Sample records for nas jrb willow

  1. Interpretation of Borehole Geophysical Logs, Aquifer-Isolation Tests, and Water-Quality Data for Sites 1, 3, and 5 at the Willow Grove Naval Air Station/Joint Reserve Base, Horsham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania: 2005

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sloto, Ronald A.

    2007-01-01

    Borehole geophysical logging, heatpulse-flowmeter measurements, borehole television surveys, and aquifer-isolation tests were conducted in 2005 at the Willow Grove Naval Air Station/Joint Reserve Base (NAS/JRB) in Horsham Township, Montgomery County, Pa. This study was done by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the U.S. Navy in support of hydrogeological investigations to address ground-water contamination. Data collected for this study are valuable for understanding ground-water flow in the Stockton Formation at the local and regional scale. The Willow Grove NAS/JRB is underlain by the Stockton Formation, which consists of sedimentary rocks of Triassic age. The rocks of the Stockton Formation form a complex, heterogeneous aquifer with partially connected zones of high permeability. Borehole geophysical logs, heatpulse-flowmeter measurements, and borehole television surveys made in seven boreholes ranging from 70 to 350 ft deep were used to identify potential water-producing fractures and fracture zones and to select intervals for aquifer-isolation tests. An upward vertical hydraulic gradient was measured in one borehole, a downward vertical hydraulic gradient was measured in four boreholes, both an upward and a downward vertical hydraulic gradient were measured in one borehole, and no flow was measurable in one borehole. The aquifer-isolation tests isolated 30 discrete fractures in the seven boreholes for collection of depth-discrete hydraulic and water-quality data. Of the 30 fractures identified as potentially water producing, 26 fractures (87 percent) produced more than 1 gallon per minute of water. The specific capacity of the isolated intervals producing more than 1 gallon per minute ranged from 0.02 to 5.2 gallons per minute per foot. There was no relation between specific capacity and depth of the fracture. Samples for analysis for volatile organic compounds were collected from each isolated zone. Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) was the most

  2. Willow Bark

    MedlinePlus

    ... from several varieties of the willow tree, including white willow or European willow, black willow or pussy willow, ... taking a specific product containing glucosamine sulfate, methylsufonlylmethane, white willow bark extract, ginger root concentrate, boswellia extract, turmeric ...

  3. Interpretation of borehole geophysical logs, aquifer-isolation tests, and water quality, supply wells 1 and 2, Willow Grove Naval Air Station/Joint Reserve Base, Horsham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sloto, Ronald A.; Goode, Daniel J.; Frasch, Steven M.

    2002-01-01

    Ground water pumped from supply wells 1 and 2 on the Willow Grove Naval Air Station/Joint Reserve Base (NAS/JRB) provides water for use at the base, including potable water for drinking. The supply wells have been contaminated by volatile organic compounds (VOC's), particularly trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE), and the water is treated to remove the VOC's. The Willow Grove NAS/JRB and surrounding area are underlain by sedimentary rocks of the Triassic-age Stockton Formation, which form a complex, heterogeneous aquifer.The ground-water-flow system for the supply wells was characterized by use of borehole geophysical logs and heatpulse-flowmeter measurements. The heatpulse-flowmeter measurements showed upward and downward borehole flow under nonpumping conditions in both wells. The hydraulic and chemical properties of discrete water-bearing fractures in the supply wells were characterized by isolating each water-bearing fracture with straddle packers. Eight fractures in supply well 1 and five fractures in supply well 2 were selected for testing on the basis of the borehole geophysical logs and borehole television surveys. Water samples were collected from each isolated fracture and analyzed for VOC?s and inorganic constituents.Fractures at 50–59, 79–80, 196, 124–152, 182, 241, 256, and 350–354 ft btoc (feet below top of casing) were isolated in supply well 1. Specific capacities ranged from 0.26 to 5.7 (gal/min)/ft (gallons per minute per foot) of drawdown. The highest specific capacity was for the fracture isolated at 179.8–188 ft btoc. Specific capacity and depth of fracture were not related in either supply well. The highest concentrations of PCE were in water samples collected from fractures isolated at 236.8–245 and 249.8–258 ft btoc, which are hydraulically connected. The concentration of PCE generally increased with depth to a maximum of 39 mg/L (micrograms per liter) at a depth of 249.8? 258 ft btoc and then decreased to 21

  4. Living Willow Huts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keeler, Rusty

    2007-01-01

    Living Willow Huts are inexpensive to make, fun to plant, easy to grow, and make beautiful spaces for children. They involve planting dormant willow shoots in the ground and weaving them into shapes that will sprout and grow over time. People have been creating similar living architecture throughout the world for centuries in the forms of living…

  5. Blue Willow Story Plates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fontes, Kris

    2009-01-01

    In the December 1997 issue of "SchoolArts" is a lesson titled "Blue Willow Story Plates" by Susan Striker. In this article, the author shares how she used this lesson with her middle-school students many times over the years. Here, she describes a Blue Willow plate painting project that her students made.

  6. White Willow in Russian Literature: Folklore "Roots" of Image

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dudareva, Marianna A.; Goeva, Nina P.

    2017-01-01

    The article deals with a complicated archetypal tree complex in Russian literature. The object chosen here is "white willow" (vetla) as one of the species of willow in its different variations--daphne willow (verba) and goat willow (rakita), and willow itself. In the 19th century Russian literature we can find the image of white willow…

  7. Geodatabase of environmental information for Air Force Plant 4 and Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base Carswell Field, Fort Worth, Texas, 1990-2004

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Shah, Sachin D.; Quigley, Sean M.

    2005-01-01

    Air Force Plant 4 (AFP4) and adjacent Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base (NAS-JRB) at Fort Worth, Tex., constitute a government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) facility that has been in operation since 1942. Contaminants from the facility, primarily volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and metals, have entered the groundwater-flow system through leakage from waste-disposal sites (landfills and pits) and from manufacturing processes (U.S. Air Force, Aeronautical Systems Center, 1995). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force (USAF), Aeronautical Systems Center, Environmental Management Directorate (ASC/ENVR), developed a comprehensive database (or geodatabase) of temporal and spatial environmental information associated with the geology, hydrology, and water quality at AFP4 and NAS-JRB. The database of this report provides information about the AFP4 and NAS-JRB study area including sample location names, identification numbers, locations, historical dates, and various measured hydrologic data. This database does not include every sample location at the site, but is limited to an aggregation of selected digital and hardcopy data of the USAF, USGS, and various consultants who have previously or are currently working at the site.

  8. Differences in uptake and translocation of selenate and selenite by the weeping willow and hybrid willow.

    PubMed

    Yu, Xiao-Zhang; Gu, Ji-Dong

    2008-09-01

    Due to its essentiality, deficiency, and toxicity to living organisms and the extensive use in industrial activities, selenium (Se) has become an element of global environmental and health concern. Se removal from contaminated sites using physical, chemical, and engineering techniques is quite complicated and expensive. The goal of this study was to investigate uptake and translocation of Se in willows and to provide quantitative information for field application whether Se phytoremediation is feasible and ecologically safe. Intact pre-rooted plants of hybrid willows (Salix matsudana Koidz x alba L.) and weeping willows (Salix babylonica L.) were grown hydroponically and treated with selenite or selenate at 24.0 +/- 1 degrees C for 144 h. Removal of leaves was also performed as a treatment to quantify the effect of transpiration on translocation and volatilization of Se. At the end of the study, total Se in the hydroponic solution and in different parts of plant tissues was analyzed quantitatively by hydride generation-atomic fluorescence spectrometry. The capacity of willows to assimilate both chemical forms of Se was also evaluated using detached leaves and roots in sealed glass vessels in vivo. Translocation efficiency of Se in both plants was estimated. Significant amounts of the applied selenite and selenate were eliminated from plant growth media by willows during the period of incubation. Both willows showed a significantly higher removal rate for selenate than for selenite (p < 0.05). Substantial differences existed in the distribution of both chemical forms of Se in plant materials: lower stems and roots were the major sites for accumulation of selenite and selenate, respectively. Translocation efficiency for selenite was significantly higher than that for selenate in both willow species (p < 0.01). Compared to the intact trees, remarkable decrease in the removal rate of both chemical forms of Se was found for willows without any leaves (p < 0

  9. Phytotoxicity of cyanide to weeping willow trees.

    PubMed

    Yu, Xiaozhang; Trapp, Stefan; Zhou, Puhua

    2005-01-01

    Cyanide is found predominantly in industrial effluents generated by metallurgical operations. It is an extremely toxic compound, so that problems and catastrophic accidents have recently occurred all around the globe. The goal of this study was to determine the toxicity of cyanide to a Chinese willow species, and to determine the removal capacity. The toxicity of potassium cyanide (KCN) to weeping willow trees (Salix babylonica L.) was tested. The normalized, relative transpiration of the plants was used to determine the phytotoxicity of cyanide. The cyanide removal capacity of weeping willows was also determined. In hydroponic solution, no chlorosis of leaves and only a small reduction in normalized relative transpiration was observed when weeping willows were exposed to low doses of cyanide (< or = 0.93 mg CN/L). Severe signs of toxicity were found for the treatment groups exposed to higher doses of cyanide (> or = 9.3 mg CN/L). Weeping willows grown in sandy soils survived the entire period (216 hours) without any toxic effect when irrigated with low doses of cyanide (3.72 mg CN/L). High doses of cyanide (> or = 18.6 mg CN/L) in irrigation water were fatal for the weeping willows within 216 hours. EC50 values for a 50% inhibition of the transpiration of the trees were estimated to be between 3.27 and 8.23 mg CN/L, depending on the duration of the exposure. The results obtained for the Chinese willow species Salix babylonica were very similar to those obtained for the European species S. viminalis in earlier studies. Phytotoxic effects were only found at high doses of cyanide. A large proportion of applied cyanide was removed from the contaminated media in the presence of weeping willows. This gives rise to the conclusion that the metabolism of cyanide by weeping willows is possible. Cyanide elimination with trees seems to be a feasible option for cleaning soils and water contaminated with cyanide. A full-scale treatment has been installed in Denmark. For

  10. Adsorption Property and Mechanism of Oxytetracycline onto Willow Residues

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Di; Xu, Haiyang; Yang, Shengke; Wang, Wenke; Wang, Yanhua

    2017-01-01

    To elucidate the adsorption property and the mechanism of plant residues to reduce oxytetracycline (OTC), the adsorption of OTC onto raw willow roots (WR-R), stems (WS-R), leaves (WL-R), and adsorption onto desugared willow roots (WR-D), stems (WS-D), and leaves (WL-D) were investigated. The structural characterization was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectra, and an elemental analyzer. OTC adsorption onto the different tissues of willow residues was compared and correlated with their structures. The adsorption kinetics of OTC onto willow residues was found to follow the pseudo-first-order model. The isothermal adsorption process of OTC onto the different tissues of willow residues followed the Langmuir and Freundlich model and the process was also a spontaneous endothermic reaction, which was mainly physical adsorption. After the willow residues were desugared, the polarity decreased and the aromaticity increased, which explained why the adsorption amounts of the desugared willow residues were higher than those of the unmodified residues. These observations suggest that the raw and modified willow residues have great potential as adsorbents to remove organic pollutants. PMID:29271892

  11. Musings on Willower's "Fog": A Response.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    English, Fenwick

    1998-01-01

    Professor Willower complains about the "fog" encountered in postmodernist literature and the author's two articles in "Journal of School Leadership." On closer examination, this miasma is simply the mildew on Willower's Cartesian glasses. Educational administration continues to substitute management and business fads for any…

  12. Bottom-up factors influencing riparian willow recovery in Yellowstone National Park

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Tercek, M.T.; Stottlemyer, R.; Renkin, R.

    2010-01-01

    After the elimination of wolves (Canis lupis L.) in the 1920s, woody riparian plant communities on the northern range of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) declined an estimated 50%. After the reintroduction of wolves in 19951996, riparian willows (Salix spp.) on YNP's northern range showed significant growth for the first time since the 1920s. However, the pace of willow recovery has not been uniform. Some communities have exceeded 400 cm, while others are still at pre-1995 levels of 250 cm max. height) willow sites where willows had escaped elk (Cervus elaphus L.) browsing with "short" willow sites that could still be browsed. Unlike studies that manipulated willow height with fences and artificial dams, we examined sites that had natural growth differences in height since the reintroduction of wolves. Tall willow sites had greater water availability, more-rapid net soil nitrogen mineralization, greater snow depth, lower soil respiration rates, and cooler summer soil temperatures than nearby short willow sites. Most of these differences were measured both in herbaceous areas adjacent to the willow patches and in the willow patches themselves, suggesting that they were not effects of varying willow height recovery but were instead preexisting site differences that may have contributed to increased plant productivity. Our results agree with earlier studies in experimental plots which suggest that the varying pace of willow recovery has been influenced by abiotic limiting factors that interact with top-down reductions in willow browsing by elk. ?? 2010 Western North American Naturalist.

  13. Response of the Imported Willow Leaf Beetle to Bacillus thuringiensis var. san diego on Poplar Willow1

    Treesearch

    Leah S. Bauer

    1992-01-01

    The imported willow leaf beetle, Plagiodera versicolora (Laicharting) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), a multivoltine defoliator of willow and poplar (Salicaceae), is considered a significant pest throughout eastern North America (W.T. Johnson and H.H Lyon, "Insects that Feed on Trees and Shrubs," Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 1988)....

  14. Songbird response to increased willow (Salix spp.) growth in Yellowstone's northern range.

    PubMed

    Baril, Lisa M; Hansen, Andrew J; Renkin, Roy; Lawrence, Rick

    2011-09-01

    After nearly a century of height suppression, willows (Salix spp.) in the northern range of Yellowstone National Park, U.S.A., are increasing in height growth as a possible consequence of wolf (Canis lupus) restoration, climate change, or other factors. Regardless of the drivers, the recent release of this rare but important habitat type could have significant implications for associated songbirds that are exhibiting declines in the region. Our objective was to evaluate bird response to releasing willows by comparing willow structure and bird community composition across three willow growth conditions: height suppressed, recently released, and previously tall (i.e., tall prior to the height increase of released willows). Released and previously tall willows exhibited high and similar vertical structure, but released willows were significantly lower in horizontal structure. Suppressed willows were significantly shorter and lower in horizontal cover than released or previously tall willows. Bird richness increased along a gradient from lowest in suppressed to highest in previously tall willows, but abundance and diversity were similar between released and previously tall willows, despite lower horizontal cover in the released condition. Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) and Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii) were found in all three growth conditions; however, Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia), Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus), Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii), and Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodii) were present in released and previously tall willows only. Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla) was found in previously tall willows only, appearing to specialize on tall, dense willows. The results of our a priori habitat models indicated that foliage height diversity was the primary driver of bird richness, abundance, and diversity. These results indicate that vertical structure was a more important driver of bird community variables than horizontal

  15. Water tables constrain height recovery of willow on Yellowstone's northern range.

    PubMed

    Bilyeu, Danielle M; Cooper, David J; Hobbs, N Thompson

    2008-01-01

    Excessive levels of herbivory may disturb ecosystems in ways that persist even when herbivory is moderated. These persistent changes may complicate efforts to restore ecosystems affected by herbivores. Willow (Salix spp.) communities within the northern range in Yellowstone National Park have been eliminated or degraded in many riparian areas by excessive elk (Cervus elaphus L.) browsing. Elk browsing of riparian willows appears to have diminished following the reintroduction of wolves (Canis lupis L.), but it remains uncertain whether reduced herbivory will restore willow communities. The direct effects of elk browsing on willows have been accompanied by indirect effects from the loss of beaver (Castor canadensis Kuhl) activity, including incision of stream channels, erosion of fine sediments, and lower water tables near streams historically dammed by beaver. In areas where these changes have occurred, lowered water tables may suppress willow height even in the absence of elk browsing. We conducted a factorial field experiment to understand willow responses to browsing and to height of water tables. After four years of protection from elk browsing, willows with ambient water tables averaged only 106 cm in height, with negligible height gain in two of three study species during the last year of the experiment. Willows that were protected from browsing and had artificially elevated water tables averaged 147 cm in height and gained 19 cm in the last year of the experiment. In browsed plots, elevated water tables doubled height gain during a period of slightly reduced browsing pressure. We conclude that water availability mediates the rate of willow height gain and may determine whether willows grow tall enough to escape the browse zone of elk and gain resistance to future elk browsing. Consequently, in areas where long-term beaver absence has resulted in incised stream channels and low water tables, a reduction in elk browsing alone may not be sufficient for recovery

  16. Performance of Willow Clones on Sharkey Clay

    Treesearch

    Robert B. Ferguson

    1983-01-01

    Random clones of black willow (Salix nigra) and sandbar willow (S. exigua) from near Stoneville, MS and of S. argebtinensis and S. babylonica X S. alba were grown in Sharkey clay near Stoneville, MS for 11 years. S. babylonica X S. alba grew best throughout the...

  17. Describing Willow Flycatcher habitats: scale perspectives and gender differences

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sedgwick, James A.; Knopf, Fritz L.

    1992-01-01

    We compared habitat characteristics of nest sites (female-selected sites) and song perch sites (male-selected sites) with those of sites unused by Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii) at three different scales of vegetation measurement: (1) microplot (central willow [Salix spp.] bush and four adjacent bushes); (2) mesoplot (0.07 ha); and, (3) macroplot (flycatcher territory size). Willow Flycatchers exhibited vegetation preferences at all three scales. Nest sites were distinguished by high willow density and low variability in willow patch size and bush height. Song perch sites were characterized by large central shrubs, low central shrub vigor, and high variability in shrub size. Unused sites were characterized by greater distances between willows and willow patches, less willow coverage, and a smaller riparian zone width than either nest or song perch sites. At all scales, nest sites were situated farther from unused sites in multivariate habitat space than were song perch sites, suggesting (1) a correspondence among scales in their ability to describe Willow Flycatcher habitat, and (2) females are more discriminating in habitat selection than males. Microhabitat differences between male-selected (song perch) and female-selected (nest) sites were evident at the two smaller scales; at the finest scale, the segregation in habitat space between male-selected and female-selected sites was greater than that between male-selected and unused sites. Differences between song perch and nest sites were not apparent at the scale of flycatcher territory size, possibly due to inclusion of (1) both nest and song perch sites, (2) defended, but unused habitat, and/or (3) habitat outside of the territory, in larger scale analyses. The differences between nest and song perch sites at the finer scales reflect their different functions (e.g., nest concealment and microclimatic requirements vs. advertising and territorial defense, respectively), and suggest that the exclusive use

  18. Black Willow

    Treesearch

    R. M. Krinard

    1980-01-01

    Black willow and other species of Salix together comprise a majority of the stocking. Cottonwood is the chief associate, particularly in the early stages, but green ash, sycamore, pecan, persimmon, waterlocust, American elm, baldcypress, red maple, sugarberry, box-elder, and in some areas, silver maple are invaders preceding the next successional stage.

  19. Field tests of diffusion samplers for inorganic constituents in wells and at a ground-water discharge zone

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Vroblesky, Don A.; Petkewich, Matthew D.; Campbell, Ted R.

    2002-01-01

    Field tests were performed on two types of diffusion samplers to collect representative samples of inorganic constituents from ground water in wells and at an arsenic-contaminated ground-water-discharge zone beneath a stream. Nylon-screen samplers and dialysis samplers were tested for the collection of arsenic, calcium, chloride, iron, manganese, sulfate, and dissolved oxygen. The investigations were conducted at the Naval Industrial Reserve Ordnance Plant (NIROP), Fridley, Minnesota, and at the Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base (NAS Fort Worth JRB), Texas. Data indicate that, in general, nylon-screen and dialysis diffusion samplers are capable of obtaining concentrations of inorganic solutes in ground water that correspond to concentrations obtained by low-flow sampling. Diffusion samplers offer a potentially time-saving approach to well sampling. Particular care must be taken, however, when sampling for iron and other metals, because of the potential for iron precipitation by oxygenation and when dealing with chemically stratified sampling intervals. Simple nylon-screen jar samplers buried beneath creekbed sediment appear to be effective tools for locating discharge zones of arsenic contaminated ground water. Although the LDPE samplers have proven to be inexpensive and simple to use in wells, they are limited by their inability to provide a representative sample of ionic solutes. The success of nylon-screen samplers in sediment studies suggests that these simple samplers may be useful for collecting water samples for inorganic constituents in wells. Results using dialysis bags deployed in wells suggest that these types of samplers have the potential to provide a representative sample of both VOCs and ionic solutes from ground water (Kaplan and others, 1991; Theodore A. Ehlke, U.S. Geological Survey, written commun., 2001). The purpose of this report is to provide results of field tests investigating the potential to use diffusion samplers to collect

  20. Pollen limitation of reproductive effort in willows.

    PubMed

    Fox, John F

    1992-05-01

    Pollen limitation of seed set differs from resource limitation in its implications for the evolution of floral traits. Willow flowers attract insects, but also abundantly produce wind-dispersed pollen. I demonstrated pollen limitation in single branches bearing 2-4 inflorescences (catkins) in a field experiment with five species by artificially increasing or decreasing the pollen load. Because the responses by single branches might be explained by diversion of resources to better-pollinated branches within a plant, a second experiment with one species tested both pollen limitation of whole plants and the autonomy of catkins. Seed set of single willow catkins is unaffected by experimental alterations of seed set in other catkins on the same plant. Hand-pollination of single catkins and of whole plants increased seed set to the same degree, suggesting there is little or no competition for resources between catkins only 5-10 cm apart. Thus, seed set in willows appears to be pollen limited, favoring insect pollination and the evolution of entomophilous traits. The data support previous views that willows have a dual pollination system utilizing wind and insects.

  1. Interaction of beaver and elk herbivory reduces standing crop of willow

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Baker, B.W.; Mitchell, D.C.S.; Ducharme, H.C.; Stanley, T.R.; Peinetti, H.R.

    2005-01-01

    Populations of beaver and willow have not thrived in riparian environments that are heavily browsed by livestock or ungulates, such as elk. The interaction of beaver and elk herbivory may be an important mechanism underlying beaver and willow declines in this competitive environment. We conducted a field experiment that compared the standing crop of willow three years after simulated beaver cutting on paired plants with and without intense elk browsing (∼85% utilization rate). Simulated beaver cutting with intense elk browsing produced willow that was small (biomass and diameter) and short, with far fewer, but longer, shoots and a higher percentage of dead biomass. In contrast, simulated beaver cutting without elk browsing produced willow that was large, tall, and leafy, with many more, but shorter, shoots (highly branched) and a lower percentage of dead biomass. Total stem biomass after three years was 10 times greater on unbrowsed plants than on browsed plants. Unbrowsed plants recovered 84% of their pre-cut biomass after only two growing seasons, whereas browsed plants recovered only 6%. Thus, the interaction of beaver cutting and elk browsing strongly suppressed the standing crop of willow. We predict that a lack of willow suitable as winter food for beaver can cause beaver populations to decline, creating a feedback mechanism that reduces beaver and willow populations. Thus, intense herbivory by ungulates or livestock can disrupt beaver–willow mutualisms that naturally occur in less competitive environments.

  2. Influences of herbivory and water on willow in elk winter range

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Zeigenfuss, L.C.; Singer, F.J.; Williams, S.A.; Johnson, T.L.

    2002-01-01

    Elimination of large predators and reduced hunter harvest have led to concerns that an increasing elk (Cervus elaphus) population may be adversely affecting vegetation on the low-elevation elk winter range of Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. Beaver (Castor canadensis) and their impoundments also have declined dramatically (94%) in the same area over the past 50 years coincident with a 20% decline in willow (Salix spp.) cover. From 1994 to 1998, we studied vegetation production responses of willow communities to elk herbivory and water availability. We estimated willow production by measuring current annual growth of shrubs in 9.3-m2 circular plots, and we measured herbaceous production by clipping vegetation within 0.25-m2 circular plots. Elk herbivory suppressed willow heights, leader lengths, annual production, and herbaceous productivity of willow communities. Water impoundment had a positive effect on herbaceous plant production, but little effect on shrubs, possibly because water tables were naturally high on the study sites even without beaver dams. Nevertheless, the winter range environment previously included more riparian willow habitat because of more stream area (47-69%) due to larger beaver populations. Elk herbivory appears to be the dominant force determining vegetation productivity in willow sites, but the effects may be exacerbated by lowered water tables. Fewer elk or protection from browsing, and water enhancement for <10 years along with management to encourage elk movement away from willow communities, could possibly work as strategies to reestablish sustainable willow communities.

  3. Guide to the willows of Shoshone National Forest

    Treesearch

    Walter Fertig; Stuart Markow

    2001-01-01

    Correct identification of willow species is an important part of land management. This guide describes the 29 willows that are known to occur on the Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming. Keys to pistillate catkins and leaf morphology are included with illustrations and plant descriptions.

  4. Bioenergy from willow. 1995 Annual report, November 1987--December 1995

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    White, E.H.; Abrahamson, L.P.

    Experiments were established at Tully, New York, by the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, in cooperation with the University of Toronto and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, to assess the potential of willows for wood biomass production. Specific objectives included determining the effects of clone type, fertilization, spacing, cutting cycle, and irrigation on biomass production. Production was high, with willow clone SV1 yielding nearly 32 oven dry tons per acre (odt ac{sup -1}) with three-year harvest cycle, irrigation, and fertilization. Clone type, fertilization, spacing, cutting cycle, and irrigation all significantly affected biomass production.more » Willow clone-site trials planted at Massena, and Tully, NY in 1993 grew well during 1994 and 1995, but some clones in the Massena trial were severely damaged by deer browse. Several new cooperators joined the project, broadening the funding base, and enabling establishment of additional willow plantings. Willow clone-site trials were planted at Himrod, King Ferry, Somerset, and Tully, NY, during 1995. A willow cutting orchard was planted during 1995 at the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Saratoga Tree Nursery in Saratoga, NY. Plans are to begin site preparation for a 100+ acre willow bioenergy demonstration farm in central New York, and additional clone-site trials, in 1996.« less

  5. Wolf presence and increased willow consumption by Yellowstone elk: implications for trophic cascades.

    PubMed

    Creel, Scott; Christianson, David

    2009-09-01

    Recent increases in the height and growth ring width of willow (Salix spp.) and other woody plants in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) have been attributed to a behaviorally mediated trophic cascade from wolves (Canis lupus) to elk (Cervus elaphus) to willows. This hypothesis predicts that individual elk consume less willow in response to the presence of wolves, but this prediction has not been directly tested with data from elk. We collected 727 fecal samples from elk in the Gallatin Canyon portion of the GYE over three winters and used microhistological methods to quantify the proportion of willow in each sample. We then tested the effect of wolf presence on willow consumption by elk, controlling for the effects of snow conditions, sex, and habitat type. During the period of study, 8-17 wolves occupied the study area, and wolves were locally present on 49% of 260 sampling days, stratified at two-week intervals across three drainages. Over the three years combined, willow consumption was related to snow conditions, wolf presence, and a wolf X sex interaction. As expected, willow consumption increased with deeper and less penetrable snow, and this effect was strong. Contrary to expectation, willow consumption increased in the presence of wolves. As with other aspects of antipredator behavior, wolves had different effects on willow consumption by males and females. Finally, we aggregated the data to estimate winter-long mean willow consumption within each drainage; at this broader scale, willow consumption again increased as predation risk increased. In summary, willow consumption was more strongly affected by snow conditions than by the presence of wolves. Interactions between elk and willow were affected by wolves, but not as predicted by the hypothesis that wolf presence favors willow release through a reduction in the selection of willow by individual elk. If a trophic cascade is operating, our results suggest that a decline in the size of the elk

  6. Testing of Willow Clones for Biomass Production in Wisconsin

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kubiske, Marke E.

    A core experiment with 31 willow clones and 8 standard poplar clones was established at the Harshaw Experimental Farm, Rhinelander, WI in 1997. Data analysis is continuing for survival, growth, and biomass data for all willow test sites in this project.

  7. Selection of ectomycorrhizal willow genotype in phytoextraction of heavy metals.

    PubMed

    Hrynkiewicz, Katarzyna; Baum, Christel

    2013-01-01

    Willow clones are used for the phytoextraction of heavy metals from contaminated soils and are usually mycorrhizal. The receptiveness of willow clones for mycorrhizal inoculum varies specific to genotype; however, it is unknown if this might have a significant impact on their efficiency in phytoextraction of heavy metals. Therefore, a model system with mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal willows of two different genotypes--one with usually stronger natural mycorrhizal colonization (Salix dasyclados), and one with lower natural mycorrhizal colonization (S. viminalis)--was investigated for its efficiency of phytoextraction of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn) from contaminated soil. Inoculation with the ectomycorrhizal fungus Amanita muscaria significantly decreased the biomass of leaves of both inoculated willow clones, and increased or had no effect on the biomass of trunks and roots of S. dasyclados and S. viminalis, respectively. The concentrations of heavy metals in the biomass of S. dasyclados were in general higher than in S. viminalis irrespective of inoculation with the ectomycorrhizal fungus. Inoculation with A. muscaria significantly decreased the concentration of Cu in the trunks of both Salix taxa, but did not affected the concentrations of other heavy metals in the biomass. In conclusion, stronger receptiveness of willow clones for mycorrhizal inoculum was correlated with an increased total extraction of heavy metals from contaminated soils. Therefore, this seems to be a suitable criterion for effective willow clone selection for phytoremediation. Increased biomass production with relatively constant metal concentrations seems to be a major advantage of mycorrhizal formation of willows in phytoremediation of contaminated soils.

  8. PROGRESS REPORT: COFIRING PROJECTS FOR WILLOW ISLAND AND ALBRIGHT GENERATING STATIONS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    K. Payette; D. Tillman

    During the period April 1, 2001--June 30, 2001, Allegheny Energy Supply Co., LLC (Allegheny) accelerated construction of the Willow Island cofiring project, completed the installation of foundations for the fuel storage facility, the fuel receiving facility, and the processing building. Allegheny received all processing equipment to be installed at Willow Island. Allegheny completed the combustion modeling for the Willow Island project. During this time period construction of the Albright Generating Station cofiring facility was completed, with few items left for final action. The facility was dedicated at a ceremony on June 29. Initial testing of cofiring at the facility commenced.more » This report summarizes the activities associated with the Designer Opportunity Fuel program, and demonstrations at Willow Island and Albright Generating Stations. It details the construction activities at both sites along with the combustion modeling at the Willow Island site.« less

  9. Status, ecology, and conservation of the southwestern willow flycatcher

    Treesearch

    Deborah M. Finch; Scott H. Stoleson

    2000-01-01

    This publication was prepared in response to a need expressed by southwestern agencies and organizations for a comprehensive assessment of the population status, history, biology, ecology, habitats, threats, and conservation of the southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus). The southwestern willow flycatcher was federally listed as...

  10. 3D numerical modelling of a willow vegetated river/floodplain system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wilson, C. A. M. E.; Yagci, O.; Rauch, H.-P.; Olsen, N. R. B.

    2006-07-01

    SummaryUsing a three-dimensional finite volume code with standard k- ɛ turbulence closure the hydraulic impact of willow stands ( Salix alba and Salix fragilis) on the velocity distribution was modelled. The additional hydraulic resistance of the willow stands was modelled separately to the bed resistance using a drag force term that was introduced into the Navier-Stokes equations. Two flood events of varying magnitude and stages of plant development were simulated using this approach. The river comprises an asymmetric compound channel with vegetated floodplain of reach length 170 m. The willow development has been monitored annually and this information was used to define the density of the willow stands (average number per m 2) and its variation as a function of stand height. During both flood events the willow stands were submerged and in pronation. The willow stands were modelled in bending as well as in their undisturbed vertical state. Modelling the willow stands as vertical or in bending was found to have a major impact on the computed velocity profiles. The impact of using a drag-force approach based on a non-uniform projected area distribution was found to be greater when the plants are modelled vertically than when the plants are modelled in high degrees of bending. In field studies involving flexible plants without leaves, the determination of the drag coefficient is of less importance compared to the need to quantify the degree by which plants are in pronation.

  11. Differences in uptake and translocation of hexavalent and trivalent chromium by two species of willows.

    PubMed

    Yu, Xiao-Zhang; Gu, Ji-Dong; Xing, Li-Qun

    2008-11-01

    Uptake and translocation of chromium (Cr) by two willow species was investigated. Intact pre-rooted weeping willows (Salix babylonica L.) and hankow willows (Salix matsudana Koidz) were grown hydroponically and spiked with hexavalent chromium [Cr (VI)] or trivalent chromium [Cr (III)] at 25.0 +/- 0.5 degrees C for 120 h. Removal of leaves was also performed as a treatment to quantify the effect of transpiration on uptake and translocation of either of the Cr species. Although the two willow species were able to eliminate Cr (VI) and Cr (III) from the hydroponic solution, significant differences in the removal rate for both chemical species were observed between the two willows (p < 0.05): faster removal rate for Cr (III) than Cr (VI) was detected in both willow species; hankow willows showed higher removal potential for both chemical species than weeping willows. Remarkable decreases in the removal rates for both Cr species were detected in the willows with leaves removed (p < 0.05). The results from the treatments spiked with Cr (VI) also revealed that Cr was more mobile in plant materials of hankow willows than that in weeping willows (p < 0.01), while higher translocation efficiency of Cr was observed in weeping willows than hankow willows for the Cr (III) treated (p < 0.01). However, a convincing decrease in the translocation efficiency due to the removal of leaves was only observed in the treatments spiked with Cr (VI) (p < 0.05). Substantial differences existed in the distribution of Cr species in plant materials after exposure of either of the chemical forms: roots and lower stems were the major sites for accumulation in weeping willows exposed to Cr (VI) and Cr (III), respectively; in contrast roots were the only sink in hankow willows exposed to both chemical species. The capacity of willows to assimilate both Cr species was also evaluated using detached leaves and roots of both willow species in sealed glass vessels in vivo. The results indicated that

  12. WILLOW CREEK RECLAMATION PROJECT

    EPA Science Inventory

    Working in cooperation with the EPA, Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology, and others, the Willow Creek Reclamation Committee (WCRC) will investigate the sources and character of water entering the mine workings on the Amethyst vein near the town of Creede, Colorado. Activi...

  13. Competition favors elk over beaver in a riparian willow ecosystem

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Baker, B.W.; Peinetti, H.R.; Coughenour, M.C.; Johnson, T.L.

    2012-01-01

    Beaver (Castor spp.) conservation requires an understanding of their complex interactions with competing herbivores. Simulation modeling offers a controlled environment to examine long-term dynamics in ecosystems driven by uncontrollable variables. We used a new version of the SAVANNA ecosystem model to investigate beaver (C. Canadensis) and elk (Cervus elapses) competition for willow (Salix spp.). We initialized the model with field data from Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA, to simulate a 4-ha riparian ecosystem containing beaver, elk, and willow. We found beaver persisted indefinitely when elk density was or = 30 elk km_2. The loss of tall willow preceded rapid beaver declines, thus willow condition may predict beaver population trajectory in natural environments. Beaver were able to persist with slightly higher elk densities if beaver alternated their use of foraging sites in a rest-rotation pattern rather than maintained continuous use. Thus, we found asymmetrical competition for willow strongly favored elk over beaver in a simulated montane ecosystem. Finally, we discuss application of the SAVANNA model and mechanisms of competition relative to beaver persistence as metapopulations, ecological resistance and alternative state models, and ecosystem regulation.

  14. Models in Educational Administration: Revisiting Willower's "Theoretically Oriented" Critique

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Newton, Paul; Burgess, David; Burns, David P.

    2010-01-01

    Three decades ago, Willower (1975) argued that much of what we take to be theory in educational administration is in fact only theoretically oriented. If we accept Willower's assessment of the field as true, what implications does this statement hold for the academic study and practical application of the theoretically oriented aspects of our…

  15. Root growth studies of willow cuttings using Rhizoboxes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Omarova, Dinara; Lammeranner, Walter; Florineth, Florin

    2014-05-01

    Riparian forests (Tugay forests) in Central Asia (Kazakhstan) play a significant in soil protection. However, unadapted forest use leads to damage and loss of these fragile ecosystems. Willows have a crucial function in the ecosystem of these riparian forests. Willows facilitate the colonization with other important tree species and furthermore they protect the soil from wind and water erosion. To propagate willows and to estimate the beneficial effects of these plants it is important to know the root growth development. The research design is planned as model experiment with rhizoboxes. Rhizoboxes are non-invasive investigation methods which offer the possibility to survey the root system growth dynamics in time and space. A total of 33 rhizoboxes in size of 50cm x 75 cm x 5 cm will be constructed. The rhizoboxes will be tilted by 45 degrees using the gravitropism of the roots. The willow cuttings (Salix purpurea) will be planted in three different soil types. Each test series (growth period) will take three months. Investigated parameters will be root architecture, dynamic of root growth and above and below ground biomass allocation. Data will be drawn from photographic surveys which will be performed once a week. The contribution will present the methodology of these rhizobox investigations.

  16. Primary song by a juvenile willow flycatcher

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sogge, M.K.

    1997-01-01

    The timing of song development in suboscines, in which song appears not to be learned from other adults is poorly known. The Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii) is a suboscine with a primary song typically referred to as fitz-bew. I report here an instance of very early singing by a 6-8-wk-old Willow Flycatcher, which sang in an aggressive context in response to a recording of adult flycatcher song. This is exceptionally early development of primary song, even among suboscines. Early song development may assist in the defense of winter territories.

  17. Efficacy and Safety of White Willow Bark (Salix alba) Extracts.

    PubMed

    Shara, Mohd; Stohs, Sidney J

    2015-08-01

    Willow bark extract has been used for thousands of years as an anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, and analgesic. In spite of its long history of use, relatively few human and animal studies have been published that confirm anecdotal observations. A small number of clinical studies have been conducted that support the use of willow bark extracts in chronic lower back and joint pain and osteoarthritis. Willow bark extracts also are widely used in sports performance and weight loss products presumably because of anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities, although no human studies have been published that specifically and directly document beneficial effects. In recent years, various in vitro and animal studies have demonstrated that the anti-inflammatory activity of willow bark extract is associated with down regulation of the inflammatory mediators tumor necrosis factor-α and nuclear factor-kappa B. Although willow bark extracts are generally standardized to salicin, other ingredients in the extracts including other salicylates as well as polyphenols, and flavonoids may also play prominent roles in the therapeutic actions. Adverse effects appear to be minimal as compared to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs including aspirin. The primary cause for concern may relate to allergic reactions in salicylate-sensitive individuals. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  18. Test of aerobic TCE degradation by willows (Salix viminalis) and willows inoculated with TCE-cometabolizing strains of Burkholderia cepacia.

    PubMed

    Clausen, Lauge Peter Westergaard; Broholm, Mette Martina; Gosewinkel, Ulrich; Trapp, Stefan

    2017-08-01

    Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a widespread soil and groundwater pollutant and clean-up is often problematic and expensive. Phytoremediation may be a cost-effective solution at some sites. This study investigates TCE degradation by willows (S. viminalis) and willows inoculated with three strains of B. cepacia (301C, PR1-31 and VM1330-pTOM), using chloride formation as an indicator of dehalogenation. Willows were grown in non-sterile, hydroponic conditions for 3 weeks in chloride-free nutrient solution spiked with TCE. TCE was added weekly due to rapid loss by volatilization. Chloride and TCE in solution were measured every 2-3 days and chloride and metabolite concentrations in plants were measured at test termination. Based on transpiration, no tree toxicity of TCE exposure was observed. However, trees grown in chloride-free solution showed severely inhibited transpiration. No or very little chloride was formed during the test, and levels of chloride in TCE-exposed trees were not elevated. Chloride concentrations in chloride containing TCE-free nutrient solution doubled within 23 days, indicating active exclusion of chloride by root cell membranes. Only traces of TCE-metabolites were detected in plant tissue. We conclude that TCE is not, or to a limited extent (less than 3%), aerobically degraded by the willow trees. The three strains of B. cepacia did not enhance TCE mineralization. Future successful application of rhizo- and phytodegradation of TCE requires measures to be taken to improve the degradation rates.

  19. Valuation of ecosystem services of commercial shrub willow (Salix spp.) woody biomass crops.

    PubMed

    Bressler, Alison; Vidon, Philippe; Hirsch, Paul; Volk, Timothy

    2017-04-01

    The development of shrub willow as a bioenergy feedstock contributes to renewable energy portfolios in many countries with temperate climates and marginal croplands due to excessive moisture. However, to fully understand the potential of shrub willow as an alternative crop on marginal cropland, more research is needed to understand the potential of shrub willow for providing a variety of ecosystem services. At the same time, there is much need for research developing strategies to value ecosystem services beyond conventional valuation systems (e.g., monetary, intrinsic). In this context, this project investigates the ecosystem services of shrub willow woody biomass from an environmental science perspective, and proposes a new avenue to assess ecosystem services for management purposes based on the relative value of key ecosystem services under various land management strategies (i.e., willow vs. corn vs. hay). On marginal cropland in the US Northeast, shrub willow may be used to replace crops like corn or hay. Transitioning from conventional corn or hay to willow tends to reduce nutrient loss and erosion, improve biodiversity and adaptability to climate change, and increase access to recreational activities. However, it is unlikely to change soil carbon pools or greenhouse gas emissions at the soil-atmosphere interface. By encouraging decision makers to weigh the pros and cons of each management decision (i.e., willow vs. corn vs. hay) based on the situation, the ecosystems services valuation method used here provides a clear framework for decision making in a watershed management context.

  20. Environmental Assessment for EOD Stand-Up at NAS Fort Worth JRB

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-03-01

    Range: Implementation of the Proposed Action would result in a negligible or minor effect on storm water quality and volume. All construction...negligible or minor effect on storm water quality and volume at this site. All construction activities would comply with appropriate local, state, and

  1. Soil Profile Observations Relating to Drouth Damage in Black Willow Stands

    Treesearch

    WIlliam R. Beaufait

    1955-01-01

    During drouth, black willow (Salix nigra Karsh.) is quite sensitive to subsoil differences. Surface inspection alone rarely gives an adequate clue to the quality of the variously stratified alluvial soils on which willow may occur.

  2. Melampsora rust species on biomass willows in central and north-eastern Germany.

    PubMed

    Bubner, Ben; Wunder, Sebastian; Zaspel, Irmtraut; Zander, Matthias; Gloger, Jan; Fehrenz, Steffen; Ulrichs, Christian

    2014-11-01

    Melampsora willow rusts are the most important fungal pathogens in short rotation coppices of biomass willows. In the past, breeding programmes for rust resistant biomass willows concentrated on the distinction of races within the forma specialis Melampsora larici-epitea f. sp. larici-epitea typica that colonized Salix viminalis and related clones. In a new breeding program that is based on a wider range of willow species it is necessary to identify further Melampsora species and formae specialis that are pathogens of willow species other than S. viminalis. Therefore, three stock collections with Salix daphnoides, Salix purpurea, and other shrub willow species (including S. viminalis) species were sampled in north-eastern Germany. A fourth stock collection in central Germany contributed rusts of tree willows (Salix fragilis and Salix alba) and the large shrub Salix caprea. Out of 156 rust samples, 149 were successfully sequenced for ITS rDNA. A phylogenetic analysis combining Neighbour-Joining, Maximum-Likelihood and Bayesian analysis revealed six species: Melampsora ribesii-purpureae, Melampsora allii-salicis-albae, Melampsora sp. aff. allii-fragilis, Melampsora larici-pentandrae, Melampsora larici-caprearum, and Melampsora larici-epitea. The first four species were found exclusively on the expected hosts. Melampsora larici-caprearum had a wider host range comprising S. caprea and S. viminalis hybrids. Melampsora larici-epitea can be further differentiated into two formae speciales. The forma specialis larici-epitea typica (59 samples) colonized Salix viminalis clones, Salix purpurea, Salix×dasyclados, and Salix×aquatica. In contrast to this relatively broad host range, f. sp. larici-daphnoides (65 samples) was found exclusively on Salix daphnoides. With the distinction and identification of the rust species/formae speciales it is now possible to test for race-specific resistances in a more targeted manner within the determined pairings of rust and willow

  3. Willow System Demonstration

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2003-01-01

    possibility of terrorists attempting to breach airport security . If a few terrorists attempt to smuggle weapons at any single airport, most will be...introduction of law- enforcement officials, and so on. For airport security , secu- rity staff would indicate when a banned object was found using a touch...necessary responses could be communicated to the airport security staff. In the Willow architecture, the various components and all of the algorithms

  4. Salt intrusion in tidal wetlands: European willow species tolerate oligohaline conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Markus-Michalczyk, Heike; Hanelt, Dieter; Ludewig, Kristin; Müller, David; Schröter, Brigitte; Jensen, Kai

    2014-01-01

    Tidal wetlands experience salt intrusion due to the effects of climate change. This study clarifies that the European flood plain willows species Salix alba and Salix viminalis tolerate oligohaline conditions. Salix alba L. and Salix viminalis L. are distributed on flood plains up to transitional waters of the oligohaline to the mesohaline estuarine stretch in temperate climates. They experience spatial and temporal variations in flooding and salinity. In the past, willows dominated the vegetation above the mean high water line, attenuated waves and contributed to sedimentation. In recent centuries, human utilization reduced willow stands. Today, the Elbe estuary - a model system for an estuary in temperate zones - exhibits increasing flooding and salinity due to man-induced effects and climatic changes. Willows were described as having no salinity tolerance. In contrast, our soil water salinity measurements at willows in tidal wetlands prove that mature Salix individuals tolerate oligohaline conditions. To assess immature plant salinity tolerance, we conducted a hydroponic greenhouse experiment. Vegetative propagules originating from a freshwater and an oligohaline site were treated in four salinities. Related to growth rates and biomass production, we found interspecific similarities and a salinity tolerance up to salinity 2. Vitality and chlorophyll fluorescence indicated an acclimation of Salix viminalis to oligohaline conditions. We conclude, that the survival of S. alba and S. viminalis and the restoration of willow stands in estuarine flood plains - with regard to wave attenuation and sedimentation - might be possible, despite increasing salinity in times of climate change.

  5. Phylogenetic Relationships of American Willows (Salix L., Salicaceae)

    PubMed Central

    Lauron-Moreau, Aurélien; Pitre, Frédéric E.; Argus, George W.; Labrecque, Michel; Brouillet, Luc

    2015-01-01

    Salix L. is the largest genus in the family Salicaceae (450 species). Several classifications have been published, but taxonomic subdivision has been under continuous revision. Our goal is to establish the phylogenetic structure of the genus using molecular data on all American willows, using three DNA markers. This complete phylogeny of American willows allows us to propose a biogeographic framework for the evolution of the genus. Material was obtained for the 122 native and introduced willow species of America. Sequences were obtained from the ITS (ribosomal nuclear DNA) and two plastid regions, matK and rbcL. Phylogenetic analyses (parsimony, maximum likelihood, Bayesian inference) were performed on the data. Geographic distribution was mapped onto the tree. The species tree provides strong support for a division of the genus into two subgenera, Salix and Vetrix. Subgenus Salix comprises temperate species from the Americas and Asia, and their disjunction may result from Tertiary events. Subgenus Vetrix is composed of boreo-arctic species of the Northern Hemisphere and their radiation may coincide with the Quaternary glaciations. Sixteen species have ambiguous positions; genetic diversity is lower in subg. Vetrix. A molecular phylogeny of all species of American willows has been inferred. It needs to be tested and further resolved using other molecular data. Nonetheless, the genus clearly has two clades that have distinct biogeographic patterns. PMID:25880993

  6. Status and breeding ecology of the southwestern willow flycatcher in the Grand Canyon

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sogge, M.K.; Tibbitts, T.J.; Petterson, J.R.

    1997-01-01

    Ernpidonax trailIll extirnus is one of several recognized subspecies of the Willow Flycatcher (Unitt 1987, Browning 1993), a neotropical migrant that breeds across much of North America. This southwestern race is a riparian obligate, nesting in dense patches of willow (Salix sp.), willow-cottonwood (Populus sp.), or other similarly structured habitats. In some areas of the Southwest, it nests in dense stands of tamarisk (Tamarix sp.). Willow Flycatchers were once widespread and locally common in the Southwest (Unitt 1987) but have declined to the point that E. t. extirnus was listed as an endangered subspecies in 1995 (USFWS 1995).

  7. Characterisation of the willow phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) gene family reveals expression differences compared with poplar

    PubMed Central

    de Jong, Femke; Hanley, Steven J.; Beale, Michael H.; Karp, Angela

    2015-01-01

    Willow is an important biomass crop for the bioenergy industry, and therefore optimal growth with minimal effects of biotic and abiotic stress is essential. The phenylpropanoid pathway is responsible for the biosynthesis of not only lignin but also of flavonoids, condensed tannins, benzenoids and phenolic glycosides which all have a role in protecting the plant against biotic and abiotic stress. All products of the phenylpropanoid pathway are important for the healthy growth of short rotation cropping species such as willow. However, the phenylpropanoid pathway in willow remains largely uncharacterised. In the current study we identified and characterised five willow phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) genes, which encode enzymes that catalyse the deamination of l-phenylalanine to form trans-cinnamic acid, the entry point into the phenylpropanoid pathway. Willow PAL1, PAL2, PAL3 and PAL4 genes were orthologous to the poplar genes. However no orthologue of PAL5 appears to be present in willow. Moreover, two tandemly repeated PAL2 orthologues were identified in a single contig. Willow PALs show similar sub-cellular localisation to the poplar genes. However, the enzyme kinetics and gene expression of the willow PAL genes differed slightly, with willow PAL2 being more widely expressed than its poplar orthologues implying a wider role for PALs in the production of flavonoids, condensed tannins, benzenoids, and phenolic glycosides, in willow. PMID:26070140

  8. Two-dimensional resistivity investigation along West Fork Trinity River, Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base, Carswell Field, Fort Worth, Texas, October 2004

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Shah, Sachin D.; Stanton, Gregory P.

    2006-01-01

    Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base Carswell Field (NAS-JRB) at Fort Worth, Tex., constitutes a government-owned, contractor-operated facility that has been in operation since 1942. Contaminants, primarily volatile organic compounds and metals, have entered the ground-water-flow system through leakage from waste-disposal sites and manufacturing processes. Ground water flows from west to east toward the West Fork Trinity River. During October 2004, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a two-dimensional (2D) resistivity investigation at a site along the West Fork Trinity River at the eastern boundary of NAS-JRB to characterize the distribution of subsurface resistivity. Five 2D resistivity profiles were collected, which ranged from 500 to 750 feet long and extended to a depth of 25 feet. The Goodland Limestone and the underlying Walnut Formation form a confining unit that underlies the alluvial aquifer. The top of this confining unit is the top of bedrock at NAS-JRB. The bedrock confining unit is the zone of interest because of the potential for contaminated ground water to enter the West Fork Trinity River through saturated bedrock. The study involved a capacitively-coupled resistivity survey and inverse modeling to obtain true or actual resistivity from apparent resistivity. The apparent resistivity was processed using an inverse modeling software program. The results of this program were used to generate distributions (images) of actual resistivity referred to as inverted sections or profiles. The images along the five profiles show a wide range of resistivity values. The two profiles nearest the West Fork Trinity River generally showed less resistivity than the three other profiles.

  9. Coastal Energy Corporation, Willow Springs, MO

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    notice of a proposed Administrative Penalty Assessment against Coastal Energy Corporation, located at 232 Burnham Road, Willow Springs, Missouri, for alleged violations at the facility located at or near that facility.

  10. Effects of soil conditions on survival and growth of black willow cuttings.

    PubMed

    Schaff, Steven D; Pezeshki, S Reza; Shields, F Douglas

    2003-06-01

    Current streambank restoration efforts focus on providing bank stability, enhancing water quality, and improving woody habitat using native vegetation rather than traditional engineering techniques. However, in most cases harsh site conditions limit restoration success. A two-year field study was conducted at Twentymile Creek, in northern Mississippi, investigating edaphic factors governing the survival of black willow (Salix nigra) cuttings used for streambank restoration. Low height growth, above-ground biomass production, and average leaf area were observed in willow cuttings grown in plots subjected to moisture deficits. However, sediment texture emerged as the dominant factor determining willow post growth, health, and survival. Shoot biomass, leaf biomass, and total above-ground biomass were 15-, 10-, and 14-fold greater for large willow cuttings (posts) grown in plots with sandy sediments relative to those grown in plots with similar moisture and soil redox potential but with silt and clay sediments. Average leaf size, average leaf mass and specific leaf area were all lower in fine textured plots. Under moisture conditions present at our sites, coarse-grained sediment (sand) was more conducive to willow growth, biomass production, and survival than were fine-grained sediments (silt/clay). Our results strongly suggest that soil texture and moisture conditions can determine restoration success. Therefore, it is critical that site conditions are factored into the selection of project locations prior to the initiation of willow planting restoration projects.

