a physically confined estuary. This influences the magnitude and selectivity of processes that transform, retain or export terrestrial materials. Buoyancy is a key mediating factor in transformation processes in the coastal margin. In this paper we review and synthesize current understanding of the transformation processes of dissolved and particulate organic and inorganic materials associated with large river (buoyant) plumes. Chemical and biological activities are greatly enhanced by the changed physical and optical environment within buoyant plumes. Time and space scales over which these transformation processes occur vary greatly, depending on factors such as scales of discharge, suspended sediment loads, light and temperature. An adequate understanding of transformation processes in these highly dynamic, buoyancy-driven systems is lacking. In this paper, we review the biogeochemical processes that occur in large river plumes.

Memristive model of amoeba learning.

Abstract: Recently, it was shown that the amoebalike cell Physarum polycephalum when exposed to a pattern of periodic environmental changes learns and adapts its behavior in anticipation of the next stimulus to come. Here we show that such behavior can be mapped into the response of a simple electronic circuit consisting of a LC contour and a memory-resistor (a memristor) to a train of voltage pulses that mimic environment changes. We also identify a possible biological origin of the memristive behavior in the cell. These biological memory features are likely to occur in other unicellular as well as multicellular organisms, albeit in different forms. Therefore, the above memristive circuit model, which has learning properties, is useful to better understand the origins of primitive intelligence.