  11. Ungulate herbivory on alpine willow in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Colorado

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Zeigenfuss, L.C.; Schoenecker, K.A.; Amburg, L.K.V.

    2011-01-01

    In many areas of the Rocky Mountains, elk (Cervus elaphus) migrate from low-elevation mountain valleys during spring to high-elevation subalpine and alpine areas for the summer. Research has focused on the impacts of elk herbivory on winter-range plant communities, particularly on woody species such as willow and aspen; however, little information is available on the effects of elk herbivory on alpine willows. In the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of south central Colorado, select alpine areas appear to receive high levels of summer elk herbivory, while other areas are nearly unbrowsed. In 2005 and 2008, we measured willow height, cover, and utilization on sites that appeared to be used heavily by elk, as well as on sites that appeared to be used lightly, to determine differences between these communities over time. We found less willow cover and shorter willows at sites that received higher levels of browsing compared to those that had lower levels of browsing. Human recreational use was greater at lightly browsed sites than at highly browsed sites. From 2005 to 2008, willow utilization declined, and willow cover and height increased at sites with heavy browsing, likely owing to ownership change of adjacent valley land which led to (1) removal of grazing competition from, cattle at valley locations and (2) increased human use in alpine areas, which displaced elk. We discuss the implications of increased human use and climate change on elk use of these alpine habitats. ?? 2011.

  12. 76 FR 179 - General Motors Company, Formerly Known as General Motors Corporation, Willow Run Transmission...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-01-03

    ..., Formerly Known as General Motors Corporation, Willow Run Transmission Plant, Including On-Site Leased... to workers of General Motors Company, formerly known as General Motors Corporation, Willow Run... location of General Motors Company, formerly known as General Motors Corporation, Willow Run Transmission...

  13. 75 FR 49527 - General Motors Company Formerly Known as General Motors Corporation, Willow Run Transmission...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-08-13

    ... Formerly Known as General Motors Corporation, Willow Run Transmission Plant Including On-Site Leased... Corporation, Willow Run Transmission Plant, Ypsilanti, Michigan. The notice was published in the Federal... Motors Corporation, Willow Run Transmission Plant. The Department has determined that these workers were...

  14. Elk browsing increases aboveground growth of water-stressed willows by modifying plant architecture.

    PubMed

    Johnston, Danielle B; Cooper, David J; Hobbs, N Thompson

    2007-12-01

    In the northern elk wintering range of Yellowstone National Park, USA, wolf (Canis lupus) removal allowed elk (Cervus elaphus) to overbrowse riparian woody plants, leading to the exclusion of beaver (Castor canadensis) and a subsequent water table decline in many small stream valleys. Reduced elk browsing following wolf reintroduction may or may not facilitate willow (Salix sp.) recovery in these areas. To determine if the effect of elk browsing on willow interacts with that of beaver abandonment, we manipulated elk browsing and the water table in a factorial experiment. Under the condition of an ambient (low) water table, elk browsing increased shoot water potential (Psis), photosynthesis per unit leaf area (A), stomatal conductance per unit leaf area (gs), and aboveground current annual growth (CAG) by 50%. Elk browsing occurred entirely during dormancy and did not affect total plant leaf area (L). Improved water balance, photosynthetic rate, and annual aboveground productivity in browsed willows appeared to be due to morphological changes, such as increased shoot diameter and decreased branching, which typically increase plant hydraulic conductivity. An elevated water table increased Psis, A, gs, CAG, and L, and eliminated or lessened the positive effect of browsing on CAG for most species. Because low water tables create conditions whereby high willow productivity depends on the morphological effects of annual elk browsing, removing elk browsing in areas of water table decline is unlikely to result in vigorous willow stands. As large willow standing crops are required by beaver, a positive feedback between water-stressed willow and beaver absence may preclude the reestablishment of historical conditions. In areas with low water table, willow restoration may depend on actions to promote the re-establishment of beaver in addition to reducing elk browsing.

  15. A survey protocol for the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Tibbitts, Timothy J.; Sogge, Mark K.; Sferra, Susan J.

    1994-01-01

    The southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) is a riparian obligate neotropical migrant, nesting in cottonwood-willow associations and structurally similar riparian vegetation associations. The southwestern willow flycatcher has declined through the twentieth century, primarily due to a number of factors, including loss and fragmentation of riparian habitat, brood parasitism by brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater), invasion of riparian habitat by the exotic tamarisk (Tamarix sp.), and predation (Hunter et al. 1987), Unitt 1987, Hunter et al. 1988, Whitfield 1990, Harris 1991, Rosenberg et al. 1991). In 1991 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) designated the southwestern willow flycatcher as a candidate category 1 species (USFWS 1991), indicating that the USFWS had sufficient information to support listing under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), but that a proposal to list was precluded by other listing actions of higher priority. In July 1993, the USFWS proposed to list E. t. extimus as an endangered species and to designate critical habitat under the Act (USFWS 1993). The states of Arizona, New Mexico, and California comprise most of the southwestern willow flycatcher's historic and current range. Each of these states lists the species as endangered [Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD) 1988, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) 1988, California Department of Game and Fish 1991]. Because of the precarious status of the southwestern willow flycatcher (Unitt 1987, USFWS 1993), there is a need to identify as many remaining breeding locations as possible. This survey protocol was developed to facilitate and standardize breeding surveys, and is based primarily on extensive 1992 and 1993 field surveys. It was developed at the request of the Arizona Partners in flight, and organization of Federal and State agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals. This protocol is intended to be useful

  16. Advances in shrub-willow crops for bioenergy, renewable products, and environmental benefits

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Volk, Timothy A.; Heavey, Justin P.; Eisenbies, Mark H.

    Short-rotation coppice systems like shrub willow are projected to be an important source of biomass in the United States for the production of bioenergy, biofuels, and renewable bio-based products, with the potential for auxiliary environmental benefits and multifunctional systems. Almost three decades of research has focused on the development of shrub willow crops for biomass and ecosystem services. The current expansion of willow in New York State (about 500 ha) for the production of renewable power and heat has been possible because of incentive programs offered by the federal government, commitments by end users, the development of reliable harvesting systems,more » and extension services offered to growers. Improvements in the economics of the system are expected as willow production expands further, which should help lower establishment costs, enhance crop management options and increase efficiencies in harvesting and logistics. As a result, deploying willow in multifunctional value-added systems provides opportunities for both potential producers and end users to learn about the system and the quality of the biomass feedstock, which in turn will help overcome barriers to expansion.« less

  17. Advances in shrub-willow crops for bioenergy, renewable products, and environmental benefits

    DOE PAGES

    Volk, Timothy A.; Heavey, Justin P.; Eisenbies, Mark H.

    2016-05-02

    Short-rotation coppice systems like shrub willow are projected to be an important source of biomass in the United States for the production of bioenergy, biofuels, and renewable bio-based products, with the potential for auxiliary environmental benefits and multifunctional systems. Almost three decades of research has focused on the development of shrub willow crops for biomass and ecosystem services. The current expansion of willow in New York State (about 500 ha) for the production of renewable power and heat has been possible because of incentive programs offered by the federal government, commitments by end users, the development of reliable harvesting systems,more » and extension services offered to growers. Improvements in the economics of the system are expected as willow production expands further, which should help lower establishment costs, enhance crop management options and increase efficiencies in harvesting and logistics. As a result, deploying willow in multifunctional value-added systems provides opportunities for both potential producers and end users to learn about the system and the quality of the biomass feedstock, which in turn will help overcome barriers to expansion.« less

  18. Final recovery plan of the southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus)

    Treesearch

    Deborah M. Finch; Stephen I. Rothstein; Jon C. Boren; William L. Graf; Jerry L. Holechek; Barbara E. Kus; Robert M. Marshall; Molly M. Pohl; Susan J. Sferra; Mark K. Sogge; Julie C. Stromberg; Bradley A. Valentine; Mary J. Whitfield; Sartor O. Williams

    2002-01-01

    The Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Recovery Team is composed of a Technical Subgroup (pg. ii), six Implementation Subgroups (Appendix A), and a Tribal Working Group. The Technical Subgroup consists of 14 academic scientists, researchers, and resource managers with a wide range of expertise in avian biology and ecology, southwestern willow flycatcher ecology, cowbird...

  19. Flood of May 6, 2007, Willow Creek, west-central Iowa

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Fischer, Edward E.; Eash, David A.

    2008-01-01

    Major flooding occurred May 6, 2007, in the Willow Creek drainage basin in Harrison County following severe thunderstorm activity over west-central Iowa. More than 7 inches of rain were recorded for the 72-hour period ending 7 a.m., May 6, at the Logan, Iowa weather station. The peak discharge in Willow Creek at Medford Avenue near Missouri Valley, Iowa, was 17,000 cubic feet per second. The recurrence interval of the flood is 160 years, which was estimated using regional regression equations. Information about the basin, the storms, the flooding, and a profile of high-water marks measured at 10 locations along Willow Creek between the mouth at the Boyer River and State Highway 37 in Monona County, a distance of almost 33 river miles, are presented in this report.

  20. 75 FR 76038 - General Motors Company Formerly Known as General Motors Corporation Willow Run Transmission Plant...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-12-07

    ... Formerly Known as General Motors Corporation Willow Run Transmission Plant Including On-Site Leased Workers... Company, formerly known as General Motors Corporation, Willow Run Transmission Plant, Ypsilanti, Michigan... Motors Company, formerly known as General Motors Corporation, Willow Run Transmission Plant. The...

  1. Impact of phosphate on glyphosate uptake and toxicity in willow.

    PubMed

    Gomes, Marcelo Pedrosa; Le Manac'h, Sarah Gingras; Moingt, Matthieu; Smedbol, Elise; Paquet, Serge; Labrecque, Michel; Lucotte, Marc; Juneau, Philippe

    2016-03-05

    Phosphate (PO4(3-)) has been shown to increase glyphosate uptake by willow, a plant species known for its phytoremediation potential. However, it remains unclear if this stimulation of glyphosate uptake can result in an elevated glyphosate toxicity to plants (which could prevent the use of willows in glyphosate-remediation programs). Consequently, we studied the effects of PO4(3-) on glyphosate uptake and toxicity in a fast growing willow cultivar (Salix miyabeana SX64). Plants were grown in hydroponic solution with a combination of glyphosate (0, 0.001, 0.065 and 1 mg l(-1)) and PO4(3-) (0, 200 and 400 mg l(-1)). We demonstrated that PO4(3-) fertilization greatly increased glyphosate uptake by roots and its translocation to leaves, which resulted in increased shikimate concentration in leaves. In addition to its deleterious effects in photosynthesis, glyphosate induced oxidative stress through hydrogen peroxide accumulation. Although it has increased glyphosate accumulation, PO4(3-) fertilization attenuated the herbicide's deleterious effects by increasing the activity of antioxidant systems and alleviating glyphosate-induced oxidative stress. Our results indicate that in addition to the glyphosate uptake, PO4(3-) is involved in glyphosate toxicity in willow by preventing glyphosate induced oxidative stress. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Salix transect of Europe: latitudinal patterns in willow diversity from Greece to arctic Norway.

    PubMed

    Cronk, Quentin; Ruzzier, Enrico; Belyaeva, Irina; Percy, Diana

    2015-01-01

    Willows (Salix spp.) are ecosystem "foundation species" that are hosts to large numbers of associated insects. Determining their patterns of distribution across Europe is therefore of interest for understanding the spatial distribution of associated fauna. The aim of this study was to record species composition at multiple sites on a long latitudinal gradient (megatransect) across Europe as a baseline for the future detailed analysis of insect fauna at these sites. In this way we used willow stands as comparable mesocosms in which to study floristic and faunistic changes with latitude across Europe. To determine spatial patterning of  an ecologically important group on a latitudinal gradient across Europe, we sampled willows at the stand level in 42 sites, approximately 100 km apart, from the Aegean (38.8°N) to the Arctic Ocean (70.6°N), but at a similar longitude (21.2 to 26.1°E). The sites were predominantly lowland (elevations 1 to 556 metres amsl, median = 95 m) and wet (associated with rivers, lakes, drainage ditches or wet meadows). The median number of willow taxa (species and hybrids) per stand was four, and varied from one to nine. There is a progressive increase in willow diversity from south to north with the median number of taxa per stand in southern Europe being three, and in northern Europe six. A total of 20 willow species were recorded, along with 12 hybrids. The most widespread willow in the transect was Salix alba L. (occurring in 20 sites out of 42) followed by S. triandra L. (15 sites), S. caprea L., S. phylicifolia L. (14 sites) and S. myrsinifolia Salisb., Salix ×fragilis L. (13 sites). Voucher specimens from this study are deposited in the herbaria of the Natural History Museum (BM) and the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (K). These samples provide a "snapshot" of willow diversity along a latitudinal gradient and an indication of the geographically changing taxonomic diversity that is presented to willow-feeding herbivores

  3. Salix transect of Europe: latitudinal patterns in willow diversity from Greece to arctic Norway

    PubMed Central

    Ruzzier, Enrico; Belyaeva, Irina; Percy, Diana

    2015-01-01

    Abstract Background Willows (Salix spp.) are ecosystem "foundation species" that are hosts to large numbers of associated insects. Determining their patterns of distribution across Europe is therefore of interest for understanding the spatial distribution of associated fauna. The aim of this study was to record species composition at multiple sites on a long latitudinal gradient (megatransect) across Europe as a baseline for the future detailed analysis of insect fauna at these sites. In this way we used willow stands as comparable mesocosms in which to study floristic and faunistic changes with latitude across Europe. New information To determine spatial patterning of  an ecologically important group on a latitudinal gradient across Europe, we sampled willows at the stand level in 42 sites, approximately 100 km apart, from the Aegean (38.8°N) to the Arctic Ocean (70.6°N), but at a similar longitude (21.2 to 26.1°E). The sites were predominantly lowland (elevations 1 to 556 metres amsl, median = 95 m) and wet (associated with rivers, lakes, drainage ditches or wet meadows). The median number of willow taxa (species and hybrids) per stand was four, and varied from one to nine. There is a progressive increase in willow diversity from south to north with the median number of taxa per stand in southern Europe being three, and in northern Europe six. A total of 20 willow species were recorded, along with 12 hybrids. The most widespread willow in the transect was Salix alba L. (occurring in 20 sites out of 42) followed by S. triandra L. (15 sites), S. caprea L., S. phylicifolia L. (14 sites) and S. myrsinifolia Salisb., Salix ×fragilis L. (13 sites). Voucher specimens from this study are deposited in the herbaria of the Natural History Museum (BM) and the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (K). These samples provide a "snapshot" of willow diversity along a latitudinal gradient and an indication of the geographically changing taxonomic diversity that is

  4. Willow Flycatcher nonbreeding territory defense behavior in Costa Rica

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sogge, M.K.; Koronkiewicz, T.J.; van Riper, Charles; Durst, S.L.

    2007-01-01

    We studied the intraspecific territorial defense behavior of wintering Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii) in Costa Rica using a randomized playback experiment that exposed male and female birds to recordings of Willow Flycatcher songs and calls, Lesser Ground Cuckoo (Morococcyx erythropygius) vocalizations, and random noise. Flycatchers of both sexes responded most strongly to simulated conspecific territory intrusion, and the agonistic behaviors that we observed were similar to those seen during natural intraspecific encounters in winter. Both males and females engaged in song and aggressive behaviors in defense of territories, and there was no significant difference between the sexes in scored agonistic responses. The similarity between the sexes in intraspecific territorial defense behaviors and aggressiveness may account for both sexes of flycatchers using the same habitats at our study sites in Costa Rica, and wintering females defending territories against males. The Willow Flycatcher, a sexually monomorphic species, differs in this way from a number of sexually dimorphic passerines, in which behaviorally dominant males occur in more optimal winter habitats. ?? The Cooper Ornithological Society 2007.

  5. Irrigation water quality influences heavy metal uptake by willows in biosolids.

    PubMed

    Laidlaw, W Scott; Baker, Alan J M; Gregory, David; Arndt, Stefan K

    2015-05-15

    Phytoextraction is an effective method to remediate heavy metal contaminated landscapes but is often applied for single metal contaminants. Plants used for phytoextraction may not always be able to grow in drier environments without irrigation. This study investigated if willows (Salix x reichardtii A. Kerner) can be used for phytoextraction of multiple metals in biosolids, an end-product of the wastewater treatment process, and if irrigation with reclaimed and freshwater influences the extraction process. A plantation of willows was established directly onto a tilled stockpile of metal-contaminated biosolids and irrigated with slightly saline reclaimed water (EC ∼2 dS/cm) at a wastewater processing plant in Victoria, Australia. Biomass was harvested annually and analysed for heavy metal content. Phytoextraction of cadmium, copper, nickel and zinc was benchmarked against freshwater irrigated willows. The minimum irrigation rate of 700 mm per growing season was sufficient for willows to grow and extract metals. Increasing irrigation rates produced no differences in total biomass and also no differences in the extraction of heavy metals. The reclaimed water reduced both the salinity and the acidity of the biosolids significantly within the first 12 months after irrigation commenced and after three seasons the salinity of the biosolids had dropped to <15% of initial values. A flushing treatment to remove excess salts was therefore not necessary. Irrigation had an impact on biosolids attributes such as salinity and pH, and that this had an influence on metal extraction. Reclaimed water irrigation reduced the biosolid pH and this was associated with reductions of the extraction of Ni and Zn, it did not influence the extraction of Cu and enhanced the phytoextraction of Cd, which was probably related to the high chloride content of the reclaimed water. Our results demonstrate that flood-irrigation with reclaimed water was a successful treatment to grow willows in a

  6. Beaver herbivory of willow under two flow regimes: A comparative study on the Green and Yampa rivers

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Breck, Stewart W.; Wilson, Kenneth R.; Andersen, Douglas C.

    2003-01-01

    The effect of flow regulation on plant-herbivore ecology has received very little attention, despite the fact that flow regulation can alter both plant and animal abundance and environmental factors that mediate interactions between them. To determine how regulated flows have impacted beaver (Castor canadensis) and sandbar willow (Salix exigua) ecology, we first quantified the abundance and mapped the spatial distribution of sandbar willow on alluvial sections of the flow-regulated Green River and free-flowing Yampa River in northwestern Colorado. We then established 16 and 15 plots (1 m × 2.7 m) in patches of willow on the Green and Yampa Rivers, respectively, to determine whether rates of beaver herbivory of willow differed between rivers (Green versus Yampa River), seasons (fall-winter versus spring-summer), and years (spring 1998-spring 1999 versus spring 1999-spring 2000). Areal extent of willow was similar on each river, but Green River willow patches were smaller and more numerous. Beavers cut more stems during fall and winter than spring and summer and cut over 6 times more stems (percentage basis) on the Green River than on the Yampa River. We attribute the between-river difference in herbivory to higher availability of willow, greater beaver density, and lower availability of young Fremont cottonwood (Populus deltoides subsp. wislizenii; an alternative food source) on the Green River. Flow regulation increased willow availability to beaver by promoting the formation of island patches that are continuously adjacent to water and feature a perimeter with a relatively high proportion of willow interfacing with water.

  7. Anaphylactic reaction to a dietary supplement containing willow bark.

    PubMed

    Boullata, Joseph I; McDonnell, Patrick J; Oliva, Cynthia D

    2003-06-01

    To report a case of anaphylaxis resulting from the use of a willow bark-containing dietary supplement in a patient with a history of an aspirin allergy. A 25-year-old white woman presented to the emergency department of a community teaching hospital with anaphylaxis requiring epinephrine, diphenhydramine, methylprednisolone, and volume resuscitation to which she responded favorably. Medication history revealed that she had ingested 2 capsules of Stacker 2 (NVE Pharmaceuticals, Newton, NJ), a dietary supplement promoted for weight loss, prior to experiencing her initial symptoms. Among other active ingredients, this product contains willow bark. Of significance is that this patient also reported a history of allergy to acetylsalicylic acid. No other causes for anaphylaxis were identified. She continued to receive routine supportive care and the remaining hospital course was uncomplicated. Dietary supplements, including herbal products, are used by many individuals who consider them to be inherently safe despite limited regulatory oversight by the Food and Drug Administration. While there may be value to specific botanical ingredients, a potential for adverse effects also exists. The popular product consumed by our patient is used for weight loss and contains willow bark, a source of salicylates. Based on the Naranjo probability scale, it is probable that this case of anaphylaxis was due to this dietary supplement. The use of any willow bark-containing dietary supplement may present a risk of anaphylactic reaction to patients with a history of allergy to salicylates. Clinicians need to recognize the potential for adverse effects from dietary supplements.

  8. Benefits from Thinning Black Willow

    Treesearch

    R. L. Johnson; J. S. McKnight

    1969-01-01

    Black willow stands 18 and 24 years old were cut from about 130 square feet of basal area per acre to near 95, 75, and 55 square feet. Growth was best on plots thinned to 55 square feet in the 24-year-old stand and to 95 square feet in the 18-yearold stand. The stands were along the Mississippi River.

  9. Willow establishment in relation to cattle grazing on an eastern Oregon stream

    Treesearch

    Nancy L. Shaw; Warren P. Clary

    1996-01-01

    Natural regeneration and growth of coyote willow (Salix exigua Nutt. ssp. exigua) and whiplash willow (S. lasiandra Bemth. var. caudata [Nutt.] Sudw.) were monitored from 1987 to 1993 on a low-elevation eastern Oregon stream degraded by more than a century of heavy livestock grazing. Treatments were no grazing, moderate spring grazing, moderate fall grazing, and...

  10. 77 FR 2603 - Public Notice for Waiver of Aeronautical Land-Use Assurance; Willow Run Airport; Detroit, MI

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-01-18

    ..., Hydra-Matic Division, Willow Run Plant Property, South 01 degree 27 minutes 26 seconds West along the..., Hydra-Matic Division, Willow Run Plant Property; thence the following courses and distance along the Southerly line of said Hydra-Matic Division, Willow Run Plant Property, South 89 degrees 55 minutes 54...

  11. Willow Leaves' Extracts Contain Anti-Tumor Agents Effective against Three Cell Types

    PubMed Central

    El-Shemy, Hany A.; Aboul-Enein, Ahmed M.; Aboul-Enein, Khalid Mostafa; Fujita, Kounosuke

    2007-01-01

    Many higher plants contain novel metabolites with antimicrobial, antifungal and antiviral properties. However, in the developed world almost all clinically used chemotherapeutics have been produced by in vitro chemical synthesis. Exceptions, like taxol and vincristine, were structurally complex metabolites that were difficult to synthesize in vitro. Many non-natural, synthetic drugs cause severe side effects that were not acceptable except as treatments of last resort for terminal diseases such as cancer. The metabolites discovered in medicinal plants may avoid the side effect of synthetic drugs, because they must accumulate within living cells. The aim here was to test an aqueous extract from the young developing leaves of willow (Salix safsaf, Salicaceae) trees for activity against human carcinoma cells in vivo and in vitro. In vivo Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma Cells (EACC) were injected into the intraperitoneal cavity of mice. The willow extract was fed via stomach tube. The (EACC) derived tumor growth was reduced by the willow extract and death was delayed (for 35 days). In vitro the willow extract could kill the majority (75%–80%) of abnormal cells among primary cells harvested from seven patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 13 with AML (acute myeloid leukemia). DNA fragmentation patterns within treated cells inferred targeted cell death by apoptosis had occurred. The metabolites within the willow extract may act as tumor inhibitors that promote apoptosis, cause DNA damage, and affect cell membranes and/or denature proteins. PMID:17264881

  12. Performance of shrub willows (Salix spp.) as an evapotranspiration cover on Solvay wastebeds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mirck, Jaconette

    2009-12-01

    Soda ash (Na2CO3) production in the Syracuse New York area created 607 ha of wastebeds over the course of about 100 years. Today the primary concern of the Solvay wastebeds is high chloride concentrations in the leachate and storm water that may end up in the groundwater and nearby Onondaga Lake. The potential of shrub willow evapotranspiration (ET) covers to minimize leaching and to manage storm water was assessed in two studies. A sap flow sensor field study to estimate transpiration rates of four shrub willow varieties over an entire growing season. A greenhouse study focused on recycling saline Solvay storm water onto shrub willows. Annual sap flow and crop coefficients (Kc) were similar among four shrub willows, but differences were present over the course of the growing season. Peak K c values did not coincide with peak leaf area index (LAI), as might be expected if LAI were the main driver of transpiration. Rather than solely being driven by LAI, coupling with the atmosphere was an important factor in stand level sap flow. Estimates of ET were measured during both experiments, the ET/sap flow rankings of the shrub willow varieties were similar; Salix miyabeana (SX64)< S. purpurea (9882-34)< S. miyabeana x S. sachalinensis (9870-23 or 9870-40). In the greenhouse study, Solvay storm water that contained 1,625 mg Cl - L-1 (close to the average storm water concentration) did not significantly decrease ET values or growth for any of the willow varieties. Mass balances of sodium and chloride were carried out to assess the potentials of recycling saline Solvay storm water back onto a shrub willow ET cover during the growing season. During a ten-week study the combination of a shallow depth soil (33 cm) and a high irrigation regime (170% of average precipitation in the Syracuse NY area) resulted in the accumulation of at least 62% of both sodium and chloride in the plant/soil system for all five Solvay storm water treatments. Both studies indicated that shrub

  13. Willow on Yellowstone's northern range: evidence for a trophic cascade?

    PubMed

    Beyer, Hawthorne L; Merrill, Evelyn H; Varley, Nathan; Boyce, Mark S

    2007-09-01

    Reintroduction of wolves (Canis lupus) to Yellowstone National Park in 1995-1996 has been argued to promote a trophic cascade by altering elk (Cervus elaphus) density, habitat-selection patterns, and behavior that, in turn, could lead to changes within the plant communities used by elk. We sampled two species of willow (Salix boothii and S. geyeriana) on the northern winter range to determine whether (1) there was quantitative evidence of increased willow growth following wolf reintroduction, (2) browsing by elk affected willow growth, and (3) any increase in growth observed was greater than that expected by climatic and hydrological factors alone, thereby indicating a trophic cascade caused by wolves. Using stem sectioning techniques to quantify historical growth patterns we found an approximately twofold increase in stem growth-ring area following wolf reintroduction for both species of willow. This increase could not be explained by climate and hydrological factors alone; the presence of wolves on the landscape was a significant predictor of stem growth above and beyond these abiotic factors. Growth-ring area was positively correlated with the previous year's ring area and negatively correlated with the percentage of twigs browsed from the stem during the winter preceding growth, indicating that elk browse impeded stem growth. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis of a behaviorally mediated trophic cascade on Yellowstone's northern winter range following wolf reintroduction. We suggest that the community-altering effects of wolf restoration are an endorsement of ecological-process management in Yellowstone National Park.

  14. Model tests of living brush mattresses made of shrub and tree willows as bank protection at navigable waters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sokopp, Manuel

    2014-05-01

    The embankment stability at navigable waters suffers from hydraulic loads, like strong ship induced waves, resulting hydropeaking and strong water-level fluctuations. Willow brush mattresses can reduce erosion at the embankments of rivers and increase bank stability. Due to experiences gained in the project "Alternative Technical-Biological Bank Protection on Inland Water-ways" the Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute commissioned a more detailed investigation of protective functions of willow brush mattresses respectively the differences between brush mattresses made of pure shrub (Salix viminalis) or tree willows (Salix alba) at water ways with high ship-induced hydraulic loads. This paper shows the upcoming research methods of the years 2014 to 2016. The protective functions of two different willow brush mattresses and the congruence between soil, hydraulics and willow sprouts movement will be investigated in a wave basin by measuring flow velocity with ADVs (Acoustic Doppler Velocimeters) installed near the soil surface and in different embankment areas, the pore water pressure with probes in different soil layers, the wave height with ultrasound probes and the willow movements with permanently installed cameras while flooding the basin as well as measuring the erosion afterwards. These flooding test series will be conducted two times during the vegetation period. The shear strength of the tree willow rooted soil will be examined in different soil layers with a shear load frame. The results will be compared with the data of shear strength tests of same aged brush mattresses made of shrub willows, which have already been carried out by the Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute. The filtering capability of the soil covering branches and the near surface willow roots will be investigated by growing willow brush mattresses in sample boxes. Those can be repeatedly moved up and down into a diving pool while measuring pore water pressure

  15. Microhabitat use by breeding Southwestern Willow Flycatchers on the Gila River, New Mexico

    Treesearch

    Scott H. Stoleson; Deborah M. Finch

    2003-01-01

    The endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) breeds at numerous sites throughout its range that vary greatly in floristics, vegetation structure, and the extent of human alteration of the habitat. Here we present information on nesting habitat characteristics of Willow Flycatchers in the largest extant population of the subspecies along...

  16. Simulation modeling to understand how selective foraging by beaver can drive the structure and function of a willow community

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Peinetti, H.R.; Baker, B.W.; Coughenour, M.B.

    2009-01-01

    Beaver-willow (Castor-Salix) communities are a unique and vital component of healthy wetlands throughout the Holarctic region. Beaver selectively forage willow to provide fresh food, stored winter food, and construction material. The effects of this complex foraging behavior on the structure and function of willow communities is poorly understood. Simulation modeling may help ecologists understand these complex interactions. In this study, a modified version of the SAVANNA ecosystem model was developed to better understand how beaver foraging affects the structure and function of a willow community in a simulated riparian ecosystem in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado (RMNP). The model represents willow in terms of plant and stem dynamics and beaver foraging in terms of the quantity and quality of stems cut to meet the energetic and life history requirements of beaver. Given a site where all stems were equally available, the model suggested a simulated beaver family of 2 adults, 2 yearlings, and 2 kits required a minimum of 4 ha of willow (containing about10 stems m-2) to persist in a steady-state condition. Beaver created a willow community where the annual net primary productivity (ANPP) was 2 times higher and plant architecture was more diverse than the willow community without beaver. Beaver foraging created a plant architecture dominated by medium size willow plants, which likely explains how beaver can increase ANPP. Long-term simulations suggested that woody biomass stabilized at similar values even though availability differed greatly at initial condition. Simulations also suggested that willow ANPP increased across a range of beaver densities until beaver became food limited. Thus, selective foraging by beaver increased productivity, decreased biomass, and increased structural heterogeneity in a simulated willow community.

  17. Southwestern willow flycatchers recaptured at wintering sites in Costa Rica

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Koronkiewicz, Thomas J.; Sogge, Mark K.

    2001-01-01

    An adult Southwestern Willow Flycatcher banded in summer 1998 at Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada, was recaptured the following winter in Santa Cruz, Costa Rica, then relocated at Ash Meadows during the 1999 breeding season. Another Southwestern Willow Flycatcher banded in 1999 as a nestling at Roosevelt Lake, Arizona, was recaptured in January 2000 on its wintering grounds in Bolsen, Costa Rica. The bird was recaptured at Roosevelt Lake in summer 2000, returned to the same wintering site in Bolsen the following winter, and was relocated at Roosevelt Lake in summer 2001.

  18. The role of EDTA in phytoextraction of hexavalent and trivalent chromium by two willow trees.

    PubMed

    Yu, Xiao-Zhang; Gu, Ji-Dong

    2008-04-01

    Effects of the synthetic chelator ethylenediamine tetraacetate (EDTA) on uptake and internal translocation of hexavalent and trivalent chromium by plants were investigated. Two different concentrations of EDTA were studied for enhancing the uptake and translocation of Cr from the hydroponic solution spiked with K(2)CrO(4) or CrCl(3) maintained at 24.0 +/- 1 degrees C. Faster removal of Cr(3+) than Cr(6+) by hybrid willows (Salix matsudana Koidz x Salix alba L.) from the plant growth media was observed. Negligible effect of EDTA on the uptake of Cr(6+) was found, but significant decrease of the Cr concentration in roots was measured. Although the translocation of Cr(6+) within plant materials was detected in response to EDTA concentration, the amount of Cr(6+) translocated to the lower stems was considerably small. EDTA in the nutrient media showed a negative effect on the uptake of Cr(3+ )by hybrid willows; the removal rates of Cr(3+ )were significantly decreased. Translocation of Cr(3+) into the stems and leaves was undetectable, but roots were the exclusive sink for Cr(3+) accumulation. Weeping willows (Salix babylonica L.) showed lower removal rates for both chemical forms of Cr than hybrid willows. Although EDTA had a minor effect on Cr(6+ )uptake by weeping willows, positive effect on Cr(6+ )translocation within plant materials was observed. It was also determined that EDTA in plant growth media significantly decreased the amount of Cr(3+) taken up by plants, but significantly increased Cr(3+) mobilization from roots to stems. Results indicated that EDTA was unable to increase the uptake of Cr(6+) by both plant species, but translocation of Cr(6+)-EDTA within plant materials was possible. Addition of EDTA in the nutrient media showed a strong influence on the uptake and translocation of Cr(3+) in both willows. Cr(3+)-EDTA in tissues of weeping willows was more mobile than that in hybrid willows. The information has important implications for the use of metal

  19. Winter distribution of willow flycatcher subspecies

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Paxton, E.H.; Unitt, P.; Sogge, M.K.; Whitfield, M.; Keim, P.

    2011-01-01

    Documenting how different regions across a species' breeding and nonbreeding range are linked via migratory movements is the first step in understanding how events in one region can influence events in others and is critical to identifying conservation threats throughout a migratory animal's annual cycle. We combined two studies that evaluated migratory connectivity in the Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii), one using mitochondrial DNA sequences from 172 flycatchers sampled throughout their winter range, and another which examined morphological characteristics of 68 museum specimens collected in the winter range. Our results indicate that the four subspecies occupy distinct but overlapping regions of the winter range. Connectivity between specific breeding and winter grounds appears to be moderate to strong, with distributions that suggest migration patterns of both the chain and leap-frog types connecting the breeding and nonbreeding grounds. The Pacific lowlands of Costa Rica appear to be a key winter location for the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (E. t. extimus), although other countries in Central America may also be important for the subspecies. ?? The Cooper Ornithological Society 2011.

  20. Effect of browsing on willow in the Steel Creek grazing allotment

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Keigley, R.B.; Gale, Gil

    2000-01-01

    View upstream from the study area. Salix geyerriana is the dominant willow species. Salix drummondiana and S. Boothii are less common; older individuals of both species grow to about 2-m tall. Salix bebbiana is much less common, and where present, is browsed close to ground level. The carcass of an old Bebb willow that had attained typical stature is located near the study area. Beaver are absent. The remains of relic beaver dams indicate that beaver were once an important hydrologic influence.

  1. Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs) for the Isolation of Willow Lignin (Salix matsudana cv. Zhuliu)

    PubMed Central

    Li, Tengfei; Liu, Yu; Lou, Rui; Yang, Guihua; Chen, Jiachuan; Saeed, Haroon A. M.

    2017-01-01

    Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are a potentially high-value lignin extraction methodology. DESs prepared from choline chloride (ChCl) and three hydrogen-bond donors (HBD)—lactic acid (Lac), glycerol, and urea—were evaluated for isolation of willow (Salix matsudana cv. Zhuliu) lignin. DESs types, mole ratio of ChCl to HBD, extraction temperature, and time on the fractionated DES-lignin yield demonstrated that the optimal DES-lignin yield (91.8 wt % based on the initial lignin in willow) with high purity of 94.5% can be reached at a ChCl-to-Lac molar ratio of 1:10, extraction temperature of 120 °C, and time of 12 h. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) , 13C-NMR, and 31P-NMR showed that willow lignin extracted by ChCl-Lac was mainly composed of syringyl and guaiacyl units. Serendipitously, a majority of the glucan in willow was preserved after ChCl-Lac treatment. PMID:29143790

  2. Hexavalent chromium induced stress and metabolic responses in hybrid willows.

    PubMed

    Yu, Xiao-Zhang; Gu, Ji-Dong; Huang, Shen-Zhuo

    2007-04-01

    Metabolic responses to hexavalent chromium (Cr(6+)) stress and the uptake and translocation of Cr(6+ )were investigated using pre-rooted hybrid willows (Salix matsudana Koidz x Salix alba L.) exposed to hydroponic solution spiked with K(2)CrO(4) at 24.0 +/- 1 degrees C for 192 h. Various physiological parameters of the plants were monitored to determine toxicity from Cr(6+ )exposure. At Cr(6+) treatments of 50% higher than that of the non-treated control plants. As Cr concentrations were increased further, a slight increase in the transpiration rate was also observed compared with the controls. Negligible difference in the chlorophyll contents in leaves between the treated and the non-treated control plants was measured, except for willows exposed to 1.05 mg Cr/l. The response of soluble proteins in leaves of willows to Cr treatments was remarkable. Cr-induced toxicity appeared in all treatments resulting in reduced activities of catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) compared to the controls. Superoxide dismutases (SOD) activity in the leaf cells showed a positive increase after Cr exposure. Of all selected parameters, soluble proteins in leaves were the most sensitive to Cr(6+ )doses, showing a significant linear correlation negatively (R (2) = 0.931). Uptake of Cr(6+) by willows grown in flasks was found to increase linearly with the added Cr(6+ )(a zero order kinetics), as indicated by the high R (2) (0.9322). Recovery of Cr in different parts of plant materials varied significantly with roots being the dominant site of Cr accumulation. Although the translocation to shoots was detected, the amount of Cr translocated to shoots was considerably small. The capacity of willows to assimilate Cr(6+ )was also evaluated using detached leaves and roots in sealed glass vessels in vivo. Uptake of Cr by roots was mediated possibly through an active transport mechanism, whereas the cuticle of leaves was the major obstacle

  3. The effect of sewage sludge application on soil properties and willow (Salix sp.) cultivation.

    PubMed

    Urbaniak, Magdalena; Wyrwicka, Anna; Tołoczko, Wojciech; Serwecińska, Liliana; Zieliński, Marek

    2017-05-15

    The aim of the study was to determine the impact of sewage sludge from three wastewater treatment plants of different sizes (small, medium and large) applied in two doses (3 and 9 tons per hectare) on soil properties, determined as the content of organic carbon and humus fractions, bacterial abundance, phytotoxicity and PCDD/PCDF TEQ concentrations. The study also evaluated the impact of this sewage sludge on the biometric and physiological parameters and detoxification reaction of willow (Salix sp.) as a typical crop used for the remediation of soil following sludge application. The cultivation of willow on soil treated with sludge was found to result in a gradual increase of humus fractions, total organic carbon content and bacterial abundance as well as soil properties measured using Lepidium sativum. However, it also produced an initial increase of soil phytotoxicity, indicated by Sinapis alba and Sorghum sacharatum, and PCDD/PCDF Toxic Equivalent (TEQ) concentrations, which then fell during the course of the experiment, particularly in areas planted by willow. Although the soil phytotoxicity and PCDD/PCDF TEQ content of the sewage sludge-amended soil initially increased, sludge application was found to have a positive influence on willow, probably due to its high nutrient and carbon content. The obtained results reveal increases in willow biomass, average leaf surface area and leaf length as well as chlorophyll a+b content. Moreover, a strong decline was found in the activity of the detoxifying enzyme glutathione S-transferase (GSTs), a multifunctional enzyme involved in the metabolism of xenobiotics in plants, again demonstrating the used sludge had a positive influence on willow performance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Cadmium and zinc uptake by volunteer willow species and elder rooting in polluted dredged sediment disposal sites.

    PubMed

    Vandecasteele, Bart; De Vos, Bruno; Tack, Filip M G

    2002-11-01

    Salix species and Sambucus nigra L. (elder) naturally invade dredged sediment landfills and are commonly encountered on substrates contaminated with heavy metals. Foliar concentrations of Cd and Zn in four Salix species and elder were explored in the field. Metal contents in dredged sediment derived soils were elevated compared to baseline concentration levels reported for Flanders. To evaluate foliar concentrations, reference data were compiled from observations in nurseries, young plantations and unpolluted sites with volunteer willow vegetation. Willows grown on polluted dredged sediment landfills showed elevated foliar Cd and Zn concentrations (>6.6 mg Cd/kg DW and >700 mg Zn/kg DW). This was not the case for elder. For willow, a significant relation was found between soil total Zn or Cd and foliar Zn or Cd, regardless of age, species, or clone. Willows proved to be useful bioindicators. Results indicated a possible threat in long-term habitat development of willow brushwood from transfer of Cd and Zn to the food web.

  5. Environmental applications of poplars and willows

    Treesearch

    J.G. Isebrands; P. Aronsson; M. Carlson; R. Ceulemans; M. Coleman; N. Dickinson; J. Dimitriou; S. Doty; E. Gardiner; K. Heinsoo; J.D. Johnson; Y.B. Koo; J. Kort; J. Kuzovkina; L. Licht; A.R. McCracken; I. McIvor; P. Mertens; K. Perttu; D. Riddell-Black; B. Robins; G. Scarascia-Mugnozza; W.R. Schroeder; John Stanturf; T.A. Volk; M. Weih

    2014-01-01

    Poplars and willows have been planted for environmental purposes for millennia. There are reports that poplars were planted to improve the human environment 4000 years ago in the third dynasty of Ur, for streamside stabilization 2000 years ago in what is now the south-western USA by native North Americans and for urban amenities by the early Chinese dynasties (see...

  6. G-fibre cell wall development in willow stems during tension wood induction

    PubMed Central

    Gritsch, Cristina; Wan, Yongfang; Mitchell, Rowan A. C.; Shewry, Peter R.; Hanley, Steven J.; Karp, Angela

    2015-01-01

    Willows (Salix spp.) are important as a potential feedstock for bioenergy and biofuels. Previous work suggested that reaction wood (RW) formation could be a desirable trait for biofuel production in willows as it is associated with increased glucose yields, but willow RW has not been characterized for cell wall components. Fasciclin-like arabinogalactan (FLA) proteins are highly up-regulated in RW of poplars and are considered to be involved in cell adhesion and cellulose biosynthesis. COBRA genes are involved in anisotropic cell expansion by modulating the orientation of cellulose microfibril deposition. This study determined the temporal and spatial deposition of non-cellulosic polysaccharides in cell walls of the tension wood (TW) component of willow RW and compared it with opposite wood (OW) and normal wood (NW) using specific antibodies and confocal laser scanning microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. In addition, the expression patterns of an FLA gene (SxFLA12) and a COBRA-like gene (SxCOBL4) were compared using RNA in situ hybridization. Deposition of the non-cellulosic polysaccharides (1–4)-β-D-galactan, mannan and de-esterified homogalacturonan was found to be highly associated with TW, often with the G-layer itself. Of particular interest was that the G-layer itself can be highly enriched in (1–4)-β-D-galactan, especially in G-fibres where the G-layer is still thickening, which contrasts with previous studies in poplar. Only xylan showed a similar distribution in TW, OW, and NW, being restricted to the secondary cell wall layers. SxFLA12 and SxCOBL4 transcripts were specifically expressed in developing TW, confirming their importance. A model of polysaccharides distribution in developing willow G-fibre cells is presented. PMID:26220085

  7. Coastal Energy Corporation, Willow Springs, MO - Public Notice Document

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Notice of a proposed Administrative Penalty Assessment against Coastal Energy Corporation, located at 232 Burnham Road, Willow Springs, Missouri, for alleged violations at the facility located at or near that facility

  8. Available data support protection of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher under the Endangered Species Act

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Theimer, Tad C.; Smith, Aaron D.; Mahoney, Sean M.; Ironside, Kirsten E.

    2016-01-01

    Zink (2015) argued there was no evidence for genetic, morphological, or ecological differentiation between the federally endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) and other Willow Flycatcher subspecies. Using the same data, we show there is a step-cline in both the frequency of a mtDNA haplotype and in plumage variation roughly concordant with the currently recognized boundary between E. t. extimus and E. t adastus, the subspecies with which it shares the longest common boundary. The geographical pattern of plumage variation is also concordant with previous song analyses differentiating those 2 subspecies and identified birds in one low-latitude, high-elevation site in Arizona as the northern subspecies. We also demonstrate that the ecological niche modeling approach used by Zink yields the same result whether applied to the 2 flycatcher subspecies or to 2 unrelated species, E. t. extimus and Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia). As a result, any interpretation of those results as evidence for lack of ecological niche differentiation among Willow Flycatcher subspecies would also indicate no differentiation among recognized species and would therefore be an inappropriate standard for delineating subspecies. We agree that many analytical techniques now available to examine genetic, morphological, and ecological differentiation would improve our understanding of the distinctness (or lack thereof) of Willow Flycatcher subspecies, but we argue that currently available evidence supports protection of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher under the Endangered Species Act.

  9. Major Chromosomal Rearrangements Distinguish Willow and Poplar After the Ancestral “Salicoid” Genome Duplication

    PubMed Central

    Hou, Jing; Ye, Ning; Dong, Zhongyuan; Lu, Mengzhu; Li, Laigeng; Yin, Tongming

    2016-01-01

    Populus (poplar) and Salix (willow) are sister genera in the Salicaceae family. In both lineages extant species are predominantly diploid. Genome analysis previously revealed that the two lineages originated from a common tetraploid ancestor. In this study, we conducted a syntenic comparison of the corresponding 19 chromosome members of the poplar and willow genomes. Our observations revealed that almost every chromosomal segment had a parallel paralogous segment elsewhere in the genomes, and the two lineages shared a similar syntenic pinwheel pattern for most of the chromosomes, which indicated that the two lineages diverged after the genome reorganization in the common progenitor. The pinwheel patterns showed distinct differences for two chromosome pairs in each lineage. Further analysis detected two major interchromosomal rearrangements that distinguished the karyotypes of willow and poplar. Chromosome I of willow was a conjunction of poplar chromosome XVI and the lower portion of poplar chromosome I, whereas willow chromosome XVI corresponded to the upper portion of poplar chromosome I. Scientists have suggested that Populus is evolutionarily more primitive than Salix. Therefore, we propose that, after the “salicoid” duplication event, fission and fusion of the ancestral chromosomes first give rise to the diploid progenitor of extant Populus species. During the evolutionary process, fission and fusion of poplar chromosomes I and XVI subsequently give rise to the progenitor of extant Salix species. This study contributes to an improved understanding of genome divergence after ancient genome duplication in closely related lineages of higher plants. PMID:27352946

  10. Accumulation and distribution of trivalent chromium and effects on hybrid willow (Salix matsudana Koidz x alba L.) metabolism.

    PubMed

    Yu, X-Z; Gu, J-D

    2007-05-01

    The metabolic response of plants to exogenous supply and bioaccumulation of trivalent chromium (Cr(3+) ) was investigated. Pre-rooted young hybrid willows (Salix matsudana Koidz x alba L.) were exposed to hydroponic solution spiked with CrCl(3) at 24.0 degrees C +/- 1 degrees C for 192 hours. Various physiologic parameters of the plants were monitored to determine toxicity from Cr exposure. The transpiration rate of willows exposed to 2.5 mg Cr/L was 49% higher than that of the untreated control plants, but it was decreased by 17% when exposed to 30.0 mg Cr/L. Significant decrease (> or =20%) of soluble protein in young leaves of willows was detected in the treatment group with > or =7.5 mg Cr/L. The measured chlorophyll contents in leaves of treated plants varied with the dose of Cr, but a linear correlation could not be established. The contents of chlorophyll in leaves of willows exposed to > or =7.5 mg Cr/L were higher than that of the untreated plants but lower at 30.0 mg Cr/L. Superoxide dismutase activity (SOD) in leaves between the treated and untreated willows did not show any significant difference, but activities of both catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) in leaf cells of all treated plants were higher than those in the untreated willows. The correlation between the concentration of Cr and CAT activity in leaf cells was the highest of all toxicity assays (R ( 2 ) = 0.9096), indicating that CAT activity was most sensitive to the change in Cr(3+) doses compared with the other selected parameters. Results from the Cr uptake study showed that significant removal of Cr from hydroponic solution was observed in the presence of hybrid willows without showing detectable phytotoxicity, even at high does of Cr. More than 90% of the applied Cr(3+) was removed from the aqueous solution by willows at concentrations up to 7.5 mg Cr/L. Approximately 70% of the initial Cr was recovered in the plant materials. At the low-Cr(3+) treatment (2.5 mg Cr/L), Cr accumulation by

  11. Phytoextraction of risk elements by willow and poplar trees.

    PubMed

    Kacálková, Lada; Tlustoš, Pavel; Száková, Jiřina

    2015-01-01

    To characterize the phytoextraction efficiency of two clones of willow trees (Salix x smithiana Willd., Salix rubens) and two clones of poplar trees (Populus nigra x maximowiczii, Populus nigra Wolterson) were planted in contaminated soil (0.4-2.0 mg Cd.kg(-1), 78-313 mg Zn.kg(-1), 21.3-118 mg Cu.kg(-1)). Field experiment was carried out in Czech Republic. The study investigated their ability to accumulate heavy metals (Cd, Zn, and Cu) in harvestable plant parts. The poplars produced higher amount of biomass than willows. Both Salix clones accumulated higher amount of Cd, Zn and Cu in their biomass (maximum 6.8 mg Cd.kg(-1), 909 mg Zn.kg(-1), and 17.7 mg Cu.kg(-1)) compared to Populus clones (maximum 2.06 mg Cd.kg(-1), 463 mg Zn.kg(-1), and 11.8 mg Cu.kg(-1)). There were no significant differences between clones of individual species. BCs for Cd and Zn were greater than 1 (the highest in willow leaves). BCs values of Cu were very low. These results indicate that Salix is more suitable plant for phytoextraction of Cd and Zn than Populus. The Cu phytoextraction potential of Salix and Populus trees was not confirmed in this experiment due to low soil availability of this element.

  12. Soil moisture and chemistry influence diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungal communities associating with willow along an hydrologic gradient.

    PubMed

    Erlandson, Sonya R; Savage, Jessica A; Cavender-Bares, Jeannine M; Peay, Kabir G

    2016-01-01

    Influences of soil environment and willow host species on ectomycorrhizal fungi communities was studied across an hydrologic gradient in temperate North America. Soil moisture, organic matter and pH strongly predicted changes in fungal community composition. In contrast, increased fungal richness strongly correlated with higher plant-available phosphorus. The 93 willow trees sampled for ectomycorrhizal fungi included seven willow species. Host identity did not influence fungal richness or community composition, nor was there strong evidence of willow host preference for fungal species. Network analysis suggests that these mutualist interaction networks are not significantly nested or modular. Across a strong environmental gradient, fungal abiotic niche determined the fungal species available to associate with host plants within a habitat. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  13. Wind in the Willows--Theatre Activity Packet.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    New York City Board of Education, Brooklyn, NY. Div. of Curriculum and Instruction.

    Part of the New York City Board of Education's Early Stages program, and intended for elementary and secondary school teachers who wish to include a unit on theater in their classes, this guide offers suggestions for lessons and activities to accompany viewing a performance of "Wind in the Willows" at the Nederlander Theater. Part one of…

  14. Injury due to leg bands in willow flycatchers

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sedgwick, J.A.; Klus, R.J.

    1997-01-01

    We report an apparently unusually high incidence of leg injury in Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii) as a result of banding and color banding. Color bands and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) bands applied to Willow Flycatchers from 1988-1995 resulted in an overall leg injury rate of 9.6% to birds returning to our study areas in subsequent years. Most injuries occurred on legs with only color band(s) (58.3%) or on legs with both a USFWS band and a color band (35%); only 6.7% of injuries (4/60) were due to USFWS bands alone, yielding an overall USFWS band injury rate of only 0.6%. Injuries ranged from severe (swollen, bleeding legs; a missing foot) to relatively minor (irritations on the tarsus). Amputation of the foot occurred in 33.9% of the cases. Return rates of adult injured birds in the year(s) following injury were significantly lower than for the population at large.

  15. Yield and Water Quality Impacts of Field-Scale Integration of Willow into a Continuous Corn Rotation System.

    PubMed

    Zumpf, Colleen; Ssegane, Herbert; Negri, Maria Cristina; Campbell, Patty; Cacho, Julian

    2017-07-01

    Agricultural landscape design has gained recognition by the international environmental and development community as a strategy to address multiple goals in land, water, and ecosystem service management; however, field research is needed to quantify impacts on specific local environments. The production of bioenergy crops in specific landscape positions within a grain-crop field can serve the dual purpose of producing cellulosic biomass (nutrient recovery) while also providing regulating ecosystem services to improve water quality (nutrient reduction). The effectiveness of such a landscape design was evaluated by the strategic placement of a 0.8-ha short-rotation shrub willow ( Seemen) bioenergy buffer along marginal soils in a 6.5-ha corn ( L.) field in a 6-yr field study in central Illinois. The impact of willow integration on water quality (soil water, shallow groundwater leaching, and crop nutrient uptake) and quantity (soil moisture and transpiration) was monitored in comparison with corn in the willow's first cycle of growth. Willows significantly reduced nitrate leachate in shallow subsurface water by 88% while maintaining adequate nutrient and water usage. Results suggest that willows offer an efficient nutrient-reduction strategy and may provide additional ecosystem services and benefits, including enhanced soil health. However, low values for calculated willow biomass will need to be readdressed in the future as harvest data become available to understand contributing factors that affected productivity beyond nutrient availability. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

  16. DESIGNING AN OPPORTUNITY FUEL WITH BIOMASS AND TIRE-DERIVED FUEL FOR COFIRING AT WILLOW ISLAND GENERATING STATION

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    K. Payette; D. Tillman

    During the period October 1, 2000 - December 31, 2000, Allegheny Energy Supply Co., LLC (Allegheny) executed a Cooperative Agreement with the National Energy Technology Laboratory to implement a major cofiring demonstration at the Willow Island Generating Station Boiler No.2. Willow Island Boiler No.2 is a cyclone boiler. Allegheny also will demonstrate separate injection cofiring at the Albright Generating Station Boiler No.3, a tangentially fired boiler. The Allegheny team includes Foster Wheeler as its primary subcontractor. Additional subcontractors are Cofiring Alternatives and N.S. Harding and Associates. This report summarizes the activities associated with the Designer Opportunity Fuel program, and demonstrationsmore » at Willow Island and Albright Generating Stations. The second quarter of the project involved completing the designs for each location. Further, geotechnical investigations proceeded at each site. Preparations were made to perform demolition on two small buildings at the Willow Island site. Fuels strategies were initiated for each site. Test planning commenced for each site. A groundbreaking ceremony was held at the Willow Island site on October 18, with Governor C. Underwood being the featured speaker.« less

  17. White willow sexual regeneration capacity under estuarine conditions in times of climate change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Markus-Michalczyk, Heike; Hanelt, Dieter; Denstorf, Julian; Jensen, Kai

    2016-10-01

    Tidal wetlands provide both habitats for coastal populations and wildlife, and ecosystem services for human welfare. Building with nature regarding cost-effective coastal protection is of increasing interest. Much research has been carried out on plant reproduction capacities in mangroves and salt marshes, but less is known on this issue in tidal freshwater wetlands. Willows are being successfully used for bank stabilization in riverine habitats, however, today white willow softwood forests in tidal wetlands are highly fragmented, and restoration is required e.g. by the European Habitats Directive. Recently, tolerance to increasing salinity and tidal flooding was found for vegetative propagules of floodplain willows. However, the establishment of autochthonous sexual recruits is necessary to conserve the genetic diversity of local populations, and thus may be preferable in restoration. The germination and early seedling establishment of Salix alba (white willow) was experimentally studied under simulated estuarine conditions. The species tolerance to increasing salinity (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2) was tested in a climate chamber, and its tolerance to flooding at different tidal treatments (control, spring tide, daily tide 15 min and 2 h flooding) in the greenhouse. Germination was neither affected by increasing salinity nor by tidal flooding. Salix seedlings established up to salinity 1.5, but cotyledon performance and radicle growth was largely reduced at salinity 2. Under tidal flooding, seedling growth was similar in all treatments. However, in the treatments with daily tides seedling anchorage in the substrate took more than two weeks, and fewer seedlings reached a suitable length to approach the high water line. We assess S. alba sexual regeneration under estuarine conditions as generally possible. Further studies are needed on the effects of sedimentation-erosion processes on willow establishment in the field, especially on feedbacks between Salix survival and

  18. 8. Inverted siphon structure carrying ditch flow under Willow Creek, ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    8. Inverted siphon structure carrying ditch flow under Willow Creek, looking southwest - Natomas Ditch System, Blue Ravine Segment, Juncture of Blue Ravine & Green Valley Roads, Folsom, Sacramento County, CA

  19. 7. Inverted siphon structure carrying ditch flow under Willow Creek, ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    7. Inverted siphon structure carrying ditch flow under Willow Creek, looking east - Natomas Ditch System, Blue Ravine Segment, Juncture of Blue Ravine & Green Valley Roads, Folsom, Sacramento County, CA

  20. Arthropods of native and exotic vegetation and their association with willow flycatchers and Wilson's warblers

    Treesearch

    Linda S. DeLay; Deborah M. Finch; Sandra Brantley; Richard Fagerlund; Michael D. Means; Jeffrey F. Kelly

    1999-01-01

    We compared abundance of migrating Willow Flycatchers and Wilson's Warblers to the abundance of arthropods in exotic and native vegetation at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. We trapped arthropods using glue-boards in 1996 and 1997 in the same cottonwood, saltcedar, and willow habitats where we mist-netted birds during spring and fall migration. There...

  1. 3. VIEW OF WILLOW CREEK TRESTLE FROM CORNER BASELINE AVENUE ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    3. VIEW OF WILLOW CREEK TRESTLE FROM CORNER BASELINE AVENUE AND 185TH AVENUE, FACING NORTHEAST - Oregon Electric Railway Westside Corridor, Between Watson & 185th Avenues, Beaverton, Washington County, OR

  2. Physiological and morphological responses of pine and willow saplings to post-fire salvage logging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Millions, E. L.; Letts, M. G.; Harvey, T.; Rood, S. B.

    2015-12-01

    With global warming, forest fires may be increasing in frequency, and post-fire salvage logging may become more common. The ecophysiological impacts of this practice on tree saplings remain poorly understood. In this study, we examined the physiological and morphological impacts of increased light intensity, due to post-fire salvage logging, on the conifer Pinus contorta (pine) and deciduous broadleaf Salix lucida (willow) tree and shrub species in the Crowsnest Pass region of southern Alberta. Photosynthetic gas-exchange and plant morphological measurements were taken throughout the summer of 2013 on approximately ten year-old saplings of both species. Neither species exhibited photoinhibition, but different strategies were observed to acclimate to increased light availability. Willow saplings were able to slightly elevate their light-saturated rate of net photosynthesis (Amax) when exposed to higher photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), thus increasing their growth rate. Willow also exhibited increased leaf inclination angles and leaf mass per unit area (LMA), to decrease light interception in the salvage-logged plot. By contrast, pine, which exhibited lower Amax and transpiration (E), but higher water-use efficiency (WUE = Amax/E) than willow, increased the rate at which electrons were moved through and away from the photosynthetic apparatus in order to avoid photoinhibition. Acclimation indices were higher in willow saplings, consistent with the hypothesis that species with short-lived foliage exhibit greater acclimation. LMA was higher in pine saplings growing in the logged plot, but whole-plant and branch-level morphological acclimation was limited and more consistent with a response to decreased competition in the logged plot, which had much lower stand density.

  3. The potential for phytoremediation of iron cyanide complex by willows.

    PubMed

    Yu, Xiao-Zhang; Zhou, Pu-Hua; Yang, Yong-Miao

    2006-07-01

    Hybrid willows (Salix matsudana Koidz x Salix alba L.), weeping willows (Salix babylonica L.) and hankow willows (Salix matsudana Koidz) were exposed to potassium ferrocyanide to determine the potential of these plants to extract, transport and metabolize this iron cyanide complex. Young rooted cuttings were grown in hydroponic solution at 24.0 +/- 0.5 degrees C for 144 h. Ferrocyanide in solution, air, and aerial tissues of plants was analyzed spectrophotometrically. Uptake of ferrocyanide from the aqueous solution by plants was evident for all treatments and varied with plant species, ranging from 8.64 to 15.67% of initial mass. The uptake processes observed from hydroponic solution showed exponential disappearance kinetics. Very little amounts of the applied ferrocyanide were detected in all parts of plant materials, confirming passage of ferrocyanide through the plants. No ferrocyanide in air was found due to plant transpiration. Mass balance analysis showed that a large fraction of the reduction of initial mass in hydroponic solution was metabolized during transport within the plant materials. The difference in the metabolic rate of ferrocyanide between the three plant species was comparably small, indicating transport of ferrocyanide from hydroponic solution to plant materials and further transport within plant materials was a limiting step for assimilating this iron cyanide complex. In conclusion, phytoremediation of ferrocyanide by the plants tested in this study has potential field application.

  4. Conservation assessment for the autumn willow in the Black Hills National Forest, South Dakota and Wyoming

    Treesearch

    J. Hope Hornbeck; Carolyn Hull Sieg; Deanna J. Reyher

    2003-01-01

    Autumn willow, Salix serissima (Bailey) Fern., is an obligate wetland shrub that occurs in fens and bogs in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. Disjunct populations of autumn willow occur in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Only two populations occur on Black Hills National Forest lands: a large population at McIntosh Fen and a small...

  5. Ecophysiology of riparian cottonwood and willow before, during, and after two years of soil water removal.

    PubMed

    Hultine, K R; Bush, S E; Ehleringer, J R

    2010-03-01

    Riparian cottonwood/willow forest assemblages are highly valued in the southwestern United States for their wildlife habitat, biodiversity, and watershed protection. Yet these forests are under considerable threat from climate change impacts on water resources and land-use activities to support human enterprise. Stream diversions, groundwater pumping, and extended drought have resulted in the decline of cottonwood/willow forests along many riparian corridors in the Southwest and, in many cases, the replacement of these forests with less desirable invasive shrubs and trees. Nevertheless, ecophysiological responses of cottonwood and willow, along with associated ecohydrological feedbacks of soil water depletion, are not well understood. Ecophysiological processes of mature Fremont cottonwood and coyote willow stands were examined over four consecutive growing seasons (2004-2007) near Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. The tree stands occurred near the inlet of a reservoir that was drained in the spring of 2005 and remained empty until mid-summer of 2006, effectively removing the primary water source for most of two growing seasons. Stem sap flux density (Js) in cottonwood was highly correlated with volumetric soil moisture (theta) in the upper 60 cm and decreased sevenfold as soil moisture dropped from 12% to 7% after the reservoir was drained. Conversely, Js in willow was marginally correlated with 0 and decreased by only 25% during the same period. Opposite patterns emerged during the following growing season: willow had a lower whole-plant conductance (kt) in June and higher leaf carbon isotope ratios (delta13C) than cottonwood in August, whereas k(t) and delta13C were otherwise similar between species. Water relations in both species recovered quickly from soil water depletion, with the exception that sapwood area to stem area (As:Ast) was significantly lower in both species after the 2007 growing season compared to 2004. Results suggest that cottonwood has a greater

  6. 75 FR 63431 - Radio Broadcasting Services; Willow Creek, CA

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-15

    ...] Radio Broadcasting Services; Willow Creek, CA AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission. ACTION... filing procedures for comments, see 47 CFR 1.415 and 1.420. List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73 Radio, Radio broadcasting. For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal Communications Commission...

  7. Confirmation of Single-Locus Sex Determination and Female Heterogamety in Willow Based on Linkage Analysis.

    PubMed

    Chen, Yingnan; Wang, Tiantian; Fang, Lecheng; Li, Xiaoping; Yin, Tongming

    2016-01-01

    In this study, we constructed high-density genetic maps of Salix suchowensis and mapped the gender locus with an F1 pedigree. Genetic maps were separately constructed for the maternal and paternal parents by using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers and the pseudo-testcross strategy. The maternal map consisted of 20 linkage groups that spanned a genetic distance of 2333.3 cM; whereas the paternal map contained 21 linkage groups that covered 2260 cM. Based on the established genetic maps, it was found that the gender of willow was determined by a single locus on linkage group LG_03, and the female was the heterogametic gender. Aligned with mapped SSR markers, linkage group LG_03 was found to be associated with chromosome XV in willow. It is noteworthy that marker density in the vicinity of the gender locus was significantly higher than that expected by chance alone, which indicates severe recombination suppression around the gender locus. In conclusion, this study confirmed the findings on the single-locus sex determination and female heterogamety in willow. It also provided additional evidence that validated the previous studies, which found that different autosomes evolved into sex chromosomes between the sister genera of Salix (willow) and Populus (poplar).

  8. Phytoscreening and phytoextraction of heavy metals at Danish polluted sites using willow and poplar trees.

    PubMed

    Algreen, Mette; Trapp, Stefan; Rein, Arno

    2014-01-01

    The main purpose of this study was to determine typical concentrations of heavy metals (HM) in wood from willows and poplars, in order to test the feasibility of phytoscreening and phytoextraction of HM. Samples were taken from one strongly, one moderately, and one slightly polluted site and from three reference sites. Wood from both tree species had similar background concentrations at 0.5 mg kg(-1) for cadmium (Cd), 1.6 mg kg(-1) for copper (Cu), 0.3 mg kg(-1) for nickel (Ni), and 25 mg kg(-1) for zinc (Zn). Concentrations of chromium (Cr) and lead (Pb) were below or close to detection limit. Concentrations in wood from the highly polluted site were significantly elevated, compared to references, in particular for willow. The conclusion from these results is that tree coring could be used successfully to identify strongly heavy metal-polluted soil for Cd, Cu, Ni, Zn, and that willow trees were superior to poplars, except when screening for Ni. Phytoextraction of HMs was quantified from measured concentration in wood at the most polluted site. Extraction efficiencies were best for willows and Cd, but below 0.5% over 10 years, and below 1‰ in 10 years for all other HMs.

  9. Confirmation of Single-Locus Sex Determination and Female Heterogamety in Willow Based on Linkage Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Fang, Lecheng; Li, Xiaoping; Yin, Tongming

    2016-01-01

    In this study, we constructed high-density genetic maps of Salix suchowensis and mapped the gender locus with an F1 pedigree. Genetic maps were separately constructed for the maternal and paternal parents by using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers and the pseudo-testcross strategy. The maternal map consisted of 20 linkage groups that spanned a genetic distance of 2333.3 cM; whereas the paternal map contained 21 linkage groups that covered 2260 cM. Based on the established genetic maps, it was found that the gender of willow was determined by a single locus on linkage group LG_03, and the female was the heterogametic gender. Aligned with mapped SSR markers, linkage group LG_03 was found to be associated with chromosome XV in willow. It is noteworthy that marker density in the vicinity of the gender locus was significantly higher than that expected by chance alone, which indicates severe recombination suppression around the gender locus. In conclusion, this study confirmed the findings on the single-locus sex determination and female heterogamety in willow. It also provided additional evidence that validated the previous studies, which found that different autosomes evolved into sex chromosomes between the sister genera of Salix (willow) and Populus (poplar). PMID:26828940

  10. Soil trace element changes during a phytoremediation trial with willows in southern Québec, Canada.

    PubMed

    Courchesne, François; Turmel, Marie-Claude; Cloutier-Hurteau, Benoît; Tremblay, Gilbert; Munro, Lara; Masse, Jacynthe; Labrecque, Michel

    2017-07-03

    This study determined the changes in trace elements (TE) (As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn) chemistry in the soils of a willow ("Fish Creek" - Salix purpurea, SV1 - Salix x dasyclados and SX67 - Salix miyabeana) plantation growing under a cold climate during a three-year trial. The soil HNO 3 -extractable and H 2 O-soluble TE concentrations and pools significantly decreased under most cultivars (Fish, SX67). Yet, TE changes showed inconsistent patterns and localized soil TE increases (Ni, Pb) were measured. Temporal changes in soil TE were also detected in control plots and sometimes exceeded changes in planted plots. Discrepancies existed between the amount of soil TE change and the amount of TE uptake by willows, except for Cd and Zn. Phytoremediation with willows could reduce soil Cd and Zn within a decadal timeframe indicating that they can be remediated by willows in moderately contaminated soils. However, the time needed to reduce soil As, Cu, Ni and Pb was too long to be efficient. We submit that soil leaching contributed to the TE decrease in controls and the TE discrepancies, and that the plantation could have secondary effects such as the accelerated leaching of soil TE.

  11. Metabolic responses of willow (Salix purpurea L.) leaves to mycorrhization as revealed by mass spectrometry and 1H NMR spectroscopy metabolite profiling

    PubMed Central

    Aliferis, Konstantinos A.; Chamoun, Rony; Jabaji, Suha

    2015-01-01

    The root system of most terrestrial plants form symbiotic interfaces with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which are important for nutrient cycling and ecosystem sustainability. The elucidation of the undergoing changes in plants' metabolism during symbiosis is essential for understanding nutrient acquisition and for alleviation of soil stresses caused by environmental cues. Within this context, we have undertaken the task of recording the fluctuation of willow (Salix purpurea L.) leaf metabolome in response to AMF inoculation. The development of an advanced metabolomics/bioinformatics protocol employing mass spectrometry (MS) and 1H NMR analyzers combined with the in-house-built metabolite library for willow (http://willowmetabolib.research.mcgill.ca/index.html) are key components of the research. Analyses revealed that AMF inoculation of willow causes up-regulation of various biosynthetic pathways, among others, those of flavonoid, isoflavonoid, phenylpropanoid, and the chlorophyll and porphyrin pathways, which have well-established roles in plant physiology and are related to resistance against environmental stresses. The recorded fluctuation in the willow leaf metabolism is very likely to provide AMF-inoculated willows with a significant advantage compared to non-inoculated ones when they are exposed to stresses such as, high levels of soil pollutants. The discovered biomarkers of willow response to AMF inoculation and corresponding pathways could be exploited in biomarker-assisted selection of willow cultivars with superior phytoremediation capacity or genetic engineering programs. PMID:26042135

  12. Seasonal Variation in the Hormone Content of Willow

    PubMed Central

    Alvim, Ronald; Thomas, Sheila; Saunders, Peter F.

    1978-01-01

    Levels of abscisic acid were followed in the xylem sap, mature leaves, and apices of field-grown willow (Salix viminalis L.) during the summer months, under natural and artificially extended photoperiods. Although the long day treatment prevented the general onset of dormancy, the plants grown under natural daylengths showed lower concentration of abscisic acid than those kept under long days. PMID:16660604

  13. Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Breeding Site and Territory Summary - 2007

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Durst, Scott L.; Sogge, Mark K.; Stump, Shay D.; Walker, Hira A.; Kus, Barbara E.; Sferra, Susan J.

    2008-01-01

    The Southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus; hereafter references to willow flycatcher and flycatcher refer to E.t. extimus, except where specifically noted) is an endangered bird that breeds only in dense riparian habitats in parts of six Southwestern states (Arizona, New Mexico, southern California, extreme southern Nevada, southern Utah, and southwestern Colorado). Since 1993, hundreds of Southwestern willow flycatcher surveys have been conducted each year, and many new flycatcher breeding sites located. This document synthesizes the most current information available on all known Southwestern willow flycatcher breeding sites. This rangewide data synthesis was designed to meet two objectives: (1) identify all known Southwestern willow flycatcher breeding sites and (2) assemble data to estimate population size, location, habitat, and other information for all breeding sites, for as many years as possible, from 1993 through 2007. This report provides data summaries in terms of the number of flycatcher sites and the number of territories. When interpreting and using this information, it must be kept in mind that a 'site' is a geographic location where one or more willow flycatchers establishes a territory. Sites with unpaired territorial males are considered breeding sites, even if no nesting attempts were documented. A site is often a discrete patch of riparian habitat but may also be a cluster of riparian patches; there is no standardized definition for site, and its use varies within and among states. For example, five occupied habitat patches along a 10-km stretch of river might be considered five different sites in one state but only a single site in another state. This lack of standardization makes comparisons based on site numbers problematic. Researchers for this report generally deferred to statewide summary documents or to local managers and researchers when delineating a site for inclusion in the database. However, to avoid inflating

  14. Recovering southwestern willow flycatcher populations will benefit riparian health

    Treesearch

    Deborah M. Finch

    1999-01-01

    When the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) listed the southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii exigua) as federally endangered in 1995, new incentives, controversies and energy were generated to conserve and restore southwestern riparian ecosystems. Close attention has been focused on river and stream conservation in the Southwest since at least 1977,...

  15. Responses of black willow ( Salix nigra) cuttings to simulated herbivory and flooding

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Shuwen; Martin, Lili T.; Pezeshki, S. Reza; Shields, F. Douglas

    2005-09-01

    Herbivory and flooding influence plant species composition and diversity in many wetland ecosystems. Black willow ( Salix nigra) naturally occurs in floodplains and riparian zones of the southeastern United States. Cuttings from this species are used as a bioengineering tool for streambank stabilization and habitat rehabilitation. The present study was conducted to evaluate the photosynthetic and growth responses of black willow to simulated herbivory and flooding. Potted cuttings were subjected to three levels of single-event herbivory: no herbivory (control), light herbivory, and heavy herbivory; and three levels of flooding conditions: no flooding (control), continuous flooding, and periodic flooding. Results indicated that elevated stomatal conductance partially contributed to the increased net photosynthesis noted under both levels of herbivory on day 30. However, chlorophyll content was not responsible for the observed compensatory photosynthesis. Cuttings subjected to heavy herbivory accumulated the lowest biomass even though they had the highest height growth by the conclusion of the experiment. In addition, a reduction in root/shoot ratio was noted for plants subjected to continuous flooding with no herbivory. However, continuously flooded, lightly clipped plants allocated more resources to roots than shoots. This study provides evidence that it is feasible to use black willow for habitat rehabilitation along highly eroded streambanks where both flooding and herbivory are present.

  16. Elucidating spatially explicit behavioral landscapes in the Willow Flycatcher

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bakian, Amanda V.; Sullivan, Kimberly A.; Paxton, Eben H.

    2012-01-01

    Animal resource selection is a complex, hierarchical decision-making process, yet resource selection studies often focus on the presence and absence of an animal rather than the animal's behavior at resource use locations. In this study, we investigate foraging and vocalization resource selection in a population of Willow Flycatchers, Empidonax traillii adastus, using Bayesian spatial generalized linear models. These models produce “behavioral landscapes” in which space use and resource selection is linked through behavior. Radio telemetry locations were collected from 35 adult Willow Flycatchers (n = 14 males, n = 13 females, and n = 8 unknown sex) over the 2003 and 2004 breeding seasons at Fish Creek, Utah. Results from the 2-stage modeling approach showed that habitat type, perch position, and distance from the arithmetic mean of the home range (in males) or nest site (in females) were important factors influencing foraging and vocalization resource selection. Parameter estimates from the individual-level models indicated high intraspecific variation in the use of the various habitat types and perch heights for foraging and vocalization. On the population level, Willow Flycatchers selected riparian habitat over other habitat types for vocalizing but used multiple habitat types for foraging including mountain shrub, young riparian, and upland forest. Mapping of observed and predicted foraging and vocalization resource selection indicated that the behavior often occurred in disparate areas of the home range. This suggests that multiple core areas may exist in the home ranges of individual flycatchers, and demonstrates that the behavioral landscape modeling approach can be applied to identify spatially and behaviorally distinct core areas. The behavioral landscape approach is applicable to a wide range of animal taxa and can be used to improve our understanding of the spatial context of behavior and resource selection.

  17. The potential of biomonitoring of air quality using leaf characteristics of white willow (Salix alba L.).

    PubMed

    Wuytack, Tatiana; Verheyen, Kris; Wuyts, Karen; Kardel, Fatemeh; Adriaenssens, Sandy; Samson, Roeland

    2010-12-01

    In this study, we assess the potential of white willow (Salix alba L.) as bioindicator for monitoring of air quality. Therefore, shoot biomass, specific leaf area, stomatal density, stomatal pore surface, and stomatal resistance were assessed from leaves of stem cuttings. The stem cuttings were introduced in two regions in Belgium with a relatively high and a relatively low level of air pollution, i.e., Antwerp city and Zoersel, respectively. In each of these regions, nine sampling points were selected. At each sampling point, three stem cuttings of white willow were planted in potting soil. Shoot biomass and specific leaf area were not significantly different between Antwerp city and Zoersel. Microclimatic differences between the sampling points may have been more important to plant growth than differences in air quality. However, stomatal pore surface and stomatal resistance of white willow were significantly different between Zoersel and Antwerp city. Stomatal pore surface was 20% lower in Antwerp city due to a significant reduction in both stomatal length (-11%) and stomatal width (-14%). Stomatal resistance at the adaxial leaf surface was 17% higher in Antwerp city because of the reduction in stomatal pore surface. Based on these results, we conclude that stomatal characteristics of white willow are potentially useful indicators for air quality.

  18. Spatial distribution of arsenic and heavy metals in willow roots from a contaminated floodplain soil measured by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy.

    PubMed

    Zimmer, Dana; Kruse, Jens; Baum, Christel; Borca, Camelia; Laue, Michael; Hause, Gerd; Meissner, Ralph; Leinweber, Peter

    2011-09-01

    Under changing redox conditions some plants create plaques at their root surface, which may affect the mobility and uptake of As and heavy metals but it is unknown to what extent this also holds true for willows in contaminated floodplain soils. Therefore, willow roots were sampled from a phytoremediation trial in the contaminated floodplain of the river Elbe (Germany), cryofixed, freeze-dried, and cross sections were mapped for the distribution of As, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mn, Ni, S and Zn by synchrotron based X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. The elements Ca, Cu, Ni, S and Zn were concentrated in the aerenchymatic tissue, and not associated with Fe and Mn. Mixed Fe-Mn plaques covered the surface of the willow roots and As was accumulated in these plaques. The observed association pattern between As and Fe was explained by the different sorption/desorption properties of As(III) and As(V). The Cu and Zn intensities were not associated with the intensity of Fe in the plaque, which seems to be a willow-specific difference compared to other wetland plants. These results suggested that willows are especially suited to stabilize low-phytoextractable elements like Cu and As in their roots and rhizosphere. Thus, short rotation coppicing of willows may be a practical approach to mitigate the adverse effects of floodplain soil contamination. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. A comparison of the suitability of different willow varieties to treat on-site wastewater effluent in an Irish climate.

    PubMed

    Curneen, S J; Gill, L W

    2014-01-15

    Short rotation coppiced willow trees can be used to treat on-site wastewater effluent with the advantage that, if planted in a sealed basin and sized correctly, they produce no effluent discharge. This paper has investigated the evapotranspiration rate of four different willow varieties while also monitoring the effects of three different effluent types on each variety. The willow varieties used are all cultivars of Salix viminalis. The effluents applied were primary (septic tank) effluent, secondary treated effluent and rain water (control). The results obtained showed that the addition of effluent had a positive effect on the evapotranspiration. The willows were also found to uptake a high proportion of the nitrogen and phosphorus from the primary and secondary treated effluents added during the first year. The effect of the different effluents on the evapotranspiration rate has been used to design ten full scale on-site treatment systems which are now being monitored. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Variation in copper and zinc tolerance and accumulation in 12 willow clones: implications for phytoextraction*

    PubMed Central

    Yang, Wei-dong; Wang, Yu-yan; Zhao, Feng-liang; Ding, Zhe-li; Zhang, Xin-cheng; Zhu, Zhi-qiang; Yang, Xiao-e

    2014-01-01

    Willows (Salix spp.) have shown high potential for the phytoextraction of heavy metals. This study compares variations in copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) tolerance and accumulation potential among 12 willow clones grown in a nutrient solution treated with 50 μmol/L of Cu or Zn, respectively. The results showed differences in the tolerance and accumulation of Cu and Zn with respect to different species/clones. The biomass variation among clones in response to Cu or Zn exposure ranged from the stimulation of growth to inhibition, and all of the clones tested showed higher tolerance to Cu than to Zn. The clones exhibited less variation in Cu accumulation but larger variation in Zn accumulation. Based on translocation factors, it was found that most of the Cu was retained in the roots and that Zn was more mobile than Cu for all clones. It is concluded that most willow clones are good accumulators of Zn and Cu. PMID:25183033

  1. Maturation of Acorns of Cherrybark, Water, and Willow Oaks

    Treesearch

    F. T. Bonner

    1974-01-01

    Acorns of cherrybark, water, and willow oaks grew slowly but steadily in July and August and reached maximum size in September, when fats and carbohydrates, the major storage foods, accumulated rapidly. At physiological maturity in late October or early November, crude fat levels were 15 to 20 percent of seed dry weight and carbohydrates totaled 25 percent.

  2. "The Wind in the Willows" and the Style of Romance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gill, R. B.

    2012-01-01

    The style of Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows" arises from an alternative vision and choice of values characteristic of romance. Romance seeks fulfillment beyond the consequences of everyday relationships and the constrictions of ordinary life. Causal relationships give way to lists of independent items, unmotivated outcomes, and…

  3. The Willow Microbiome Is Influenced by Soil Petroleum-Hydrocarbon Concentration with Plant Compartment-Specific Effects

    PubMed Central

    Tardif, Stacie; Yergeau, Étienne; Tremblay, Julien; Legendre, Pierre; Whyte, Lyle G.; Greer, Charles W.

    2016-01-01

    The interaction between plants and microorganisms, which is the driving force behind the decontamination of petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) contamination in phytoremediation technology, is poorly understood. Here, we aimed at characterizing the variations between plant compartments in the microbiome of two willow cultivars growing in contaminated soils. A field experiment was set-up at a former petrochemical plant in Canada and after two growing seasons, bulk soil, rhizosphere soil, roots, and stems samples of two willow cultivars (Salix purpurea cv. FishCreek, and Salix miyabeana cv. SX67) growing at three PHC contamination concentrations were taken. DNA was extracted and bacterial 16S rRNA gene and fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions were amplified and sequenced using an Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine (PGM). Following multivariate statistical analyses, the level of PHC-contamination appeared as the primary factor influencing the willow microbiome with compartment-specific effects, with significant differences between the responses of bacterial, and fungal communities. Increasing PHC contamination levels resulted in shifts in the microbiome composition, favoring putative hydrocarbon degraders, and microorganisms previously reported as associated with plant health. These shifts were less drastic in the rhizosphere, root, and stem tissues as compared to bulk soil, probably because the willows provided a more controlled environment, and thus, protected microbial communities against increasing contamination levels. Insights from this study will help to devise optimal plant microbiomes for increasing the efficiency of phytoremediation technology. PMID:27660624

  4. Differential effects of glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) on photosynthesis and chlorophyll metabolism in willow plants.

    PubMed

    Gomes, Marcelo Pedrosa; Le Manac'h, Sarah Gingras; Maccario, Sophie; Labrecque, Michel; Lucotte, Marc; Juneau, Philippe

    2016-06-01

    We used a willow species (Salix miyabeana cultivar SX64) to examine the differential secondary-effects of glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), the principal glyphosate by-product, on chlorophyll metabolism and photosynthesis. Willow plants were treated with different concentrations of glyphosate (equivalent to 0, 1.4, 2.1 and 2.8kgha(-1)) and AMPA (equivalent to 0, 0.28, 1.4 and 2.8kgha(-1)) and evaluations of pigment contents, chlorophyll fluorescence, and oxidative stress markers (hydrogen peroxide content and antioxidant enzyme activities) in leaves were performed after 12h of exposure. We observed that AMPA and glyphosate trigger different mechanisms leading to decreases in chlorophyll content and photosynthesis rates in willow plants. Both chemicals induced ROS accumulation in willow leaves although only glyphosate-induced oxidative damage through lipid peroxidation. By disturbing chlorophyll biosynthesis, AMPA induced decreases in chlorophyll contents, with consequent effects on photosynthesis. With glyphosate, ROS increases were higher than the ROS-sensitive threshold, provoking chlorophyll degradation (as seen by pheophytin accumulation) and invariable decreases in photosynthesis. Peroxide accumulation in both AMPA and glyphosate-treated plants was due to the inhibition of antioxidant enzyme activities. The different effects of glyphosate on chlorophyll contents and photosynthesis as described in the literature may be due to various glyphosate:AMPA ratios in those plants. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. A Natural History Summary and Survey Protocol for the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sogge, Mark K.; ,; Ahlers, Darrell; ,; Sferra, Susan J.; ,

    2010-01-01

    The Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) has been the subject of substantial research, monitoring, and management activity since it was listed as an endangered species in 1995. When proposed for listing in 1993, relatively little was known about the flycatcher's natural history, and there were only 30 known breeding sites supporting an estimated 111 territories rangewide (Sogge and others, 2003a). Since that time, thousands of presence/absences surveys have been conducted throughout the historical range of the flycatcher, and many studies of its natural history and ecology have been completed. As a result, the ecology of the flycatcher is much better understood than it was just over a decade ago. In addition, we have learned that the current status of the flycatcher is better than originally thought: as of 2007, the population was estimated at approximately 1,300 territories distributed among approximately 280 breeding sites (Durst and others, 2008a). Concern about the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher on a rangewide scale was brought to focus by Unitt (1987), who described declines in flycatcher abundance and distribution throughout the Southwest. E. t. extimus populations declined during the 20th century, primarily because of habitat loss and modification from activities, such as dam construction and operation, groundwater pumping, water diversions, and flood control. In 1991, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) designated the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher as a candidate category 1 species (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1991). In July 1993, the USFWS proposed to list E. t. extimus as an endangered species and to designate critical habitat under the Act (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1993). A final rule listing E. t. extimus as endangered was published in February 1995 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1995); critical habitat was designated in 1997 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1997). The USFWS Service released a Recovery Plan for

  6. Spatial distribution of galls caused by Aculus tetanothrix (Acari: Eriophyoidea) on arctic willows.

    PubMed

    Kuczyński, Lechosław; Skoracka, Anna

    2005-01-01

    The distribution of galls caused by Aculus tetanothrix (Acari: Eriophyoidea) on three Salix species was studied. The factors influencing this distribution were analysed, i.e. willow species, study area and shoot length. Spatial pattern of gall distribution within the shoot was also examined. The study was conducted in Russia, Kola Peninsula. Densities of galls caused by A. tetanothrix differed significantly among willow species. Considerably higher gall density was recorded in the White Sea coast than in the Khibiny Mountains. This may be explained by the influence of a milder maritime climate that favors mite occurrence compared to a harsh and variable mountain climate that limits mite abundance. There was no relationship between the gall density and the shoot length. The highest density of galls was recorded on the inner offshoots; within the offshoot, there was a maximum density on the fifth leaf. This pattern was repeatable for all shoots studied, independent of the study area, willow species and length of shoots, suggesting the optimal conditions for A. tetanothrix exist on leaves in the middle part of a shoot. This distribution pattern may be an effect of the trade-off between the costs and benefits resulting from leaf quality and mite movement along the shoot. This hypothesis, however, needs to be tested experimentally.

  7. DESIGNING AN OPPORTUNITY FUEL WITH BIOMASS AND TIRE-DERIVED FUEL FOR COFIRING AT WILLOW ISLAND GENERATING STATION

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    K. Payette; D. Tillman

    During the period January 1, 2001-March 31, 2001, Allegheny Energy Supply Co., LLC (Allegheny) finalized the engineering of the Willow Island cofiring project, completed the fuel characterizations for both the Willow Island and Albright Generating Station projects, and initiated construction of both projects. Allegheny and its contractor, Foster Wheeler, selected appropriate fuel blends and issued purchase orders for all processing and mechanical equipment to be installed at both sites. This report summarizes the activities associated with the Designer Opportunity Fuel program, and demonstrations at Willow Island and Albright Generating Stations. The third quarter of the project involved completing the detailedmore » designs for the Willow Island Designer Fuel project. It also included complete characterization of the coal and biomass fuels being burned, focusing upon the following characteristics: proximate and ultimate analysis; higher heating value; carbon 13 nuclear magnetic resonance testing for aromaticity, number of aromatic carbons per cluster, and the structural characteristics of oxygen in the fuel; drop tube reactor testing for high temperature devolatilization kinetics and generation of fuel chars; thermogravimetric analyses (TGA) for char oxidation kinetics; and related testing. The construction at both sites commenced during this quarter, and was largely completed at the Albright Generating Station site.« less

  8. Black willow tree improvement: development of a biomass species for marginal agricultural land in the lower Mississippi alluvial valley

    Treesearch

    Rochelle Brazas Bailey; Randall J. Rousseau; Emile Gardiner; Jason C. Mack

    2014-01-01

    Short rotation woody crops, such as willows (Salix spp.), continue to be examined as biomass species because of their fast growth, ease of vegetative propagation, and ability to be coppice regenerated. Black willow (Salix nigra Marsh.) fits well into a biomass program for the southern United States because of its ability to grow on...

  9. Geologic associations of Arizona willow in the White Mountains, Arizona

    Treesearch

    Jonathan W. Long; Alvin L. Medina

    2007-01-01

    The Arizona willow (Salix arizonica Dorn) is a rare species growing in isolated populations at the margins of the Colorado Plateau. Although its habitat in the White Mountains of Arizona has been mischaracterized as basaltic, the area is actually a complex mixture of felsic, basaltic and epiclastic formations. Comparing the distribution of the...

  10. Temporal and spatial variation of hematozoans in Scandinavian willow warblers.

    PubMed

    Bensch, Staffan; Akesson, Susanne

    2003-04-01

    We examined temporal and geographical distribution of Haemoproteus sp. and Plasmodium sp. parasites in Swedish willow warblers, Phylloscopus trochilus. Parasite lineages were detected with molecular methods in 556 birds from 41 sites distributed at distances up to 1,500 km. Two mitochondrial lineages of Haemoproteus sp. were detected, WW1 in 56 birds and WW2 in 75 birds, that differed by 5.2% sequence divergence. We discuss the reasons behind the observed pattern of variation and identify 3 possible causes: (1) variation in the geographic distribution of the vector species, (2) the degree of parasite sharing with other bird species coexisting with the willow warbler, and (3) timing of transmission. Our results support a fundamental and rarely tested assumption of the now classical Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis of sexual selection, namely, that these parasites vary in both time and space. Such fluctuations of parasites and the selection pressure they supposedly impose on the host population are likely to maintain variation in immune system genes in the host population.

  11. Status and migration of the Southwestern willow flycatcher in New Mexico

    Treesearch

    Deborah M. Finch; Jeffrey F. Kelly

    1999-01-01

    In the Southwestern United States, recent degradation of riparian habitats has been linked to decline of the Southwestern subspecies of the Willow Flycatcher. During a 2-year banding effort, migration patterns and bird fat content were analyzed. Recommendations for managers, and outlines for conservation plans, are included.

  12. 76 FR 1511 - Amendment of Class D Airspace; Fort Worth NAS JRB (Carswell Field), TX

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-01-11

    ... navigation aids, at the request of the U.S. Navy, that are listed in the description. This action does not...) Class D airspace, Fort Worth, TX, and the navigation aids, to coincide with the FAAs Aeronautical...

  13. Migration of the Willow Flycatcher along the Middle Rio Grande

    Treesearch

    Wang Yong; Deborah M. Finch

    1997-01-01

    We studied timing, abundance, subspecies composition, fat stores, stopover length, and habitat use of Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii) during spring and fall stopover along the Middle Rio Grande, New Mexico. Spring migration started in mid-May and lasted about a month. Fall migration started in early-August and also lasted about a month. The most abundant...

  14. Weight distribution in the current annual twigs of barclay willow.

    Treesearch

    John F. Thilenius

    1988-01-01

    The current annual twigs of unbrowsed Barclay willow (Salix barclayi Anderss.) grow as gently tapering cylinders. Consequently, the distal half of the twig has only 33 to 41 percent of the total weight. Longer twigs have proportionally less weight in the distal end. The total weight of an unbrowsed twig can be estimated by simple regression of...

  15. Integrating a Numerical Taxonomic Method and Molecular Phylogeny for Species Delimitation of Melampsora Species (Melampsoraceae, Pucciniales) on Willows in China

    PubMed Central

    Zhao, Peng; Wang, Qing-Hong; Tian, Cheng-Ming; Kakishima, Makoto

    2015-01-01

    The species in genus Melampsora are the causal agents of leaf rust diseases on willows in natural habitats and plantations. However, the classification and recognition of species diversity are challenging because morphological characteristics are scant and morphological variation in Melampsora on willows has not been thoroughly evaluated. Thus, the taxonomy of Melampsora species on willows remains confused, especially in China where 31 species were reported based on either European or Japanese taxonomic systems. To clarify the species boundaries of Melampsora species on willows in China, we tested two approaches for species delimitation inferred from morphological and molecular variations. Morphological species boundaries were determined based on numerical taxonomic analyses of morphological characteristics in the uredinial and telial stages by cluster analysis and one-way analysis of variance. Phylogenetic species boundaries were delineated based on the generalized mixed Yule-coalescent (GMYC) model analysis of the sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS1 and ITS2) regions including the 5.8S and D1/D2 regions of the large nuclear subunit of the ribosomal RNA gene. Numerical taxonomic analyses of 14 morphological characteristics recognized in the uredinial-telial stages revealed 22 morphological species, whereas the GMYC results recovered 29 phylogenetic species. In total, 17 morphological species were in concordance with the phylogenetic species and 5 morphological species were in concordance with 12 phylogenetic species. Both the morphological and molecular data supported 14 morphological characteristics, including 5 newly recognized characteristics and 9 traditionally emphasized characteristics, as effective for the differentiation of Melampsora species on willows in China. Based on the concordance and discordance of the two species delimitation approaches, we concluded that integrative taxonomy by using both morphological and molecular variations was

  16. Environmental life cycle assessment of producing willow, alfalfa and straw from spring barley as feedstocks for bioenergy or biorefinery systems.

    PubMed

    Parajuli, Ranjan; Knudsen, Marie Trydeman; Djomo, Sylvestre Njakou; Corona, Andrea; Birkved, Morten; Dalgaard, Tommy

    2017-05-15

    The current study aimed at evaluating potential environmental impacts for the production of willow, alfalfa and straw from spring barley as feedstocks for bioenergy or biorefinery systems. A method of Life Cycle Assessment was used to evaluate based on the following impact categories: Global Warming Potential (GWP 100 ), Eutrophication Potential (EP), Non-Renewable Energy (NRE) use, Agricultural Land Occupation (ALO), Potential Freshwater Ecotoxicity (PFWTox) and Soil quality. With regard to the methods, soil organic carbon (SOC) change related to the land occupation was calculated based on the net carbon input to the soil. Freshwater ecotoxicity was calculated using the comparative toxicity units of the active ingredients and their average emission distribution fractions to air and freshwater. Soil quality was based on the change in the SOC stock estimated during the land use transformation and land occupation. Environmental impacts for straw were economically allocated from the impacts obtained for spring barley. The results obtained per ton dry matter showed a lower carbon footprint for willow and alfalfa compared to straw. It was due to higher soil carbon sequestration and lower N 2 O emissions. Likewise, willow and alfalfa had lower EP than straw. Straw had lowest NRE use compared to other biomasses. PFWTox was lower in willow and alfalfa compared to straw. A critical negative effect on soil quality was found with the spring barley production and hence for straw. Based on the energy output to input ratio, willow performed better than other biomasses. On the basis of carbohydrate content of straw, the equivalent dry matter of alfalfa and willow would be requiring higher. The environmental impacts of the selected biomasses in biorefinery therefore would differ based on the conversion efficiency, e.g. of the carbohydrates in the related biorefinery processes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Genetic variation in the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Busch, Joseph; Miller, Mark P.; Paxton, E.H.; Sogge, M.K.; Keim, Paul

    2000-01-01

    The Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) is an endangered Neotropical migrant that breeds in isolated remnants of dense riparian habitat in the southwestern United States. We estimated genetic variation at 20 breeding sites of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (290 individuals) using 38 amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs). Our results suggest that considerable genetic diversity exists within the subspecies and within local breeding sites. Statistical analyses of genetic variation revealed only slight, although significant, differentiation among breeding sites (Mantel's r = 0.0705, P < 0.0005; θ = 0.0816, 95% CI = 0.0608 to 0.1034; ΦST = 0.0458, P < 0.001). UPGMA cluster analysis of the AFLP markers indicates that extensive gene flow has occurred among breeding sites. No one site stood out as being genetically unique or isolated. Therefore, the small level of genetic structure that we detected may not be biologically significant. Ongoing field studies are consistent with this conclusion. Of the banded birds that were resighted or recaptured in Arizona during the 1996 to 1998 breeding seasons, one-third moved between breeding sites and two-thirds were philopatric. Low differentiation may be the result of historically high rangewide diversity followed by recent geographic isolation of breeding sites, although observational data indicate that gene flow is a current phenomenon. Our data suggest that breeding groups of E. t. extimus act as a metapopulation.

  18. Subsurface occurrence and potential source areas of chlorinated ethenes identified using concentrations and concentration ratios, Air Force Plant 4 and Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base Carswell Field, Fort Worth, Texas

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Garcia, C. Amanda

    2005-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center, Environmental Management Directorate, conducted a study during 2003-05 to characterize the subsurface occurrence and identify potential source areas of the volatile organic compounds classified as chlorinated ethenes at U.S. Air Force Plant 4 (AFP4) and adjacent Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base Carswell Field (NAS-JRB) at Fort Worth, Texas. The solubilized chlorinated ethenes detected in the alluvial aquifer originated as either released solvents (tetrachloroethene [PCE], trichloroethene [TCE], and trans-1,2-dichloroethene [trans-DCE]) or degradation products of the released solvents (TCE, cis-1,2-dichloroethene [cis-DCE], and trans-DCE). The combined influences of topographic- and bedrock-surface configurations result in a water table that generally slopes away from a ground-water divide approximately coincident with bedrock highs and the 1-mile-long aircraft assembly building at AFP4. Highest TCE concentrations (10,000 to 920,000 micrograms per liter) occur near Building 181, west of Building 12, and at landfill 3. Highest PCE concentrations (500 to 920 micrograms per liter) occur near Buildings 4 and 5. Highest cis-DCE concentrations (5,000 to 710,000 micrograms per liter) occur at landfill 3. Highest trans-DCE concentrations (1,000 to 1,700 micrograms per liter) occur just south of Building 181 and at landfill 3. Ratios of parent-compound to daughter-product concentrations that increase in relatively short distances (tens to 100s of feet) along downgradient ground-water flow paths can indicate a contributing source in the vicinity of the increase. Largest increases in ratio of PCE to TCE concentrations are three orders of magnitude from 0.01 to 2.7 and 7.1 between nearby wells in the northeastern part of NAS-JRB. In the northern part of NAS-JRB, the largest increases in TCE to total DCE concentration ratios relative to ratios at upgradient wells are from 17 to

  19. Influence of flooding duration on the biomass growth of alder and willow.

    Treesearch

    Lewis F. Ohmann; M. Dean Knighton; Ronald McRoberts

    1990-01-01

    Simple second-order (quadratic) polynomials were used to model the relationship between 3-year biomass increase (net ovendry weight in grams) and flooding duration (days) for four combinations of shrub type (alder, willow) and soils type (fine-sand, clay-loam).

  20. Establishment, sex structure and breeding system of an exotic riparian willow, Salix X rubens

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Shafroth, Patrick B.; Scott, Michael L.; Friedman, Jonathan M.; Laven, Richard D.

    1994-01-01

    Several Eurasian tree willows (Salix spp.) have become naturalized in riparian areas outside of their native range. Salix x rubens is a Eurasian willow that is conspicuous along streams in the high plains of Colorado. We examined establishment of seedlings and cuttings, the sex structure and the breeding system of S. x rubens. An experiment was conducted on establishment and growth of seedlings and cuttings under a range of hydrologic conditions. Seedlings became established under all conditions except when flooded, although many fewer seedlings became established where soil surface conditions were relatively dry. Cuttings became established under all experimental conditions, but most frequently where soil moisture was highest. The sex structure of S. x rubens was determined along several streams in the Colorado high plains. Of 2175 trees surveyed, >99% (2172) were female. Salix x rubens produce viable seed apparently as a result of hybridization with another Eurasian willow, S. alba var. vitellina. Salix x rubens often reproduces vegetatively, which, combined with low hybrid seedling survival in the field, may explain the unusual sex structure. Salix x rubens will likely continue to spread vegetatively in high plains riparian areas, and the potential for spread through hybridization could increase if males of compatible Salix spp. are planted near extant S. x rubens.

  1. Polymorphism and Divergence in Two Willow Species, Salix viminalis L. and Salix schwerinii E. Wolf

    PubMed Central

    Berlin, Sofia; Fogelqvist, Johan; Lascoux, Martin; Lagercrantz, Ulf; Rönnberg-Wästljung, Ann Christin

    2011-01-01

    We investigated species divergence, present and past gene flow, levels of nucleotide polymorphism, and linkage disequilibrium in two willows from the plant genus Salix. Salix belongs together with Populus to the Salicaceae family; however, most population genetic studies of Salicaceae have been performed in Populus, the model genus in forest biology. Here we present a study on two closely related willow species Salix viminalis and S. schwerinii, in which we have resequenced 33 and 32 nuclear gene segments representing parts of 18 nuclear loci in 24 individuals for each species. We used coalescent simulations and estimated the split time to around 600,000 years ago and found that there is currently limited gene flow between the species. Mean intronic nucleotide diversity across gene segments was slightly higher in S. schwerinii (πi = 0.00849) than in S. viminalis (πi = 0.00655). Compared with other angiosperm trees, the two willows harbor intermediate levels of silent polymorphisms. The decay of linkage disequilibrium was slower in S. viminalis compared with S. schwerinii, and we speculate that this is due to different demographic histories as S. viminalis has been partly domesticated in Europe. PMID:22384349

  2. The Study of Interactions between Active Compounds of Coffee and Willow (Salix sp.) Bark Water Extract

    PubMed Central

    Durak, Agata; Gawlik-Dziki, Urszula

    2014-01-01

    Coffee and willow are known as valuable sources of biologically active phytochemicals such as chlorogenic acid, caffeine, and salicin. The aim of the study was to determine the interactions between the active compounds contained in water extracts from coffee and bark of willow (Salix purpurea and Salix myrsinifolia). Raw materials and their mixtures were characterized by multidirectional antioxidant activities; however, bioactive constituents interacted with each other. Synergism was observed for ability of inhibition of lipid peroxidation and reducing power, whereas compounds able to scavenge ABTS radical cation acted antagonistically. Additionally, phytochemicals from willow bark possessed hydrophilic character and thermostability which justifies their potential use as an ingredient in coffee beverages. Proposed mixtures may be used in the prophylaxis or treatment of some civilization diseases linked with oxidative stress. Most importantly, strong synergism observed for phytochemicals able to prevent lipids against oxidation may suggest protective effect for cell membrane phospholipids. Obtained results indicate that extracts from bark tested Salix genotypes as an ingredient in coffee beverages can provide health promoting benefits to the consumers; however, this issue requires further study. PMID:25013777

  3. Phytochemical and physical-chemical analysis of Polish willow (Salix spp.) honey: identification of the marker compounds.

    PubMed

    Jerković, Igor; Kuś, Piotr Marek; Tuberoso, Carlo Ignazio Giovanni; Šarolić, Mladenka

    2014-02-15

    The case study of Polish Salix spp. honey was compared with published data on willow honey from other regions. GC-FID/MS (after HS-SPME and ultrasonic solvent extraction) and targeted HPLC-DAD were applied. Phenolic content, FRAP/DPPH assays and the colour coordinates were determined spectrophotometrically. Beside ubiquitous linalool derivatives, borneol (up to 10.9%), bicyclic monoterpenes with pinane skeleton (pinocarvone up to 10.6%, myrtenal up to 4.8% and verbenone up to 3.4%) and trans-β-damascenone (up to 13.0%) dominated in the headspace. The main compounds of the extractives were vomifoliol (up to 39.6%) and methyl syringate (up to 16.5%) along with not common 4-hydroxy-3-(1-methylethyl)benzaldehyde (up to 11.1%). Abscisic acid (ABA) was found (up to 53.7 mg/kg) with the isomeric ratio (Z,E)-ABA:(E,E)-ABA=1:2. The honey exhibited low antioxidant potential with pale yellow colour. The composition of Polish willow honey is similar to Mediterranean willow honeys with several relevant differences. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Effects of hot water extraction pretreatment on pyrolysis of shrub willow

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Treatment of biomass via hot water extraction (HWE) reduces the amount of hemicellulose and ash in the biomass resulting in a concentration of cellulose and lignin content. In this study, we tested the effect of HWE as a biomass pretreatment on the pyrolysis of shrub willow via both conventional he...

  5. AmeriFlux US-WCr Willow Creek

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Desai, Ankur

    This is the AmeriFlux version of the carbon flux data for the site US-WCr Willow Creek. Site Description - Upland decduous broadleaf forest. Mainly sugar maple, also basswood. Uniform stand atop a very modest hill. Clearcut approximately 80 years ago. Chosen to be representative of the upland deciduous broadleaf forests within the WLEF tall tower flux footprint. It appears to be more heavily forested and more productive than most of the upland deciduous broadleaf forests in the WLEF flux footprint (see publications for more details). It is also important that SE winds are screened from the flux data (see Cookmore » et al, 2004 for details). Propane generator power.« less

  6. Epicormic branches affect lumber grade and value in willow oak

    Treesearch

    James S. Meadows; E.C. Burkhardt

    2001-01-01

    A case study was conducted in a 50-yr-old bottomland oak stand in central Alabama to investigate the relationship between epicormic branches and lumber grade and value in willow oak (Quercus phellos L.). The stand had been thinned from below 7–10 yr earlier, resulting in a wide variety of epicormic branch conditions on the residual trees. A...

  7. Phytoextraction of heavy metals by willows growing in biosolids under field conditions.

    PubMed

    Laidlaw, W S; Arndt, S K; Huynh, T T; Gregory, D; Baker, A J M

    2012-01-01

    Biosolids produced by sewage treatment facilities can exceed guideline thresholds for contaminant elements. Phytoextraction is one technique with the potential to reduce these elements allowing reuse of the biosolids as a soil amendment. In this field trial, cuttings of seven species/cultivars of Salix(willows) were planted directly into soil and into biosolids to identify their suitability for decontaminating biosolids. Trees were irrigated and harvested each year for three consecutive years. Harvested biomass was weighed and analyzed for the contaminant elements: As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Hg, Pb, Ni, and Zn. All Salix cultivars, except S. chilensis, growing in soils produced 10 to 20 t ha(-1) of biomass, whereas most Salix cultivars growing in biosolids produced significantly less biomass (<6 t ha(-1)). Salix matsudana (30 t ha(-1)) and S. × reichardtii A. Kerner (18 t ha(-1)) had similar aboveground biomass production in both soil and biosolids. These were also the most successful cultivars in extracting metals from biosolids, driven by superior biomass increases and not high tissue concentrations. The willows were effectual in extracting the most soluble/exchangeable metals (Cd, 0.18; Ni, 0.40; and Zn, 11.66 kg ha(-1)), whereas Cr and Cu were extracted to a lesser degree (0.02 and 0.11 kg ha(-1)). Low bioavailable elements, As, Hg, and Pb, were not detectable in any of the aboveground biomass of the willows. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

  8. Growth response of speckled alder and willow to depth of flooding

    Treesearch

    M. Dean Knighton

    1981-01-01

    Growth and survival of speckled alder and willow were determined for two growing seasons with continuous flooding at different depths. Growth was at least four times greater when the water table was below the root crown than when it was 15 cm above. Mortality increased with flooding depth and as greatest for alder.

  9. Conversion from cropland to short rotation coppice willow and poplar: Accumulation of soil organic carbon

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Georgiadis, Petros; Stupak, Inge; Vesterdal, Lars; Raulund-Rasmussen, Karsten

    2015-04-01

    Increased demand for bioenergy has intensified the production of Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) willow and poplar in temperate zones. We used a combined chronosequence and paired plot approach to study the potential of SRC willow and poplar stands to increase the soil carbon stock compared to stocks of the previous arable land-use. The study focused on well-drained soils. We sampled soil from 30 SRC stands in Denmark and southern Sweden including soils from their adjacent arable fields. The 18 willow and 12 poplar stands formed a chronosequence ranging between 4 and 29 years after conversion. The soil was sampled both with soil cores taken by fixed depths of 0-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-25, and 25-40 cm and by genetic horizons from soil pits to 1m depth. The aim of the study was to estimate the difference and the ratio between soil carbon contents of the SRC and annual crop land and analyze the results as a chronosequence to examine the effect of age after conversion on the difference. Covariates such as soil type, fertilization type and harvest frequency were also taken into account. Preliminary results suggest an overall increase in carbon stocks over time with average accumulation rates ranging from 0.25 to 0.4 Mg ha-1 yr-1 in willow and poplar stands. Poplar stands had higher rates of C gain, probably due to less frequent harvesting. The differences in carbon between the SRC and the paired cropland were initially negative but changed to positive over time, implying loss of carbon after conversion and a later gain in soil carbon with stand age. Pairwise differences ranged from -25 Mg C ha-1 to 37 Mg C ha-1 for the top 40 cm. The carbon stock ratio of the SRC stand to the arable land was estimated to minimize the effect of site-related factors. The results of this analysis suggested that the ratio increased significantly with age after conversion for the top 10 cm of the soil, both for poplar and willow. A slight increase with age was also noticed at the deeper depths, but

  10. NAS: The first year

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bailey, F. R.; Kutler, Paul

    1988-01-01

    Discussed are the capabilities of NASA's Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation (NAS) Program and its application as an advanced supercomputing system for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) research. First, the paper describes the NAS computational system, called the NAS Processing System Network, and the advanced computational capabilities it offers as a consequence of carrying out the NAS pathfinder objective. Second, it presents examples of pioneering CFD research accomplished during NAS's first operational year. Examples are included which illustrate CFD applications for predicting fluid phenomena, complementing and supplementing experimentation, and aiding in design. Finally, pacing elements and future directions for CFD and NAS are discussed.

  11. History of late Holocene earthquakes at the Willow Creek site on the Nephi segment, Wasatch fault zone, Utah

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Crone, Anthony J.; Personius, Stephen F.; Duross, Christopher; Machette, Michael N.; Mahan, Shannon

    2014-01-01

    This 43-page report presents new data from the Willow Creek site that provides well-defined and narrow bounds on the times of the three youngest earthquakes on the southern strand of the Nephi segment, Wasatch Fault zone, and refines the time of the youngest earthquake to about 200 years ago. This is the youngest surface rupture on the entire Wasatch fault zone, which occurred about a century or less before European settles arrived in Utah. Two trenches at the Willow Creek site exposed three scarp-derived colluvial wedges that are evidence of three paleoearthquakes. OxCal modeling of ages from Willow Creek indicate that paleoearthquake WC1 occurred at 0.2 ± 0.1 ka, WC2 occurred at 1.2 ± 0.1 ka, and WC3 occurred at 1.9 ± 0.6 ka. Stratigraphic constraints on the time of paleoearthquake WC4 are extremely poor, so OxCal modeling only yields a broadly constrained age of 4.7 ± 1.8 ka. Results from the Willow Creek site significantly refine the times of late Holocene earthquakes on the Southern strand of the Nephi segment, and this result, when combined with a reanalysis of the stratigraphic and chronologic information from previous investigations at North Creek and Red Canyon, yield a stronger basis of correlating individual earthquakes between all three sites.

  12. 76 FR 44602 - Notice of Temporary Closure of Roads and Trails on Public Lands Adjacent to Big Willow Creek in...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-07-26

    ... 4500020817] Notice of Temporary Closure of Roads and Trails on Public Lands Adjacent to Big Willow Creek in.... SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Big Willow closure to motorized vehicle use is in effect on.... 5, lot 4; Sec. 6, all; Sec. 7, lot 1, portions of the NW\\1/4\\NE\\1/4\\ and NE\\1/4\\NW\\1/4\\ north and...

  13. Clonal variation in survival and growth of hybrid poplar and willow in an in situ trial on soils heavily contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons

    Treesearch

    Ronald S., Jr. Zalesny; Edmund O. Bauer; Richard B. Hall; Jill A. Zalesny; Joshua Kunzman; Chris J. Rog; Don E. Riemenschneider

    2005-01-01

    Species and hybrids between species belonging to the genera Populus (poplar) and Salix (willow) have been used successfully for phytoremediation of contaminated soils. Our objectives were to: 1) evaluate the potential for establishing genotypes of poplar and willow on soils heavily contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons and 2)...

  14. The Caring Business: Lynch Community Homes, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. A Case Study.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bogdan, Robert

    This paper, one of a series of reports describing innovative practices in integrating people with disabilities into community life, describes the Lynch Community Homes in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. Lynch Homes is a for-profit organization that provides homes and supportive services for approximately 75 people with severe and profound…

  15. Crown size relationships for black willow in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley

    Treesearch

    Jamie L. Schuler; Bradley Woods; Joshua Adams; Ray Souter

    2015-01-01

    Growing space requirements derived from maximum and minimum crown sizes have been identified for many southern hardwood species. These requirements help managers assess stocking levels, schedule intermediate treatments, and even assist in determining planting densities. Throughout the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, black willow (Salix nigra Marsh.) stands are common...

  16. Effect of available nitrogen on phytoavailability and bioaccumulation of hexavalent and trivalent chromium in hankow willows (Salix matsudana Koidz).

    PubMed

    Yu, Xiao-Zhang; Gu, Ji-Dong

    2008-06-01

    The effect of available nitrogen in nutrient solution on removal of two chemical forms of chromium (Cr) by plants was investigated. Pre-rooted hankow willows (Salix matsudana Koidz) were grown in a hydroponic solution system with or without nitrogen, and amended with hexavalent chromium [Cr (VI)] or trivalent chromium [Cr (III)] at 25.0+/-0.5 degrees C for 192 h. The results revealed that higher removal of Cr by plants was achieved from the hydroponic solutions without any nitrogen than those containing nitrogen. Although faster removal of Cr (VI) than Cr (III) was observed, translocation of Cr (III) within plant materials was more efficient than Cr (VI). Substantial difference existed in the distribution of Cr in different parts of plant tissues due to the nitrogen in nutrient solutions (p<0.05): lower stems were the major sink for both Cr species in willows grown in the N-free nutrient solutions and more Cr was accumulated in the roots of plants in N-containing ones. No significant difference was found in the removal rate of Cr (VI) between willows grown in the N-free and N-containing solutions (p>0.05). Removal rates of Cr (III) decreased linearly with the strength of nutrient solutions with or without N addition (p<0.01). Translocation efficiencies of both Cr species increased proportionally with the strength of N-containing nutrient solutions and decreased with the strength of N-free nutrient solutions. Results suggest that uptake and translocation mechanisms of Cr (VI) and Cr (III) are apparently different in hankow willows. The presence of easily available nitrogen and other nutrient elements in the nutrient solutions had a more pronounced influence on the uptake of Cr (III) than Cr (VI). Nitrogen availability and quantities in the ambient environment will affect the translocation of both Cr species and their distribution in willows in phytoremediation.

  17. Extracellular enzyme activity in a willow sewage treatment system.

    PubMed

    Brzezinska, Maria Swiontek; Lalke-Porczyk, Elżbieta; Kalwasińska, Agnieszka

    2012-12-01

    This paper presents the results of studies on the activity of extra-cellular enzymes in soil-willow vegetation filter soil which is used in the post-treatment of household sewage in an onsite wastewater treatment system located in central Poland. Wastewater is discharged from the detached house by gravity into the onsite wastewater treatment system. It flows through a connecting pipe into a single-chamber septic tank and is directed by the connecting pipe to a control well to be further channelled in the soil-willow filter by means of a subsurface leaching system. Soil samples for the studies were collected from two depths of 5 cm and 1 m from three plots: close to the wastewater inflow, at mid-length of the plot and close to its terminal part. Soil samples were collected from May to October 2009. The activity of the extra-cellular enzymes was assayed by the fluorometric method using 4-methylumbelliferyl and 7-amido-4-methylcoumarin substrate. The ranking of potential activity of the assayed enzymes was the same at 5 cm and 1 m soil depths, i.e. esterase > phosphmomoesterase > leucine-aminopeptidase > β-glucosidase > α-glucosidase. The highest values of enzymatic activity were recorded in the surface layer of the soil at the wastewater inflow and decreased with increasing distance from that point.

  18. Riverbank restoration in the southern United States: The effects of soil texture and moisture regime on survival and growth of willow posts

    Treesearch

    S. Reza Pezeshki; Steven D. Schaff; F. Douglas Shields

    2000-01-01

    Field studies were conducted to quantify the relationship between soil conditions and growth of black willow posts planted for riverbank erosion control along Harland Creek (HC) and Twentymile Creek (TC) sites in Mississippi. Both sites had a wide range of soil texture and moisture regimes. Soil texture, water level, redox potential (Eh), and willow survival and growth...

  19. Evaluating growth effects from an imidacloprid treatment in black willow and eastern cottonwood cuttings

    Treesearch

    Luciano de Sene Fernandes; Ray A. Souter; Theodor D. Leininger

    2015-01-01

    Black willow (Salix nigra Marsh.) and eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides Bartram ex Marsh.), two species native in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, have importance in short rotation woody crop (SRWC) systems for biomass production (Ruark 2006).

  20. Simulation of rain floods on Willow Creek, Valley County, Montana

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Parrett, Charles

    1986-01-01

    The Hydrologic Engineering Center-1 rainfall-runoff simulation model was used to assess the effects of a system of reservoirs and waterspreaders in the 550-sq mi Willow Creek Basin in northeastern Montana. For simulation purposes, the basin was subdivided into 100 subbasins containing 84 reservoirs and 14 waterspreaders. Precipitation input to the model was a 24-hr duration, 100-yr frequency synthetic rainstorm developed from National Weather Service data. Infiltration and detention losses were computed using the U.S. Soil Conservation Service Curve Number concept, and the dimensionless unit hydrograph developed by the U.S. Soil Conservation Service was used to compute runoff. Channel and reservoir flow routing was based on the modified Puls storage routing procedure. Waterspreaders were simulated by assuming that each dike in a spreader system functions as a reservoir, with only an emergency spillway discharging directly into the next dike. Waterspreader and reservoir volumes were calculated from surface areas measured on maps. The first simulation run was made with no structures in place, and resulted in a 100-yr frequency peak at the mouth of Willow Creek of 22,700 cu ft/sec. With all structures in place, the 100-yr frequency peak was decreased by 74% to 5,870 cu ft/sec. (USGS)

  1. Effects of a willow overstory on planted seedlings in a bottomland restoration

    Treesearch

    C. J. Dulohery; Randy K. Kolka; M. R. McKevlin

    2000-01-01

    Four bottomland tree species (green ash, bald cypress, water tupelo, and swamp chestnut oak) were planted under four levels of willow canopy (intact canopy, 60% thinned with herbicide, complete control with herbicide, and complete mechanical removal plus control with herbicide). Through age 5, species selection rather than canopy control treatment was the dominant...

  2. Single locus sex determination and female heterogamety in the basket willow (Salix viminalis L.).

    PubMed

    Pucholt, P; Rönnberg-Wästljung, A-C; Berlin, S

    2015-06-01

    Most eukaryotes reproduce sexually and a wealth of different sex determination mechanisms have evolved in this lineage. Dioecy or separate sexes are rare among flowering plants but have repeatedly evolved from hermaphroditic ancestors possibly involving male or female sterility mutations. Willows (Salix spp.) and poplars (Populus spp.) are predominantly dioecious and are members of the Salicaceae family. All studied poplars have sex determination loci on chromosome XIX, however, the position differs among species and both male and female heterogametic system exists. In contrast to the situation in poplars, knowledge of sex determination mechanisms in willows is sparse. In the present study, we have for the first time positioned the sex determination locus on chromosome XV in S. viminalis using quantitative trait locus mapping. All female offspring carried a maternally inherited haplotype, suggesting a system of female heterogamety or ZW. We used a comparative mapping approach and compared the positions of the markers between the S. viminalis linkage map and the physical maps of S. purpurea, S. suchowensis and P. trichocarpa. As we found no evidence for chromosomal rearrangements between chromosome XV and XIX between S. viminalis and P. trichocarpa, it shows that the sex determination loci in the willow and the poplar most likely do not share a common origin and has thus evolved separately. This demonstrates that sex determination mechanisms in the Salicaceae family have a high turnover rate and as such it is excellent for studies of evolutionary processes involved in sex chromosome turnover.

  3. Environmental assessment of energy production based on long term commercial willow plantations in Sweden.

    PubMed

    González-García, Sara; Mola-Yudego, Blas; Dimitriou, Ioannis; Aronsson, Pär; Murphy, Richard

    2012-04-01

    The present paper analyzed the environmental assessment of short rotation willow plantations in Sweden based on the standard framework of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) from the International Standards Organisation. The analysis is focused on two alternative management regimes for willow plantations dedicated to biomass production for energy purposes. The data used included the averages of a large sample of commercial plantations. One of the scenarios is carried out under nitrogen based fertilized conditions and the other under non-fertilized management with total biomass yields (dry weight) of 140t/ha and 86t/ha over a 21 and 22-year life time respectively. The environmental profile was analyzed in terms of the potentials for abiotic depletion, acidification, eutrophication, global warming, ozone layer depletion, photochemical oxidant formation, human toxicity, fresh water aquatic ecotoxicity, marine aquatic ecotoxicity and terrestrial ecotoxicity. In addition, an energy analysis was performed using the cumulative energy demand method (CED). The application of nitrogen based fertilizers allows an increase in the biomass yield per ha of up to 40% although the contributions to almost all impact categories, particularly the eutrophication potential and toxicity potential impact categories are also considerably higher. Conversely, due to the higher biomass yields achieved with fertilization of these willow plantations, that regime presents a better overall environmental profile in terms of energy yield and global warming potential. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Nestling sex ratio in the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Paxton, E.H.; Sogge, M.K.; McCarthey, T.D.; Keim, P.

    2002-01-01

    Using molecular-genetic techniques, we determined the gender of 202 Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) nestlings from 95 nests sampled over a five-year period. Overall nestling sex ratio did not vary significantly from 50:50 among years, by clutch order, or by mating strategy (monogamous vs. polygamous pairings). However, we did observe significant differences among the four sites sampled, with sex ratios biased either toward males or females at the different sites. Given the small population sizes and geographic isolation of many of the endangered subspecies' breeding populations, sex-ratio differences may have localized negative impacts. ?? The Cooper Ornithological Society 2002.

  5. Nestling sex ratios in the southwestern willow flycatcher

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Paxton, E.H.; Sogge, M.K.; McCarthey, Tracy; Keim, Paul

    2002-01-01

    Using molecular-genetic techniques, we determined the gender of 202 Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) nestlings from 95 nests sampled over a five-year period. Overall nestling sex ratio did not vary significantly from 50:50 among years, by clutch order, or by mating strategy (monogamous vs. polygamous pairings). However, we did observe significant differences among the four sites sampled, with sex ratios biased either toward males or females at the different sites. Given the small population sizes and geographic isolation of many of the endangered subspecies' breeding populations, sex-ratio differences may have localized negative impacts.

  6. Saltcedar and Southwestern Willow Flycatchers: Lessons From Long-term Studies in Central Arizona

    Treesearch

    M. K. Sogge; E. H. Paxton; April A. Tudor

    2006-01-01

    The endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus: SWWF) is a riparian-obligate bird that breeds only in dense, typically wet riparian vegetation. Since the mid-1990s, biologists have discovered a substantial number of flycatchers breeding in habitat dominated by exotic saltcedar (Tamarix ramossisima) in...

  7. Water relations and gas exchange in poplar and willow under water stress and elevated atmospheric CO2.

    PubMed

    Johnson, Jon D; Tognetti, Roberto; Paris, Piero

    2002-05-01

    Predictions of shifts in rainfall patterns as atmospheric [CO2] increases could impact the growth of fast growing trees such as Populus spp. and Salix spp. and the interaction between elevated CO2 and water stress in these species is unknown. The objectives of this study were to characterize the responses to elevated CO2 and water stress in these two species, and to determine if elevated CO2 mitigated drought stress effects. Gas exchange, water potential components, whole plant transpiration and growth response to soil drying and recovery were assessed in hybrid poplar (clone 53-246) and willow (Salix sagitta) rooted cuttings growing in either ambient (350 &mgr;mol mol-1) or elevated (700 &mgr;mol mol-1) atmospheric CO2 concentration ([CO2]). Predawn water potential decreased with increasing water stress while midday water potentials remained unchanged (isohydric response). Turgor potentials at both predawn and midday increased in elevated [CO2], indicative of osmotic adjustment. Gas exchange was reduced by water stress while elevated [CO2] increased photosynthetic rates, reduced leaf conductance and nearly doubled instantaneous transpiration efficiency in both species. Dark respiration decreased in elevated [CO2] and water stress reduced Rd in the trees growing in ambient [CO2]. Willow had 56% lower whole plant hydraulic conductivity than poplar, and showed a 14% increase in elevated [CO2] while poplar was unresponsive. The physiological responses exhibited by poplar and willow to elevated [CO2] and water stress, singly, suggest that these species respond like other tree species. The interaction of [CO2] and water stress suggests that elevated [CO2] did mitigate the effects of water stress in willow, but not in poplar.

  8. DESIGNING AN OPPORTUNITY FUEL WITH BIOMASS AND TIRE-DERIVED FUEL FOR COFIRING AT WILLOW ISLAND GENERATING STATION AND COFIRING SAWDUST WITH COAL AT ALBRIGHT GENERATING STATION

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    K. Payette; D. Tillman

    During the period October 1, 2002--December 31, 2002, Allegheny Energy Supply Co., LLC (Allegheny) completed the first year of testing at the Willow Island cofiring project. This included data acquisition and analysis associated with certain operating parameters and environmental results. Over 2000 hours of cofiring operation were logged at Willow Island, and about 4,000 tons of sawdust were burned along with slightly more tire-derived fuel (TDF). The results were generally favorable. During this period, also, a new grinder was ordered for the Albright Generating Station to handle oversized material rejected by the disc screen. This report summarizes the activities associatedmore » with the Designer Opportunity Fuel program, and demonstrations at Willow Island and Albright Generating Stations. It details the test results at Willow Island and summarizes the grinder program at Albright.« less

  9. Landscape heterogeneity controls growth variability of alder, willow, and birch shrubs in response to observed increases in temperature and snow

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tape, K. D.; Hallinger, M.; Buras, A.; Wilmking, M.

    2013-12-01

    Over the last decade, evidence has emerged for a circumarctic trend of increasing shrub cover in tundra regions. On the Alaskan tundra, repeat photography has shown spatial differences in shrub patch dynamics: since 1950, most patches expanded while some remained stable. In this study we explore the underpinnings of this landscape heterogeneity by sampling the three dominant shrubs of the Alaskan tundra--alder, willow and birch--and creating shrub ring width chronologies to determine the influence of climate variability on shrub growth. Shrubs of expanding patches of all three species grew at higher rates than shrubs of stable patches. Alder and willow shrubs in expanding patches exhibited mainly positive growth trends, while their counterparts in stable patches exhibited mainly negative growth trends. Birch shrub growth declined in expanding and stable patches. Alder and willow shrub growth rates and responses to climate were controlled more by soil characteristics than by their genus; expanding alder and willow shrubs showed significant positive correlations with spring and summer temperatures, whereas alder and willow shrubs of stable patches were negatively influenced by winter precipitation. The widely-scattered stable shrub patches sampled here are considered ';moist tussock tundra,' which covers 13.4% of the low arctic landscape. In moist tussock tundra, and presumably also wet tussock tundra, the negative influence of deeper snow on shrubs outweighed the positive influence of deeper snow on ground temperature and nutrient stocks articulated by the snow-shrub-microbe hypothesis. Thus, while shrubs of expanding patches have generally profited from warmer summers, shrubs of stable patches have suffered from increased soil moisture resulting from increased snowmelt water. These results underscore the spatial and temporal complexity in shrub-climate dynamics, which will require considerable finesse to appropriately integrate into modeling efforts.

  10. Genotype × environment interaction analysis of North American shrub willow yield trials confirms superior performance of triploid hybrids

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Fabio, Eric S.; Volk, Timothy A.; Miller, Raymond O.

    Development of dedicated bioenergy crop production systems will require accurate yield estimates, which will be important for determining many of the associated environmental and economic impacts of their production. Shrub willow (Salix spp) is being promoted in areas of the USA and Canada due to its adaption to cool climates and wide genetic diversity available for breeding improvement. Willow breeding in North America is in an early stage, and selection of elite genotypes for commercialization will require testing across broad geographic regions to gain an understanding of how shrub willow interacts with the environment. We analyzed a dataset of first-rotationmore » shrub willow yields of 16 genotypes across 10 trial environments in the USA and Canada for genotype-by-environment interactions using the additive main effects and multiplicative interactions (AMMI) model. Mean genotype yields ranged from 5.22 to 8.58 oven-dry Mg ha -1 yr -1. Analysis of the main effect of genotype showed that one round of breeding improved yields by as much as 20% over check cultivars and that triploid hybrids, most notably Salix viminalis × S. miyabeana, exhibited superior yields. We also found important variability in genotypic response to environments, which suggests specific adaptability could be exploited among 16 genotypes for yield gains. Strong positive correlations were found between environment main effects and AMMI parameters and growing environment temperatures. These findings demonstrate yield improvements are possible in one generation and will be important for developing cultivar recommendations and for future breeding efforts.« less

  11. Genotype × environment interaction analysis of North American shrub willow yield trials confirms superior performance of triploid hybrids

    DOE PAGES

    Fabio, Eric S.; Volk, Timothy A.; Miller, Raymond O.; ...

    2016-01-30

    Development of dedicated bioenergy crop production systems will require accurate yield estimates, which will be important for determining many of the associated environmental and economic impacts of their production. Shrub willow (Salix spp) is being promoted in areas of the USA and Canada due to its adaption to cool climates and wide genetic diversity available for breeding improvement. Willow breeding in North America is in an early stage, and selection of elite genotypes for commercialization will require testing across broad geographic regions to gain an understanding of how shrub willow interacts with the environment. We analyzed a dataset of first-rotationmore » shrub willow yields of 16 genotypes across 10 trial environments in the USA and Canada for genotype-by-environment interactions using the additive main effects and multiplicative interactions (AMMI) model. Mean genotype yields ranged from 5.22 to 8.58 oven-dry Mg ha -1 yr -1. Analysis of the main effect of genotype showed that one round of breeding improved yields by as much as 20% over check cultivars and that triploid hybrids, most notably Salix viminalis × S. miyabeana, exhibited superior yields. We also found important variability in genotypic response to environments, which suggests specific adaptability could be exploited among 16 genotypes for yield gains. Strong positive correlations were found between environment main effects and AMMI parameters and growing environment temperatures. These findings demonstrate yield improvements are possible in one generation and will be important for developing cultivar recommendations and for future breeding efforts.« less

  12. Southwestern willow flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus) in a grazed landscape: factors influencing brood parasitism

    Treesearch

    Katherine M. Brodhead; Scott H. Stoleson; Deborah M. Finch

    2007-01-01

    Brood parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater; hereafter "cowbirds") is an important factor contributing to the endangered status of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus, hereafter "flycatcher"). We report on factors that influence brood parasitism on the flycatcher using...

  13. Anaerobic ethylene glycol degradation by microorganisms in poplar and willow rhizospheres.

    PubMed

    Carnegie, D; Ramsay, J A

    2009-07-01

    Although aerobic degradation of ethylene glycol is well documented, only anaerobic biodegradation via methanogenesis or fermentation has been clearly shown. Enhanced ethylene glycol degradation has been demonstrated by microorganisms in the rhizosphere of shallow-rooted plants such as alfalfa and grasses where conditions may be aerobic, but has not been demonstrated in the deeper rhizosphere of poplar or willow trees where conditions are more likely to be anaerobic. This study evaluated ethylene glycol degradation under nitrate-, and sulphate-reducing conditions by microorganisms from the rhizosphere of poplar and willow trees planted in the path of a groundwater plume containing up to 1.9 mol l(-1) (120 g l(-1)) ethylene glycol and, the effect of fertilizer addition when nitrate or sulphate was provided as a terminal electron acceptor (TEA). Microorganisms in these rhizosphere soils degraded ethylene glycol using nitrate or sulphate as TEAs at close to the theoretical stoichiometric amounts required for mineralization. Although the added nitrate or sulphate was primarily used as TEA, TEAs naturally present in the soil or CO(2) produced from ethylene glycol degradation were also used, demonstrating multiple TEA usage. Anaerobic degradation produced acetaldehyde, less acetic acid, and more ethanol than under aerobic conditions. Although aerobic degradation rates were faster, close to 100% disappearance was eventually achieved anaerobically. Degradation rates under nitrate-reducing conditions were enhanced upon fertilizer addition to achieve rates similar to aerobic degradation with up to 19.3 mmol (1.20 g) of ethylene glycol degradation l(-1) day(-1) in poplar soils. This is the first study to demonstrate that microorganisms in the rhizosphere of deep rooted trees like willow and poplar can anaerobically degrade ethylene glycol. Since anaerobic biodegradation may significantly contribute to the phytoremediation of ethylene glycol in the deeper subsurface, the need

  14. The Regional Geochemistry of Soils and Willow in a Metamorphic Bedrock Terrain, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 2005, and Its Possible Relation to Moose

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Gough, L.P.; Lamothe, P.J.; Sanzolone, R.F.; Drew, L.J.; Maier, J.A.K.

    2009-01-01

    In 2005 willow leaves (all variants of Salix pulchra) and A-, B-, and C-horizon soils were sampled at 10 sites along a transect near the Quarry prospect and 11 sites along a transect near the Big Hurrah mine for the purpose of defining the spatial variability of elements and the regional geochemistry of willow and soil over Paleozoic metamorphic rocks potentially high in cadmium (Cd). Willow, a favorite browse of moose (Alces alces), has been shown by various investigators to bioaccumulate Cd. Moose in this region show clinical signs of tooth wear and breakage and are declining in population for unknown reasons. A trace element imbalance in their diet has been proposed as a possible cause for these observations. Cadmium, in high enough concentrations, is one dietary trace element that potentially could produce such symptoms. We report both the summary statistics for elements in willow and soils and the results of an unbalanced, one-way, hierarchical analysis of variance (ANOVA) (general linear model, GLM), which was constructed to measure the geochemical variability in willow (and soil) at various distance scales across the Paleozoic geologic unit high in bioavailable Cd. All of the geochemical data are presented in the Appendices. The two locations are separated by approximately 80 kilometers (km); sites within a location are approximately 0.5 kilometers apart. Duplicate soil samples collected within a site were separated by 0.05 km or slightly less. Results of the GLM are element specific and range from having very little regional variability to having most of their variance at the top (greater than 80 km) level. For willow, a significant proportion of the total variance occurred at the 'between locations' level for ash yield, barium (Ba), Cd, calcium (Ca), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn). For soils, concentrations of elements in all three soil horizons were similar in that most of the variability in the geochemical data occurred at the 'between locations

  15. Single locus sex determination and female heterogamety in the basket willow (Salix viminalis L.)

    PubMed Central

    Pucholt, P; Rönnberg-Wästljung, A-C; Berlin, S

    2015-01-01

    Most eukaryotes reproduce sexually and a wealth of different sex determination mechanisms have evolved in this lineage. Dioecy or separate sexes are rare among flowering plants but have repeatedly evolved from hermaphroditic ancestors possibly involving male or female sterility mutations. Willows (Salix spp.) and poplars (Populus spp.) are predominantly dioecious and are members of the Salicaceae family. All studied poplars have sex determination loci on chromosome XIX, however, the position differs among species and both male and female heterogametic system exists. In contrast to the situation in poplars, knowledge of sex determination mechanisms in willows is sparse. In the present study, we have for the first time positioned the sex determination locus on chromosome XV in S. viminalis using quantitative trait locus mapping. All female offspring carried a maternally inherited haplotype, suggesting a system of female heterogamety or ZW. We used a comparative mapping approach and compared the positions of the markers between the S. viminalis linkage map and the physical maps of S. purpurea, S. suchowensis and P. trichocarpa. As we found no evidence for chromosomal rearrangements between chromosome XV and XIX between S. viminalis and P. trichocarpa, it shows that the sex determination loci in the willow and the poplar most likely do not share a common origin and has thus evolved separately. This demonstrates that sex determination mechanisms in the Salicaceae family have a high turnover rate and as such it is excellent for studies of evolutionary processes involved in sex chromosome turnover. PMID:25649501

  16. DESIGNING AN OPPORTUNITY FUEL WITH BIOMASS AND TIRE-DERIVED FUEL FOR COFIRING AT WILLOW ISLAND GENERATING STATION AND COFIRING SAWDUST WITH COAL AT ALBRIGHT GENERATING STATION

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    K. Payette; D. Tillman

    During the period April 1, 2003--June 30, 2003, Allegheny Energy Supply Co., LLC (Allegheny) proceeded with demonstration operations at the Willow Island Generating Station and improvements to the Albright Generating Station cofiring systems. The demonstration operations at Willow Island were designed to document integration of biomass cofiring into commercial operations. The Albright improvements were designed to increase the resource base for the projects, and to address issues that came up during the first year of operations. This report summarizes the activities associated with the Designer Opportunity Fuel program, and demonstrations at Willow Island and Albright Generating Stations.

  17. Climate regulation, energy provisioning and water purification: Quantifying ecosystem service delivery of bioenergy willow grown on riparian buffer zones using life cycle assessment.

    PubMed

    Styles, David; Börjesson, Pål; D'Hertefeldt, Tina; Birkhofer, Klaus; Dauber, Jens; Adams, Paul; Patil, Sopan; Pagella, Tim; Pettersson, Lars B; Peck, Philip; Vaneeckhaute, Céline; Rosenqvist, Håkan

    2016-12-01

    Whilst life cycle assessment (LCA) boundaries are expanded to account for negative indirect consequences of bioenergy such as indirect land use change (ILUC), ecosystem services such as water purification sometimes delivered by perennial bioenergy crops are typically neglected in LCA studies. Consequential LCA was applied to evaluate the significance of nutrient interception and retention on the environmental balance of unfertilised energy willow planted on 50-m riparian buffer strips and drainage filtration zones in the Skåne region of Sweden. Excluding possible ILUC effects and considering oil heat substitution, strategically planted filter willow can achieve net global warming potential (GWP) and eutrophication potential (EP) savings of up to 11.9 Mg CO 2 e and 47 kg PO 4 e ha -1 year -1 , respectively, compared with a GWP saving of 14.8 Mg CO 2 e ha -1 year -1 and an EP increase of 7 kg PO 4 e ha -1 year -1 for fertilised willow. Planting willow on appropriate buffer and filter zones throughout Skåne could avoid 626 Mg year -1 PO 4 e nutrient loading to waters.

  18. Positive impact of bio-stimulators on growth and physiological activity of willow in climate change conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Piotrowski, Krzysztof; Romanowska-Duda, Zdzisława

    2018-04-01

    The aim of this research was to evaluate the physiological activity and growth of willow (Salix viminalis L.) plants cultivated under the conditions of adverse temperature and soil moisture content, and to assess the effect of the foliar application of Biojodis (1.0%) and Asahi SL (0.03%) bio-stimulators, or a mixture of Microcistis aeruginosa MKR 0105 and Anabaena PCC 7120 cyanobacteria under such changing growth conditions. The obtained results showed different reactions to the applied constant or periodically changed temperature and soil moisture content. The plants which grew at periodically changed adverse temperature (from -5 to 40oC) or in scantily (20% m.c.) or excessively (60% m.c.) watered soils, grew slowly, in comparison with those growing at 20oC and in optimally moistened soil (30% m.c.). Foliar application of Biojodis and Asahi SL cyanobacteria increased the growth of willow at optimal and adverse temperature or in scantily and excessively moistened soil. The changes in plant growth were associated with the changes in electrolyte leakage, activity of acid or alkaline phosphatases, RNase, index of chlorophyll content in leaves and gas exchange. The above indicates that the foliar application of the studied cyanobacteria and bio-stimulators partly alleviates the harmful impact of adverse temperature and water stress on growth and physiological activity of willow plants

  19. Effect of temperature on phytoextraction of hexavalent and trivalent chromium by hybrid willows.

    PubMed

    Yu, Xiao-Zhang; Peng, Xiao-Ying; Xing, Li-Qun

    2010-01-01

    The removal of hexavalent and trivalent chromium from hydroponic solution by plants to changes in temperature was investigated. Pre-rooted hybrid willows (Salix matsudana Koidz x alba L.) were exposed to a nutrient solution spiked with potassium chromate (K(2)CrO(4)) or chromium chloride (CrCl(3)) for 4 days. Ten different temperatures were tested ranging from 11 to 32 degrees C. Total Cr in solutions and in plant materials were all analyzed quantitatively. The results revealed that large amounts of the applied Cr were removed from the hydroponic solution in the presence of the plants. Significantly faster removal of Cr(III) than Cr(VI) was achieved by hybrid willows from the hydroponic solutions at all temperatures (P < 0.01). The removal rates of both chemical forms of Cr by plants increased linearly with the increase of temperatures. The highest removal rate of Cr(VI) was found at 32 degrees C with a value of 1.99 microg Cr/g day, whereas the highest value of Cr(III) was 3.55 microg Cr/g day at the same temperature. Roots were the main sink for Cr accumulation in plants at all temperatures. Translocation of both chemical forms of Cr from roots to lower stems was only found at temperatures > or = 24 degrees C. The temperature coefficient values (Q(10)) were 2.41 and 1.42 for Cr(VI) and Cr(III), respectively, indicating that the removal of Cr(VI) by hybrid willows was much more susceptible to changes in temperature than that of Cr(III). This information suggests that changes in temperature have a substantial influence on the uptake and accumulation of both chemical forms of Cr by plants.

  20. DESIGNING AN OPPORTUNITY FUEL WITH BIOMASS AND TIRE-DERIVED FUEL FOR COFIRING AT WILLOW ISLAND GENERATING STATION AND COFIRING SAWDUST WITH COAL AT ALBRIGHT GENERATING STATION

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    K. Payette; D. Tillman

    During the period October 1, 2003-December 31, 2003, Allegheny Energy Supply Co., LLC (Allegheny) continued with demonstration operations at the Willow Island Generating Station and improvements to the Albright Generating Station cofiring systems. The demonstration operations at Willow Island were designed to document integration of biomass cofiring into commercial operations, including evaluating new sources of biomass supply. The Albright improvements were designed to increase the resource base for the projects, and to address issues that came up during the first year of operations. This report summarizes the activities associated with the Designer Opportunity Fuel program, and demonstrations at Willow Islandmore » and Albright Generating Stations.« less

  1. Bird Use of Natural and Recently Revegetated Cottonwood-Willow Habitats on the Kern River

    Treesearch

    William C. Hunter; Bertin W. Anderson; Reed E. Tollefson

    1989-01-01

    Birds were censused concomitant with revegetation efforts on the Kern River Nature Conservancy Preserve during spring and summer 1987. Three types of sites were surveyed: naturally occurring cottonwood (Populus fremontii)-willow (Salix spp.) habitats, one 10-ha revegetation site implemented in 1986, and two 10-ha revegetation sites...

  2. High yielding biomass genotypes of willow (Salix spp.) show differences in below ground biomass allocation

    PubMed Central

    Cunniff, Jennifer; Purdy, Sarah J.; Barraclough, Tim J.P.; Castle, March; Maddison, Anne L.; Jones, Laurence E.; Shield, Ian F.; Gregory, Andrew S.; Karp, Angela

    2015-01-01

    Willows (Salix spp.) grown as short rotation coppice (SRC) are viewed as a sustainable source of biomass with a positive greenhouse gas (GHG) balance due to their potential to fix and accumulate carbon (C) below ground. However, exploiting this potential has been limited by the paucity of data available on below ground biomass allocation and the extent to which it varies between genotypes. Furthermore, it is likely that allocation can be altered considerably by environment. To investigate the role of genotype and environment on allocation, four willow genotypes were grown at two replicated field sites in southeast England and west Wales, UK. Above and below ground biomass was intensively measured over two two-year rotations. Significant genotypic differences in biomass allocation were identified, with below ground allocation differing by up to 10% between genotypes. Importantly, the genotype with the highest below ground biomass also had the highest above ground yield. Furthermore, leaf area was found to be a good predictor of below ground biomass. Growth environment significantly impacted allocation; the willow genotypes grown in west Wales had up to 94% more biomass below ground by the end of the second rotation. A single investigation into fine roots showed the same pattern with double the volume of fine roots present. This greater below ground allocation may be attributed primarily to higher wind speeds, plus differences in humidity and soil characteristics. These results demonstrate that the capacity exists to breed plants with both high yields and high potential for C accumulation. PMID:26339128

  3. DESIGNING AN OPPORTUNITY FUEL WITH BIOMASS AND TIRE-DERIVED FUEL FOR COFIRING AT WILLOW ISLAND GENERATING STATION AND COFIRING SAWDUST WITH COAL AT ALBRIGHT GENERATING STATION

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    K. Payette; D. Tillman

    During the period October 1, 2001--December 31, 2001, Allegheny Energy Supply Co., LLC (Allegheny) completed construction of the Willow Island cofiring project. This included completion of the explosion proof electrical wiring, the control system, and the control software. Procedures for system checkout, shakedown, and initial operation were initiated during this period. During this time period the 100-hour test of the Albright Generating Station cofiring facility was completed. The testing demonstrated that cofiring at the Albright Generating Station could reliably contribute to a ''4P Strategy''--reduction of SO{sub 2}, NO{sub x}, mercury, and greenhouse gas emissions over a significant load range. Duringmore » this period of time Allegheny Energy conducted facility tours of both Albright and Willow Island for the Biomass Interest Group of the Electric Power Research Institute. This report summarizes the activities associated with the Designer Opportunity Fuel program, and demonstrations at Willow Island and Albright Generating Stations. It details the completion of construction activities at the Willow Island site along with the 100-hr test at the Albright site.« less

  4. Fast-growing willow shrub named `Canastota`

    DOEpatents

    Abrahamson, Lawrence P.; Kopp, Richard F.; Smart, Lawrence B.; Volk, Timothy A.

    2007-05-15

    A distinct male cultivar of Salix sachalinensis.times.S. miyabeana named `Canastota`, characterized by rapid stem growth producing greater than 2.7-fold more woody biomass than its female parent (Salix sachalinensis `SX61`), 28% greater woody biomass yield than its male parent (Salix miyabeana `SX64`), and 20% greater woody biomass yield than a standard production cultivar, Salix dasyclados `SV1` when grown in the same field for the same length of time (two growing seasons after coppice) in Tully, N.Y. `Canastota` can be planted from dormant stem cuttings, produces multiple stems after coppice, and the stem biomass can be harvested when the plant is dormant. In the spring following harvest, the plant will re-sprout very vigorously, producing new stems that can be harvested after two to four years of growth. This harvest cycle can be repeated several times. `Canastota` displays a low incidence of rust disease or damage by willow sawfly.

  5. Fast-growing willow shrub named `Canastota`

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Abrahamson, Lawrence P; Kopp, Richard F; Smart, Lawrence B

    A distinct male cultivar of Salix sachalinensis.times.S. miyabeana named `Canastota`, characterized by rapid stem growth producing greater than 2.7-fold more woody biomass than its female parent (Salix sachalinensis `SX61`), 28% greater woody biomass yield than its male parent (Salix miyabeana `SX64`), and 20% greater woody biomass yield than a standard production cultivar, Salix dasyclados `SV1` when grown in the same field for the same length of time (two growing seasons after coppice) in Tully, N.Y. `Canastota` can be planted from dormant stem cuttings, produces multiple stems after coppice, and the stem biomass can be harvested when the plant is dormant.more » In the spring following harvest, the plant will re-sprout very vigorously, producing new stems that can be harvested after two to four years of growth. This harvest cycle can be repeated several times. `Canastota` displays a low incidence of rust disease or damage by willow sawfly.« less

  6. UAS-NAS Stakeholder Feedback Report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Randall, Debra; Murphy, Jim; Grindle, Laurie

    2016-01-01

    The need to fly UAS in the NAS to perform missions of vital importance to national security and defense, emergency management, science, and to enable commercial applications has been continually increasing over the past few years. To address this need, the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) Integrated Aviation Systems Program (IASP) formulated and funded the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project (hereafter referred to as UAS-NAS Project) from 2011 to 2016. The UAS-NAS Project identified the following need statement: The UAS community needs routine access to the global airspace for all classes of UAS. The Project identified the following goal: To provide research findings to reduce technical barriers associated with integrating UAS into the NAS utilizing integrated system level tests in a relevant environment. This report provides a summary of the collaborations between the UAS-NAS Project and its primary stakeholders and how the Project applied and incorporated the feedback.

  7. Porous Carbon with Willow-Leaf-Shaped Pores for High-Performance Supercapacitors.

    PubMed

    Shi, Yanhong; Zhang, Linlin; Schon, Tyler B; Li, Huanhuan; Fan, Chaoying; Li, Xiaoying; Wang, Haifeng; Wu, Xinglong; Xie, Haiming; Sun, Haizhu; Seferos, Dwight S; Zhang, Jingping

    2017-12-13

    A novel kind of biomass-derived, high-oxygen-containing carbon material doped with nitrogen that has willow-leaf-shaped pores was synthesized. The obtained carbon material has an exotic hierarchical pore structure composed of bowl-shaped macropores, willow-leaf-shaped pores, and an abundance of micropores. This unique hierarchical porous structure provides an effective combination of high current densities and high capacitance because of a pseudocapacitive component that is afforded by the introduction of nitrogen and oxygen dopants. Our synthetic optimization allows further improvements in the performance of this hierarchical porous carbon (HPC) material by providing a high degree of control over the graphitization degree, specific surface area, and pore volume. As a result, a large specific surface area (1093 m 2 g -1 ) and pore volume (0.8379 cm 3 g -1 ) are obtained for HPC-650, which affords fast ion transport because of its short ion-diffusion pathways. HPC-650 exhibits a high specific capacitance of 312 F g -1 at 1 A g -1 , retaining 76.5% of its capacitance at 20 A g -1 . Moreover, it delivers an energy density of 50.2 W h kg -1 at a power density of 1.19 kW kg -1 , which is sufficient to power a yellow-light-emitting diode and operate a commercial scientific calculator.

  8. How slug herbivory of juvenile hybrid willows alters chemistry, growth and subsequent susceptibility to diverse plant enemies

    PubMed Central

    Orians, Colin M.; Fritz, Robert S.; Hochwender, Cris G.; Albrectsen, Benedicte R.; Czesak, Mary Ellen

    2013-01-01

    Background and Aims Selective feeding by herbivores, especially at the seedling or juvenile phase, has the potential to change plant traits and ultimately the susceptibility of surviving plants to other enemies. Moreover, since hybridization is important to speciation and can lead to introgression of traits between plant species, differential feeding (herbivore-induced mortality) can influence the expression of resistance traits of hybrids and ultimately determine the consequences of hybridization. While it would be expected that herbivore-induced mortality would lead to greater resistance, there may be trade-offs whereby resistance to one herbivore increases susceptibility to others. The hypothesis was tested that the exotic slug, Arion subfuscus, causes non-random survival of hybrid willows and alters plant: (1) susceptibility to slugs; (2) secondary and nutritional chemistry, and growth; and (3) susceptibility to other phytophages. Methods Two populations of plants, control and selected, were created by placing trays of juvenile willows in the field and allowing slugs access to only some. When ≤10 individuals/tray remained (approx. 85 % mortality), ‘selected’ and undamaged ‘control’ trays were returned to a common area. Traits of these populations were then examined in year 1 and in subsequent years. Key Results The selected population was less palatable to slugs. Surprisingly, foliar concentrations of putative defence traits (phenolic glycosides and tannins) did not differ between treatments, but the selected population had higher foliar nitrogen and protein, lower carbon to nitrogen ratio and greater above-ground biomass, indicating that vigorously growing plants were inherently more resistant to slugs. Interestingly, selected plants were more susceptible to three phytophages: an indigenous pathogen (Melampsora epitea), a native herbivorous beetle (Chrysomela knabi) and an exotic willow leaf beetle (Plagiodera versicolora). Conclusions This exotic

  9. The status of the Willow and Pacific-slope flycatchers in northwestern California and southern Oregon

    Treesearch

    C. John Ralph; K. Hollinger

    2003-01-01

    The Willow (Empidonax traillii) and Pacific-slope (E. dificilis) flycatchers are generally similar in their morphology and foraging, but differ in their habitat and population dynamics. Through a concentration of constant-effort mist-netting stations, we documented the movements and composition of populations over a relatively...

  10. The ecology of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher in central Arizona - A 10-year synthesis report

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Paxton, Eben H.; Sogge, Mark K.; Durst, Scott L.; Theimer, Tad C.; Hatten, James R.

    2007-01-01

    BACKGROUND From 1996 to 2005, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a demographic study of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) in Arizona in collaboration with the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD). The study was begun the year following the listing of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher as an endangered species. At the time of the listing, very little was known about the biology and threats to the flycatcher, and one of the main objectives of the study was to gather detailed long-term information on the biology of the flycatcher. This report is organized into eight chapters. Following the introductory chapter, we deal with specific aspects of flycatcher ecology and habitat use in each of six separate chapters. We end with a concluding chapter that synthesizes information into broad topical themes that address key management issues. Each of the core chapters (chapters 2 through 7) conclude with a list of management considerations derived from the findings of the respective chapter.

  11. Survivorship across the annual cycle of a migratory passerine, the willow flycatcher

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Paxton, Eben H.; Durst, Scott L.; Sogge, Mark K.; Koronkiewicz, Thomas J.; Paxton, Kristina L.

    2017-01-01

    Annual survivorship in migratory birds is a product of survival across the different periods of the annual cycle (i.e. breeding, wintering, and migration), and may vary substantially among these periods. Determining which periods have the highest mortality, and thus are potentially limiting a population, is important especially for species of conservation concern. To estimate survival probabilities of the willow flycatcher Empidonax traillii in each of the different periods, we combined demographic data from a 10-year breeding season study with that from a 5-year wintering grounds study. Estimates of annual apparent survival for breeding and wintering periods were nearly identical (65–66%), as were estimates of monthly apparent survival for both breeding and wintering stationary periods (98–99%). Because flycatchers spend at least half the year on the wintering grounds, overall apparent survivorship was lower (88%) on the wintering grounds than on the breeding grounds (97%). The migratory period had the highest mortality rate, accounting for 62% of the estimated annual mortality even though it comprises only one quarter or less of the annual cycle. The migratory period in the willow flycatcher and many other neotropical migrants is poorly understood, and further research is needed to identify sources of mortality during this crucial period.

  12. Paleoseismology of the Nephi Segment of the Wasatch Fault Zone, Juab County, Utah - Preliminary Results From Two Large Exploratory Trenches at Willow Creek

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Machette, Michael N.; Crone, Anthony J.; Personius, Stephen F.; Mahan, Shannon; Dart, Richard L.; Lidke, David J.; Olig, Susan S.

    2007-01-01

    In 2004, we identified a small parcel of U.S. Forest Service land at the mouth of Willow Creek (about 5 km west of Mona, Utah) that was suitable for trenching. At the Willow Creek site, which is near the middle of the southern strand of the Nephi segment, the WFZ has vertically displaced alluvial-fan deposits >6-7 m, forming large, steep, multiple-event scarps. In May 2005, we dug two 4- to 5-m-deep backhoe trenches at the Willow Creek site, identified three colluvial wedges in each trench, and collected samples of charcoal and A-horizon organic material for AMS (acceleration mass spectrometry) radiocarbon dating, and sampled fine-grained eolian and colluvial sediment for luminescence dating. The trenches yielded a stratigraphic assemblage composed of moderately coarse-grained fluvial and debris-flow deposits and discrete colluvial wedges associated with three faulting events (P1, P2, and P3). About one-half of the net vertical displacement is accommodated by monoclinal tilting of fan deposits on the hanging-wall block, possibly related to massive ductile landslide deposits that are present beneath the Willow Creek fan. The timing of the three surface-faulting events is bracketed by radiocarbon dates and results in a much different fault chronology and higher slip rates than previously considered for this segment of the Wasatch fault zone.

  13. A habitat overlap analysis derived from Maxent for Tamarisk and the South-western Willow Flycatcher

    Treesearch

    Patricia York; Paul Evangelista; Sunil Kumar; James Graham; Curtis Flather; Thomas Stohlgren

    2011-01-01

    Biologic control of the introduced and invasive, woody plant tamarisk (Tamarix spp, saltcedar) in south-western states is controversial because it affects habitat of the federally endangered South-western Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus). These songbirds sometimes nest in tamarisk where floodplain-level invasion replaces native habitats. Biologic control...

  14. DESIGNING AN OPPORTUNITY FUEL WITH BIOMASS AND TIRE-DERIVED FUEL FOR COFIRING AT WILLOW ISLAND GENERATING STATION AND COFIRING SAWDUST WITH COAL AT ALBRIGHT GENERATING STATION

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    K. Payette; D. Tillman

    During the period July 1, 2003-September 30, 2003, Allegheny Energy Supply Co., LLC (Allegheny) proceeded with demonstration operations at the Willow Island Generating Station and improvements to the Albright Generating Station cofiring systems. The demonstration operations at Willow Island were designed to document integration of bio mass cofiring into commercial operations, including evaluating new sources of biomass supply. The Albright improvements were designed to increase the resource base for the projects, and to address issues that came up during the first year of operations. During this period, a major presentation summarizing the program was presented at the Pittsburgh Coal Conference.more » This report summarizes the activities associated with the Designer Opportunity Fuel program, and demonstrations at Willow Island and Albright Generating Stations.« less

  15. Ethyl lactate-EDTA composite system enhances the remediation of the cadmium-contaminated soil by autochthonous willow (Salix x aureo-pendula CL 'J1011') in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

    PubMed

    Li, Jiahua; Sun, Yuanyuan; Yin, Ying; Ji, Rong; Wu, Jichun; Wang, Xiaorong; Guo, Hongyan

    2010-09-15

    In order to explore a practical approach to the remediation of the cadmium (Cd)-contaminated soil in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, we evaluated the effects of a local willow (Salix x aureo-pendula CL 'J1011') of absorbing, accumulating, and translocating Cd; and assessed the potential of chelator ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) in combination with ethyl lactate for enhancing the efficiency of the willow in removing Cd in two water-culture growth chamber trials and a field one. The willow showed a high tolerance to Cd in growth chamber trial 1 where the Cd concentration in the medium reached up to 25 mg L(-1) medium, and the bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) of the shoots for Cd rose from 3.8 to 7.4 as the Cd concentration in the medium was elevated from 5 to 25 mg L(-1) medium. In growth chamber trial 2, the average Cd removal rates in two treatments with EDTA and ethyl lactate (molar ratios of EDTA to ethyl lactate=68/39 and 53.5/53.5, respectively) reached 0.71 mg d(-1) pot(-1) for the duration of Day 5-8 and 0.59 mg d(-1) pot(-1) for that of Day 8-11, which were 5- and 4-fold of their counterparts in the control, respectively. In the field trial, for the remediational duration of 45 days, three treatments-willow alone, willow combined with EDTA, and willow combined with EDTA and ethyl lactate-led to decreases in the Cd concentration in soil by 5%, 20%, and 29%, respectively; increases in that in the leaves by 14.6%, 56.7%, and 146.5%, respectively; and increases in that in the stems by 15.6%, 41.2%, and 87.4%, respectively, compared to their counterparts on Day 0. These results indicate that EDTA combined with ethyl lactate significantly enhanced the efficiency of willow in removing Cd from the soil. Therefore, a phytoextration system consisting of the autochthonous willow, EDTA, and ethyl lactate has high potential for the remediation of the Cd-polluted soil in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights

  16. Development of an applied black willow tree improvement program for biomass production in the south

    Treesearch

    Randall J. Rousseau; Emile S. Gardiner; Theodor D. Leininger

    2012-01-01

    The development of rapidly growing biomass woody crops is imperative as the United States strives to meet renewable energy goals. The Department of Energy has indicated that biomass is a prime source for renewable energy for the southern United States. Black Willow (Salix nigra Marsh.) is a potential bioenergy/biofuels crop for dedicated short-...

  17. Longer black willow cuttings result in better initial height and diameter growth in biomass plantations

    Treesearch

    Jake C. Camp; Randall J. Rousseau; Emile S. Gardiner

    2012-01-01

    Black willow (Salix nigra Marsh.) has the potential to be a viable plantation species for biomass production on heavy clay soils throughout the southern United States. The most favorable planting stock for woody biomass plantations is dormant unrooted cuttings, because they are easy to plant and use of clonal material allows for advancing genetic...

  18. 75 FR 56520 - Information on Surplus Land at a Military Installation Designated for Disposal: NASJRB Willow...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-16

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Navy Information on Surplus Land at a Military Installation Designated for Disposal: NASJRB Willow Grove, PA AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD. ACTION... facilities at this installation were declared excess to the Department of Navy (DoN) and made available to...

  19. Transcriptome Analysis of the Differentially Expressed Genes in the Male and Female Shrub Willows (Salix suchowensis)

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Jingjing; Yin, Tongming; Ye, Ning; Chen, Yingnan; Yin, Tingting; Liu, Min; Hassani, Danial

    2013-01-01

    Background The dioecious system is relatively rare in plants. Shrub willow is an annual flowering dioecious woody plant, and possesses many characteristics that lend it as a great model for tracking the missing pieces of sex determination evolution. To gain a global view of the genes differentially expressed in the male and female shrub willows and to develop a database for further studies, we performed a large-scale transcriptome sequencing of flower buds which were separately collected from two types of sexes. Results Totally, 1,201,931 high quality reads were obtained, with an average length of 389 bp and a total length of 467.96 Mb. The ESTs were assembled into 29,048 contigs, and 132,709 singletons. These unigenes were further functionally annotated by comparing their sequences to different proteins and functional domain databases and assigned with Gene Ontology (GO) terms. A biochemical pathway database containing 291 predicted pathways was also created based on the annotations of the unigenes. Digital expression analysis identified 806 differentially expressed genes between the male and female flower buds. And 33 of them located on the incipient sex chromosome of Salicaceae, among which, 12 genes might involve in plant sex determination empirically. These genes were worthy of special notification in future studies. Conclusions In this study, a large number of EST sequences were generated from the flower buds of a male and a female shrub willow. We also reported the differentially expressed genes between the two sex-type flowers. This work provides valuable information and sequence resources for uncovering the sex determining genes and for future functional genomics analysis of Salicaceae spp. PMID:23560075

  20. Timber resource statistics for the Willow block, Susitna River Basin multiresource inventory unit, Alaska, 1978.

    Treesearch

    Theodore S. Setzer; Bert R. Mead; Gary L. Carroll

    1984-01-01

    A multiresource inventory of the Willow block, Susitna River basin inventory unit, was conducted in 1978. Statistics on forest area, timber volumes, and growth and mortality from this inventory are presented. Timberland area is estimated at 230,200 acres and net growing stock volume, mostly birch, at 231.9 million cubic feet. Net annual growth of growing stock is...

  1. The use of short rotation willows and poplars for the recycling of saline waste waters

    Treesearch

    Jaconette Mirck; Ronald S. Jr. Zalesny; Ioannis Dimitriou; Jill A. Zalesny; Timothy A. Volk; Warren E. Mabee

    2009-01-01

    The production of high-salinity waste waters by landfills and other waste sites causes environmental concerns. This waste water often contains high concentrations of sodium and chloride, which may end up in local ground and surface waters. Vegetation filter systems comprised of willows and poplars can be used for the recycling of saline waste water. These vegetation...

  2. Dry matter losses and quality changes during short rotation coppice willow storage in chip or rod form.

    PubMed

    Whittaker, Carly; Yates, Nicola E; Powers, Stephen J; Misselbrook, Tom; Shield, Ian

    2018-05-01

    This study compares dry matter losses and quality changes during the storage of SRC willow as chips and as rods. A wood chip stack consisting of approximately 74 tonnes of fresh biomass, or 31 tonnes dry matter (DM) was built after harvesting in the spring. Three weeks later, four smaller stacks of rods with an average weight of 0.8 tonnes, or 0.4 tonnes DM were built. During the course of the experiment temperature recorders placed in the stacks found that the wood chip pile reached 60 °C within 10 days of construction, but the piles of rods remained mostly at ambient temperatures. Dry matter losses were calculated by using pre-weighed independent samples within the stacks and by weighing the whole stack before and after storage. After 6 months the wood chip stack showed a DM loss of between 19.8 and 22.6%, and mean losses of 23.1% were measured from the 17 independent samples. In comparison, the rod stacks showed an average stack DM loss of between 0 and 9%, and between 1.4% and 10.6% loss from the independent samples. Analysis of the stored material suggests that storing willow in small piles of rods produces a higher quality fuel in terms of lower moisture and ash content; however, it has a higher fine content compared to storage in chip form. Therefore, according to the two storage methods tested here, there may be a compromise between maximising the net dry matter yield from SRC willow and the final fine content of the fuel.

  3. Screening of willow species for resistance to heavy metals: comparison of performance in a hydroponics system and field trials.

    PubMed

    Watson, C; Pulford, I D; Riddell-Black, D

    2003-01-01

    The aim of this study was to ascertain whether metal resistance in willow (Salix) clones grown in a hydroponics screening test correlated with data from the same clones grown independently in a field trial. If so, results from a short-term, glasshouse-based system could be extrapolated to the field, allowing rapid identification of willows suitable for planting in metal-contaminated substrates without necessitating longterm field trials. Principal Components Analysis was used to show groups of clones and to assess the relative importance of the parameters measured in both the hydroponics system and the field; including plant response factors such as increase in stem height, as well as metal concentrations in plant tissues. The clones tested fell into two distinct groups. Salix viminalis clones and the basket willow Black Maul (S. triandra) were less resistant to elevated concentrations of heavy metals than a group of hardier clones, including S. burjatica 'Germany,' S.x dasyclados, S. candida and S. spaethii. The more resistant clones produced more biomass in the glasshouse and field, and had higher metal concentrations in the wood. The less resistant clones had greater concentrations of Cu and Ni in the bark, and produced less biomass in the glasshouse and field. Significant relationships were found between the response of the same clones grown the in short-term glasshouse hydroponics system and in the field.

  4. Minimum Irrigation Requirements for Cottonwood (Populus fremontii and P. deltoides) and Willow (Salix gooddingii) Grown in a Desert Environment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Glenn, E. P.; Hartwell, S.; Morino, K.; Nagler, P. L.

    2009-12-01

    Native tree plots have been established in riverine irrigation districts in the western U.S. to provide habitat for threatened and endangered birds. Information is needed on the minimum effective irrigation requirements of the target species. We summarize preliminary (or unpublished) findings of a study or cottonwood (Populus spp.) and willow (Salix gooddingii) trees that were grown for seven years in an outdoor plot in a desert environment in Tucson, Arizona to determine plant water use. Plants were allowed to achieve a nearly complete canopy cover over the first four years, then were subjected to three summer irrigation schedules: 6.2 mm d-1; 8.26 mm d-1 and 15.7 mm d-1. The lowest irrigation rate was sufficient to maintain growth and high leaf area index for cottonwoods over three years, but willows suffered partial die-back on this rate, and required 8.26 mm d-1 to maintain growth. These irrigation rates were required April 15 - September 15, but only 0.88 mm d-1 was required during the dormant periods of the year. Expressed as a fraction of reference crop evapotranspiration (ET/ETo), annual water requirements were 0.83 ETo for cottonwood and 1.01 ETo for willow, which includes irrigation plus precipitation. Current practices tend to over-irrigate restoration plots, and this study can provide guidelines for more efficient water use.

  5. DESIGNING AN OPPORTUNITY FUEL WITH BIOMASS AND TIRE-DERIVED FUEL FOR COFIRING AT WILLOW ISLAND GENERATING STATION AND COFIRING SAWDUST WITH COAL AT ALBRIGHT GENERATING STATION

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    K. Payette; D. Tillman

    During the period January 1, 2003--March 31, 2003, Allegheny Energy Supply Co., LLC (Allegheny) proceeded with improvements to both the Willow Island and Albright Generating Station cofiring systems. These improvements were designed to increase the resource base for the projects, and to address issues that came up during the first year of operations. This report summarizes the activities associated with the Designer Opportunity Fuel program, and demonstrations at Willow Island and Albright Generating Stations.

  6. DESIGNING AN OPPORTUNITY FUEL WITH BIOMASS AND TIRE-DERIVED FUEL FOR COFIRING AT WILLOW ISLAND GENERATING STATION AND COFIRING SAWDUST WITH COAL AT ALBRIGHT GENERATING STATION

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    K. Payette; D. Tillman

    During the period July 1, 2001--September 30, 2001, Allegheny Energy Supply Co., LLC (Allegheny) continued construction of the Willow Island cofiring project, completed the installation of the fuel storage facility, the fuel receiving facility, and the processing building. All mechanical equipment has been installed and electrical construction has proceeded. During this time period significant short term testing of the Albright Generating Station cofiring facility was completed, and the 100-hour test was planned for early October. The testing demonstrated that cofiring at the Albright Generating Station could contribute to a ''4P Strategy''--reduction of SO{sub 2}, NO{sub x}, mercury, and greenhouse gasmore » emissions. This report summarizes the activities associated with the Designer Opportunity Fuel program, and demonstrations at Willow Island and Albright Generating Stations. It details the construction activities at both sites along with the combustion modeling at the Willow Island site.« less

  7. Geologic map of the Willow Creek Reservoir SE Quadrangle, Elko, Eureka, and Lander Counties, Nevada

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Wallace, Alan R.

    2003-01-01

    Map Scale: 1:24,000 Map Type: colored geologic map A 1:24,000-scale, full-color geologic map of the Willow CreekReservoir 7.5-minute SE Quadrangle in Elko, Eureka, and LanderCounties, Nevada, with two cross sections and descriptions of 24 rock units. Accompanying text discusses the geology, paleogeography, and formation of the Ivanhoe Hg-Au district.

  8. Microbial expression profiles in the rhizosphere of willows depend on soil contamination

    PubMed Central

    Yergeau, Etienne; Sanschagrin, Sylvie; Maynard, Christine; St-Arnaud, Marc; Greer, Charles W

    2014-01-01

    The goal of phytoremediation is to use plants to immobilize, extract or degrade organic and inorganic pollutants. In the case of organic contaminants, plants essentially act indirectly through the stimulation of rhizosphere microorganisms. A detailed understanding of the effect plants have on the activities of rhizosphere microorganisms could help optimize phytoremediation systems and enhance their use. In this study, willows were planted in contaminated and non-contaminated soils in a greenhouse, and the active microbial communities and the expression of functional genes in the rhizosphere and bulk soil were compared. Ion Torrent sequencing of 16S rRNA and Illumina sequencing of mRNA were performed. Genes related to carbon and amino-acid uptake and utilization were upregulated in the willow rhizosphere, providing indirect evidence of the compositional content of the root exudates. Related to this increased nutrient input, several microbial taxa showed a significant increase in activity in the rhizosphere. The extent of the rhizosphere stimulation varied markedly with soil contamination levels. The combined selective pressure of contaminants and rhizosphere resulted in higher expression of genes related to competition (antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation) in the contaminated rhizosphere. Genes related to hydrocarbon degradation were generally more expressed in contaminated soils, but the exact complement of genes induced was different for bulk and rhizosphere soils. Together, these results provide an unprecedented view of microbial gene expression in the plant rhizosphere during phytoremediation. PMID:24067257

  9. Winter distribution of willow flycatcher subspecies (Distribución Invernal de las Subespecies de Empidonax traillii)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Paxton, Eben H.; Unitt, Philip; Sogge, Mark K.; Whitfield, Mary; Keim, Paul

    2011-01-01

    Documenting how different regions across a species' breeding and nonbreeding range are linked via migratory movements is the first step in understanding how events in one region can influence events in others and is critical to identifying conservation threats throughout a migratory animal's annual cycle. We combined two studies that evaluated migratory connectivity in the Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii), one using mitochondrial DNA sequences from 172 flycatchers sampled throughout their winter range, and another which examined morphological characteristics of 68 museum specimens collected in the winter range. Our results indicate that the four subspecies occupy distinct but overlapping regions of the winter range. Connectivity between specific breeding and winter grounds appears to be moderate to strong, with distributions that suggest migration patterns of both the chain and leap-frog types connecting the breeding and nonbreeding grounds. The Pacific lowlands of Costa Rica appear to be a key winter location for the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (E. t. extimus), although other countries in Central America may also be important for the subspecies.

  10. Spatially distinct responses within willow to bark stripping by deer: effects on insect herbivory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tanaka, Motonobu; Nakamura, Masahiro

    2015-10-01

    Within individual plants, cervid herbivory may cause positive or negative plant-mediated effects on insect herbivores, depending on where it occurs. Using a combination of field observations and artificial bark-stripping experiments in Hokkaido, Japan, we examined the plant-mediated effects of bark stripping by sika deer ( Cervus nippon yesoensis) on insect herbivory in two spatially distinct parts of willow ( Salix udensis) trees: resprouting leaves below bark-stripping wounds and canopy leaves above. Natural and artificial bark stripping stimulated resprouting from trunks below wounds. Resprouting leaves on bark-stripped trees had lower total phenolics, condensed tannin, and C/N ratios than did canopy leaves on control trees. Herbivory rates were higher in resprouting leaves on bark-stripped trees than in canopy leaves on controls. Conversely, above-wound canopy leaves on bark-stripped trees had higher total phenolics than did those on controls, while herbivory rates were lower in the canopy leaves of bark-stripped trees than in those on controls. These results demonstrate that plant-mediated effects of bark stripping diverge between plant tissues below and above wounds in individual willow trees. We submit that focusing on multiple plant parts can elucidate plant-mediated effects at the whole-plant scale.

  11. Distribution and abundance of Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus) and Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus) on the Middle San Luis Rey River, San Diego County, southern California—2017 data summary

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Allen, Lisa D.; Howell, Scarlett L.; Kus, Barbara E.

    2018-04-20

    We surveyed for Least Bell’s Vireos (LBVI) (Vireo bellii pusillus) and Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (SWFL) (Empidonax traillii extimus) along the San Luis Rey River, between College Boulevard in Oceanside and Interstate 15 in Fallbrook, California (middle San Luis Rey River), in 2017. Surveys were conducted from April 13 to July 11 (LBVI) and from May 16 to July 28 (SWFL). We found 146 LBVI territories, at least 107 of which were occupied by pairs. Five additional transient LBVIs were detected. LBVIs used five different habitat types in the survey area: mixed willow, willow-cottonwood, willow-sycamore, riparian scrub, and upland scrub. Forty-four percent of the LBVIs occurred in habitat characterized as mixed willow and 89 percent of the LBVI territories occurred in areas with greater than 50 percent native plant cover. Of 16 banded LBVIs detected in the survey area, 8 had been given full color-band combinations prior to 2017. Four other LBVIs with single (natal) federal bands were recaptured and banded in 2017. Three LBVIs with single dark blue federal bands indicating that they were banded as nestlings on the lower San Luis Rey River and one LBVI with a single gold federal band indicating that it was banded as a nestling on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (MCBCP) could not be recaptured for identification. One banded LBVI emigrated from the middle San Luis Rey River to the lower San Luis Rey River in 2017.One resident SWFL territory and one transient Willow Flycatcher of unknown subspecies (WIFL) were observed in the survey area in 2017. The resident SWFL territory, which was comprised of mixed willow habitat (5–50 percent native plant cover), was occupied by a single male from May 22 to June 21, 2017. No evidence of pairing or nesting activity was observed. The SWFL male was banded with a full color-combination indicating that he was originally banded as a nestling on the middle San Luis Rey River in 2014 and successfully bred in the survey area in 2016

  12. Radiocaesium soil-to-wood transfer in commercial willow short rotation coppice on contaminated farm land.

    PubMed

    Gommers, A; Gäfvert, T; Smolders, E; Merckx, R; Vandenhove, H

    2005-01-01

    The feasibility of willow short rotation coppice (SRC) for energy production as a revaluation tool for severely radiocaesium-contaminated land was studied. The effects of crop age, clone and soil type on the radiocaesium levels in the wood were assessed following sampling in 14 existing willow SRC fields, planted on radiocaesium-contaminated land in Sweden following Chernobyl deposition. There was only one plot where willow stands of different maturity (R6S2 and R5S4: R, root age and S, shoot age) and clone (Rapp and L78183 both of age category R5S4) were sampled and no significant differences were found. The soils differed among others in clay fraction (3-34%), radiocaesium interception potential (515-6884 meq kg(-1)), soil solution K (0.09-0.95 mM), exchangeable K (0.58-5.77 meq kg(-1)) and cation exchange capacity (31-250 meq kg(-1)). The soil-to-wood transfer factor (TF) of radiocaesium differed significantly between soil types. The TF recorded was generally small (0.00086-0.016 kg kg(-1)), except for willows established on sandy soil (0.19-0.46 kg kg(-1)). Apart from the weak yet significant exponential correlation between the Cs-TF and the solid/liquid distribution coefficient (R2 = 0.54) or the radiocaesium interception potential, RIP (R2 = 0.66), no single significant correlations between soil characteristics and TF were found. The wood-soil solution 137Cs concentration factor (CF) was significantly related to the potassium concentration in the soil solution. A different relation was, however, found between the sandy Trödje soils (CF = 1078.8 x m(K)(-1.83), R2 = 0.99) and the other soils (CF = 35.75 x m(K)(-0.61), R2 =0.61). Differences in the ageing rate of radiocaesium in the soil (hypothesised fraction of bioavailable caesium subjected to fast ageing for Trödje soils only 1% compared to other soils), exchangeable soil K (0.8-1.8 meq kg(-1) for Trödje soils and 1.5-5.8 meq kg(-1) for the other soils) and the ammonium concentration in the soil solution

  13. Effects of Flood Duration and Depth on Germination of Cherrybark, Post, Southern, White and Willow Oak Acorns

    Treesearch

    Yanfei Guo; Michael G. Shelton; Eric Heitzman

    2002-01-01

    Effects of flood duration (0, 10, 20, and 30 days) and depth (10 and 100 centimeters below a water surface) on acorn germination were tested for two bottomland oaks (cherrybark oak [Quercus pagoda Raf.] and willow oak [Q. phellos L.]) and three upland oaks (post oak [Q. stellata Wang.], southern red oak [

  14. Development of a black willow improvement program for biomass production in the Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Valley

    Treesearch

    Randell J. Rousseau; Emile S. Gardiner; Theodor D. Leininger

    2012-01-01

    Black willow (Salix nigra Marsh.) has the potential to be a significant feedstock source for bioenergy and biofuels production in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV). This potential is based on a number of primary factors including rapid growth, ease of vegetative propagation, excellent rooting, and the ability to regenerate from coppice...

  15. Synthesis of carbon nanospheres using fallen willow leaves and adsorption of Rhodamine B and heavy metals by them.

    PubMed

    Qu, Jiao; Zhang, Qian; Xia, Yunsheng; Cong, Qiao; Luo, Chunqiu

    2015-01-01

    This paper focuses on the synthesis of carbon nanospheres (CNSs) using fallen willow leaves as a low-cost precursor. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image demonstrated that the structure of synthesized CNSs was spherical, with a diameter of 100 nm. The crystal structure and chemical information were characterized by Raman spectrum and energy-dispersive spectrum (EDS), respectively. BET results showed that the CNSs had a larger specific surface area of 294.32 m(2) g(-1), which makes it a potentially superior adsorbent. Rh-B and heavy metal ions such as Cu(2+), Zn(2+), and Cr(6+) were used as targets to investigate the adsorption capacity of the CNSs. The effects of adsorption parameters such as adsorption equilibrium time, dose of CNSs, adsorption kinetics, and effect factors were also studied. These findings not only established a cost-effective method of synthesizing CNSs using fallen willow leaves but also broadened the potential application range of these CNSs.

  16. Territoriality, site fidelity, and survivorship of willow flycatchers wintering in Costa Rica

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Koronkiewicz, T.J.; Sogge, M.K.; van Riper, Charles; Paxton, E.H.

    2006-01-01

    We studied wintering Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii) in two seasonal freshwater wetland habitats in northwestern Costa Rica during five boreal winters, to determine habitat occupancy, overwinter and between-year site and territory fidelity, and the degree to which the sexes maintain and defend winter territories. Both males and females used agonistic displays, song, and other vocalizations to maintain and defend mutually exclusive winter territories. Males were generally more abundant than females, but this varied by site and year. There was no significant difference in male and female territory size, nor any indication of sexual habitat segregation. Similarity in morphology and aggressiveness between the sexes may account for the lack of habitat segregation and the ability of females to maintain territories at wintering sites. Each year, 80%-92% of banded flycatchers that were present in midwinter remained at the site until late winter; of these, 86%-100% of individuals maintained the same territories throughout the entire period. We also observed nonterritorial floaters that subsequently established and held winter territories. Between-year site fidelity averaged 68%, and almost all returning birds established territories with boundaries similar to the previous year. Between-year apparent survivorship estimates ranged annually from 54%-72%, with no difference between sites but weak support for higher survivorship of males compared to females. Values for winter site and territory fidelity were generally higher than those reported for other species and for Willow Flycatchers on the breeding grounds; between-year survivorship estimates were similar to those reported for breeding flycatchers. ?? The Cooper Ornithological Society 2006.

  17. Evaluation of spectral light management on growth of container-grown willow oak, nuttall oak and summer red maple

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Plant response to blue, red, gray or black shade cloth was evaluated with willow oak (Quercus phellos L.), Nuttall oak (Quercus nuttallii Palmer, Nuttall) and Summer Red maple (Acer rubrum L. ‘Summer Red’) liners. Light transmitted through the colored shade cloth had no influence on germination of ...

  18. Incorporating ecological and nonecological concerns in the restoration of a rare, high-elevation Bebb willow riparian community

    Treesearch

    Laura E. DeWald; Abe E. Springer

    2001-01-01

    Activities were initiated by The Nature Conservancy, the USDA Forest Service, and the Northern Arizona University School of Forestry and Department of Geology in 1996 to restore hydrologic and ecological function to a high-elevation Bebb willow (Salix bebbiana) and mixed grass riparian community in Hart Prairie, near Flagstaff, AZ. Initial restoration removed small...

  19. From plant extract to molecular panacea: a commentary on Stone (1763) ‘An account of the success of the bark of the willow in the cure of the agues’

    PubMed Central

    Wood, John N.

    2015-01-01

    The application of aspirin-like drugs in modern medicine is very broad, encompassing the treatment of inflammation, pain and a variety of cardiovascular conditions. Although anecdotal accounts of willow bark extract as an anti-inflammatory drug have occurred since written records began (for example by Hippocrates), the first convincing demonstration of a potent anti-pyretic effect of willow bark containing salicylates was made by the English cleric Edward Stone in the late eighteenth century. Here, we discuss the route to optimizing and understanding the mechanism of action of anti-inflammatory drugs that have their origins in Stone's seminal study, ‘An account of the success of the bark of the willow in the cure of agues’. This commentary was written to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. PMID:25750237

  20. Insights into nitrogen allocation and recycling from nitrogen elemental analysis and 15N isotope labelling in 14 genotypes of willow.

    PubMed

    Brereton, Nicholas J B; Pitre, Frederic E; Shield, Ian; Hanley, Steven J; Ray, Michael J; Murphy, Richard J; Karp, Angela

    2014-11-01

    Minimizing nitrogen (N) fertilization inputs during cultivation is essential for sustainable production of bioenergy and biofuels. The biomass crop willow (Salix spp.) is considered to have low N fertilizer requirements due to efficient recycling of nutrients during the perennial cycle. To investigate how successfully different willow genotypes assimilate and allocate N during growth, and remobilize and consequently recycle N before the onset of winter dormancy, N allocation and N remobilization (to and between different organs) were examined in 14 genotypes of a genetic family using elemental analysis and (15)N as a label. Cuttings were established in pots in April and sampled in June, August and at onset of senescence in October. Biomass yield of the trees correlated well with yields recorded in the field. Genotype-specific variation was observed for all traits measured and general trends spanning these sampling points were identified when trees were grouped by biomass yield. Nitrogen reserves in the cutting fuelled the entirety of the canopy establishment, yet earlier cessation of this dependency was linked to higher biomass yields. The stem was found to be the major N reserve by autumn, which constitutes a major source of N loss at harvest, typically every 2-3 years. These data contribute to understanding N remobilization in short rotation coppice willow and to the identification of traits that could potentially be selected for in breeding programmes to further improve the sustainability of biomass production. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press.

  1. Isolation, identification, and quantification of potential defensive compounds in the viceroy butterfly and its larval host-plant, Carolina willow.

    PubMed

    Prudic, Kathleen L; Khera, Smriti; Sólyom, Anikó; Timmermann, Barbara N

    2007-06-01

    The viceroy-monarch and viceroy-queen butterfly associations are classic examples of mimicry. These relationships were originally classified as Batesian, or parasitic, but were later reclassified as Müllerian, or mutalistic, based on predator bioassays. The Müllerian reclassification implies that viceroy is unpalatable because it too is chemically defended like the queen and the monarch. However, unlike the queen and the monarch, the viceroy defensive chemistry has remained uncharacterized. We demonstrate that the viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus, Nymphalidae) not only sequesters nonvolatile defensive compounds from its larval host-plant, the Carolina willow (Salix caroliniana, Salicaceae), but also secretes volatile defensive compounds when disturbed. We developed liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-mass spectrometry methods to identify a set of phenolic glycosides shared between the adult viceroy butterfly and the Carolina willow, and solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry methods to identify volatile phenolic compounds released from stressed viceroy butterflies. In both approaches, all structures were characterized based on their mass spectral fragmentation patterns and confirmed with authentic standards. The phenolics we found are known to deter predator attack in other prey systems, including other willow-feeding insect species. Because these compounds have a generalized defensive function at the concentrations we described, our results are consistent with the Müllerian reclassification put forth by other researchers based on bioassay results. It seems that the viceroy butterfly possesses chemical defenses different from its monarch and queen butterfly counterparts (phenolic glycosides vs. cardiac glycosides, respectively), an unusual phenomenon in mimicry warranting future study.

  2. Behavioural abnormalities of the hyposulphataemic Nas1 knock-out mouse.

    PubMed

    Dawson, Paul Anthony; Steane, Sarah Elizabeth; Markovich, Daniel

    2004-10-05

    We recently generated a sodium sulphate cotransporter knock-out mouse (Nas1-/-) which has increased urinary sulphate excretion and hyposulphataemia. To examine the consequences of disturbed sulphate homeostasis in the modulation of mouse behavioural characteristics, Nas1-/- mice were compared with Nas1+/- and Nas1+/+ littermates in a series of behavioural tests. The Nas1-/- mice displayed significantly (P < 0.001) decreased marble burying behaviour (4.33 +/- 0.82 buried) when compared to Nas1+/+ (7.86 +/- 0.44) and Nas1+/- (8.40 +/- 0.37) animals, suggesting that Nas1-/- mice may have decreased object-induced anxiety. The Nas1-/- mice also displayed decreased locomotor activity by moving less distance (1.53 +/- 0.27 m, P < 0.05) in an open-field test when compared to Nas1+/+ (2.31 +/- 0.24 m) and Nas1+/- (2.15 +/- 0.19 m) mice. The three genotypes displayed similar spatiotemporal and ethological behaviours in the elevated-plus maze and open-field test, with the exception of a decreased defecation frequency by the Nas1-/- mice (40% reduction, P < 0.01). There were no significant differences between Nas1-/- and Nas1+/+ mice in a rotarod performance test of motor coordination and in the forced swim test assessing (anti-)depressant-like behaviours. This is the first study to demonstrate behavioural abnormalities in the hyposulphataemic Nas1-/- mice.

  3. Production of willow oak acorns in an Arkansas greentree reservoir: an evaluation of regeneration and waterfowl forage potential

    Treesearch

    M. R. Guttery; A. W. Ezell; J. D. Hodges; A. J. Londo; R. P. Maiers

    2010-01-01

    Greentree reservoirs (GTRs) provide critical habitat for a broad suite of species. Unfortunately, many GTRs are mismanaged, leading to undesirable successional changes and possible habitat degradation. This study evaluates willow oak acorn production in terms of the potential for natural regeneration and waterfowl forage. During the fall and winter of 2004 and 2005,...

  4. Uptake, accumulation and metabolic response of ferricyanide in weeping willows.

    PubMed

    Yu, Xiao-Zhang; Gu, Ji-Dong

    2009-01-01

    The remediation potential and metabolic responses of plants to ferricyanide were investigated using pre-rooted weeping willows (Salix babylonica L.) grown hydroponically in growth chambers and treated with potassium ferricyanide. Positive responses were observed for the plants exposed to willows can take up

  5. Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation (NAS)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Peterson, V. L.; Ballhaus, W. F., Jr.; Bailey, F. R.

    1983-01-01

    The history of the Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation Program, which is designed to provide a leading-edge capability to computational aerodynamicists, is traced back to its origin in 1975. Factors motivating its development and examples of solutions to successively refined forms of the governing equations are presented. The NAS Processing System Network and each of its eight subsystems are described in terms of function and initial performance goals. A proposed usage allocation policy is discussed and some initial problems being readied for solution on the NAS system are identified.

  6. Glyphosate-Dependent Inhibition of Photosynthesis in Willow.

    PubMed

    Gomes, Marcelo P; Le Manac'h, Sarah G; Hénault-Ethier, Louise; Labrecque, Michel; Lucotte, Marc; Juneau, Philippe

    2017-01-01

    We studied the physiological mechanisms involved in the deleterious effects of a glyphosate-based herbicide (Factor ® 540) on photosynthesis and related physiological processes of willow ( Salix miyabeana cultivar SX64) plants. Sixty-day-old plants grown under greenhouse conditions were sprayed with different rates (0, 1.4, 2.1, and 2.8 kg a.e ha -1 ) of the commercial glyphosate formulated salt Factor ® 540. Evaluations were performed at 0, 6, 24, 48, and 72 h after herbicide exposure. We established that the herbicide decreases chlorophyll, carotenoid and plastoquinone contents, and promotes changes in the photosynthetic apparatus leading to decreased photochemistry which results in hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) accumulation. H 2 O 2 accumulation triggers proline production which can be associated with oxidative protection, NADP + recovery and shikimate pathway stimulation. Ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione peroxidase appeared to be the main peroxidases involved in the H 2 O 2 scavenging. In addition to promoting decreases of the activity of the antioxidant enzymes, the herbicide induced decreases in ascorbate pool. For the first time, a glyphosate-based herbicide mode of action interconnecting its effects on shikimate pathway, photosynthetic process and oxidative events in plants were presented.

  7. NAS-current status and future plans

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bailey, F. R.

    1987-01-01

    The Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation (NAS) has met its first major milestone, the NAS Processing System Network (NPSN) Initial Operating Configuration (IOC). The program has met its goal of providing a national supercomputer facility capable of greatly enhancing the Nation's research and development efforts. Furthermore, the program is fulfilling its pathfinder role by defining and implementing a paradigm for supercomputing system environments. The IOC is only the begining and the NAS Program will aggressively continue to develop and implement emerging supercomputer, communications, storage, and software technologies to strengthen computations as a critical element in supporting the Nation's leadership role in aeronautics.

  8. Willow Creek Wildlife Mitigation Project. Final Environmental Assessment.

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    1995-04-01

    Today`s notice announces BPA`s proposal to fund land acquisition or acquisition of a conservation easement and a wildlife management plan to protect and enhance wildlife habitat at the Willow Creek Natural Area in Eugene, Oregon. This action would provide partial mitigation for wildlife and wildlife habitat lost by the development of Federal hydroelectric projects in the Willamette River Basin. The project is consistent with BPA`s obligations under provisions of the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act of 1980 as outlined by the Northwest Power Planning Council`s 1994 Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program. BPA has prepared anmore » environmental assessment (DOE/EA-1023) evaluating the proposed project. Based on the analysis in the EA, BPA has determined that the proposed action is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. Therefore, the preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) is not required and BPA is issuing this FONSI.« less

  9. Glyphosate-Dependent Inhibition of Photosynthesis in Willow

    PubMed Central

    Gomes, Marcelo P.; Le Manac’h, Sarah G.; Hénault-Ethier, Louise; Labrecque, Michel; Lucotte, Marc; Juneau, Philippe

    2017-01-01

    We studied the physiological mechanisms involved in the deleterious effects of a glyphosate-based herbicide (Factor® 540) on photosynthesis and related physiological processes of willow (Salix miyabeana cultivar SX64) plants. Sixty-day-old plants grown under greenhouse conditions were sprayed with different rates (0, 1.4, 2.1, and 2.8 kg a.e ha-1) of the commercial glyphosate formulated salt Factor® 540. Evaluations were performed at 0, 6, 24, 48, and 72 h after herbicide exposure. We established that the herbicide decreases chlorophyll, carotenoid and plastoquinone contents, and promotes changes in the photosynthetic apparatus leading to decreased photochemistry which results in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) accumulation. H2O2 accumulation triggers proline production which can be associated with oxidative protection, NADP+ recovery and shikimate pathway stimulation. Ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione peroxidase appeared to be the main peroxidases involved in the H2O2 scavenging. In addition to promoting decreases of the activity of the antioxidant enzymes, the herbicide induced decreases in ascorbate pool. For the first time, a glyphosate-based herbicide mode of action interconnecting its effects on shikimate pathway, photosynthetic process and oxidative events in plants were presented. PMID:28261257

  10. Sequence polymorphism in candidate genes for differences in winter plumage between Scottish and Scandinavian Willow Grouse (Lagopus lagopus).

    PubMed

    Skoglund, Pontus; Höglund, Jacob

    2010-04-23

    Population variation in the degree of seasonal polymorphism is rare in birds, and the genetic basis of this phenomenon remains largely undescribed. Both sexes of Scandinavian and Scottish Willow grouse (Lagopus lagopus) display marked differences in their winter phenotypes, with Scottish grouse retaining a pigmented plumage year-round and Scandinavian Willow grouse molting to a white morph during winter. A widely studied pathway implicated in vertebrate pigmentation is the melanin system, for which functional variation has been characterised in many taxa. We sequenced coding regions from four genes involved in melanin pigmentation (DCT, MC1R, TYR and TYRP1), and an additional control involved in the melanocortin pathway (AGRP), to investigate the genetic basis of winter plumage in Lagopus. Despite the well documented role of the melanin system in animal coloration, we found no plumage-associated polymorphism or evidence for selection in a total of approximately 2.6 kb analysed sequence. Our results indicate that the genetic basis of alternating between pigmented and unpigmented seasonal phenotypes is more likely explained by regulatory changes controlling the expression of these or other loci in the physiological pathway leading to pigmentation.

  11. The SMART-NAS Testbed

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Aquilina, Rudolph A.

    2015-01-01

    The SMART-NAS Testbed for Safe Trajectory Based Operations Project will deliver an evaluation capability, critical to the ATM community, allowing full NextGen and beyond-NextGen concepts to be assessed and developed. To meet this objective a strong focus will be placed on concept integration and validation to enable a gate-to-gate trajectory-based system capability that satisfies a full vision for NextGen. The SMART-NAS for Safe TBO Project consists of six sub-projects. Three of the sub-projects are focused on exploring and developing technologies, concepts and models for evolving and transforming air traffic management operations in the ATM+2 time horizon, while the remaining three sub-projects are focused on developing the tools and capabilities needed for testing these advanced concepts. Function Allocation, Networked Air Traffic Management and Trajectory Based Operations are developing concepts and models. SMART-NAS Test-bed, System Assurance Technologies and Real-time Safety Modeling are developing the tools and capabilities to test these concepts. Simulation and modeling capabilities will include the ability to assess multiple operational scenarios of the national airspace system, accept data feeds, allowing shadowing of actual operations in either real-time, fast-time and/or hybrid modes of operations in distributed environments, and enable integrated examinations of concepts, algorithms, technologies, and NAS architectures. An important focus within this project is to enable the development of a real-time, system-wide safety assurance system. The basis of such a system is a continuum of information acquisition, analysis, and assessment that enables awareness and corrective action to detect and mitigate potential threats to continuous system-wide safety at all levels. This process, which currently can only be done post operations, will be driven towards "real-time" assessments in the 2035 time frame.

  12. Electrical Capacitance as a Predictor of Root Dry Weight in Shrub Willow ( Salix; Salicaceae) Parents and Progeny

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Carlson, Craig H.; Smart, Lawrence B.

    Here, the root biomass is an important trait often disregarded in woody perennial selection due to the challenge and expense of accurately and efficiently measuring large populations. In this study, we aim to develop a simple method that can predict root dry weight within a diverse shrub willow ( Salix) breeding population representing species hybrids and their parents using root electrical capacitance (REC). The REC method was tested on plants started from cuttings and grown in pots with potting mix in the greenhouse for 11 wk to assess the relationship of REC with 24 biomass traits and its usefulness inmore » allometric models for root and stem dry biomass. As a result, strong linear and positive correlations were found between REC and root dry biomass (r = 0.88). The total proportion of variance of root and stem dry biomass explained by predictors in multiple regression was 85% and 69%, respectively. The relative importance of predictor variables in allometric models was dominated by the contribution of REC. Here, this work provides an efficient and nondestructive technique to indirectly quantify root biomass of genetically diverse shrub willow progeny, which has great promise for selection of genotypes with varying root biomass and for the accurate estimation of belowground carbon sequestration.« less

  13. Electrical Capacitance as a Predictor of Root Dry Weight in Shrub Willow ( Salix; Salicaceae) Parents and Progeny

    DOE PAGES

    Carlson, Craig H.; Smart, Lawrence B.

    2016-08-19

    Here, the root biomass is an important trait often disregarded in woody perennial selection due to the challenge and expense of accurately and efficiently measuring large populations. In this study, we aim to develop a simple method that can predict root dry weight within a diverse shrub willow ( Salix) breeding population representing species hybrids and their parents using root electrical capacitance (REC). The REC method was tested on plants started from cuttings and grown in pots with potting mix in the greenhouse for 11 wk to assess the relationship of REC with 24 biomass traits and its usefulness inmore » allometric models for root and stem dry biomass. As a result, strong linear and positive correlations were found between REC and root dry biomass (r = 0.88). The total proportion of variance of root and stem dry biomass explained by predictors in multiple regression was 85% and 69%, respectively. The relative importance of predictor variables in allometric models was dominated by the contribution of REC. Here, this work provides an efficient and nondestructive technique to indirectly quantify root biomass of genetically diverse shrub willow progeny, which has great promise for selection of genotypes with varying root biomass and for the accurate estimation of belowground carbon sequestration.« less

  14. UAS Integration into the NAS Project

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bauer, Jeff

    2010-01-01

    The goal of the UAS Integration in the NAS Project is to contribute capabilities that reduce technical barriers related to the safety and operational challenges associated with enabling routine UAS access to the NAS This goal will be accomplished through a two-phased approach of system-level integration of key concepts, technologies and/or procedures, and demonstrations of integrated capabilities in an operationally relevant environment. Technical objectives include: PHASE 1: a) Validating the key technical areas identified by this project. System-level analyses, a State of the Art Analysis (SOAA), and a ConOps will identify the challenges and barriers preventing routine UAS access to the NAS. b) Developing a national roadmap and gap analysis identifying specific deliverables in the area of operations, procedures, and technologies that will impact future policy decisions. PHASE 2: a) Provide regulators with a methodology for developing airworthiness requirements for UAS and data to support development of certifications standards and regulatory guidance. b) Provide systems-level integrated testing of concepts and/or capabilities that address barriers to routine access to the NAS. Through simulation and flight testing, address issues including separation assurance, communications requirements, and Pilot Aircraft Interfaces (PAIs) in operationally relevant environments

  15. Early selection of novel triploid hybrids of shrub willow with improved biomass yield relative to diploids

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Genetic improvement of shrub willow (Salix), a perennial energy crop common to temperate climates, has led to the development of new cultivars with improved biomass yield, pest and disease resistance, and biomass composition suitable for bioenergy applications. These improvements have largely been associated with species hybridization, yet little is known about the genetic mechanisms responsible for improved yield and performance of certain willow species hybrids. Results The top performing genotypes in this study, representing advanced pedigrees compared with those in previous studies, were mostly triploid in nature and outperformed current commercial cultivars. Of the genotypes studied, the diploids had the lowest mean yield of 8.29 oven dry Mg ha−1 yr−1, while triploids yielded 12.65 Mg ha−1 yr−1, with the top five producing over 16 Mg ha−1 yr−1. Triploids had high stem area and height across all three years of growth in addition to greatest specific gravity. The lowest specific gravity was observed among the tetraploid genotypes. Height was the early trait most correlated with and the best predictor of third-year yield. Conclusions These results establish a paradigm for future breeding and improvement of Salix bioenergy crops based on the development of triploid species hybrids. Stem height and total stem area are effective traits for early prediction of relative yield performance. PMID:24661804

  16. Detection of Salicylic Acid in Willow Bark: An Addition to a Classic Series of Experiments in the Introductory Organic Chemistry Laboratory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clay, Matthew D.; McLeod, Eric J.

    2012-01-01

    Salicylic acid and its derivative, acetylsalicylic acid, are often encountered in introductory organic chemistry experiments, and mention is often made that salicylic acid was originally isolated from the bark of the willow tree. This biological connection, however, is typically not further pursued, leaving students with an impression that biology…

  17. The Need for Vendor Source Code at NAS. Revised

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Carter, Russell; Acheson, Steve; Blaylock, Bruce; Brock, David; Cardo, Nick; Ciotti, Bob; Poston, Alan; Wong, Parkson; Chancellor, Marisa K. (Technical Monitor)

    1997-01-01

    The Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation (NAS) Facility has a long standing practice of maintaining buildable source code for installed hardware. There are two reasons for this: NAS's designated pathfinding role, and the need to maintain a smoothly running operational capacity given the widely diversified nature of the vendor installations. NAS has a need to maintain support capabilities when vendors are not able; diagnose and remedy hardware or software problems where applicable; and to support ongoing system software development activities whether or not the relevant vendors feel support is justified. This note provides an informal history of these activities at NAS, and brings together the general principles that drive the requirement that systems integrated into the NAS environment run binaries built from source code, onsite.

  18. Maintenance and operation of the multispectral data collection and reproduction facilities of the Willow Run Laboratories

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hasell, P. G., Jr.; Stewart, S. R.

    1972-01-01

    The accomplishments in multispectral mapping during 1970 and (fiscal year) 1971 are presented. The mapping was done with the instrumented C-47 aircraft owned and operated by Willow Run Laboratories of The University of Michigan. Specific information for flight operations sponsored by NASA/MSC (Manned Spacecraft Center) in 1970 and fiscal year 1971 is presented, and a total listing of flights for 1968, 1969, 1970, and fiscal year 1971 is included in the appendices. The data-collection and reproduction facilities are described.

  19. Discovering the Factors Contributing to the Decline and Mortality of Willow Oaks in the D'Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge, LA.

    Treesearch

    Theodor D. Leininger

    1998-01-01

    Since the early 1990's, mature willow oaks (Quercus phellos L.) on certain sites in the D'Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge(DNWR), in northeast Louisiana, have shown crown dieback. The die back is progressive with some trees continuing to decline, eventually leading to death, within one to three years. This condition has caused the Refuge forester to...

  20. NASA's UAS NAS Access Project

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Johnson, Charles W.

    2011-01-01

    The vision of the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project is "A global transportation system which allows routine access for all classes of UAS." The goal of the UAS Integration in the NAS Project is to "contribute capabilities that reduce technical barriers related to the safety and operational challenges associated with enabling routine UAS access to the NAS." This goal will be accomplished through a two-phased approach based on development of system-level integration of key concepts, technologies and/or procedures, and demonstrations of integrated capabilities in an operationally relevant environment. Phase 1 will take place the first two years of the Project and Phase 2 will take place the following three years. The Phase 1 and 2 technical objectives are: Phase 1: Developing a gap analysis between current state of the art and the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) UAS Concept of Operations . Validating the key technical areas identified by this Project . Conducting initial modeling, simulation, and flight testing activities . Completing Sub-project Phase 1 deliverables (spectrum requirements, comparative analysis of certification methodologies, etc.) and continue Phase 2 preparation (infrastructure, tools, etc.) Phase 2: Providing regulators with a methodology for developing airworthiness requirements for UAS, and data to support development of certifications standards and regulatory guidance . Providing systems-level, integrated testing of concepts and/or capabilities that address barriers to routine access to the NAS. Through simulation and flight testing, address issues including separation assurance, communications requirements, and human systems integration in operationally relevant environments. The UAS in the NAS Project will demonstrate solutions in specific technology areas, which will address operational/safety issues related to UAS access to the NAS. Since the resource allocation for

  1. First-Year Survival and Growth of Bareroot and Container Water Oak and Willow Oak Seedlings Grown at Different Levels of Mineral Nutrition

    Treesearch

    Hans Williams; Matthew Stroupe

    2002-01-01

    Bareroot and container water oak (Quercus nigra) and willow oak (Quercus phellos) seedlings were treated with 3 different levels of nitrogen (N) mineral fertilizer applied during the growing season in the nursery. Comparisons were made between species, N treatments, and stock-types for seedling morphology, first-year survival and...

  2. Phytoremediation of Metal Contaminated Soil Using Willow: Exploiting Plant-Associated Bacteria to Improve Biomass Production and Metal Uptake.

    PubMed

    Janssen, Jolien; Weyens, Nele; Croes, Sarah; Beckers, Bram; Meiresonne, Linda; Van Peteghem, Pierre; Carleer, Robert; Vangronsveld, Jaco

    2015-01-01

    Short rotation coppice (SRC) of willow and poplar is proposed for economic valorization and concurrently as remediation strategy for metal contaminated land in northeast-Belgium. However, metal phytoextraction appears insufficient to effectuate rapid reduction of soil metal contents. To increase both biomass production and metal accumulation of SRC, two strategies are proposed: (i) in situ selection of the best performing clones and (ii) bioaugmentation of these clones with beneficial plant-associated bacteria. Based on field data, two experimental willow clones, a Salix viminalis and a Salix alba x alba clone, were selected. Compared to the best performing commercial clones, considerable increases in stem metal extraction were achieved (up to 74% for Cd and 91% for Zn). From the selected clones, plant-associated bacteria were isolated and identified. All strains were subsequently screened for their plant growth-promoting and metal uptake enhancing traits. Five strains were selected for a greenhouse inoculation experiment with the selected clones planted in Cd-Zn-Pb contaminated soil. Extraction potential tended to increase after inoculation of S. viminalis plants with a Rahnella sp. strain due to a significantly increased twig biomass. However, although bacterial strains showing beneficial traits in vitro were used for inoculation, increments in extraction potential were not always observed.

  3. Meta-transcriptomics indicates biotic cross-tolerance in willow trees cultivated on petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soil.

    PubMed

    Gonzalez, Emmanuel; Brereton, Nicholas J B; Marleau, Julie; Guidi Nissim, Werther; Labrecque, Michel; Pitre, Frederic E; Joly, Simon

    2015-10-12

    High concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) pollution can be hazardous to human health and leave soils incapable of supporting agricultural crops. A cheap solution, which can help restore biodiversity and bring land back to productivity, is cultivation of high biomass yielding willow trees. However, the genetic mechanisms which allow these fast-growing trees to tolerate PHCs are as yet unclear. Salix purpurea 'Fish Creek' trees were pot-grown in soil from a former petroleum refinery, either lacking or enriched with C10-C50 PHCs. De novo assembled transcriptomes were compared between tree organs and impartially annotated without a priori constraint to any organism. Over 45% of differentially expressed genes originated from foreign organisms, the majority from the two-spotted spidermite, Tetranychus urticae. Over 99% of T. urticae transcripts were differentially expressed with greater abundance in non-contaminated trees. Plant transcripts involved in the polypropanoid pathway, including phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), had greater expression in contaminated trees whereas most resistance genes showed higher expression in non-contaminated trees. The impartial approach to annotation of the de novo transcriptomes, allowing for the possibility for multiple species identification, was essential for interpretation of the crop's response treatment. The meta-transcriptomic pattern of expression suggests a cross-tolerance mechanism whereby abiotic stress resistance systems provide improved biotic resistance. These findings highlight a valuable but complex biotic and abiotic stress response to real-world, multidimensional contamination which could, in part, help explain why crops such as willow can produce uniquely high biomass yields on challenging marginal land.

  4. Nucleotide-dependent switch in proteasome assembly mediated by the Nas6 chaperone

    PubMed Central

    Li, Frances; Tian, Geng; Langager, Deanna; Sokolova, Vladyslava; Finley, Daniel; Park, Soyeon

    2017-01-01

    The proteasome is assembled via the nine-subunit lid, nine-subunit base, and 28-subunit core particle (CP). Previous work has shown that the chaperones Rpn14, Nas6, Hsm3, and Nas2 each bind a specific ATPase subunit of the base and antagonize base–CP interaction. Here, we show that the Nas6 chaperone also obstructs base–lid association. Nas6 alternates between these two inhibitory modes according to the nucleotide state of the base. When ATP cannot be hydrolyzed, Nas6 interferes with base–lid, but not base–CP, association. In contrast, under conditions of ATP hydrolysis, Nas6 obstructs base–CP, but not base–lid, association. Modeling of Nas6 into cryoelectron microscopy structures of the proteasome suggests that Nas6 controls both base–lid affinity and base–CP affinity through steric hindrance; Nas6 clashes with the lid in the ATP-hydrolysis–blocked proteasome, but clashes instead with the CP in the ATP-hydrolysis–competent proteasome. Thus, Nas6 provides a dual mechanism to control assembly at both major interfaces of the proteasome. PMID:28137839

  5. Inhibition of proinflammatory biomarkers in THP1 macrophages by polyphenols derived from chamomile, meadowsweet and willow bark.

    PubMed

    Drummond, Elaine M; Harbourne, Niamh; Marete, Eunice; Martyn, Danika; Jacquier, Jc; O'Riordan, Dolores; Gibney, Eileen R

    2013-04-01

    Antiinflammatory compounds in the diet can alleviate excessive inflammation, a factor in the pathogenesis of common diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis and diabetes. This study examined three European herbs, chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria L.) and willow bark (Salix alba L.), which have been traditionally used to treat inflammation and their potential for use as antiinflammatory agents. Aqueous herbal extracts and isolated polyphenolic compounds (apigenin, quercetin and salicylic acid, 0-100 μM) were incubated with THP1 macrophages, and interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were measured. At concentrations of 10 μM, both apigenin and quercetin reduced IL-6 significantly ( p < 0.05). Apigenin at 10 μM and quercetin at 25 μM reduced TNF-α significantly ( p < 0.05). Amongst the herbal extracts, willow bark had the greatest antiinflammatory activity at reducing IL-6 and TNF-α production. This was followed by meadowsweet and then chamomile. The lowest effective antiinflammatory concentrations were noncytotoxic (MTT mitochondrial activity assay). The Comet assay, which was used to study the protective effect of the isolated phenols against oxidative damage, showed positive results for all three polyphenols. These are the first findings that demonstrate the antiinflammatory capacity of these herbal extracts. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  6. The Willow Hill Community Health Assessment: Assessing the Needs of Children in a Former Slave Community.

    PubMed

    Alfonso, Moya L; Jackson, Gayle; Jackson, Alvin; Hardy, DeShannon; Gupta, Akrati

    2015-10-01

    The overall purpose of this community needs assessment was to explore the perceptions of health and educational needs among youth residing in a rural Georgia community, document existing assets that could be utilized to meet those needs, and to identify socioeconomic barriers and facilitators in health education. A sequential mixed method design was used. Intercept surveys were conducted followed by individual, key informant interviews and a focus group. Survey data was entered into an Excel spreadsheet and SPSS for analysis and descriptive statistics including means and frequencies were calculated. For qualitative interviews, full transcripts were created from audio-recordings and uploaded into NVivo for content analysis. Several health issues were highlighted by the Willow Hill/Portal Georgia community members, including teachers, parents, youth and Willow Hill Heritage and Renaissance Center board members. Some of the health issues identified by youth in the community were low levels of physical activity, obesity, diabetes, lack of healthy food choices, and access to health care services. Including the issues identified by youth, the parents, teachers and board members identified additional health issues in the community such as asthma, hygiene and lack of dental and eye care facilities. Overall, there is a need for better infrastructure and awareness among community members. Utilizing identified assets, including active community leaders, involved faith-based organizations, commitment of community members, presence of land resources, and commitment to physical activity and sports, could modify the current community landscape.

  7. Geographic variation in the plumage coloration of willow flycatchers Empidonax traillii

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Paxton, Eben H.; Sogge, Mark K.; Koronkiewicz, Thomas J.; McLeod, Mary Anne; Theimer, Tad C.

    2010-01-01

    The ability to identify distinct taxonomic groups of birds (species, subspecies, geographic races) can advance ecological research efforts by determining connectivity between the non-breeding and breeding grounds for migrant species, identifying the origin of migrants, and helping to refine boundaries between subspecies or geographic races. Multiple methods are available to identify taxonomic groups (e.g., morphology, genetics), and one that has played an important role for avian taxonomists over the years is plumage coloration. With the advent of electronic devices that can quickly and accurately quantify plumage coloration, the potential of using coloration as an identifier for distinct taxonomic groups, even when differences are subtle, becomes possible. In this study, we evaluated the degree to which plumage coloration differs among the four subspecies of the willow flycatcher Empidonax traillii, evaluated sources of variation, and considered the utility of plumage coloration to assign subspecies membership for individuals of unknown origin. We used a colorimeter to measure plumage coloration of 374 adult willow flycatchers from 29 locations across their breeding range in 2004 and 2005. We found strong statistical differences among the mean plumage coloration values of the four subspecies; however, while individuals tended to group around their respective subspecies' mean color value, the dispersion of individuals around such means overlapped. Mean color values for each breeding site of the three western subspecies clustered together, but the eastern subspecies' color values were dispersed among the other subspecies, rather than distinctly clustered. Additionally, sites along boundaries showed evidence of intergradation and intermediate coloration patterns. We evaluated the predictive power of colorimeter measurements on flycatchers by constructing a canonical discriminant model to predict subspecies origin of migrants passing through the southwestern U

  8. Physiological and proteomic responses of different willow clones (Salix fragilis x alba) exposed to dredged sediment contaminated by heavy metals.

    PubMed

    Evlard, Aricia; Sergeant, Kjell; Ferrandis, Salvador; Printz, Bruno; Renaut, Jenny; Guignard, Cedric; Paul, Roger; Hausman, Jean-Francois; Campanella, Bruno

    2014-01-01

    High biomass producing species are considered as tools for remediation of contaminated soils. Willows (Salix spp.) are prominent study subjects in this regard. In this study, different willow clones (Salix fragilis x alba) were planted on heavy-metal polluted dredging sludge. A first objective was assessment of the biomass production for these clones. Using a Gupta statistic, four clones were identified as high biomass producers (HBP). For comparison, a group of four clones with lowest biomass production were selected (LBP). A second objective was to compare metal uptake as well as the physiological and proteomic responses of these two groups. All these complementary data's allow us to have a better picture of the health of the clones that would be used in phytoremediation programs. Cd, Zn, and Ni total uptake was higher in the HBPs but Pb total uptake was higher in LBPs. Our proteomic and physiological results showed that the LBPs were able to maintain cellular activity as much as the HBPs although the oxidative stress response was more pronounced in the LBPs. This could be due to the high Pb content found in this group although a combined effect of the other metals cannot be excluded.

  9. Determination of composition of non-homogeneous GaInNAs layers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pucicki, D.; Bielak, K.; Ściana, B.; Radziewicz, D.; Latkowska-Baranowska, M.; Kováč, J.; Vincze, A.; Tłaczała, M.

    2016-01-01

    Dilute nitride GaInNAs alloys grown on GaAs have become perspective materials for so called low-cost GaAs-based devices working within the optical wavelength range up to 1.6 μm. The multilayer structures of GaInNAs/GaAs multi-quantum well (MQW) samples usually are analyzed by using high resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) measurements. However, demands for precise structural characterization of the GaInNAs containing heterostructures requires taking into consideration all inhomogeneities of such structures. This paper describes some of the material challenges and progress in structural characterization of GaInNAs layers. A new algorithm for structural characterization of dilute nitrides which bounds contactless electro-reflectance (CER) or photo-reflectance (PR) measurements and HRXRD analysis results together with GaInNAs quantum well band diagram calculation is presented. The triple quantum well (3QW) GaInNAs/GaAs structures grown by atmospheric-pressure metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (AP-MOVPE) were investigated according to the proposed algorithm. Thanks to presented algorithm, more precise structural data including the nonuniformity in the growth direction of GaInNAs/GaAs QWs were achieved. Therefore, the proposed algorithm is mentioned as a nondestructive method for characterization of multicomponent inhomogeneous semiconductor structures with quantum wells.

  10. NATIONAL ALCOHOL SURVEY (NAS)

    EPA Science Inventory

    National Alcohol Survey (NAS) is designed to assess the trends in drinking practices and problems in the national population, including attitudes, norms, treatment and experiences and adverse consequences. It also studies the effects of public policy on drinking practices (i.e., ...

  11. UAS NAS IHITL Test Readiness Review (TRR)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Murphy, Jim; Brignola, Michael P.; Rorie, Conrad; Santiago, Confesor; Guminsky, Mike; Cross, Ken

    2014-01-01

    Requesting release of IHITL test readiness review (TRR) charts to ensure UAS-NAS project primary stakeholders, the Federal Aviation Administration through the RTCA special committee -228 and the Office of the Secretary of Defense Sense and Avoid Science and Research Panel, are well informed on the IHITL test plan and expected outcomes as they relate to their needs to safely fly UAS in the NAS.

  12. Female-biased sex ratio, polygyny, and persistence in the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Kus, Barbara E.; Howell, Scarlett; Wood, Dustin A.

    2017-01-01

    Demographic changes in populations, such as skewed sex ratios, are of concern to conservationists, especially in small populations in which stochastic and other events can produce declines leading to extirpation. We documented a decline in one of the few remaining populations of Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) in southern California, USA, which dropped from 40 to 5 adults between 2000 and 2015. Declines were unequal between sexes (94% for males, 82% for females). Adult sex ratios were female-biased in 10 of 16 yr. The proportion of paired males that were polygynous ranged from 0% to 100%, depending on the ratio of females to males in the adult population. Some males paired with up to 5 females simultaneously. We investigated the role of nestling sex ratio in the female-biased adult sex ratio by using genetic techniques to determine sex from blood samples collected from 162 nestlings in 72 nests from 2002 to 2009. Both population-level and within-brood nestling sex ratios were female-biased, and were not influenced by nest order (first or subsequent), parental mating type (monogamous or polygynous), or year. Disproportionately more females than males were recruited into the breeding population, mirroring nestling and fledgling sex ratios. It thus appears that a skewed nestling sex ratio has contributed to a female-biased adult population, which in turn has influenced mating behavior. We propose that the capacity for polygyny, which generally occurs at low levels in Southwestern Willow Flycatchers, has allowed this population to persist through a decline that might otherwise have resulted in extinction.

  13. National Airspace System (NAS) open system architecture and protocols

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2003-08-14

    This standard establishes the open systems data communications architecture and authorized protocol standards for the National Airspace System (NAS). The NAS will consist of various types of processors and communications networks procured from a vari...

  14. Natural attenuation software (NAS): Assessing remedial strategies and estimating timeframes

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Mendez, E.; Widdowson, M.; Chapelle, F.; Casey, C.

    2005-01-01

    Natural Attenuation Software (NAS) is a screening tool to estimate remediation timeframes for monitored natural attenuation (MNA) and to assist in decision-making on the level of source zone treatment in conjunction with MNA using site-specific remediation objectives. Natural attenuation processes that NAS models include are advection, dispersion, sorption, non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) dissolution, and biodegradation of either petroleum hydrocarbons or chlorinated ethylenes. Newly-implemented enhancements to NAS designed to maximize the utility of NAS for site managers were observed. NAS has expanded source contaminant specification options to include chlorinated ethanes and chlorinated methanes, and to allow for the analysis of any other user-defined contaminants that may be subject to microbially-mediated transformations (heavy metals, radioisotopes, etc.). Included is the capability to model co-mingled plumes, with constituents from multiple contaminant categories. To enable comparison of remediation timeframe estimates between MNA and specific engineered remedial actions , NAS was modified to incorporate an estimation technique for timeframes associated with pump-and-treat remediation technology for comparison to MNA. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 8th International In Situ and On-Site Bioremediation Symposium (Baltimore, MD 6/6-9/2005).

  15. Fungal community structure under goat willows (Salix caprea L.) growing at metal polluted site: the potential of screening in a model phytostabilisation study

    Treesearch

    Marjana Regvar; Matevz Likar; Andrej Piltaver; Nives Kugonic; Jane E. Smith

    2010-01-01

    Goat willow (Salix caprea L.) was selected in a previous vegetation screening study as a potential candidate for the later-stage phytostabilisation efforts at a heavily metal polluted site in Slovenia. The aims of this study were to identify the fungi colonising roots of S. caprea along the gradient of vegetation succession and...

  16. PERMANENT GENETIC RESOURCES: Consensus primers of cyp73 genes discriminate willow species and hybrids (Salix, Salicaceae).

    PubMed

    Trung, Le Quang; VAN Puyvelde, Karolien; Triest, Ludwig

    2008-03-01

    Consensus primers, based on exon sequences of the cyp73 gene family coding for cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H) of the lignin biosynthesis pathway, were designed for the tetraploid willow species Salix alba and Salix fragilis. Diagnostic alleles at species level were observed among introns of three cyp73 genes and allowed unambiguous detection of the first generation and introgressed hybrids in populations. Progeny analysis of a female S. alba with a male introgressed hybrid confirmed the codominant inheritance of each intron. Sequences of the diagnostic alleles of both species were similar to those found in the hybrids. © 2007 The Authors.

  17. NAS Grid Benchmarks. 1.0

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    VanderWijngaart, Rob; Frumkin, Michael; Biegel, Bryan A. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    We provide a paper-and-pencil specification of a benchmark suite for computational grids. It is based on the NAS (NASA Advanced Supercomputing) Parallel Benchmarks (NPB) and is called the NAS Grid Benchmarks (NGB). NGB problems are presented as data flow graphs encapsulating an instance of a slightly modified NPB task in each graph node, which communicates with other nodes by sending/receiving initialization data. Like NPB, NGB specifies several different classes (problem sizes). In this report we describe classes S, W, and A, and provide verification values for each. The implementor has the freedom to choose any language, grid environment, security model, fault tolerance/error correction mechanism, etc., as long as the resulting implementation passes the verification test and reports the turnaround time of the benchmark.

  18. New NAS Parallel Benchmarks Results

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Yarrow, Maurice; Saphir, William; VanderWijngaart, Rob; Woo, Alex; Kutler, Paul (Technical Monitor)

    1997-01-01

    NPB2 (NAS (NASA Advanced Supercomputing) Parallel Benchmarks 2) is an implementation, based on Fortran and the MPI (message passing interface) message passing standard, of the original NAS Parallel Benchmark specifications. NPB2 programs are run with little or no tuning, in contrast to NPB vendor implementations, which are highly optimized for specific architectures. NPB2 results complement, rather than replace, NPB results. Because they have not been optimized by vendors, NPB2 implementations approximate the performance a typical user can expect for a portable parallel program on distributed memory parallel computers. Together these results provide an insightful comparison of the real-world performance of high-performance computers. New NPB2 features: New implementation (CG), new workstation class problem sizes, new serial sample versions, more performance statistics.

  19. The NAS Computational Aerosciences Archive

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Miceli, Kristina D.; Globus, Al; Lasinski, T. A. (Technical Monitor)

    1995-01-01

    In order to further the state-of-the-art in computational aerosciences (CAS) technology, researchers must be able to gather and understand existing work in the field. One aspect of this information gathering is studying published work available in scientific journals and conference proceedings. However, current scientific publications are very limited in the type and amount of information that they can disseminate. Information is typically restricted to text, a few images, and a bibliography list. Additional information that might be useful to the researcher, such as additional visual results, referenced papers, and datasets, are not available. New forms of electronic publication, such as the World Wide Web (WWW), limit publication size only by available disk space and data transmission bandwidth, both of which are improving rapidly. The Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation (NAS) Systems Division at NASA Ames Research Center is in the process of creating an archive of CAS information on the WWW. This archive will be based on the large amount of information produced by researchers associated with the NAS facility. The archive will contain technical summaries and reports of research performed on NAS supercomputers, visual results (images, animations, visualization system scripts), datasets, and any other supporting meta-information. This information will be available via the WWW through the NAS homepage, located at http://www.nas.nasa.gov/, fully indexed for searching. The main components of the archive are technical summaries and reports, visual results, and datasets. Technical summaries are gathered every year by researchers who have been allotted resources on NAS supercomputers. These summaries, together with supporting visual results and references, are browsable by interested researchers. Referenced papers made available by researchers can be accessed through hypertext links. Technical reports are in-depth accounts of tools and applications research projects

  20. 21st Session of the International Poplar Commission (IPC-2000): poplar and willow culture: meeting the needs of society and the environment; 200 September 24-28; Vancouver, WA.

    Treesearch

    J.G. Isebrands; J. Richardson

    2000-01-01

    Research results and ongoing research activities on poplar and willow breeding, diseases, insects, production, and utilization are described in 220 abstracts from the International Poplar Commission meeting in Vancouver, Washington, September 24-28, 2000.

  1. Phytoremediation potential of poplar and willow species in small scale constructed wetland for boron removal.

    PubMed

    Yıldırım, Kubilay; Kasım, Gözde Çıtır

    2018-03-01

    Boron (B) pollution is an expanding environmental problem throughout the world due to intensive mining practices and extensive usage of B in agricultural chemicals and industrial products in recent years. The purpose of this study was to investigate B removal performance of four poplar and four willow species in small scale Constructed Wetland (CW). Rooted cuttings of tested species were treated with simulated wastewater having five elevated B concentrations (0.5, 5, 10, 20 and 40 ppm). All the tested species could resist up to 20 ppm wastewater B supply and could regrow from their roots in the soil having maximum 15 mg/kg B content. The result of the study indicated that 65% ± 5.3 of B was removed from the wastewater in 5 ppm B treatment while the same efficiency decreased to 45% ± 4.6 at 40 ppm B supply. The average effect of sediment on B removal was found to be approximately 20% for all B treatments while the remaining part of the loaded B was removed from the CW within effluent (35-54%). Therefore, actual effects of plant species on B removal was ranged from 45% to 25% between 5 and 40 ppm B treatments. Mass B removal within plant body (phytextraction) comprised the 13-10% of total loaded B in CW while the remaining part of the loaded B (31-15%) was stabilized into the sediment with the effects of poplar and willow roots. These results presented clear understanding of effective B purification mechanisms in CWs. Boron phytextraction capacity of a plant species was less effective than its phytstabilization efficiency which increase filtering capacity of the sediment and stabilization of more B around the rhizosphere. In terms of their B removal ability, P.nigra and S.anatolica had the highest B removal capacities with phytextraction (20-11%) while S.alba, P.alba and S.babylonica had more phytstabilizaiton performance (40-15%) in CW. Disposal of B loaded plant material create another environmental costs for CW applications. Therefore, B loaded

  2. Site fidelity, territory fidelity, and natal philopatry in Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sedgwick, James A.

    2004-01-01

    I investigated the causes and consequences of adult breeding-site fidelity, territory fidelity, and natal philopatry in Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii) in southeastern Oregon over a 10-year period, testing the general hypothesis that fidelity and dispersal distances are influenced by previous breeding performance. Willow Flycatchers adhered to the generally observed tendencies of passerine birds for low natal philopatry and high breedingsite fidelity. Site fidelity (return to the study area) of adult males (52.0%) and females (51.3%), and median dispersal distances between seasons (16 m vs. 19 m) were similar. Previous breeding performance and residency (age-experience), but not study-site quality, explained site fidelity in females. Site fidelity of females rearing 4–5 young (64.4%) exceeded that of unsuccessful females (40.0%), breeding dispersal was less (successful: 15 m; unsuccessful: 33 m), and novice residents were more site-faithful than former residents. Probability of site fidelity was higher for previously successful females (odds ratio = 4.76), those with greater seasonal fecundity (odds ratio = 1.58), novice residents (odds ratio = 1.41), and unparasitized females (odds ratio = 2.76). Male site fidelity was not related to residency, site quality, or previous breeding performance. Territory fidelity (return to the previous territory) in females was best explained by previous breeding performance, but not by site quality or residency. Previously successful females were more likely to return to their territory of the previous season than either unsuccessful (odds ratio = 14.35) or parasitized birds (odds ratio = 6.38). Male territory fidelity was not related to residency, site quality, or previous breeding performance. Natal philopatry was low (7.8%) and similar for males and females. Site quality appeared to influence philopatry, given that no birds reared at a low-quality study site returned there to breed, and birds reared there dispersed

  3. An Implementation Plan for NFS at NASA's NAS Facility

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lam, Terance L.; Kutler, Paul (Technical Monitor)

    1998-01-01

    This document discusses how NASA's NAS can benefit from the Sun Microsystems' Network File System (NFS). A case study is presented to demonstrate the effects of NFS on the NAS supercomputing environment. Potential problems are addressed and an implementation strategy is proposed.

  4. Response of Organ Structure and Physiology to Autotetraploidization in Early Development of Energy Willow Salix viminalis.

    PubMed

    Dudits, Dénes; Török, Katalin; Cseri, András; Paul, Kenny; Nagy, Anna V; Nagy, Bettina; Sass, László; Ferenc, Györgyi; Vankova, Radomira; Dobrev, Petre; Vass, Imre; Ayaydin, Ferhan

    2016-03-01

    The biomass productivity of the energy willow Salix viminalis as a short-rotation woody crop depends on organ structure and functions that are under the control of genome size. Colchicine treatment of axillary buds resulted in a set of autotetraploid S. viminalis var. Energo genotypes (polyploid Energo [PP-E]; 2n = 4x = 76) with variation in the green pixel-based shoot surface area. In cases where increased shoot biomass was observed, it was primarily derived from larger leaf size and wider stem diameter. Autotetraploidy slowed primary growth and increased shoot diameter (a parameter of secondary growth). The duplicated genome size enlarged bark and wood layers in twigs sampled in the field. The PP-E plants developed wider leaves with thicker midrib and enlarged palisade parenchyma cells. Autotetraploid leaves contained significantly increased amounts of active gibberellins, cytokinins, salicylic acid, and jasmonate compared with diploid individuals. Greater net photosynthetic CO2 uptake was detected in leaves of PP-E plants with increased chlorophyll and carotenoid contents. Improved photosynthetic functions in tetraploids were also shown by more efficient electron transport rates of photosystems I and II. Autotetraploidization increased the biomass of the root system of PP-E plants relative to diploids. Sections of tetraploid roots showed thickening with enlarged cortex cells. Elevated amounts of indole acetic acid, active cytokinins, active gibberellin, and salicylic acid were detected in the root tips of these plants. The presented variation in traits of tetraploid willow genotypes provides a basis to use autopolyploidization as a chromosome engineering technique to alter the organ development of energy plants in order to improve biomass productivity. © 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

  5. NAS infrastructure management system build 1.5 computer-human interface

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2001-01-01

    Human factors engineers from the National Airspace System (NAS) Human Factors Branch (ACT-530) of the Federal Aviation Administration William J. Hughes Technical Center conducted an evaluation of the NAS Infrastructure Management System (NIMS) Build ...

  6. Seasonal Variation in the Hormone Content of Willow: II. Effect of Photoperiod on Growth and Abscisic Acid Content of Trees under Field Conditions.

    PubMed

    Alvim, R

    1978-11-01

    Levels of abscisic acid were followed in the xylem sap, mature leaves, and apices of field-grown willow (Salix viminalis L.) during the summer months, under natural and artificially extended photoperiods. Although the long day treatment prevented the general onset of dormancy, the plants grown under natural daylengths showed lower concentration of abscisic acid than those kept under long days.

  7. Willow Fire Near Payson, Arizona

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2004-01-01

    On July 3, 2004, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA's Terra satellite acquired this image of the Willow fire near Payson, Arizona. The image is being used by the United States Department of Agriculture's Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Center (RSAC). The image combines data from the visible and infrared wavelength regions to highlight: the burned areas in dark red; the active fires in red-orange; vegetation in green; and smoke in blue.

    With its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region, and its high spatial resolution of 15 to 90 meters (about 50 to 300 feet), ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing surface of our planet.

    ASTER is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched December 18, 1999, on NASA's Terra satellite. The instrument was built by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and the data products.

    The broad spectral coverage and high spectral resolution of ASTER provides scientists in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface mapping, and monitoring of dynamic conditions and temporal change. Example applications are: monitoring glacial advances and retreats; monitoring potentially active volcanoes; identifying crop stress; determining cloud morphology and physical properties; wetlands evaluation; thermal pollution monitoring; coral reef degradation; surface temperature mapping of soils and geology; and measuring surface heat balance.

    The U.S. Science Team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, a long- term research effort dedicated to understanding the Earth as an integrated system and applying Earth System Science to improve prediction of climate, weather, and natural hazards using the unique vantage point of

  8. A Method for Suppressing Line Overload Phenomena Using NAS Battery Systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ohtaka, Toshiya; Iwamoto, Shinichi

    In this paper, we pay attention to the superior operating control function and instantaneous discharging characteristics of NAS battery systems, and propose a method for determining installation planning and operating control schemes of NAS battery systems for suppressing line overload phenomena. In the stage of planning, a target contingency is identified, and an optimal allocation and capacity of NAS battery systems and an amount of generation changes are determined for the contingency. In the stage of operation, the control strategy of NAS battery system is determined. Simulations are carried out for verifying the validity of the proposed method using the IEEJ 1 machine V system model and an example 2 machine 16 bus system model.

  9. Response of Organ Structure and Physiology to Autotetraploidization in Early Development of Energy Willow Salix viminalis1

    PubMed Central

    Dudits, Dénes; Török, Katalin; Cseri, András; Paul, Kenny; Nagy, Bettina; Sass, László; Ferenc, Györgyi; Vankova, Radomira; Dobrev, Petre; Vass, Imre; Ayaydin, Ferhan

    2016-01-01

    The biomass productivity of the energy willow Salix viminalis as a short-rotation woody crop depends on organ structure and functions that are under the control of genome size. Colchicine treatment of axillary buds resulted in a set of autotetraploid S. viminalis var. Energo genotypes (polyploid Energo [PP-E]; 2n = 4x = 76) with variation in the green pixel-based shoot surface area. In cases where increased shoot biomass was observed, it was primarily derived from larger leaf size and wider stem diameter. Autotetraploidy slowed primary growth and increased shoot diameter (a parameter of secondary growth). The duplicated genome size enlarged bark and wood layers in twigs sampled in the field. The PP-E plants developed wider leaves with thicker midrib and enlarged palisade parenchyma cells. Autotetraploid leaves contained significantly increased amounts of active gibberellins, cytokinins, salicylic acid, and jasmonate compared with diploid individuals. Greater net photosynthetic CO2 uptake was detected in leaves of PP-E plants with increased chlorophyll and carotenoid contents. Improved photosynthetic functions in tetraploids were also shown by more efficient electron transport rates of photosystems I and II. Autotetraploidization increased the biomass of the root system of PP-E plants relative to diploids. Sections of tetraploid roots showed thickening with enlarged cortex cells. Elevated amounts of indole acetic acid, active cytokinins, active gibberellin, and salicylic acid were detected in the root tips of these plants. The presented variation in traits of tetraploid willow genotypes provides a basis to use autopolyploidization as a chromosome engineering technique to alter the organ development of energy plants in order to improve biomass productivity. PMID:26729798

  10. New Rust Disease of Korean Willow (Salix koreensis) Caused by Melampsora yezoensis, Unrecorded Pathogen in Korea.

    PubMed

    Yun, Yeo Hong; Ahn, Geum Ran; Yoon, Seong Kwon; Kim, Hoo Hyun; Son, Seung Yeol; Kim, Seong Hwan

    2016-12-01

    During the growing season of 2015, leaf specimens with yellow rust spots were collected from Salix koreensis Andersson, known as Korean willow, in riverine areas in Cheonan, Korea. The fungus on S. koreensis was identified as the rust species, Melampsora yezoensis , based on the morphology of urediniospores observed by light and scanning electron microscopy, and the molecular properties of the internal transcribed spacer rDNA region. Pathogenicity tests confirmed that the urediniospores are the causal agent of the rust symptoms on the leaves and young stems of S. koreensis . Here, we report a new rust disease of S. koreensis caused by the rust fungus, M. yezoensis , a previously unrecorded rust pathogen in Korea.

  11. The NAS Alert System: A look at the first eight years

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Fuller, Pamela L.; Neilson, Matt; Huge, Dane H.

    2013-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey's Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) database program (http://nas.er.usgs.gov) tracks the distribution of introduced aquatic organisms across the United States. Awareness of, and timely response to, novel species introductions by those involved in nonindigenous aquatic species management and research requires a framework for rapid dissemination of occurrence data as it is incorporated into the NAS database. In May 2004, the NAS program developed an alert system to notify registered users of new introductions as part of a national early detection/rapid response system. This article summarizes information on system users and dispatched alerts from the system's inception through the end of 2011. The NAS alert system has registered over 1,700 users, with approximately 800 current subscribers. A total of 1,189 alerts had been transmitted through 2011. More alerts were sent for Florida (134 alerts) than for any other state. Fishes comprise the largest taxonomic group of alerts (440), with mollusks, plants, and crustaceans each containing over 100 alerts. Most alerts were for organisms that were intentionally released (414 alerts), with shipping, escape from captivity, and hitchhiking also representing major vectors. To explore the archive of sent alerts and to register, the search and signup page for the alert system can be found online at http://nas.er.usgs.gov/AlertSystem/default.aspx.

  12. NAS Panel endorses science center concept

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Science and technology centers, as proposed by President Ronald Reagan in his January 1987 State of the Union message, could make “significant contributions to science and to the nation's economic competitiveness,” according to a new report by a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel. What will be necessary to realize these contributions, the panel cautioned, are proper management, adequate resources, and, “above all, the selection of programs for which the centers are the most effective form of organization.”NSF plans to support science and technology centers, beginning October 1, 1988, which is the start of fiscal year 1988. NSF requested guidance from the NAS panel in implementing the program. Although other government agencies will participate in the program, NSF will play the primary role.

  13. Vitamin C deficiency in growing willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus lagopus).

    PubMed

    Hanssen, I; Grav, H J; Steen, J B; Lysnes, H

    1979-12-01

    Willow ptarmigan chicks raised on a diet containing 265 mg ascorbic acid/kg develop scury-like symptoms and die by 4 weeks of age. If blueberry plants are given as an ad libitum supplement to this diet, the malady is prevented. We have described the clinical, pathological and histological changes which accompany this malnutrition and conclude that they are in accord with the description of scurvy in guinea pig and man. Biochemical determination of ascorbic acid synthesis in the kidney of ptarmigan chicks indicated a rate of synthesis five times that found in livers of growing white rats. Blueberry plants and many other plants found in the natural diet of ptarmigan chicks contain 2,000 to 5,000 mg ascorbic acid/kg dry weight. Feeding experiments showed that the pathological signs were avoided and that already afflicted chicks recovered if the vitamin C content of the diet was raised to 750 mg/kg dry weight of food. Since the food intake of the chicks was 5 to 8 g/day the daily requirement of external vitamin C is about 150 mg/kg body weight. To our knowledge this is the first example of an animal which, while producing vitamin C itself, requires substantial amounts of external vitamin C to survive.

  14. Linkage mapping in tetraploid willows: segregation of molecular markers and estimation of linkage phases support an allotetraploid structure for Salix alba x Salix fragilis interspecific hybrids.

    PubMed

    Barcaccia, G; Meneghetti, S; Albertini, E; Triest, L; Lucchin, M

    2003-02-01

    Salix alba-Salix fragilis complex includes closely related dioecious polyploid species, which are obligate outcrossers. Natural populations of these willows and their hybrids are represented by a mixture of highly heterozygous genotypes sharing a common gene pool. Since nothing is known about their genomic constitution, tetraploidy (2n=4x=76) in willow species makes basic and applied genetic studies difficult. We have used a two-way pseudotestcross strategy and single-dose markers (SDMs) to construct the first linkage maps for both pistillate and staminate willows. A total of 242 amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) and 50 selective amplifications of microsatellite polymorphic loci (SAMPL) markers, which showed 1:1 segregation in the F(1) mapping populations, were used in linkage analysis. In S. alba, 73 maternal and 48 paternal SDMs were mapped to 19 and 16 linkage groups covering 708 and 339 cM, respectively. In S. fragilis, 13 maternal and 33 paternal SDMs were mapped in six and 14 linkage groups covering 98 and 321 cM, respectively. For most cosegregation groups, a comparable number of markers linked in coupling and repulsion was identified. This finding suggests that most of chromosomes pair preferentially as occurs in allotetraploid species exhibiting disomic inheritance. The detection of 10 pairs of marker alleles from single parents showing codominant inheritance strengthens this hypothesis. The fact that, of the 1122 marker loci identified in the two male and female parents, the vast majority (77.5%) were polymorphic and as few as 22.5% were shared between parental species highlight that S. alba and S. fragilis genotypes are differentiated. The highly difference between S. alba- and S. fragilis-specific markers found in both parental combinations (on average, 65.3 vs 34.7%, respectively) supports the (phylogenetic) hypothesis that S. fragilis is derived from S. alba-like progenitors.

  15. UAS-NAS Flight Test Series 3: Test Environment Report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hoang, Ty; Murphy, Jim; Otto, Neil

    2016-01-01

    The desire and ability to fly Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS) is of increasing urgency. The application of unmanned aircraft to perform national security, defense, scientific, and emergency management are driving the critical need for less restrictive access by UAS to the NAS. UAS represent a new capability that will provide a variety of services in the government (public) and commercial (civil) aviation sectors. The growth of this potential industry has not yet been realized due to the lack of a common understanding of what is required to safely operate UAS in the NAS. NASA's UAS Integration in the NAS Project is conducting research in the areas of Separation Assurance/Sense and Avoid Interoperability (SSI), Human Systems Integration (HSI), and Communications (Comm), and Certification to support reducing the barriers of UAS access to the NAS. This research is broken into two research themes namely, UAS Integration and Test Infrastructure. UAS Integration focuses on airspace integration procedures and performance standards to enable UAS integration in the air transportation system, covering Detect and Avoid (DAA) performance standards, command and control performance standards, and human systems integration. The focus of Test Infrastructure is to enable development and validation of airspace integration procedures and performance standards, including integrated test and evaluation. In support of the integrated test and evaluation efforts, the Project will develop an adaptable, scalable, and schedulable relevant test environment capable of evaluating concepts and technologies for unmanned aircraft systems to safely operate in the NAS. To accomplish this task, the Project is conducting a series of human-in-the-loop (HITL) and flight test activities that integrate key concepts, technologies and/or procedures in a relevant air traffic environment. Each of the integrated events will build on the technical achievements, fidelity, and

  16. The NAS kernel benchmark program

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bailey, D. H.; Barton, J. T.

    1985-01-01

    A collection of benchmark test kernels that measure supercomputer performance has been developed for the use of the NAS (Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation) program at the NASA Ames Research Center. This benchmark program is described in detail and the specific ground rules are given for running the program as a performance test.

  17. 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission Report. Volume 1

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2005-01-01

    and Beale, and 15 A-10 aircraft realigned by the recommended closures of W.K. Kellogg Airport Air Guard Station, MI, and NAS Willow Grove, PA...functions of the Missile Defense Agency, except the Command and Control Battle Management and Communications Directorate, to Redstone Arsenal, AL... of other ships in the battle group. Systems are functionally integrated and not 287 separable as independent components. Furthermore, based on BRAC

  18. Food habits of the southwestern willow flycatcher during the nesting season

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Drost, Charles A.; Paxton, Eben H.; Sogge, Mark K.; Whitfield, Mary J.

    2003-01-01

    The food habits and prey base of the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) are not well known. We analyzed prey remains in 59 fecal samples from an intensively-studied population of this flycatcher at the Kern River Preserve in southern California. These samples were collected during the nesting season in 1996 and 1997 from adults caught in mist nets, and from nestlings temporarily removed from the nest for banding. A total of 379 prey individuals were identified in the samples. Dominant prey taxa, both in total numbers and in percent occurrence, were true bugs (Hemiptera), flies (Diptera), and beetles (Coleoptera). Leafhoppers (Homoptera: Cicadellidae), spiders (Araneae), bees and wasps (Hymenoptera), and dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) were also common items. Diet composition was significantly different between years, due to a large difference in the numbers of spiders between 1996 and 1997. There was also a significant difference between the diet of young and adults, with the diet of young birds having significantly higher numbers of odonates and beetles. There was a trend toward diet differences between males and females, but this was not significant at the P = 0.05 level.

  19. Accumulation and response of willow plants exposed to environmental relevant sulfonamide concentrations.

    PubMed

    Michelini, Lucia; Gallina, Guglielmo; Capolongo, Francesca; Ghisi, Rossella

    2014-01-01

    As a result of manure application to arable lands, agricultural ecosystems are often contaminated by veterinary antibiotics. In this study the aptitude of Salix fragilis L. to accumulate and tolerate sulfadimethoxine (SDM) was evaluated, together with the antibiotic effects on the plant development, with particular attention focused on roots. Results showed an antibiotic presence in root tissues, but not in leaves, after one month of SDM exposure to 0.01, 0.1, 1 and 10 mg l(-1). A hormetic growth of the hypogeal system was observed, however stress symptoms on the root development were only noticed after treatment to the highest dose. Results obtained from a second test, where new cuttings were exposed to 10 mg SDM l(-1) for different periods, suggested that willow tolerance to SDM increased with the exposure duration, probably because of the onset of particular acclimation mechanisms. Therefore, the present work indicates that this woody species could be utilized in the phytoremediation of sulfonamide antibiotics at doses comparable to that found in agricultural ecosystems once obtained appropriate confirmations through future studies at a laboratory and field scale.

  20. National Air Space (NAS) Data Exchange Environment Through 2060

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Roy, Aloke

    2015-01-01

    NASA's NextGen Concepts and Technology Development (CTD) Project focuses on capabilities to improve safety, capacity and efficiency of the National Air Space (NAS). In order to achieve those objectives, NASA sought industry-Government partnerships to research and identify solutions for traffic flow management, dynamic airspace configuration, separation assurance, super density operations, airport surface operations and similar forward-looking air-traffic modernization (ATM) concepts. Data exchanges over NAS being the key enabler for most of these ATM concepts, the Sub-Topic area 3 of the CTD project sought to identify technology candidates that can satisfy air-to-air and air/ground communications needs of the NAS in the year 2060 timeframe. Honeywell, under a two-year contract with NASA, is working on this communications technology research initiative. This report summarizes Honeywell's research conducted during the second year of the study task.

  1. Investigation of the flavan-3-ol patterns in willow species during one growing-season.

    PubMed

    Wiesneth, Stefan; Aas, Gregor; Heilmann, Jörg; Jürgenliemk, Guido

    2018-01-01

    Flavonoids, proanthocyanidins (PAs) and salicylic alcohol derivatives are the main groups of ingredients in Salix needed as defensive tools and signal molecules, but have also pharmaceutical importance. The present study investigated total PA content, complete PA pattern, the oligomeric/total PAs quotient and the contents of catechin and epicatechin during one growing-season for the leaves and this year's sprouts in ten willows (Salix pentandra L. ♂, S. alba L. ♂, S. fragilis L. ♀, S. caprea L. ♂ & ♀, S. cinerea L. ♂, S. caprea x cinerea ♂, S. daphnoidesVill. ♂ & ♀ and S. purpurea L. ♀; all Salicaceae). Comparison of the different species revealed distinct seasonal fluctuations of the oligomeric and polymeric PA fractions, but the contents of both groups always developed in the same direction. All willows prefer the synthesis of PAs with DP-2 - DP-4 within the oligomeric fraction (DP-2 - DP-10) and species with rather low PA contents like S. purpurea (0.1-2.6 mg/g) as well as species with rather high PA contents like S. alba (3.8-14.7 mg/g) were found. Only slight gender specific differences could be observed for both sexes of S. daphnoides and S. caprea. The PA pattern of the hybrid S. caprea x cinerea seems to be influenced by both parents. Thus, the accumulation of the oligomeric PAs accorded to S. caprea and the polymeric PAs matched S. cinerea resulting in an overall depression of PAs in the sprouts and a varying seasonal trend in the leaves. In contrast, the content of catechin remained high and seemed to be not influenced in the hybrid. Although only one individual of each Salix species could be considered in this screening study, the present results demonstrate the variability of the flavan-3-ol pattern within the genus Salix but also some preliminary correlations could be observed. Future studies with more Salix species will provide more insights into chemotaxonomic correlations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

  2. NAS Technical Summaries, March 1993 - February 1994

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1995-01-01

    NASA created the Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation (NAS) Program in 1987 to focus resources on solving critical problems in aeroscience and related disciplines by utilizing the power of the most advanced supercomputers available. The NAS Program provides scientists with the necessary computing power to solve today's most demanding computational fluid dynamics problems and serves as a pathfinder in integrating leading-edge supercomputing technologies, thus benefitting other supercomputer centers in government and industry. The 1993-94 operational year concluded with 448 high-speed processor projects and 95 parallel projects representing NASA, the Department of Defense, other government agencies, private industry, and universities. This document provides a glimpse at some of the significant scientific results for the year.

  3. UAS-NAS Integrated Human in the Loop: Test Environment Report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Murphy, Jim; Otto, Neil; Jovic, Srba

    2015-01-01

    The desire and ability to fly Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS) is of increasing urgency. The application of unmanned aircraft to perform national security, defense, scientific, and emergency management are driving the critical need for less restrictive access by UAS to the NAS. UAS represent a new capability that will provide a variety of services in the government (public) and commercial (civil) aviation sectors. The growth of this potential industry has not yet been realized due to the lack of a common understanding of what is required to safely operate UAS in the NAS. NASA's UAS Integration in the NAS Project is conducting research in the areas of Separation Assurance/Sense and Avoid Interoperability (SSI), Human Systems Integration (HSI), and Communication to support reducing the barriers of UAS access to the NAS. This research was broken into two research themes namely, UAS Integration and Test Infrastructure. UAS Integration focuses on airspace integration procedures and performance standards to enable UAS integration in the air transportation system, covering Sense and Avoid (SAA) performance standards, command and control performance standards, and human systems integration. The focus of the Test Infrastructure theme was to enable development and validation of airspace integration procedures and performance standards, including the execution of integrated test and evaluation. In support of the integrated test and evaluation efforts, the Project developed an adaptable, scalable, and schedulable relevant test environment incorporating live, virtual, and constructive elements capable of validating concepts and technologies for unmanned aircraft systems to safely operate in the NAS. To accomplish this task, the Project planned to conduct three integrated events: a Human-in-the-Loop simulation and two Flight Test series that integrated key concepts, technologies and/or procedures in a relevant air traffic environment. Each of

  4. Hybrid Network Architectures for the Next Generation NAS

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Madubata, Christian

    2003-01-01

    To meet the needs of the 21st Century NAS, an integrated, network-centric infrastructure is essential that is characterized by secure, high bandwidth, digital communication systems that support precision navigation capable of reducing position errors for all aircraft to within a few meters. This system will also require precision surveillance systems capable of accurately locating all aircraft, and automatically detecting any deviations from an approved path within seconds and be able to deliver high resolution weather forecasts - critical to create 4- dimensional (space and time) profiles for up to 6 hours for all atmospheric conditions affecting aviation, including wake vortices. The 21st Century NAS will be characterized by highly accurate digital data bases depicting terrain, obstacle, and airport information no matter what visibility conditions exist. This research task will be to perform a high-level requirements analysis of the applications, information and services required by the next generation National Airspace System. The investigation and analysis is expected to lead to the development and design of several national network-centric communications architectures that would be capable of supporting the Next Generation NAS.

  5. SMART NAS Test Bed Overview

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Palopo, Kee

    2016-01-01

    These slides presents an overview of SMART NAS Test Bed. The test bed is envisioned to be connected to operational systems and to allow a new concept and technology to be evaluated in its realistic environment. Its role as an accelerator of concepts and technologies development, its use-case-driven development approach, and its state are presented.

  6. NAS Applications and Advanced Algorithms

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bailey, David H.; Biswas, Rupak; VanDerWijngaart, Rob; Kutler, Paul (Technical Monitor)

    1997-01-01

    This paper examines the applications most commonly run on the supercomputers at the Numerical Aerospace Simulation (NAS) facility. It analyzes the extent to which such applications are fundamentally oriented to vector computers, and whether or not they can be efficiently implemented on hierarchical memory machines, such as systems with cache memories and highly parallel, distributed memory systems.

  7. NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) User Services Group

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pandori, John; Hamilton, Chris; Niggley, C. E.; Parks, John W. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    This viewgraph presentation provides an overview of NAS (NASA Advanced Supercomputing), its goals, and its mainframe computer assets. Also covered are its functions, including systems monitoring and technical support.

  8. Dimeric procyanidins: screening for B1 to B8 and semisynthetic preparation of B3, B4, B6, And B8 from a polymeric procyanidin fraction of white willow bark (Salix alba).

    PubMed

    Esatbeyoglu, Tuba; Wray, Victor; Winterhalter, Peter

    2010-07-14

    Fifty-seven samples have been analyzed with regard to the occurrence of dimeric procyanidins B1-B8 as well as the composition of polymeric procyanidins. Fifty-two samples were found to contain polymeric procyanidins. In most of the samples, (-)-epicatechin was the predominant unit present. In white willow bark (Salix alba), however, large amounts of (+)-catechin (81.0%) were determined by means of phloroglucinolysis. White willow bark has therefore been used for the semisynthetic formation of dimeric procyanidins B3 [(+)-C-4alpha --> 8-(+)-C)], B4 [(+)-C-4alpha --> 8-(-)-EC)], B6 [(+)-C-4alpha --> 6-(+)-C)], and B8 [(+)-C-4alpha --> 6-(-)-EC)]. The reaction mixtures of the semisynthesis were successfully fractionated with high-speed countercurrent chromatography (HSCCC), and dimeric procyanidins B3, B4, B6, and B8 were obtained on a preparative scale.

  9. UAS Integration in the NAS: Detect and Avoid

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shively, Jay

    2018-01-01

    This presentation will cover the structure of the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) integration into the national airspace system (NAS) project (UAS-NAS Project). The talk also details the motivation of the project to help develop standards for a detect-and-avoid (DAA) system, which is required in order to comply with requirements in manned aviation to see-and-avoid other traffic so as to maintain well clear. The presentation covers accomplishments reached by the project in Phase 1 of the research, and touches on the work to be done in Phase 2. The discussion ends with examples of the display work developed as a result of the Phase 1 research.

  10. A Catskill Flora and Economic Botany, III: Apetalae. Including the Poplars, Willows, Hickories, Birches, Beeches, Oaks, Elms, Nettles, Sorrels, Docks, and Smartweeds. Bulletin No. 443, New York State Museum.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brooks, Karl L.

    This compendium deals with the ecology and economic importance of the poplars, willows, hickories, birches, beeches, oaks, elms, nettles, sorrels, docks, and smartweeds growing in New York's Catskills. Provided are keys for identifying each plant to species by flowers, foliage, or winter buds. A line drawing accompanies a summary of basic data…

  11. [Methods in neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS): results of a nationwide survey in Austria].

    PubMed

    Bauchinger, S; Sapetschnig, I; Danda, M; Sommer, C; Resch, B; Urlesberger, B; Raith, W

    2015-08-01

    Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) occurs in neonates whose mothers have taken addictive drugs or were under substitution therapy during pregnancy. Incidence numbers of NAS are on the rise globally, even in Austria NAS is not rare anymore. The aim of our survey was to reveal the status quo of dealing with NAS in Austria. A questionnaire was sent to 20 neonatology departments all over Austria, items included questions on scoring, therapy, breast-feeding and follow-up procedures. The response rate was 95%, of which 94.7% had written guidelines concerning NAS. The median number of children being treated per year for NAS was 4. Finnegan scoring system is used in 100% of the responding departments. Morphine is being used most often, in opiate abuse (100%) as well as in multiple substance abuse (44.4%). The most frequent forms of morphine preparation are morphine and diluted tincture of opium. Frequency as well as dosage of medication vary broadly. 61.1% of the departments supported breast-feeding, regulations concerned participation in a substitution programme and general contraindications (HIV, HCV, HBV). Our results revealed that there is a big west-east gradient in patients being treated per year. NAS is not a rare entity anymore in Austria (up to 50 cases per year in Vienna). Our survey showed that most neonatology departments in Austria treat their patients following written guidelines. Although all of them base these guidelines on international recommendations there is no national consensus. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  12. (GaIn)(NAs) growth using di-tertiary-butyl-arsano-amine (DTBAA)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sterzer, E.; Ringler, B.; Nattermann, L.; Beyer, A.; von Hänisch, C.; Stolz, W.; Volz, K.

    2017-06-01

    III/V semiconductors containing small amounts of Nitrogen (N) are very interesting for a variety of optoelectronic applications. Unfortunately, the conventionally used N precursor 1,1-dimethylhydrazine (UDMHy) has an extremely low N incorporation efficiency in GaAs when grown using metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. Alloying Ga(NAs) with Indium (In) even leads to an exponential reduction of N incorporation. The huge amount of UDMHy in turn changes drastically the growth conditions. Furthermore, the application of this material is still hampered by the large carbon incorporation, most probably originating from the metal organic precursors. Hence, novel precursors for dilute nitride growth are needed. This paper will show (GaIn)(NAs) growth studies with the novel precursor di-tertiary-butyl-arsano-amine in combination with tri-ethyl-gallium and tri-methyl-indium. We show an extremely high N incorporation efficiency in the In containing (GaIn)(NAs). The (GaIn)(NAs) samples investigated in this study have been examined using high resolution X-Ray diffraction, room temperature photoluminescence and atomic force microscope measurements as well as secondary ion mass spectrometry.

  13. Security Controls Hurt Research, NAS Warns.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kolata, Gina

    1982-01-01

    A National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report found no evidence that leaks of technical information from universities or other research centers have damaged national security. However, in areas where control is warranted, decisions should be based on criteria. These criteria and issues related to security control and technological transfer are…

  14. National Dam Safety Program. Willow Brook Dam (Inventory Number NY 35). Lower Hudson River Basin, Orange County, New York. Phase I Inspection Report,

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1981-08-14

    ia danger of l~>ee of huaar. . i f e fro« .arge flowa downatrea« of the daa Therefore Willow Brook De« is considered to be in the "high" hazard...and Surveyor (the application la included in Appendix G) 2 * Of WAT IOW RECORDS The «lids gats controlling dischargea ia opened approxi...lake ahors Once the lake lsvsl dropa to apillway lsvsl. the gsts ia cloaed The owner haa no procedures ’or regular dam inspectiona or regular

  15. Low temperature grown GaNAsSb: A promising material for photoconductive switch application

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tan, K. H.; Yoon, S. F.; Wicaksono, S.

    2013-09-09

    We report a photoconductive switch using low temperature grown GaNAsSb as the active material. The GaNAsSb layer was grown at 200 °C by molecular beam epitaxy in conjunction with a radio frequency plasma-assisted nitrogen source and a valved antimony cracker source. The low temperature growth of the GaNAsSb layer increased the dark resistivity of the switch and shortened the carrier lifetime. The switch exhibited a dark resistivity of 10{sup 7} Ω cm, a photo-absorption of up to 2.1 μm, and a carrier lifetime of ∼1.3 ps. These results strongly support the suitability of low temperature grown GaNAsSb in the photoconductivemore » switch application.« less

  16. Six Years of Parallel Computing at NAS (1987 - 1993): What Have we Learned?

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Simon, Horst D.; Cooper, D. M. (Technical Monitor)

    1994-01-01

    In the fall of 1987 the age of parallelism at NAS began with the installation of a 32K processor CM-2 from Thinking Machines. In 1987 this was described as an "experiment" in parallel processing. In the six years since, NAS acquired a series of parallel machines, and conducted an active research and development effort focused on the use of highly parallel machines for applications in the computational aerosciences. In this time period parallel processing for scientific applications evolved from a fringe research topic into the one of main activities at NAS. In this presentation I will review the history of parallel computing at NAS in the context of the major progress, which has been made in the field in general. I will attempt to summarize the lessons we have learned so far, and the contributions NAS has made to the state of the art. Based on these insights I will comment on the current state of parallel computing (including the HPCC effort) and try to predict some trends for the next six years.

  17. Resprout and survival of willows (Salix purpurea and S. incana), Poplars (Populus nigra) and Tamaris (Tamarix gallica) cuttings in marly gullies with Southern aspect in a mountainous and Mediterranean climate (Southern Alps, France)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rey, Freddy; Labonne, Sophie; Dangla, Laure; Lavandier, Géraud

    2014-05-01

    In the Southern French Alps under a mountainous and Mediterranean climate, a current strategy of bioengineering is developed for trapping sediment in marly gullies with surface area less than 1 ha. It is based on the use of structures in the form of brush layers and brush mats of cuttings on deadwood microdams. Purple and white Willows (Salix purpurea and S. incana) are recommended here as they proved their efficiency to resprout and survive in such environment. However, these species installed in Southern gullies did not survive in previous experiments, due to the too harsh conditions of solar radiation and drought. We thus decided to test other species, namely black Poplar (Populus nigra) and Tamaris (Tamarix gallica), which proved their resistance to drought conditions in other experiments. To this view, bioengineering structures have been built in 2010 in eroded marly gullies in the Roubines and Fontaugier catchments (Southern Alps, France). We tested two installation modalities: one in spring and a second in autumn. Seventy-eight bioengineering structures (50 in spring and 28 in autumn), among which 32 made with Poplar cuttings and 28 with Tamaris cuttings, as well as 11 structures with purple Willow and 7 with white Willow as controls, were built in 6 experimental gullies. After 3 observation years for each modality (2010 to 2012, and 2011 to 2013, respectively), results first revealed that Willow species succeeded in surviving in gullies in Southern aspect (76 % for the cuttings installed in spring and 52 % for those installed in autumn), which is in contradiction with previous results. Second, Poplar showed a good ability to survive (62 % for the cuttings installed in spring and 33 % for those installed in autumn). Tamaris obtained the worst score with 26 % and 38 % of survival for the cuttings installed in spring and autumn, respectively. Globally, excepted for Tamaris, survival rates were better for the cuttings installed in spring. The bioengineering

  18. Geographic variation in the song of Willow Flycatchers: Differentiation between Empidonax traillii adastus and E. t. extimus

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sedgwick, J.A.

    2001-01-01

    The vocal signatures of the primary song form (“fitz-bew”) of the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) and its northern counterpart, E. t. adastus, are distinctive. Songs of the extimus subspecies are longer (total song, note, internote) and frequencies at maximum amplitude are lower than those of adastus. I used vocal evidence to clarify the distributional limits of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher and that of the geographically adjacent subspecies, E. t. adastus. Unweighted pair-group method using averaging (UPGMA) cluster analysis and canonical discriminant analysis revealed that (1) low elevation, southerly desert populations (Arizona, New Mexico, and southern Utah) have a unique vocal identity corresponding to populations in the range of E. t. extimus; (2) northerly song groups (Oregon, Colorado, and northern Utah) share a different song type corresponding to populations in the range of E. t. adastus; and (3) a departure from vocal and morphological congruence occurs for a population of high-elevation Arizona birds that, although in the currently accepted range of E. t. extimus, sings songs acoustically similar to more northern populations (E. t. adastus). Multiple regression of song distance on latitude and elevation, and a comparison of a matrix of song distances with a matrix of latitude and elevation dissimilarities, demonstrated that song populations sort out by both latitude and elevation: birds with the vocal identity of extimus occur as far north as 37°N if at low elevation, and those acoustically similar to adastus occur as far south as 33.7°N if at high elevation. The vocal background of northern New Mexico birds appears to be intermediate between that of extimus and adastus, suggesting that northern New Mexico is a zone of intermixing and intergradation between the subspecies. Pure forms of E. t. extimus apparently do not occur in Colorado because even the southernmost populations are acoustically similar to

  19. Applications Performance on NAS Intel Paragon XP/S - 15#

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Saini, Subhash; Simon, Horst D.; Copper, D. M. (Technical Monitor)

    1994-01-01

    The Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation (NAS) Systems Division received an Intel Touchstone Sigma prototype model Paragon XP/S- 15 in February, 1993. The i860 XP microprocessor with an integrated floating point unit and operating in dual -instruction mode gives peak performance of 75 million floating point operations (NIFLOPS) per second for 64 bit floating point arithmetic. It is used in the Paragon XP/S-15 which has been installed at NAS, NASA Ames Research Center. The NAS Paragon has 208 nodes and its peak performance is 15.6 GFLOPS. Here, we will report on early experience using the Paragon XP/S- 15. We have tested its performance using both kernels and applications of interest to NAS. We have measured the performance of BLAS 1, 2 and 3 both assembly-coded and Fortran coded on NAS Paragon XP/S- 15. Furthermore, we have investigated the performance of a single node one-dimensional FFT, a distributed two-dimensional FFT and a distributed three-dimensional FFT Finally, we measured the performance of NAS Parallel Benchmarks (NPB) on the Paragon and compare it with the performance obtained on other highly parallel machines, such as CM-5, CRAY T3D, IBM SP I, etc. In particular, we investigated the following issues, which can strongly affect the performance of the Paragon: a. Impact of the operating system: Intel currently uses as a default an operating system OSF/1 AD from the Open Software Foundation. The paging of Open Software Foundation (OSF) server at 22 MB to make more memory available for the application degrades the performance. We found that when the limit of 26 NIB per node out of 32 MB available is reached, the application is paged out of main memory using virtual memory. When the application starts paging, the performance is considerably reduced. We found that dynamic memory allocation can help applications performance under certain circumstances. b. Impact of data cache on the i860/XP: We measured the performance of the BLAS both assembly coded and Fortran

  20. Pharmacists' and prescribers' neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) prevention behaviors: a preliminary analysis.

    PubMed

    Hagemeier, Nicholas E; Click, Ivy A; Flippin, Heather; Gilliam, Holly; Ross, Alexandra; Basden, Jeri Ann; Carico, Ronald

    2018-02-01

    Background Maternal opioid use and neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) incidence have increased markedly in the US in recent years. Objectives (1) To assess prescribers' and community pharmacists' guideline-based NAS prevention behaviors; (2) to describe providers' perceptions of contraceptive appropriateness in female patients of childbearing age. Method Cross-sectional study of 100 randomly selected primary care physicians, 100 prescribers authorized to engage in in-office treatment of opioid use disorders with buprenorphine, 100 pain management clinic directors, and 100 community pharmacists in Tennessee (N = 400 providers total) to evaluate self-reported engagement in 15 NAS prevention behaviors and perceived appropriateness of 8 contraceptive methods in opioid using women of childbearing age. Results An overall response rate of 17.5% was obtained. Pain clinic directors reported the most engagement in NAS prevention, engaging 80% or more of female patients of childbearing age prescribed an opioid in 11 prevention behaviors, followed by buprenorphine prescribers (8 behaviors), primary care physicians (5 behaviors), and community pharmacists (2 behaviors). Pain clinic directors, primary care physicians, and community pharmacists perceived oral contraceptive pills and patches to be as appropriate as long-acting, reversible forms of contraception (e.g., implants, injectable depots, intrauterine devices). Conclusion Provider engagement in behaviors that could prevent NAS is variable. Interventions should be implemented that equip providers to engage patients in conversations about long-acting, reversible contraception.

  1. DESIGNING AND OPPORTUNITY FUEL WITH BIOMASS AND TIRE-DERIVED FUEL FOR COFIRING AT WILLOW ISLAND GENERATING STATION AND COFIRING SAWDUST WITH COAL AT ALBRIGHT GENERATING STATION

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    K. Payette; D. Tillman

    During the period July 1, 2000-March 31, 2004, Allegheny Energy Supply Co., LLC (Allegheny) conducted an extensive demonstration of woody biomass cofiring at its Willow Island and Albright Generating Stations. This demonstration, cofunded by USDOE and Allegheny, and supported by the Biomass Interest Group (BIG) of EPRI, evaluated the impacts of sawdust cofiring in both cyclone boilers and tangentially-fired pulverized coal boilers. The cofiring in the cyclone boiler--Willow Island Generating Station Unit No.2--evaluated the impacts of sawdust alone, and sawdust blended with tire-derived fuel. The biomass was blended with the coal on its way to the combustion system. The cofiringmore » in the pulverized coal boiler--Albright Generating Station--evaluated the impact of cofiring on emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NO{sub x}) when the sawdust was injected separately into the furnace. The demonstration of woody biomass cofiring involved design, construction, and testing at each site. The results addressed impacts associated with operational issues--capacity, efficiency, and operability--as well as formation and control of airborne emissions such as NO{sub x}, sulfur dioxide (SO{sub 2}2), opacity, and mercury. The results of this extensive program are detailed in this report.« less

  2. Transpiration and metabolisation of TCE by willow plants - a pot experiment.

    PubMed

    Schöftner, Philipp; Watzinger, Andrea; Holzknecht, Philipp; Wimmer, Bernhard; Reichenauer, Thomas G

    2016-01-01

    Willows were grown in glass cylinders filled with compost above water-saturated quartz sand, to trace the fate of TCE in water and plant biomass. The experiment was repeated once with the same plants in two consecutive years. TCE was added in nominal concentrations of 0, 144, 288, and 721 mg l(-1). Unplanted cylinders were set-up and spiked with nominal concentrations of 721 mg l(-1) TCE in the second year. Additionally, (13)C-enriched TCE solution (δ(13)C = 110.3 ‰) was used. Periodically, TCE content and metabolites were analyzed in water and plant biomass. The presence of TCE-degrading microorganisms was monitored via the measurement of the isotopic ratio of carbon ((13)C/(12)C) in TCE, and the abundance of (13)C-labeled microbial PLFAs (phospholipid fatty acids). More than 98% of TCE was lost via evapotranspiration from the planted pots within one month after adding TCE. Transpiration accounted to 94 to 78% of the total evapotranspiration loss. Almost 1% of TCE was metabolized in the shoots, whereby trichloroacetic acid (TCAA) and dichloroacetic acid (DCAA) were dominant metabolites; less trichloroethanol (TCOH) and TCE accumulated in plant tissues. Microbial degradation was ruled out by δ(13)C measurements of water and PLFAs. TCE had no detected influence on plant stress status as determined by chlorophyll-fluorescence and gas exchange.

  3. The NAS parallel benchmarks

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bailey, D. H.; Barszcz, E.; Barton, J. T.; Carter, R. L.; Lasinski, T. A.; Browning, D. S.; Dagum, L.; Fatoohi, R. A.; Frederickson, P. O.; Schreiber, R. S.

    1991-01-01

    A new set of benchmarks has been developed for the performance evaluation of highly parallel supercomputers in the framework of the NASA Ames Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation (NAS) Program. These consist of five 'parallel kernel' benchmarks and three 'simulated application' benchmarks. Together they mimic the computation and data movement characteristics of large-scale computational fluid dynamics applications. The principal distinguishing feature of these benchmarks is their 'pencil and paper' specification-all details of these benchmarks are specified only algorithmically. In this way many of the difficulties associated with conventional benchmarking approaches on highly parallel systems are avoided.

  4. Looking Backward: Parting Reflections on Higher Education Reform from NAS's Founding President

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Balch, Stephen H.

    2012-01-01

    Twenty-five years at the helm of the National Association of Scholars (NAS) have left the author with vivid memories: of knocks and bruises, peaks of exhilaration and, especially, unforgettable characters. But as for lessons learned, that's a very different story. In this article, the author shares some of the successes that happened in NAS for…

  5. NAS Panel faults export controls

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Katzoff, Judith A.

    A study prepared by a top-level panel says that current export controls on militarily sensitive U.S. technology may be “overcorrecting” previous weaknesses in that system, resulting in “a complex and confusing control system” that makes it more difficult for U.S. businesses to compete in international markets. Moreover, this control system has “an increasingly corrosive effect” on U.S. relations with allies. The panel recommended that the United States concentrate more effort on bringing about uniformity in the export control policies of countries belonging to the Coordinating Committee on Multilateral Export Controls (CoCom), i.e., most of the member nations in NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and Japan.The 21-member panel was appointed by the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy (COSEPUP), a joint unit of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The panel, composed of administrators, researchers, and former government officials, was chaired by AGU member Lew Allen, Jr., director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena, Calif.) and former chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force. Their report was supported by NAS funds, by a number of private organizations (including AGU), by the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Defense, Energy, and State, by the National Science Foundation, and by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

  6. An improved NAS-RIF algorithm for image restoration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gao, Weizhe; Zou, Jianhua; Xu, Rong; Liu, Changhai; Li, Hengnian

    2016-10-01

    Space optical images are inevitably degraded by atmospheric turbulence, error of the optical system and motion. In order to get the true image, a novel nonnegativity and support constants recursive inverse filtering (NAS-RIF) algorithm is proposed to restore the degraded image. Firstly the image noise is weaken by Contourlet denoising algorithm. Secondly, the reliable object support region estimation is used to accelerate the algorithm convergence. We introduce the optimal threshold segmentation technology to improve the object support region. Finally, an object construction limit and the logarithm function are added to enhance algorithm stability. Experimental results demonstrate that, the proposed algorithm can increase the PSNR, and improve the quality of the restored images. The convergence speed of the proposed algorithm is faster than that of the original NAS-RIF algorithm.

  7. Upgrades to the Probabilistic NAS Platform Air Traffic Simulation Software

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hunter, George; Boisvert, Benjamin

    2013-01-01

    This document is the final report for the project entitled "Upgrades to the Probabilistic NAS Platform Air Traffic Simulation Software." This report consists of 17 sections which document the results of the several subtasks of this effort. The Probabilistic NAS Platform (PNP) is an air operations simulation platform developed and maintained by the Saab Sensis Corporation. The improvements made to the PNP simulation include the following: an airborne distributed separation assurance capability, a required time of arrival assignment and conformance capability, and a tactical and strategic weather avoidance capability.

  8. Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) in Southwestern Border States: Examining Trends, Population Correlates, and Implications for Policy.

    PubMed

    Hussaini, Khaleel S; Garcia Saavedra, Luigi F

    2018-03-23

    Introduction Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is withdrawal syndrome in newborns following birth and is primarily caused by maternal drug use during pregnancy. This study examines trends, population correlates, and policy implications of NAS in two Southwest border states. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional analysis of Hospital Inpatient Discharge Data (HIDD) was utilized to examine the incidence of NAS in the Southwest border states of Arizona (AZ) and New Mexico (NM). All inpatient hospital births in AZ and NM from January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2013 with ICD9-CM codes for NAS (779.5), cocaine (760.72), or narcotics (760.75) were extracted. Results During 2008-2013 there were 1472 NAS cases in AZ and 888 in NM. The overall NAS rate during this period was 2.83 per 1000 births (95% CI 2.68-2.97) in AZ and 5.31 (95% CI 4.96-5.66) in NM. NAS rates increased 157% in AZ and 174% in NM. NAS newborns were more likely to have low birth weight, have respiratory distress, more likely to have feeding difficulties, and more likely to be on state Medicaid insurance. AZ border region (border with Mexico) had NAS rates significantly higher than the state rate (4.06 per 1000 births [95% CI 3.68-4.44] vs. 2.83 [95% CI 2.68-2.97], respectively). In NM, the border region rate (2.09 per 1000 births [95% CI 1.48-2.69]) was significantly lower than the state rate (5.31 [95% CI 4.96-5.66]). Conclusions Despite a dramatic increase in the incidence of NAS in the U.S. and, in particular, the Southwest border states of AZ and NM, there is still scant research on the overall incidence of NAS, its assessment in the southwest border, and associated long-term outcomes. The Healthy Border (HB) 2020 binational initiative of the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission is an initiative that addresses several public health priorities that not only include chronic and degenerative diseases, infectious diseases, injury prevention, maternal and child health but also mental health and

  9. NAS Parallel Benchmarks. 2.4

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    VanderWijngaart, Rob; Biegel, Bryan A. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    We describe a new problem size, called Class D, for the NAS Parallel Benchmarks (NPB), whose MPI source code implementation is being released as NPB 2.4. A brief rationale is given for how the new class is derived. We also describe the modifications made to the MPI (Message Passing Interface) implementation to allow the new class to be run on systems with 32-bit integers, and with moderate amounts of memory. Finally, we give the verification values for the new problem size.

  10. Transcriptomic Response of Purple Willow (Salix purpurea) to Arsenic Stress

    PubMed Central

    Yanitch, Aymeric; Brereton, Nicholas J. B.; Gonzalez, Emmanuel; Labrecque, Michel; Joly, Simon; Pitre, Frederic E.

    2017-01-01

    Arsenic (As) is a toxic element for plants and one of the most common anthropogenic pollutants found at contaminated sites. Despite its severe effects on plant metabolism, several species can accumulate substantial amounts of arsenic and endure the associated stress. However, the genetic mechanisms involved in arsenic tolerance remains obscure in many model plant species used for land decontamination (phytoremediation), including willows. The present study assesses the potential of Salix purpurea cv. ‘Fish Creek’ for arsenic phytoextraction and reveals the genetic responses behind arsenic tolerance, phytoextraction and metabolism. Four weeks of hydroponic exposure to 0, 5, 30 and 100 mg/L revealed that plants were able to tolerate up to 5 mg/L arsenic. Concentrations of 0 and 5 mg/L of arsenic treatment were then used to compare alterations in gene expression of roots, stems and leaves using RNA sequencing. Differential gene expression revealed transcripts encoding proteins putatively involved in entry of arsenic into the roots, storage in vacuoles and potential transport through the plant as well as primary and secondary (indirect) toxicity tolerance mechanisms. A major role for tannin as a compound used to relieve cellular toxicity is implicated as well as unexpected expression of the cadmium transporter CAX2, providing a potential means for internal arsenic mobility. These insights into the underpinning genetics of a successful phytoremediating species present novel opportunities for selection of dedicated arsenic tolerant crops as well as the potential to integrate such tolerances into a wider Salix ideotype alongside traits including biomass yield, biomass quality, low agricultural inputs and phytochemical production. PMID:28702037

  11. Operational implications and proposed infrastructure changes for NAS integration of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA)

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2014-12-01

    The intent of this report is to provide (1) an initial assessment of National Airspace System (NAS) infrastructure affected by continuing development and deployment of unmanned aircraft systems into the NAS, and (2) a description of process challenge...

  12. UAS in the NAS: Survey Responses by ATC, Manned Aircraft Pilots, and UAS Pilots

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Comstock, James R., Jr.; McAdaragh, Raymon; Ghatas, Rania W.; Burdette, Daniel W.; Trujillo, Anna C.

    2014-01-01

    NASA currently is working with industry and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish future requirements for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) flying in the National Airspace System (NAS). To work these issues NASA has established a multi-center "UAS Integration in the NAS" project. In order to establish Ground Control Station requirements for UAS, the perspective of each of the major players in NAS operations was desired. Three on-line surveys were administered that focused on Air Traffic Controllers (ATC), pilots of manned aircraft, and pilots of UAS. Follow-up telephone interviews were conducted with some survey respondents. The survey questions addressed UAS control, navigation, and communications from the perspective of small and large unmanned aircraft. Questions also addressed issues of UAS equipage, especially with regard to sense and avoid capabilities. From the civilian ATC and military ATC perspectives, of particular interest are how mixed operations (manned / UAS) have worked in the past and the role of aircraft equipage. Knowledge gained from this information is expected to assist the NASA UAS Integration in the NAS project in directing research foci thus assisting the FAA in the development of rules, regulations, and policies related to UAS in the NAS.

  13. UAS in the NAS: Survey Responses by ATC, Manned Aircraft Pilots, and UAS Pilots

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Comstock, James R., Jr.; McAdaragh, Raymon; Ghatas, Rania W.; Burdette, Daniel W.; Trujillo, Anna C.

    2013-01-01

    NASA currently is working with industry and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish future requirements for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) flying in the National Airspace System (NAS). To work these issues NASA has established a multi-center UAS Integration in the NAS project. In order to establish Ground Control Station requirements for UAS, the perspective of each of the major players in NAS operations was desired. Three on-line surveys were administered that focused on Air Traffic Controllers (ATC), pilots of manned aircraft, and pilots of UAS. Follow-up telephone interviews were conducted with some survey respondents. The survey questions addressed UAS control, navigation, and communications from the perspective of small and large unmanned aircraft. Questions also addressed issues of UAS equipage, especially with regard to sense and avoid capabilities. From the ATC and military ATC perspective, of particular interest is how mixed-operations (manned/UAS) have worked in the past and the role of aircraft equipage. Knowledge gained from this information is expected to assist the NASA UAS in the NAS project in directing research foci thus assisting the FAA in the development of rules, regulations, and policies related to UAS in the NAS.

  14. A multiscaled model of southwestern willow flycatcher breeding habitat

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hatten, J.R.; Paradzick, C.E.

    2003-01-01

    The southwestern willow flycatcher (SWFL; Empidonax traillii extimus) is an endangered songbird whose habitat has declined dramatically over the last century. Understanding habitat selection patterns and the ability to identify potential breeding areas for the SWFL is crucial to the management and conservation of this species. We developed a multiscaled model of SWTL breeding habitat with a Geographic Information System (GIS), survey data, GIS variables, and multiple logistic regressions. We obtained presence and absence survey data from a riverine ecosystem and a reservoir delta in south-central Arizona, USA, in 1999. We extracted the GIS variables from satellite imagery and digital elevation models to characterize vegetation and floodplain within the project area. We used multiple logistic regressions within a cell-based (30 X 30 m) modeling environment to (1) determine associations between GIS variables and breeding-site occurrence at different spatial scales (0.09-72 ha), and (2) construct a predictive model. Our best model explained 54% of the variability in breeding-site occurrence with the following variables: vegetation density at the site (0.09 ha), proportion of dense vegetation and variability in vegetation density within a 4.5-ha neighborhood, and amount of floodplain or flat terrain within a 41-ha neighborhood. The density of breeding sites was highest in areas that the model predicted to be most suitable within the project area and at an external test site 200 km away. Conservation efforts must focus on protecting not only occupied patches, but also surrounding riparian forests and floodplain to ensure long-term viability of SWTL. We will use the multiscaled model to map SWTL breeding habitat in Arizona, prioritize future survey effort, and examine changes in habitat abundance and quality over time.

  15. Comparison of Origin 2000 and Origin 3000 Using NAS Parallel Benchmarks

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Turney, Raymond D.

    2001-01-01

    This report describes results of benchmark tests on the Origin 3000 system currently being installed at the NASA Ames National Advanced Supercomputing facility. This machine will ultimately contain 1024 R14K processors. The first part of the system, installed in November, 2000 and named mendel, is an Origin 3000 with 128 R12K processors. For comparison purposes, the tests were also run on lomax, an Origin 2000 with R12K processors. The BT, LU, and SP application benchmarks in the NAS Parallel Benchmark Suite and the kernel benchmark FT were chosen to determine system performance and measure the impact of changes on the machine as it evolves. Having been written to measure performance on Computational Fluid Dynamics applications, these benchmarks are assumed appropriate to represent the NAS workload. Since the NAS runs both message passing (MPI) and shared-memory, compiler directive type codes, both MPI and OpenMP versions of the benchmarks were used. The MPI versions used were the latest official release of the NAS Parallel Benchmarks, version 2.3. The OpenMP versiqns used were PBN3b2, a beta version that is in the process of being released. NPB 2.3 and PBN 3b2 are technically different benchmarks, and NPB results are not directly comparable to PBN results.

  16. Growth, physiological response and phytoremoval capability of two willow clones exposed to ibuprofen under hydroponic culture.

    PubMed

    Iori, Valentina; Zacchini, Massimo; Pietrini, Fabrizio

    2013-11-15

    Ibuprofen (IBU) is one of the most widespread pharmaceuticals in the aquatic ecosystem, despite the high removal rate that occurs in wastewater treatment plants. Phytoremediation represents a technology to improve the performance of existing wastewater treatment. This study was conducted under hydroponics to evaluate the ability of Salicaceae plants to tolerate and reduce IBU concentration in contaminated water. To this end, we combined growth, physiological and biochemical data to study the effects of different IBU concentrations on two clones of Salix alba L. Data demonstrated that clone SS5 was more tolerant and showed a higher ability to reduce IBU concentration in the solution than clone SP3. The high tolerance to IBU shown by SS5 was likely due to several mechanisms including the capacity to maintain an elevated photosynthetic activity and an efficient antioxidative defence. These results illustrate the remarkable potential of willow to phytoremediate IBU-contaminated waters in natural and constructed wetlands. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Fortified extract of red berry, Ginkgo biloba, and white willow bark in experimental early diabetic retinopathy.

    PubMed

    Bucolo, Claudio; Marrazzo, Giuseppina; Platania, Chiara Bianca Maria; Drago, Filippo; Leggio, Gian Marco; Salomone, Salvatore

    2013-01-01

    Diabetic retinopathy is a complex condition where inflammation and oxidative stress represent crucial pathways in the pathogenesis of the disease. Aim of the study was to investigate the effects of a fortified extract of red berries, Ginkgo biloba and white willow bark containing carnosine and α-lipoic acid in early retinal and plasma changes of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced by a single streptozotocin injection in Sprague Dawley rats. Diabetics and nondiabetic (control) rats were treated daily with the fortified extract for the ten days. Retina samples were collected and analyzed for their TNF-α and VEGF content. Moreover, plasma oxidative stress was evaluated by thiobarbituric acid reacting substances (TBARS). Increased TNF-α and VEGF levels were observed in the retina of diabetic rats. Treatment with the fortified extract significantly lowered retinal cytokine levels and suppressed diabetes-related lipid peroxidation. These data demonstrate that the fortified extract attenuates the degree of retinal inflammation and plasma lipid peroxidation preserving the retina in early diabetic rats.

  18. Effect of antimony on the deep-level traps in GaInNAsSb thin films

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Islam, Muhammad Monirul, E-mail: islam.monir.ke@u.tsukuba.ac.jp; Miyashita, Naoya; Ahsan, Nazmul

    2014-09-15

    Admittance spectroscopy has been performed to investigate the effect of antimony (Sb) on GaInNAs material in relation to the deep-level defects in this material. Two electron traps, E1 and E2 at an energy level 0.12 and 0.41 eV below the conduction band (E{sub C}), respectively, were found in undoped GaInNAs. Bias-voltage dependent admittance confirmed that E1 is an interface-type defect being spatially localized at the GaInNAs/GaAs interface, while E2 is a bulk-type defect located around mid-gap of GaInNAs layer. Introduction of Sb improved the material quality which was evident from the reduction of both the interface and bulk-type defects.

  19. NAS Grid Benchmarks: A Tool for Grid Space Exploration

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Frumkin, Michael; VanderWijngaart, Rob F.; Biegel, Bryan (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    We present an approach for benchmarking services provided by computational Grids. It is based on the NAS Parallel Benchmarks (NPB) and is called NAS Grid Benchmark (NGB) in this paper. We present NGB as a data flow graph encapsulating an instance of an NPB code in each graph node, which communicates with other nodes by sending/receiving initialization data. These nodes may be mapped to the same or different Grid machines. Like NPB, NGB will specify several different classes (problem sizes). NGB also specifies the generic Grid services sufficient for running the bench-mark. The implementor has the freedom to choose any specific Grid environment. However, we describe a reference implementation in Java, and present some scenarios for using NGB.

  20. Examination of Frameworks for Safe Integration of Intelligent Small UAS into the NAS

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Logan, Michael J.

    2012-01-01

    This paper discusses a proposed framework for the safe integration of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS). The paper briefly examines the potential uses of sUAS to build an understanding of the location and frequency of potential future flight operations based on the future applications of the sUAS systems. The paper then examines the types of systems that would be required to meet the application-level demand to determine "classes" of platforms and operations. A framework for categorization of the "intelligence" level of the UAS is postulated for purposes of NAS integration. Finally, constraints on the intelligent systems are postulated to ensure their ease of integration into the NAS.

  1. First-principles study on structure stabilities of α-S and Na-S battery systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Momida, Hiroyoshi; Oguchi, Tamio

    2014-03-01

    To understand microscopic mechanisms of charge and discharge reactions in Na-S batteries, there has been increasing needs to study fundamental atomic and electronic structures of elemental S as well as that of Na-S phases. The most stable form of S is known to be an orthorhombic α-S crystal at ambient temperature and pressure, and α-S consists of puckered S8 rings which crystallize in space group Fddd . In this study, the crystal structure of α-S is examined by using first-principles calculations with and without the van der Waals interaction corrections of Grimme's method, and results clearly show that the van der Waals interactions between the S8 rings have crucial roles on cohesion of α-S. We also study structure stabilities of Na2S, NaS, NaS2, and Na2S5 phases with reported crystal structures. Using calculated total energies of the crystal structure models, we estimate discharge voltages assuming discharge reactions from 2Na+ xS -->Na2Sx, and discharge reactions in Na/S battery systems are discussed by comparing with experimental results. This work was partially supported by Elements Strategy Initiative for Catalysts and Batteries (ESICB) of Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT), Japan.

  2. The response of the foliar antioxidant system and stable isotopes (δ(13)C and δ(15)N) of white willow to low-level air pollution.

    PubMed

    Wuytack, Tatiana; AbdElgawad, Hamada; Staelens, Jeroen; Asard, Han; Boeckx, Pascal; Verheyen, Kris; Samson, Roeland

    2013-06-01

    In this study we aimed to determine and elucidate the effect of ambient air pollution on the foliar antioxidant system and stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes of white willow (Salix alba L.). We grew white willow in uniform potting soil in the near vicinity of sixteen air quality monitoring stations in Belgium where nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter concentrations were continuously measured. The trees were exposed to ambient air during six months (April-September 2011), and, thereafter, the degree of lipid peroxidation and foliar content of antioxidant molecules (ascorbate, glutathione, polyphenols, flavonoids), antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, peroxidase) and foliar stable carbon (δ(13)C) and nitrogen (δ(15)N) isotopes were measured. We found that lipid peroxidation was caused by air pollution stress, arising from high ambient NO2 concentrations, as shown by an increased amount of malondialdehyde. The antioxidant system was activated by increasing the amount of polyphenols at monitoring stations with a high atmospheric NO2 and low O3 concentration, while no increase of key enzymes (e.g., ascorbate, glutathione) was observed. The δ(13)C also decreased with increasing NO2 concentrations and decreasing O3 concentrations, probably reflecting a decreased net photosynthesis and/or a concomitant decrease of (13)CO2 in the atmosphere. Shade also influenced foliar δ(13)C and the content of leaf ascorbate and glutathione. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  3. Genetic Diversity and Genetic Relationships of Purple Willow (Salix purpurea L.) from Natural Locations

    PubMed Central

    Prinz, Kathleen; Przyborowski, Jerzy A.

    2017-01-01

    In this study, the genetic diversity and structure of 13 natural locations of Salix purpurea were determined with the use of AFLP (amplified length polymorphism), RAPD (randomly amplified polymorphic DNA) and ISSR (inter-simple sequence repeats). The genetic relationships between 91 examined S. purpurea genotypes were evaluated by analyses of molecular variance (AMOVA), principal coordinates analyses (PCoA) and UPGMA (unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean) dendrograms for both single marker types and a combination of all marker systems. The locations were assigned to distinct regions and the analysis of AMOVA (analysis of molecular variance) revealed a high genetic diversity within locations. The genetic diversity between both regions and locations was relatively low, but typical for many woody plant species. The results noted for the analyzed marker types were generally comparable with few differences in the genetic relationships among S. purpurea locations. A combination of several marker systems could thus be ideally suited to understand genetic diversity patterns of the species. This study makes the first attempt to broaden our knowledge of the genetic parameters of the purple willow (S. purpurea) from natural location for research and several applications, inter alia breeding purposes. PMID:29301207

  4. Data communication requirements for the advanced NAS network

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Levin, Eugene; Eaton, C. K.; Young, Bruce

    1986-01-01

    The goal of the Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation (NAS) Program is to provide a powerful computational environment for advanced research and development in aeronautics and related disciplines. The present NAS system consists of a Cray 2 supercomputer connected by a data network to a large mass storage system, to sophisticated local graphics workstations, and by remote communications to researchers throughout the United States. The program plan is to continue acquiring the most powerful supercomputers as they become available. In the 1987/1988 time period it is anticipated that a computer with 4 times the processing speed of a Cray 2 will be obtained and by 1990 an additional supercomputer with 16 times the speed of the Cray 2. The implications of this 20-fold increase in processing power on the data communications requirements are described. The analysis was based on models of the projected workload and system architecture. The results are presented together with the estimates of their sensitivity to assumptions inherent in the models.

  5. Ubiquity and Diversity of Heterotrophic Bacterial nasA Genes in Diverse Marine Environments

    PubMed Central

    Jiang, Xuexia; Dang, Hongyue; Jiao, Nianzhi

    2015-01-01

    Nitrate uptake by heterotrophic bacteria plays an important role in marine N cycling. However, few studies have investigated the diversity of environmental nitrate assimilating bacteria (NAB). In this study, the diversity and biogeographical distribution of NAB in several global oceans and particularly in the western Pacific marginal seas were investigated using both cultivation and culture-independent molecular approaches. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA and nasA (encoding the large subunit of the assimilatory nitrate reductase) gene sequences indicated that the cultivable NAB in South China Sea belonged to the α-Proteobacteria, γ-Proteobacteria and CFB (Cytophaga-Flavobacteria-Bacteroides) bacterial groups. In all the environmental samples of the present study, α-Proteobacteria, γ-Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes were found to be the dominant nasA-harboring bacteria. Almost all of the α-Proteobacteria OTUs were classified into three Roseobacter-like groups (I to III). Clone library analysis revealed previously underestimated nasA diversity; e.g. the nasA gene sequences affiliated with β-Proteobacteria, ε-Proteobacteria and Lentisphaerae were observed in the field investigation for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. The geographical and vertical distributions of seawater nasA-harboring bacteria indicated that NAB were highly diverse and ubiquitously distributed in the studied marginal seas and world oceans. Niche adaptation and separation and/or limited dispersal might mediate the NAB composition and community structure in different water bodies. In the shallow-water Kueishantao hydrothermal vent environment, chemolithoautotrophic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria were the primary NAB, indicating a unique nitrate-assimilating community in this extreme environment. In the coastal water of the East China Sea, the relative abundance of Alteromonas and Roseobacter-like nasA gene sequences responded closely to algal blooms, indicating that NAB may be

  6. Bioavailability of Metsulfuron and Sulfentrazone Herbicides in Soil as Affected by Amendment with Two Contrasting Willow Biochars.

    PubMed

    Szmigielski, Anna M; Hangs, Ryan D; Schoenau, Jeff J

    2018-02-01

    This study investigated the effect of two willow (Salix spp.) biochars, produced using either fast- or slow-pyrolysis, on the bioavailability of metsulfuron and sulfentrazone herbicides in soil. Five rates (0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, and 4%; w/w) of each biochar were used, along with varying rates of metsulfuron (0-3.2 µg ai kg -1 ) and sulfentrazone (0-200 µg ai kg -1 ), followed by a sugar beet bioassay. The fast-pyrolysis biochar had minimal effect, while the slow-pyrolysis biochar decreased the bioavailability of both herbicides. Despite using the same feedstock, the two biochars had different physical and chemical properties, of which specific surface area was most contrasting (3.0 and 175 m 2  g -1 for fast- and slow-pyrolysis biochar, respectively). Increased anionic herbicide adsorption associated with greater surface area of the slow-pyrolysis biochar is considered to be the primary mechanism responsible for reducing herbicide bioavailability with this biochar.

  7. Autotasked Performance in the NAS Workload: A Statistical Analysis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Carter, R. L.; Stockdale, I. E.; Kutler, Paul (Technical Monitor)

    1998-01-01

    A statistical analysis of the workload performance of a production quality FORTRAN code for five different Cray Y-MP hardware and system software configurations is performed. The analysis was based on an experimental procedure that was designed to minimize correlations between the number of requested CPUs and the time of day the runs were initiated. Observed autotasking over heads were significantly larger for the set of jobs that requested the maximum number of CPUs. Speedups for UNICOS 6 releases show consistent wall clock speedups in the workload of around 2. which is quite good. The observed speed ups were very similar for the set of jobs that requested 8 CPUs and the set that requested 4 CPUs. The original NAS algorithm for determining charges to the user discourages autotasking in the workload. A new charging algorithm to be applied to jobs run in the NQS multitasking queues also discourages NAS users from using auto tasking. The new algorithm favors jobs requesting 8 CPUs over those that request less, although the jobs requesting 8 CPUs experienced significantly higher over head and presumably degraded system throughput. A charging algorithm is presented that has the following desirable characteristics when applied to the data: higher overhead jobs requesting 8 CPUs are penalized when compared to moderate overhead jobs requesting 4 CPUs, thereby providing a charging incentive to NAS users to use autotasking in a manner that provides them with significantly improved turnaround while also maintaining system throughput.

  8. UAS Integration in the NAS FY15 Annual Review

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Grindle, Laurie; Randall, Debra; Hackenburg, Davis

    2015-01-01

    This presentation gives insight into the research activities and efforts being executed in order to integrate unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system. This briefing is to inform others of the UAS-NAS progress and future directions.

  9. Nas transgenic mouse line allows visualization of Notch pathway activity in vivo

    PubMed Central

    Souilhol, Céline; Cormier, Sarah; Monet, Marie; Vandormael-Pournin, Sandrine; Joutel, Anne; Babinet, Charles; Cohen-Tannoudji, Michel

    2006-01-01

    The Notch signalling pathway plays multiple and important roles in mammals. However, several aspects of its action, in particular the precise mapping of its sites of activity, remain unclear. To address this issue, we have generated a transgenic line carrying a construct consisting of a nls-lacZ reporter gene under the control of a minimal promoter and multiple RBP-Jκ binding sites. Here we show that this transgenic line, we named NAS for Notch Activity Sensor, displays an expression profile that is consistent with current knowledge on Notch activity sites in mice, even though it may not report on all these sites. Moreover, we observe that NAS transgene expression is abolished in a RBP-Jκ deficient background indicating that it indeed requires Notch/RBP-Jκ signalling pathway activity. Thus, the NAS transgenic line constitutes a valuable and versatile tool to gain further insights into the complex and various functions of the Notch signalling pathway. PMID:16708386

  10. Investigations of the Optical Properties of GaNAs Alloys by First-Principle.

    PubMed

    Borovac, Damir; Tan, Chee-Keong; Tansu, Nelson

    2017-12-11

    We present a Density Functional Theory (DFT) analysis of the optical properties of dilute-As GaN 1-x As x alloys with arsenic (As) content ranging from 0% up to 12.5%. The real and imaginary parts of the dielectric function are investigated, and the results are compared to experimental and theoretical values for GaN. The analysis extends to present the complex refractive index and the normal-incidence reflectivity. The refractive index difference between GaN and GaNAs alloys can be engineered to be up to ~0.35 in the visible regime by inserting relatively low amounts of As-content into the GaN system. Thus, the analysis elucidates on the birefringence of the dilute-As GaNAs alloys and comparison to other experimentally characterized III-nitride systems is drawn. Our findings indicate the potential of GaNAs alloys for III-nitride based waveguide and photonic circuit design applications.

  11. Nas transgenic mouse line allows visualization of Notch pathway activity in vivo.

    PubMed

    Souilhol, Céline; Cormier, Sarah; Monet, Marie; Vandormael-Pournin, Sandrine; Joutel, Anne; Babinet, Charles; Cohen-Tannoudji, Michel

    2006-06-01

    The Notch signaling pathway plays multiple and important roles in mammals. However, several aspects of its action, in particular, the precise mapping of its sites of activity, remain unclear. To address this issue, we generated a transgenic line carrying a construct consisting of a nls-lacZ reporter gene under the control of a minimal promoter and multiple RBP-Jkappa binding sites. Here we show that this transgenic line, which we termed NAS (for Notch Activity Sensor), displays an expression profile that is consistent with current knowledge on Notch activity sites in mice, even though it may not report on all these sites. Moreover, we observe that NAS transgene expression is abolished in a RBP-Jkappa-deficient background, indicating that it indeed requires Notch/RBP-Jkappa signaling pathway activity. Thus, the NAS transgenic line constitutes a valuable and versatile tool to gain further insights into the complex and various functions of the Notch signaling pathway.

  12. Padrões de refluxo nas veias safenas em homens com insuficiência venosa crônica

    PubMed Central

    Engelhorn, Carlos Alberto; Coral, Francisco Eduardo; Soares, Isabela Chaves Monteiro; Corrêa, Gabriel Fernando de Araújo; Ogeda, Jaqueline Pozzolo; Hara, Larissa Yuri; Murasse, Luisa Saemi

    2016-01-01

    Resumo Contexto A insuficiência venosa crônica (IVCr) é frequente e predomina nas mulheres, mas ainda há poucas informações sobre o refluxo nas veias safenas na população masculina. Objetivos Identificar os diferentes padrões de refluxo nas veias safenas magnas (VSMs) e parvas (VSPs) em homens, correlacionando esses dados com a apresentação clínica conforme a classificação Clínica, Etiológica, Anatômica e Fisiopatológica (CEAP). Métodos Foram avaliados 369 membros inferiores de 207 homens pela ultrassonografia vascular (UV) com diagnóstico clínico de IVCr primária. As variáveis analisadas foram a classificação CEAP, o padrão de refluxo nas VSMs e VSPs e a correlação entre os dois. Resultados Nos 369 membros avaliados, 72,9% das VSMs apresentaram refluxo com predominância do padrão segmentar (33,8%). Nas VSPs, 16% dos membros inferiores analisados apresentaram refluxo, sendo o mais frequente o padrão distal (33,9%). Dos membros classificados como C4, C5 e C6, 100% apresentaram refluxo na VSM com predominância do refluxo proximal (25,64%), e 38,46% apresentaram refluxo na VSP com equivalência entre os padrões distal e proximal (33,3%). Refluxo na junção safeno-femoral (JSF) foi detectado em 7,1% dos membros nas classes C0 e C1, 35,6% nas classes C2 e C3, e 64,1% nas classes C4 a C6. Conclusões O padrão de refluxo segmentar é predominante na VSM, e o padrão de refluxo distal é predominante na VSP. A ocorrência de refluxo na JSF é maior em pacientes com IVCr mais avançada. PMID:29930603

  13. Spatial and temporal variability of reference evapotranspiration and influenced meteorological factors in the Jialing River Basin, China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herath, Imali Kaushalya; Ye, Xuchun; Wang, Jianli; Bouraima, Abdel-Kabirou

    2018-02-01

    Reference evapotranspiration (ETr) is one of the important parameters in the hydrological cycle. The spatio-temporal variation of ETr and other meteorological parameters that influence ETr were investigated in the Jialing River Basin (JRB), China. The ETr was estimated using the CROPWAT 8.0 computer model based on the Penman-Montieth equation for the period 1964-2014. Mean temperature (MT), relative humidity (RH), sunshine duration (SD), and wind speed (WS) were the main input parameters of CROPWAT while 12 meteorological stations were evaluated. Linear regression and Mann-Kendall methods were applied to study the spatio-temporal trends while the inverse distance weighted (IDW) method was used to identify the spatial distribution of ETr. Stepwise regression and partial correlation methods were used to identify the meteorological variables that most significantly influenced the changes in ETr. The highest annual ETr was found in the northern part of the basin, whereas the lowest rate was recorded in the western part. In the autumn, the highest ETr was recorded in the southeast part of JRB. The annual ETr reflected neither significant increasing nor decreasing trends. Except for the summer, ETr is slightly increasing in other seasons. The MT significantly increased whereas SD and RH were significantly decreased during the 50-year period. Partial correlation and stepwise regression methods found that the impact of meteorological parameters on ETr varies on an annual and seasonal basis while SD, MT, and RH contributed to the changes of annual and seasonal ETr in the JRB.

  14. Overview--Development of a geodatabase and conceptual model of the hydrogeologic units beneath Air Force Plant 4 and Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base Carswell Field, Fort Worth, Texas

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Shah, Sachin D.

    2004-01-01

    Air Force Plant 4 (AFP4) and adjacent Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base Carswell Field (NAS–JRB) at Fort Worth, Tex., constitute a contractor-owned, government-operated facility that has been in operation since 1942. Contaminants from the 3,600-acre facility, primarily volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and metals, have entered the ground-water-flow system through leakage from waste-disposal sites and from manufacturing processes. Environmental data collected at AFP4 and NAS–JRB during 1993–2002 created the need for consolidation of the data into a comprehensive temporal and spatial geodatabase. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center Environmental Management Directorate, developed a comprehensive geodatabase of temporal and spatial environmental data associated with the hydrogeologic units beneath the facility. A three-dimensional conceptual model of the hydrogeologic units integrally linked to the geodatabase was designed concurrently. Three hydrogeologic units—from land surface downward, the alluvial aquifer, the GoodlandWalnut confining unit, and the Paluxy aquifer—compose the subsurface of interest at AFP4 and NAS–JRB. The alluvial aquifer consists primarily of clay and silt with sand and gravel channel deposits that might be interconnected or interfingered. The Goodland-Walnut confining unit directly underlies the alluvial aquifer and consists of limestone, marl, shale, and clay. The Paluxy aquifer is composed of dense mudstone and fine- to coarse-grained sandstone

  15. Salicin from Willow Bark can Modulate Neurite Outgrowth in Human Neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y Cells.

    PubMed

    Wölfle, Ute; Haarhaus, Birgit; Kersten, Astrid; Fiebich, Bernd; Hug, Martin J; Schempp, Christoph M

    2015-10-01

    Salicin from willow bark has been used throughout centuries in China and Europe for the treatment of pain, headache, and inflammatory conditions. Recently, it could be demonstrated that salicin binds and activates the bitter taste receptor TAS2R16. Studies on rodent tissues showed the general expression of bitter taste receptors (TAS2Rs) in rodent brain. Here, we demonstrate the expression of hTAS2R16 in human neuronal tissues and the neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y. The functionality was analyzed in the neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y after stimulation with salicin, a known TAS2R16 agonist. In this setting salicin induced in SH-SY5Y cells phosphorylation of ERK and CREB, the key transcription factor of neuronal differentiation. PD98059, an inhibitor of the ERK pathway, as well as probenecid, a TAS2R16 antagonist, inhibited receptor phosphorylation as well as neurite outgrowth. These data show that salicin might modulate neurite outgrowth by bitter taste receptor activation. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  16. Recent Sex Chromosome Divergence despite Ancient Dioecy in the Willow Salix viminalis

    PubMed Central

    Pucholt, Pascal; Wright, Alison E.; Conze, Lei Liu; Mank, Judith E.; Berlin, Sofia

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Sex chromosomes can evolve when recombination is halted between a pair of chromosomes, and this can lead to degeneration of the sex-limited chromosome. In the early stages of differentiation sex chromosomes are homomorphic, and even though homomorphic sex chromosomes are very common throughout animals and plants, we know little about the evolutionary forces shaping these types of sex chromosomes. We used DNA- and RNA-Seq data from females and males to explore the sex chromosomes in the female heterogametic willow, Salix viminalis, a species with ancient dioecy but with homomorphic sex chromosomes. We detected no major sex differences in read coverage in the sex determination (SD) region, indicating that the W region has not significantly degenerated. However, single nucleotide polymorphism densities in the SD region are higher in females compared with males, indicating very recent recombination suppression, followed by the accumulation of sex-specific single nucleotide polymorphisms. Interestingly, we identified two female-specific scaffolds that likely represent W-chromosome-specific sequence. We show that genes located in the SD region display a mild excess of male-biased expression in sex-specific tissue, and we use allele-specific gene expression analysis to show that this is the result of masculinization of expression on the Z chromosome rather than degeneration of female-expression on the W chromosome. Together, our results demonstrate that insertion of small DNA fragments and accumulation of sex-biased gene expression can occur before the detectable decay of the sex-limited chromosome. PMID:28453634

  17. One-dimensional carbon-sulfur composite fibers for Na-S rechargeable batteries operating at room temperature.

    PubMed

    Hwang, Tae Hoon; Jung, Dae Soo; Kim, Joo-Seong; Kim, Byung Gon; Choi, Jang Wook

    2013-09-11

    Na-S batteries are one type of molten salt battery and have been used to support stationary energy storage systems for several decades. Despite their successful applications based on long cycle lives and low cost of raw materials, Na-S cells require high temperatures above 300 °C for their operations, limiting their propagation into a wide range of applications. Herein, we demonstrate that Na-S cells with solid state active materials can perform well even at room temperature when sulfur-containing carbon composites generated from a simple thermal reaction were used as sulfur positive electrodes. Furthermore, this structure turned out to be robust during repeated (de)sodiation for ~500 cycles and enabled extraordinarily high rate performance when one-dimensional morphology is adopted using scalable electrospinning processes. The current study suggests that solid-state Na-S cells with appropriate atomic configurations of sulfur active materials could cover diverse battery applications where cost of raw materials is critical.

  18. Object-Oriented Implementation of the NAS Parallel Benchmarks using Charm++

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Krishnan, Sanjeev; Bhandarkar, Milind; Kale, Laxmikant V.

    1996-01-01

    This report describes experiences with implementing the NAS Computational Fluid Dynamics benchmarks using a parallel object-oriented language, Charm++. Our main objective in implementing the NAS CFD kernel benchmarks was to develop a code that could be used to easily experiment with different domain decomposition strategies and dynamic load balancing. We also wished to leverage the object-orientation provided by the Charm++ parallel object-oriented language, to develop reusable abstractions that would simplify the process of developing parallel applications. We first describe the Charm++ parallel programming model and the parallel object array abstraction, then go into detail about each of the Scalar Pentadiagonal (SP) and Lower/Upper Triangular (LU) benchmarks, along with performance results. Finally we conclude with an evaluation of the methodology used.

  19. 78 FR 12951 - TRICARE; Elimination of the Non-Availability Statement (NAS) Requirement for Non-Emergency...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-02-26

    ... There are no anticipated budgetary health care cost increases. Requiring a NAS for a relatively few non... Inpatient Mental Health Care AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of Defense. ACTION: Final rule... inpatient mental health care in order for a TRICARE Standard beneficiary's claim to be paid. Currently, NAS...

  20. Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project FY17 Annual Review

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sakahara, Robert; Hackenberg, Davis; Johnson, William

    2017-01-01

    This presentation was presented to the Integrated Aviation Systems Program at the FY17 Annual Review of the UAS-NAS project. The presentation captures the overview of the work completed by the UAS-NAS project and its subprojects.

  1. Parallelization of NAS Benchmarks for Shared Memory Multiprocessors

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Waheed, Abdul; Yan, Jerry C.; Saini, Subhash (Technical Monitor)

    1998-01-01

    This paper presents our experiences of parallelizing the sequential implementation of NAS benchmarks using compiler directives on SGI Origin2000 distributed shared memory (DSM) system. Porting existing applications to new high performance parallel and distributed computing platforms is a challenging task. Ideally, a user develops a sequential version of the application, leaving the task of porting to new generations of high performance computing systems to parallelization tools and compilers. Due to the simplicity of programming shared-memory multiprocessors, compiler developers have provided various facilities to allow the users to exploit parallelism. Native compilers on SGI Origin2000 support multiprocessing directives to allow users to exploit loop-level parallelism in their programs. Additionally, supporting tools can accomplish this process automatically and present the results of parallelization to the users. We experimented with these compiler directives and supporting tools by parallelizing sequential implementation of NAS benchmarks. Results reported in this paper indicate that with minimal effort, the performance gain is comparable with the hand-parallelized, carefully optimized, message-passing implementations of the same benchmarks.

  2. Pleiotropic Effects of White Willow Bark and 1,2-Decanediol on Human Adult Keratinocytes.

    PubMed

    Bassino, Eleonora; Gasparri, Franco; Munaron, Luca

    2018-01-01

    Acne vulgaris is a common skin defect, usually occurring during adolescence, but often it can persist in adults leaving permanent face scarring. Acne is usually treated with topical drugs, oral antibiotics, retinoids, and hormonal therapies, but medicinal plants are increasingly employed. To investigate the protective role of white willow bark (WWB) and 1,2-decanediol (DD) on the damage caused by lipopolysaccharides (LPS) on human adult keratinocytes (HaCaT). HaCaT were exposed to LPS alone or in association with WWB and DD. Epidermal viability, metabolic modulation, inflammatory activity, and cell migration were assessed with both common standardized protocols or high-throughput screening systems. The preincubation of HaCaT with WWB and DD (used separately or in combination) differently prevented the alterations induced by LPS on HaCaT in terms of growth factor release (IGF, EGF, VEGF), cytokine production (IL-1α, IL-6, IL-8), or expression of the transcription factor FOXO-I. Moreover, they partially restore wound repair lowered by LPS. These results suggest that both natural compounds were able to differently affect several functions of LPS-stressed keratinocytes suggesting their potential role for the prevention of acne vulgaris, without adverse effects. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  3. The investigation of short-term variations of Jupiter's Synchrotron Radiation with the large radio interferometer GMRT

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Imai, Kota; Misawa, Hiroaki; Bhardwaj, Anil; Tsuchiya, Fuminori; Doi, Akihiro; Kondo, Tetsuro; Morioka, Akira

    The goal of this research is to investigate physical processes of short term variations of Jupiter's Synchrotron Radiation (JSR) which is important for revealing the origin of relativistic electrons at Jupiter's Radiation Belt (JRB). JSR has been frequently observed by radio interferometers and single dish radio telescopes to understand characteristics of the spatial distribution and variations inferring dynamics and energetics of the relativistic electrons. Observations with radio interferometers have showed JSR source structure (Dunn et al., 2003, etc), and contributed to modeling of JRB (Garrett et al., 2005, etc). On the other hand, observations of total intensity of JSR with a single dish radio telescope have revealed characteristics of time variable phenomena. The time variations are indispensable parameters giving clues to understand particle source and/or loss processes which characterize the formation of JRB. Recently, Miyoshi et al. (1999) and Bolton et al. (2002) confirmed the existence of short term (days to weeks) variations in JSR. The detection of short term variations makes a great impact on the study on JRB because it has been believed for a long time that the strong internal magnetic field and rapidly rotating magnetosphere of Jupiter protect the JRB region from solar wind variations and magnetospheric disturbances as theoretically suggested by de Pater and Goertz (1994). So far we have made the JSR observations to investigate the short term variations of mainly several hundreds MHz JSR which is emitted by low energy particles (< 10MeV) and has been observed systematically only few times (Miyoshi et al., 1999, Misawa et al., 2005, etc). The latter observation suggested that the short term variation is a general feature at low frequencies. Therefore, it is essential to study its detailed characteristics and the causalities. Theoretically expected physical processes which are responsible for the short term variation are enhanced radial diffusion

  4. Quantum dot-like emitters formed due to alloy fluctuations in GaNAs-based nanowires.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Buyanova, Irina; Jansson, M.; Filippov, S.; Stehr, J.; Palisaitis, J.; Persson, P.; Ishikawa, F.; Chen, Weimin

    Group III-V semiconductor nanowires with embedded quantum dots (QDs) are currently attracting increasing attention as a highly attractive platform for a variety of advanced applications ranging from third generation photovoltaics to quantum information technologies. In this work, we show that local fluctuations in N composition inside coaxial GaAs/GaNAs nanowires induces three-dimensional confining potentials equivalent to that for QDs thus forming optically active and highly localized states inside the GaNAs shell. Principal quantization axis of these states is concluded to mainly coincide with the nanowire axis, based on the strong polarization of the detected emission orthogonal to the nanowire axis revealed from polarization-resolved micro-photoluminescence studies. This is partly attributed to a predominantly uniaxial tensile strain field in the GaNAs shell caused by lattice mismatch with the GaAs core. GaNAs alloys can, therefore, be used as an active material in hybrid QD-NW structures utilized for fabrication of nanoscale polarized-light sources that are efficient within the near-infrared spectral range. Financial support by the Swedish Energy Agency (Grant # P40119-1) and the Swedish Research Council (Grant # 2015-05532) is greatly appreciated.

  5. Implementation of NAS Parallel Benchmarks in Java

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Frumkin, Michael; Schultz, Matthew; Jin, Hao-Qiang; Yan, Jerry

    2000-01-01

    A number of features make Java an attractive but a debatable choice for High Performance Computing (HPC). In order to gauge the applicability of Java to the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) we have implemented NAS Parallel Benchmarks in Java. The performance and scalability of the benchmarks point out the areas where improvement in Java compiler technology and in Java thread implementation would move Java closer to Fortran in the competition for CFD applications.

  6. Applications Performance Under MPL and MPI on NAS IBM SP2

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Saini, Subhash; Simon, Horst D.; Lasinski, T. A. (Technical Monitor)

    1994-01-01

    On July 5, 1994, an IBM Scalable POWER parallel System (IBM SP2) with 64 nodes, was installed at the Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation (NAS) Facility Each node of NAS IBM SP2 is a "wide node" consisting of a RISC 6000/590 workstation module with a clock of 66.5 MHz which can perform four floating point operations per clock with a peak performance of 266 Mflop/s. By the end of 1994, 64 nodes of IBM SP2 will be upgraded to 160 nodes with a peak performance of 42.5 Gflop/s. An overview of the IBM SP2 hardware is presented. The basic understanding of architectural details of RS 6000/590 will help application scientists the porting, optimizing, and tuning of codes from other machines such as the CRAY C90 and the Paragon to the NAS SP2. Optimization techniques such as quad-word loading, effective utilization of two floating point units, and data cache optimization of RS 6000/590 is illustrated, with examples giving performance gains at each optimization step. The conversion of codes using Intel's message passing library NX to codes using native Message Passing Library (MPL) and the Message Passing Interface (NMI) library available on the IBM SP2 is illustrated. In particular, we will present the performance of Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) kernel from NAS Parallel Benchmarks (NPB) under MPL and MPI. We have also optimized some of Fortran BLAS 2 and BLAS 3 routines, e.g., the optimized Fortran DAXPY runs at 175 Mflop/s and optimized Fortran DGEMM runs at 230 Mflop/s per node. The performance of the NPB (Class B) on the IBM SP2 is compared with the CRAY C90, Intel Paragon, TMC CM-5E, and the CRAY T3D.

  7. An Integrated Gate Turnaround Management Concept Leveraging Big Data Analytics for NAS Performance Improvements

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chung, William W.; Ingram, Carla D.; Ahlquist, Douglas Kurt; Chachad, Girish H.

    2016-01-01

    "Gate Turnaround" plays a key role in the National Air Space (NAS) gate-to-gate performance by receiving aircraft when they reach their destination airport, and delivering aircraft into the NAS upon departing from the gate and subsequent takeoff. The time spent at the gate in meeting the planned departure time is influenced by many factors and often with considerable uncertainties. Uncertainties such as weather, early or late arrivals, disembarking and boarding passengers, unloading/reloading cargo, aircraft logistics/maintenance services and ground handling, traffic in ramp and movement areas for taxi-in and taxi-out, and departure queue management for takeoff are likely encountered on the daily basis. The Integrated Gate Turnaround Management (IGTM) concept is leveraging relevant historical data to support optimization of the gate operations, which include arrival, at the gate, departure based on constraints (e.g., available gates at the arrival, ground crew and equipment for the gate turnaround, and over capacity demand upon departure), and collaborative decision-making. The IGTM concept provides effective information services and decision tools to the stakeholders, such as airline dispatchers, gate agents, airport operators, ramp controllers, and air traffic control (ATC) traffic managers and ground controllers to mitigate uncertainties arising from both nominal and off-nominal airport gate operations. IGTM will provide NAS stakeholders customized decision making tools through a User Interface (UI) by leveraging historical data (Big Data), net-enabled Air Traffic Management (ATM) live data, and analytics according to dependencies among NAS parameters for the stakeholders to manage and optimize the NAS performance in the gate turnaround domain. The application will give stakeholders predictable results based on the past and current NAS performance according to selected decision trees through the UI. The predictable results are generated based on analysis of the

  8. Statistical Analysis of NAS Parallel Benchmarks and LINPACK Results

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Meuer, Hans-Werner; Simon, Horst D.; Strohmeier, Erich; Lasinski, T. A. (Technical Monitor)

    1994-01-01

    In the last three years extensive performance data have been reported for parallel machines both based on the NAS Parallel Benchmarks, and on LINPACK. In this study we have used the reported benchmark results and performed a number of statistical experiments using factor, cluster, and regression analyses. In addition to the performance results of LINPACK and the eight NAS parallel benchmarks, we have also included peak performance of the machine, and the LINPACK n and n(sub 1/2) values. Some of the results and observations can be summarized as follows: 1) All benchmarks are strongly correlated with peak performance. 2) LINPACK and EP have each a unique signature. 3) The remaining NPB can grouped into three groups as follows: (CG and IS), (LU and SP), and (MG, FT, and BT). Hence three (or four with EP) benchmarks are sufficient to characterize the overall NPB performance. Our poster presentation will follow a standard poster format, and will present the data of our statistical analysis in detail.

  9. NAS technical summaries. Numerical aerodynamic simulation program, March 1992 - February 1993

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1994-01-01

    NASA created the Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation (NAS) Program in 1987 to focus resources on solving critical problems in aeroscience and related disciplines by utilizing the power of the most advanced supercomputers available. The NAS Program provides scientists with the necessary computing power to solve today's most demanding computational fluid dynamics problems and serves as a pathfinder in integrating leading-edge supercomputing technologies, thus benefitting other supercomputer centers in government and industry. The 1992-93 operational year concluded with 399 high-speed processor projects and 91 parallel projects representing NASA, the Department of Defense, other government agencies, private industry, and universities. This document provides a glimpse at some of the significant scientific results for the year.

  10. Hydrologic and environmental controls on uranium-series and strontium isotope ratios in a natural weathering environment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    White, A. M.; Ma, L.; Moravec, B. G.; McIntosh, J. C.; Chorover, J.

    2017-12-01

    In a remote, volcanic headwater catchment of the Jemez River Basin Critical Zone Observatory (JRB-CZO) in NM, stable water isotopes and solute chemistry have shown that snowmelt infiltrates and is stored before later discharging into springs and streams via subsurface flowpaths that vary seasonally. Therefore, water-rock reactions are also expected to change with season as hydrologic flowpaths transport water, gases and solutes through different biogeochemical conditions, rock types and fracture networks. Uranium-series isotopes have been shown to be a novel tracer of water-rock reactions and source water contributions while strontium isotopes are frequently used as indicators of chemical weathering and bedrock geology. This study combines both isotopes to understand how U and Sr isotope signatures evolve through the Critical Zone (CZ). More specifically, this work examines the relationship between seasonality, water transit time (WTT), and U-series and Sr isotopes in stream and spring waters from three catchments within the JRB-CZO, as well as lithology, rock type and CZ structure in solid phase cores. Samples from ten springs with known WTTs were analyzed for U and Sr isotopes to determine the effect of WTT on the isotopic composition of natural waters. Results suggest that WTT alone cannot explain the variability of U and Sr isotopes in JRB-CZO springs. Stream samples were also collected across two water years to establish how seasonality controls surface water isotopic composition. U and Sr isotope values vary with season, consistent with a previous study from the La Jara catchment; however, this study revealed that these changes do not show a systematic pattern among the three catchments suggesting that differences in the mineralogy and structure of the deep CZ in individual catchments, and partitioning of water along deep vs surficial and fracture vs matrix flow paths, likely also control isotopic variability. The distribution of U-series and Sr isotopes in

  11. Metabolomic Investigation of Rat Serum Following Oral Administration of the Willow Bracket Medicinal Mushroom, Phellinus igniarius (Agaricomycetes), by UPLC-HDMS.

    PubMed

    Dong, Yu; He, Ying; Yu, Zhongming; Zhang, Yang; Wang, Nani; Shou, Dan; Li, Changyu

    2016-01-01

    The medicinal willow bracket mushroom, Phellinus igniarius, is a species that has been reported to possess antibacterial, antioxidative, antitumor, antidiabetic, and antihyperlipidemia activities. The aim of this study was to elucidate the changes in endogenous metabolites after oral administration of a decoction of Ph. Igniarius. Ultraperformance liquid chromatography (UPLC)/electrospray ionization synapt high-definition mass spectrometry (ESI-HDMS) combined with pattern recognition approaches, including principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis, were integrated to discover differentiating metabolites. The current metabolomics approach identified 16 ions (5 in the negative mode, 11 in the positive mode) as "differentiating metabolites". The results illustrated that Ph. Igniarius is likely to increase the biosynthesis and secretion of bile acids that provide hypolipidemic activity and showed that robust UPLC/ESI-HDMS techniques are promising for profiling analysis of medicinal mushroom metabolites.

  12. NAS technical summaries: Numerical aerodynamic simulation program, March 1991 - February 1992

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1992-01-01

    NASA created the Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation (NAS) Program in 1987 to focus resources on solving critical problems in aeroscience and related disciplines by utilizing the power of the most advanced supercomputers available. The NAS Program provides scientists with the necessary computing power to solve today's most demanding computational fluid dynamics problems and serves as a pathfinder in integrating leading-edge supercomputing technologies, thus benefiting other supercomputer centers in Government and industry. This report contains selected scientific results from the 1991-92 NAS Operational Year, March 4, 1991 to March 3, 1992, which is the fifth year of operation. During this year, the scientific community was given access to a Cray-2 and a Cray Y-MP. The Cray-2, the first generation supercomputer, has four processors, 256 megawords of central memory, and a total sustained speed of 250 million floating point operations per second. The Cray Y-MP, the second generation supercomputer, has eight processors and a total sustained speed of one billion floating point operations per second. Additional memory was installed this year, doubling capacity from 128 to 256 megawords of solid-state storage-device memory. Because of its higher performance, the Cray Y-MP delivered approximately 77 percent of the total number of supercomputer hours used during this year.

  13. Recent Sex Chromosome Divergence despite Ancient Dioecy in the Willow Salix viminalis.

    PubMed

    Pucholt, Pascal; Wright, Alison E; Conze, Lei Liu; Mank, Judith E; Berlin, Sofia

    2017-08-01

    Sex chromosomes can evolve when recombination is halted between a pair of chromosomes, and this can lead to degeneration of the sex-limited chromosome. In the early stages of differentiation sex chromosomes are homomorphic, and even though homomorphic sex chromosomes are very common throughout animals and plants, we know little about the evolutionary forces shaping these types of sex chromosomes. We used DNA- and RNA-Seq data from females and males to explore the sex chromosomes in the female heterogametic willow, Salix viminalis, a species with ancient dioecy but with homomorphic sex chromosomes. We detected no major sex differences in read coverage in the sex determination (SD) region, indicating that the W region has not significantly degenerated. However, single nucleotide polymorphism densities in the SD region are higher in females compared with males, indicating very recent recombination suppression, followed by the accumulation of sex-specific single nucleotide polymorphisms. Interestingly, we identified two female-specific scaffolds that likely represent W-chromosome-specific sequence. We show that genes located in the SD region display a mild excess of male-biased expression in sex-specific tissue, and we use allele-specific gene expression analysis to show that this is the result of masculinization of expression on the Z chromosome rather than degeneration of female-expression on the W chromosome. Together, our results demonstrate that insertion of small DNA fragments and accumulation of sex-biased gene expression can occur before the detectable decay of the sex-limited chromosome. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

  14. Extreme drought alters frequency and reproductive success of floaters in Willow Flycatchers

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Theimer, Tad; Sogge, Mark K.; Cardinal, Suzanne N.; Durst, Scott L.; Paxton, Eben H.

    2018-01-01

    Changes in habitat quality, including those caused by extreme events like droughts and floods, could alter costs and benefits of territoriality and thereby the prevalence and reproductive consequences for individuals capable of breeding that do not do so (floaters). We studied floating behavior in a population of Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus) in central Arizona during one year of extreme drought, one year of lake inundation, and three years of near average precipitation. In all years, most floaters were second year (SY) males, and most subsequently settled outside of the patch where they were detected in the floating year, suggesting that floaters did not “queue” at high-quality territories in order to achieve higher reproductive success in subsequent years. Instead, cohorts that floated in non-drought years had lower apparent survival and lower reproductive success compared to territorial birds. In the extreme drought year, however, the number of floaters was 1.5 times greater than in all other years combined, more females floated, and apparent survival and mean annual productivity in subsequent years was higher for males that floated in that year than for those that were territorial. Inundation of habitat due to rising reservoir levels did not result in an increase in floaters because many birds nested in inundated areas where trees projected above the water so that the relative amount of available habitat was not reduced to the extent habitat models predicted. Overall, our results indicate that the prevalence and reproductive and demographic consequences of floating can change under extreme climatic events like severe drought.

  15. Porous graphitic carbon microtubes derived from willow catkins as a substrate of MnO2 for supercapacitors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Xiaohua; Zhang, Kang; Li, Hengxiang; Cao, Qing; Jin, Li'e.; Li, Ping

    2017-03-01

    Biomass is receiving considerable attention because of its significant advantages as a sustainable and renewable material. Willow catkins, which have a single-walled microtubular structure are used as both a template and a precursor for synthesizing porous graphitic carbon microtubes (PGCMT) induced by the simultaneous activation-graphitization of K4Fe(CN)6. In addition to providing low-resistant pathways and short ion diffusion channels, as-obtained PGCMT with tubular structure also serves as an ideal platform for anchoring MnO2. The PGCMT/MnO2 composite electrode obtained by MnO2 electrodeposition expressed excellent electrochemical performance, including a significantly enhanced specific capacitance (550.8 F g-1 for the mass of MnO2 at a current density of 2 A g-1), a high capacitance retention of 61.8% even at a high current density of 50 A g-1, and an excellent cycling stability of 89.6% capability retention after 5000 cycles. These findings offer a simple and environmentally friendly strategy for preparing advanced energy materials by utilizing the unique structure of biomass waste from nature.

  16. Design handbook : energy efficiency and water conservation in NAS facilities

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1997-09-30

    This handbook was created to provide definitive energy efficiency and water conservation design criteria for the design of NAS facilities. FAA-HDBK-001 provides implementation strategies and tools to comply with E.O. 12902, Energy and Water Conservat...

  17. Benefits of a Unified LaSRS++ Simulation for NAS-Wide and High-Fidelity Modeling

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Glaab, Patricia; Madden, Michael

    2014-01-01

    The LaSRS++ high-fidelity vehicle simulation was extended in 2012 to support a NAS-wide simulation mode. Since the initial proof-of-concept, the LaSRS++ NAS-wide simulation is maturing into a research-ready tool. A primary benefit of this new capability is the consolidation of the two modeling paradigms under a single framework to save cost, facilitate iterative concept testing between the two tools, and to promote communication and model sharing between user communities at Langley. Specific benefits of each type of modeling are discussed along with the expected benefits of the unified framework. Current capability details of the LaSRS++ NAS-wide simulations are provided, including the visualization tool, live data interface, trajectory generators, terminal routing for arrivals and departures, maneuvering, re-routing, navigation, winds, and turbulence. The plan for future development is also described.

  18. UAS Integration in the NAS Project - FY 14 Annual Review

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Grindle, Laurie; Randall, Debra; Hackenberg, Davis

    2014-01-01

    This briefing gives insight into the research activities and efforts being executed in order to integrate unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system. This briefing is to inform others of the UAS-NAS Projects progress and future directions.

  19. DOE Radiation Research Program is floundering - NAS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lobsenz, G.

    1994-04-20

    The Energy Department's radiation health effects research program is floundering in a morass of administrative confusion due to an ill-considered 1990 joint management agreement between DOE and the Health and Human Services Department, a National Academy of Sciences panel says. The NAS panel said the [open quotes]administrative difficulties[close quotes] created by the DOE-HHS agreement appear to be [open quotes]stifling creativity and efficiency within DOE's Epidemiology Research Program, delaying the completion and publication of research.[close quotes] The panel also expressed concern that DOE has failed to adequately fund or staff its health research office, and that the department had no mastermore » research plan to identify research needs or set forth uniform, scientifically rigorous data collection procedures. The panel said DOE's lack of commitment was particularly evident in its failure to set up an effective health surveillance program for its nuclear work force. In addition, the panel said DOE had fallen short on promises to create a comprehensive computer bank of health research data that would be continually updated with new information gleaned from an ongoing worker surveillance program. While recommending enhancements, the NAS panel emphasized that DOE's health research program would not be able to function effectively until the department revamped its joint management agreement with HHS.« less

  20. U.S. EPA, Pesticide Product Label, NACO SEVIN-COPPER 5-6 DUST, 03/19/1968

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    2011-04-14

    , • rI. . ~ .' C<Jrb.:JI'J~ . . \\ , t,·y' _ " • 1 ....._ c :.'~! o..J • ~ • • • j" I ~ O' .t'''l''r!: ... t '. •• -r;:I_ nL~ C,t. ),1, .,J., e, U;, lJ . .'. 1 \\ .• .. f " • 11' . . . . ...

  1. Meeting of Experts on NASA's Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace Systems (NAS) Project

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wolfe, Jean; Bauer, Jeff; Bixby, C.J.; Lauderdale, Todd; Shively, Jay; Griner, James; Hayhurst, Kelly

    2010-01-01

    Topics discussed include: Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Integrated Systems Research Program (ISRP) and UAS Integration in the NAS Project; UAS Integration into the NAS Project; Separation Assurance and Collision Avoidance; Pilot Aircraft Interface Objectives/Rationale; Communication; Certification; and Integrated Tests and Evaluations.

  2. QNAP 1263U Network Attached Storage (NAS)/ Storage Area Network (SAN) Device Users Guide

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-11-01

    standard Ethernet network. Operating either a NAS or SAN is vital for the integrity of the data stored on the drives found in the device. Redundant...speed of the network itself. Many standards are in place for transferring data, including more standard ones such as File Transfer Protocol and Server ...following are the procedures for connecting to the NAS administrative web page: 1) Open a web browser and browse to 192.168.40.8:8080. 2) Enter the

  3. Ecosystem nitrogen fixation throughout the snow-free period in subarctic tundra: effects of willow and birch litter addition and warming.

    PubMed

    Rousk, Kathrin; Michelsen, Anders

    2017-04-01

    Nitrogen (N) fixation in moss-associated cyanobacteria is one of the main sources of available N for N-limited ecosystems such as subarctic tundra. Yet, N 2 fixation in mosses is strongly influenced by soil moisture and temperature. Thus, temporal scaling up of low-frequency in situ measurements to several weeks, months or even the entire growing season without taking into account changes in abiotic conditions cannot capture the variation in moss-associated N 2 fixation. We therefore aimed to estimate moss-associated N 2 fixation throughout the snow-free period in subarctic tundra in field experiments simulating climate change: willow (Salix myrsinifolia) and birch (Betula pubescens spp. tortuosa) litter addition, and warming. To achieve this, we established relationships between measured in situ N 2 fixation rates and soil moisture and soil temperature and used high-resolution measurements of soil moisture and soil temperature (hourly from May to October) to model N 2 fixation. The modelled N 2 fixation rates were highest in the warmed (2.8 ± 0.3 kg N ha -1 ) and birch litter addition plots (2.8 ± 0.2 kg N ha -1 ), and lowest in the plots receiving willow litter (1.6 ± 0.2 kg N ha -1 ). The control plots had intermediate rates (2.2 ± 0.2 kg N ha -1 ). Further, N 2 fixation was highest during the summer in the warmed plots, but was lowest in the litter addition plots during the same period. The temperature and moisture dependence of N 2 fixation was different between the climate change treatments, indicating a shift in the N 2 fixer community. Our findings, using a combined empirical and modelling approach, suggest that a longer snow-free period and increased temperatures in a future climate will likely lead to higher N 2 fixation rates in mosses. Yet, the consequences of increased litter fall on moss-associated N 2 fixation due to shrub expansion in the Arctic will depend on the shrub species' litter traits. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Implementation of the NAS Parallel Benchmarks in Java

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Frumkin, Michael A.; Schultz, Matthew; Jin, Haoqiang; Yan, Jerry; Biegel, Bryan (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    Several features make Java an attractive choice for High Performance Computing (HPC). In order to gauge the applicability of Java to Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), we have implemented the NAS (NASA Advanced Supercomputing) Parallel Benchmarks in Java. The performance and scalability of the benchmarks point out the areas where improvement in Java compiler technology and in Java thread implementation would position Java closer to Fortran in the competition for CFD applications.

  5. Unstructured Adaptive (UA) NAS Parallel Benchmark. Version 1.0

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Feng, Huiyu; VanderWijngaart, Rob; Biswas, Rupak; Mavriplis, Catherine

    2004-01-01

    We present a complete specification of a new benchmark for measuring the performance of modern computer systems when solving scientific problems featuring irregular, dynamic memory accesses. It complements the existing NAS Parallel Benchmark suite. The benchmark involves the solution of a stylized heat transfer problem in a cubic domain, discretized on an adaptively refined, unstructured mesh.

  6. UAS Integration in the NAS Project: Integrated Test and Evaluation (IT&E) Flight Test 3. Revision E

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Marston, Michael

    2015-01-01

    The desire and ability to fly Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS) is of increasing urgency. The application of unmanned aircraft to perform national security, defense, scientific, and emergency management are driving the critical need for less restrictive access by UAS to the NAS. UAS represent a new capability that will provide a variety of services in the government (public) and commercial (civil) aviation sectors. The growth of this potential industry has not yet been realized due to the lack of a common understanding of what is required to safely operate UAS in the NAS. NASA's UAS Integration into the NAS Project is conducting research in the areas of Separation Assurance/Sense and Avoid Interoperability, Human Systems Integration (HSI), and Communication to support reducing the barriers of UAS access to the NAS. This research is broken into two research themes namely, UAS Integration and Test Infrastructure. UAS Integration focuses on airspace integration procedures and performance standards to enable UAS integration in the air transportation system, covering Sense and Avoid (SAA) performance standards, command and control performance standards, and human systems integration. The focus of Test Infrastructure is to enable development and validation of airspace integration procedures and performance standards, including the integrated test and evaluation. In support of the integrated test and evaluation efforts, the Project will develop an adaptable, scalable, and schedulable relevant test environment capable of evaluating concepts and technologies for unmanned aircraft systems to safely operate in the NAS. To accomplish this task, the Project will conduct a series of Human-in-the-Loop and Flight Test activities that integrate key concepts, technologies and/or procedures in a relevant air traffic environment. Each of the integrated events will build on the technical achievements, fidelity and complexity of the previous tests and

  7. Compositional dependence of the band gap in Ga(NAsP) quantum well heterostructures

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jandieri, K., E-mail: kakhaber.jandieri@physik.uni-marburg.de; Ludewig, P.; Wegele, T.

    We present experimental and theoretical studies of the composition dependence of the direct band gap energy in Ga(NAsP)/GaP quantum well heterostructures grown on either (001) GaP- or Si-substrates. The theoretical description takes into account the band anti-crossing model for the conduction band as well as the modification of the valence subband structure due to the strain resulting from the pseudomorphic epitaxial growth on the respective substrate. The composition dependence of the direct band gap of Ga(NAsP) is obtained for a wide range of nitrogen and phosphorus contents relevant for laser applications on Si-substrate.

  8. Five willow varieties cultivated across diverse field environments reveal stem density variation associated with high tension wood abundance

    PubMed Central

    Berthod, Nicolas; Brereton, Nicholas J. B.; Pitre, Frédéric E.; Labrecque, Michel

    2015-01-01

    Sustainable and inexpensive production of biomass is necessary to make biofuel production feasible, but represents a challenge. Five short rotation coppice willow cultivars, selected for high biomass yield, were cultivated on sites at four diverse regions of Quebec in contrasting environments. Wood composition and anatomical traits were characterized. Tree height and stem diameter were measured to evaluate growth performance of the cultivars according to the diverse pedoclimatic conditions. Each cultivar showed very specific responses to its environment. While no significant variation in lignin content was observed between sites, there was variation between cultivars. Surprisingly, the pattern of substantial genotype variability in stem density was maintained across all sites. However, wood anatomy did differ between sites in a cultivar (producing high and low density wood), suggesting a probable response to an abiotic stress. Furthermore, twice as many cellulose-rich G-fibers, comprising over 50% of secondary xylem, were also found in the high density wood, a finding with potential to bring higher value to the lignocellulosic bioethanol industry. PMID:26583024

  9. Self-assembled GaInNAs/GaAsN quantum dot lasers: solid source molecular beam epitaxy growth and high-temperature operation

    PubMed Central

    Liu, CY; Sun, ZZ; Yew, KC

    2006-01-01

    Self-assembled GaInNAs quantum dots (QDs) were grown on GaAs (001) substrate using solid-source molecular-beam epitaxy (SSMBE) equipped with a radio-frequency nitrogen plasma source. The GaInNAs QD growth characteristics were extensively investigated using atomic-force microscopy (AFM), photoluminescence (PL), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements. Self-assembled GaInNAs/GaAsN single layer QD lasers grown using SSMBE have been fabricated and characterized. The laser worked under continuous wave (CW) operation at room temperature (RT) with emission wavelength of 1175.86 nm. Temperature-dependent measurements have been carried out on the GaInNAs QD lasers. The lowest obtained threshold current density in this work is ∼1.05 kA/cm2from a GaInNAs QD laser (50 × 1,700 µm2) at 10 °C. High-temperature operation up to 65 °C was demonstrated from an unbonded GaInNAs QD laser (50 × 1,060 µm2), with high characteristic temperature of 79.4 K in the temperature range of 10–60 °C.

  10. UAS in the NAS Flight Test Series 3 Overview

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Murphy, James R.

    2015-01-01

    The UAS Integration in the NAS Project is conducting a series of flight tests to acheive the following objectives: 1.) Validate results previously collected during project simulations with live data 2.) Evaluate TCAS IISS interoperability 3.) Test fully integrated system in a relevant live test environment 4.) Inform final DAA and C2 MOPS 5.) Reduce risk for Flight Test Series 4.

  11. Water-quality data for the Ohio River from Willow Island Dam to Belleville Dam, West Virginia and Ohio, May-October 1993

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Miller, K.F.

    1996-01-01

    This report contains water-quality data for the Ohio River from river mile 160.6 (1.1 mile upstream from Willow Island Dam) to river mile 203.6 (0.3 mile upstream from Belleville Dam) that were collected during the summer and fall of 1993. The data were collected to establish the water quality of the Ohio River and to use in assessing the proposed effects of hydropower development on the water quality of the Ohio River. Water quality was monitored by a combination of synoptic field measurements, laboratory analyses, and continuous- record monitoring. Field measurements of water- quality characteristics were made along a longitudinal transect with 24 mid-channel sampling sites; cross-sectional transects of water-quality measurements were made at six of these sites. Water-quality measurements also were made at six sites located on the back-channel (West Virginia) sides of Marietta, Muskingum, and Blennerhassett Islands. At each longitudinal-transect and back- channel sampling site, measurements of specific conductance, pH, water temperature, and dissolved oxygen concentration were made at three depths (about 3.3 feet below the surface of the water, middle of the water column, and near the bottom of the river). Cross-sectional transects consisted of three to four detailed vertical profiles of the same characteristics. Water samples were collected at three depths in the mid-channel vertical profile in each cross-sectional transect and were analyzed for concentrations of phytoplankton chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b. Estimates of the depth of light penetration (Secchi disk transparency) were made at phytoplankton- pigment-sampling locations whenever light and river-surface conditions were appropriate. Each synoptic sampling event was completed in 2 days or less. The entire network was sampled 10 times from May 24 to October 27, 1993. Continuous-record monitoring of water quality consisted of hourly measurments of specific conductance, pH, water temperature, and

  12. UAS-NAS Project Demo - Mini HITL Week 2 Stats

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Murphy, James R.; Fern, Lisa C.; Rorie, Robert C.; Shively, Robert; Jovic, Srboljub

    2016-01-01

    The UAS-NAS Project demo will showcase recent research efforts to ensure the interoperability between proposed UAS detect and avoid (DAA) human machine interface requirements (developed within RTCA SC-228) and existing collision avoidance displays. Attendees will be able to view the current state of the art of the DAA pilot traffic, alerting and guidance displays integrated with Traffic advisory and Collision Avoidance (TCAS) II in the UAS-NAS Project's research UAS ground control station (developed in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory). In addition, attendees will have the opportunity to interact with the research UAS ground control station and "fly" encounters, using the DAA and TCAS II displays to avoid simulated aircraft. The display of the advisories will be hosted on a laptop with an external 30" monitor, running the Vigilant Spirit system. DAA advisories will be generated by the JADEM software tool, connected to the system via the LVC Gateway. A repeater of the primary flight display will be shown on a 55" monitor mounted on a stand at the back of the booth to show the pilot interaction to the passersby.

  13. Greenhouse policy study from NAS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maggs, William Ward

    The National Academy of Sciences will produce a study for the Environmental Protection Agency on policy responses to global warming. The report is due out before the end of 1990.Dan J. Evans, former U.S. Senator and former Governor of Washington, will chair a panel of the Commission on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy, a body of the councils of the NAS, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. Evans is a registered civil engineer and previously chaired the Pacific Northwest Electric Power and Conservation Planning Council.The 13-person panel includes AGU members Stephen Schneider of the National Center for Atmospheric Research and Robert Frosch, Vice President of Research Laboratores at General Motors Corp., Jessica Mathews, Vice President of the World Resources Institute, and Sir Crispin Tickell, the United Kingdom's Ambassador to the United Nations.

  14. New potassium-argon data on the age of mineralization and metamorphism in the Willow Creek mining district, southern Talkeetna Mountains, Alaska: A section in The United States Geological Survey in Alaska: Accomplishments during 1977

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Silberman, Miles L.; Csejtey, Bela; Smith, James G.; Lanphere, Marvin A.; Wilson, Frederic H.

    1978-01-01

    The now largely abandoned Willow Creek mining district, southern Talkeetna Mountains, Alaska, produced nearly $18,000,000 in gold and minor silver between 1909 and the early 1950's. Mineralized quartz veins, which contain gold and silver along with minor quantities of base metals (in pyrite, galena, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, molybdenite, and arsenopyrite), cut Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary tonalite and quartzmica schist of probable Jurassic age (Ray, 1954; Silberman and others, 1976; Bela Csejtey, Jr., unpub. data, 1978).

  15. Functional Requirements Document for HALE UAS Operations in the NAS: Step 1. Version 3

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2006-01-01

    The purpose of this Functional Requirements Document (FRD) is to compile the functional requirements needed to achieve the Access 5 Vision of "operating High Altitude, Long Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) routinely, safely, and reliably in the national airspace system (NAS)" for Step 1. These functional requirements could support the development of a minimum set of policies, procedures and standards by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and various standards organizations. It is envisioned that this comprehensive body of work will enable the FAA to establish and approve regulations to govern safe operation of UAS in the NAS on a routine or daily "file and fly" basis. The approach used to derive the functional requirements found within this FRD was to decompose the operational requirements and objectives identified within the Access 5 Concept of Operations (CONOPS) into the functions needed to routinely and safely operate a HALE UAS in the NAS. As a result, four major functional areas evolved to enable routine and safe UAS operations for an on-demand basis in the NAS. These four major functions are: Aviate, Navigate, Communicate, and Avoid Hazards. All of the functional requirements within this document can be directly traceable to one of these four major functions. Some functions, however, are traceable to several, or even all, of these four major functions. These cross-cutting functional requirements support the "Command / Control: function as well as the "Manage Contingencies" function. The requirements associated to these high-level functions and all of their supporting low-level functions are addressed in subsequent sections of this document.

  16. The CAS-NAS forum for new leaders in space science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smith, David H.

    The space science community is thoroughly international, with numerous nations now capable of launching scientific payloads into space either independently or in concert with others. As such, it is important for national space-science advisory groups to engage with like-minded groups in other spacefaring nations. The Space Studies Board of the US National Academy of Sciences' (NAS') National Research Council has provided scientific and technical advice to NASA for more than 50 years. Over this period, the Board has developed important multilateral and bilateral partnerships with space scientists around the world. The primary multilateral partner is COSPAR, for which the Board serves as the US national committee. The Board's primary bilateral relationship is with the European Science Foundation’s European Space Science Committee. Burgeoning Chinese space activities have resulted in several attempts in the past decade to open a dialogue between the Board and space scientists in China. On each occasion, the external political environment was not conducive to success. The most recent efforts to engage the Chinese space researchers began in 2011 and have proved particularly successful. Although NASA is currently prohibited from engaging in bilateral activities with China, the Board has established a fruitful dialogue with its counterpart in the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). A joint NAS-CAS activity, the Forum for New Leaders in Space Science, has been established to provide opportunities for a highly select group of young space scientists from China and the United States to discuss their research activities in an intimate and collegial environment at meetings to be held in both nations. The presentation will describe the current state of US-China space relations, discuss the goals of the joint NAS-CAS undertaking and report on the activities at the May, 2014, Forum in Beijing and the planning for the November, 2014, Forum in Irvine, California.

  17. UAS in the NAS - Analysis Results and Recommendations for Integration of CNPC and ATC Communications Simulation Report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kubat, Gregory

    2016-01-01

    This report addresses a deliverable to the UAS-in-the-NAS project for recommendations for integration of CNPC and ATC communications based on analysis results from modeled radio system and NAS-wide UA communication architecture simulations. For each recommendation, a brief explanation of the rationale for its consideration is provided with any supporting results obtained or observed in our simulation activity.

  18. Supercomputing 2002: NAS Demo Abstracts

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Parks, John (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    The hyperwall is a new concept in visual supercomputing, conceived and developed by the NAS Exploratory Computing Group. The hyperwall will allow simultaneous and coordinated visualization and interaction of an array of processes, such as a the computations of a parameter study or the parallel evolutions of a genetic algorithm population. Making over 65 million pixels available to the user, the hyperwall will enable and elicit qualitatively new ways of leveraging computers to accomplish science. It is currently still unclear whether we will be able to transport the hyperwall to SC02. The crucial display frame still has not been completed by the metal fabrication shop, although they promised an August delivery. Also, we are still working the fragile node issue, which may require transplantation of the compute nodes from the present 2U cases into 3U cases. This modification will increase the present 3-rack configuration to 5 racks.

  19. Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project KDP-C Review

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Grindle, Laurie; Sakahara, Robert; Hackenberg, Davis; Johnson, William

    2017-01-01

    The topics discussed are the UAS-NAS project life-cycle and ARMD thrust flow down, as well as the UAS environments and how we operate in those environments. NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards, CA, is leading a project designed to help integrate unmanned air vehicles into the world around us. The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System project, or UAS in the NAS, will contribute capabilities designed to reduce technical barriers related to safety and operational challenges associated with enabling routine UAS access to the NAS. The project falls under the Integrated Systems Research Program office managed at NASA Headquarters by the agency's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. NASA's four aeronautics research centers - Armstrong, Ames Research Center, Langley Research Center, and Glenn Research Center - are part of the technology development project. With the use and diversity of unmanned aircraft growing rapidly, new uses for these vehicles are constantly being considered. Unmanned aircraft promise new ways of increasing efficiency, reducing costs, enhancing safety and saving lives 460265main_ED10-0132-16_full.jpg Unmanned aircraft systems such as NASA's Global Hawks (above) and Predator B named Ikhana (below), along with numerous other unmanned aircraft systems large and small, are the prime focus of the UAS in the NAS effort to integrate them into the national airspace. Credits: NASA Photos 710580main_ED07-0243-37_full.jpg The UAS in the NAS project envisions performance-based routine access to all segments of the national airspace for all unmanned aircraft system classes, once all safety-related and technical barriers are overcome. The project will provide critical data to such key stakeholders and customers as the Federal Aviation Administration and RTCA Special Committee 203 (formerly the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics) by conducting integrated, relevant system-level tests to adequately address

  20. Theoretical studies of optical gain tuning by hydrostatic pressure in GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gladysiewicz, M.; Wartak, M. S.; Department of Physics and Computer Science, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3C5

    In order to describe theoretically the tuning of the optical gain by hydrostatic pressure in GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells (QWs), the optical gain calculations within kp approach were developed and applied for N-containing and N-free QWs. The electronic band structure and the optical gain for GaInNAs/GaAs QW were calculated within the 10-band kp model which takes into account the interaction of electron levels in the QW with the nitrogen resonant level in GaInNAs. It has been shown that this interaction increases with the hydrostatic pressure and as a result the optical gain for GaInNAs/GaAs QW decreases by about 40% and 80%more » for transverse electric and transverse magnetic modes, respectively, for the hydrostatic pressure change from 0 to 40 kilobars. Such an effect is not observed for N-free QWs where the dispersion of electron and hole energies remains unchanged with the hydrostatic pressure. This is due to the fact that the conduction and valence band potentials in GaInAs/GaAs QW scale linearly with the hydrostatic pressure.« less

  1. NAS Requirements Checklist for Job Queuing/Scheduling Software

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jones, James Patton

    1996-01-01

    The increasing reliability of parallel systems and clusters of computers has resulted in these systems becoming more attractive for true production workloads. Today, the primary obstacle to production use of clusters of computers is the lack of a functional and robust Job Management System for parallel applications. This document provides a checklist of NAS requirements for job queuing and scheduling in order to make most efficient use of parallel systems and clusters for parallel applications. Future requirements are also identified to assist software vendors with design planning.

  2. Optical Properties of A GaInNAs Multi-Quantum Well Semiconductor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hughes, Timothy S.; Ren, Shang-Fen; Jiang, De-Sheng; Xiaogan, Liang

    2002-03-01

    Optoelectronic devices used today depend on lasers that have wavelengths in the optical fiber transmission window of 1.3 to 1.55 micrometers. When using GaAs substrate semiconductor lasers, we typically see this range of light emission. Quaternary materials, such as GaInNAs grown on this substrate, not only allow us to control the output wavelength, but it also allows us to manipulate the lattice constant. Further research has potential to produce low-costing highly efficient Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSEL). Using a Fourier-Transform Spectrometer, a method of using a Michelson Interferometer to measure the interference between two coherent beams, we measured and analyzed the photoluminescence spectra of a GaInNAs multi-quantum well semiconductor, grown using the Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) growth technique. The experiments of this research were carried out in an undergraduate international research experience at the Chinese Semiconductor Institute supported by the Division of International Programs of NSF.

  3. A Descriptive Analysis of Nursing Staff Behaviors in a Teaching Nursing Home: Differences among NAs, LPNs, and RNs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burgio, Louis D.; And Others

    1990-01-01

    Various staff behaviors in nursing home were sampled 7 times a day, 5 days a week over 37 months and were coded separately for registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), and nurses' aides (NAs). Found LPNs displayed significantly more patient care behaviors and NAs significantly more nonwork behaviors than other nursing staff. RNs…

  4. Concepts of Integration for UAS Operations in the NAS

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Consiglio, Maria C.; Chamberlain, James P.; Munoz, Cesar A.; Hoffler, Keith D.

    2012-01-01

    One of the major challenges facing the integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS) is the lack of an onboard pilot that can comply with the legal requirement identified in the US Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) that pilots see and avoid other aircraft. UAS will be expected to demonstrate the means to perform the function of see and avoid while preserving the safety level of the airspace and the efficiency of the air traffic system. This paper introduces a Sense and Avoid (SAA) concept for integration of UAS into the NAS that is currently being developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and identifies areas that require additional experimental evaluation to further inform various elements of the concept. The concept design rests on interoperability principles that take into account both the Air Traffic Control (ATC) environment as well as existing systems such as the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS). Specifically, the concept addresses the determination of well clear values that are large enough to avoid issuance of TCAS corrective Resolution Advisories, undue concern by pilots of proximate aircraft and issuance of controller traffic alerts. The concept also addresses appropriate declaration times for projected losses of well clear conditions and maneuvers to regain well clear separation.

  5. The role of N-H complexes in the control of localized center recombination in hydrogenated GaInNAs (Conference Presentation)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Whiteside, Vincent R.; Fukuda, Miwa; Estes, Nicholas J.; Wang, Bin; Brown, Collin R.; Hossain, Khalid; Golding, Terry D.; Leroux, Mathieu; Al Khalfioui, Mohamed; Tischler, Joseph G.; Ellis, Chase T.; Glaser, Evan R.; Sellers, Ian R.

    2017-04-01

    A significant improvement in the quality of dilute nitrides has recently led to the ability to reveal depletion widths in excess of 1 μm at 1 eV [1]. The real viability of dilute nitrides for PV has been recently demonstrated with the reporting of a record efficiency of 43.5% from a 4J MJSC including GaInNAs(Sb) [2]. Despite the progress made, these materials remain poorly understood and work continues to improve their lifetime and reproducibility. We have investigated the possibility of improving the functionality of GaInNAs using hydrogenation to selectively passivate mid-gap defects, while preserving the substitutional nitrogen. Temperature dependent photoluminescence measurements of the intrinsic region of a GaInNAs p-i-n solar cell show a classic "s-shape" associated with localization prior to hydrogenation. No sign of this "s-shape" is evident after hydrogenation, despite the retention of substitutional nitrogen as evidenced by the band absorption of 1 eV. The absence of an "s-shape" at low-temperature in hydrogenated GaInNAs is rather curious since, even in high quality nitrides this behavior is due to the emission of isoelectronic centers created via N-As substitution [3]. The potential origins of this behavior will be discussed. The promise of this process for GaInNAs solar cells was demonstrated by a three-fold improvement in the performance of a hydrogenated device with respect to an as-grown reference [4]. [1] "Wide-depletion width GaInNAs solar cells by thermal annealing," I. R. Sellers, W-S. Tan, K. Smith, S. Hooper, S. Day and M. Kauer, Applied Physics Letters 99, 151111 (2011) [2] "43.5% efficient lattice matched solar cells," M. Wiemer, V. Sabnis, and H. Yuen, Proc. SPIE 8108, 810804 (2011) [3]"Probing the nature of carrier localization in GaInNAs, epilayers using optical methods," T. Ysai, B. Barman, T. Scarce, G. Lindberg, M. Fukuda, V. R. Whiteside, J. C. Keay, M. B. Johnson, I. R. Sellers, M. Al Khalfioui, M. Leroux, B. A. Weinstein and A

  6. Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS): Transitioning Methadone Treated Infants From An Inpatient to an Outpatient Setting

    PubMed Central

    Backes, Carl H.; Backes, Carl R.; Gardner, Debra; Nankervis, Craig A.; Giannone, Peter J.; Cordero, Leandro

    2013-01-01

    Background Each year in the US approximately 50,000 neonates receive inpatient pharmacotherapy for the treatment of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Objective To compare the safety and efficacy of a traditional inpatient only approach with a combined inpatient and outpatient methadone treatment program. Design/Methods Retrospective review (2007-9). Infants were born to mothers maintained on methadone or buprenorphine in an antenatal substance abuse program. All infants received methadone for NAS treatment as inpatient. Methadone weaning for the traditional group (75 pts) was inpatient while the combined group (46 pts) was outpatient. Results Infants in the traditional and combined groups were similar in demographics, obstetrical risk factors, birth weight, GA and the incidence of prematurity (34 & 31%). Hospital stay was shorter in the combined than in the traditional group (13 vs 25d; p < 0.01). Although the duration of treatment was longer for infants in the combined group (37 vs 21d, p<0.01), the cumulative methadone dose was similar (3.6 vs 3.1mg/kg, p 0.42). Follow-up: Information was available for 80% of infants in the traditional and 100% of infants in the combined group. All infants in the combined group were seen ≤ 72 hours from hospital discharge. Breast feeding was more common among infants in the combined group (24 vs. 8% p<0.05). Following discharge there were no differences between the two groups in hospital readmissions for NAS. Prematurity (<37w GA) was the only predictor for hospital readmission for NAS in both groups (p 0.02, OR 5). Average hospital cost for each infant in the combined group was $13,817 less than in the traditional group. Conclusions A combined inpatient and outpatient methadone treatment in the management of NAS decreases hospital stay and substantially reduces cost. Additional studies are needed to evaluate the potential long term benefits of the combined approach on infants and their families. PMID:21852772

  7. NAS (Host/ARTS) IIIA to VME Modem Interface ATC Interface Hardware Manual

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1990-10-01

    This document is reference material for personnel using the National Airspace : System (NAS) (HOST or ARTS IIIA) Air Traffic Control (ATC) Interface Subsystem. : It was originally developed to be part of the Data Link Test and Analysis System : (DATA...

  8. The temperature dependence of atomic incorporation characteristics in growing GaInNAs films

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Li, Jingling; Gao, Fangliang; Wen, Lei

    We have systematically studied the temperature dependence of incorporation characteristics of nitrogen (N) and indium (In) in growing GaInNAs films. With the implementation of Monte-Carlo simulation, the low N adsorption energy (−0.10 eV) is demonstrated. To understand the atomic incorporation mechanism, temperature dependence of interactions between Group-III and V elements are subsequently discussed. We find that the In incorporation behaviors rather than that of N are more sensitive to the T{sub g}, which can be experimentally verified by exploring the compositional modulation and structural changes of the GaInNAs films by means of high-resolution X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope,more » and secondary ion mass spectroscopy.« less

  9. Phytoextraction of soil trace elements by willow during a phytoremediation trial in Southern Québec, Canada.

    PubMed

    Courchesne, François; Turmel, Marie-Claude; Cloutier-Hurteau, Benoît; Constantineau, Simon; Munro, Lara; Labrecque, Michel

    2017-06-03

    The phytoextraction of the trace elements (TEs) As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn by willow cultivars (Fish Creek, SV1 and SX67) was measured during a 3-year field trial in a mildly contaminated soil. Biomass ranged from 2.8 to 4.4 Mg/ha/year at 30,000 plants/ha. Shoots (62%) were the main component followed by leaves (23%) and roots (15%). Biomass was positively linked to soluble soil dissolved organic carbon, K, and Mg, while TEs, not Cd and Zn, had a negative effect. The TE concentration ranking was: Zn > Cu > Cd > Ni, Pb > As, and distribution patterns were: (i) minima in shoots (As, Ni), (ii) maxima in leaves (Cd, Zn), or (iii) maxima in roots (Cu, Pb). Correlations between soil and plant TE were significant for the six TEs in roots. The amounts extracted were at a maximum for Zn, whereas Fish Creek and SV1 extracted more TE than SX67. More than 60% (91-94% for Cd and Zn) of the total TE was in the aboveground parts. Uptake increased with time because of higher biomass. Fertilization, the selection of cultivars, and the use of complementary plants are required to improve productivity and Cd and Zn uptake.

  10. Shadow Mode Assessment Using Realistic Technologies for the National Airspace (SMART NAS)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kopardekar, Parimal H.

    2014-01-01

    Develop a simulation and modeling capability that includes: (a) Assessment of multiple parallel universes, (b) Accepts data feeds, (c) Allows for live virtual constructive distribute environment, (d) Enables integrated examinations of concepts, algorithms, technologies and National Airspace System (NAS) architectures.

  11. Strain relaxation induced surface morphology of heterogeneous GaInNAs layers grown on GaAs substrate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gelczuk, Ł.; Jóźwiak, G.; Moczała, M.; Dłużewski, P.; Dąbrowska-Szata, M.; Gotszalk, T. P.

    2017-07-01

    The partially-relaxed heterogeneous GaInNAs layers grown on GaAs substrate by atmospheric pressure vapor phase epitaxy (AP-MOVPE) were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The planar-view TEM image shows a regular 2D network of misfit dislocations oriented in two orthogonal 〈1 1 0〉 crystallographic directions at the (0 0 1) layer interface. Moreover, the cross-sectional view TEM image reveals InAs-rich and V-shaped precipitates in the near surface region of the GaInNAs epitaxial layer. The resultant undulating surface morphology, known as a cross-hatch pattern, is formed as observed by AFM. The numerical analysis of the AFM image of the GaInNAs layer surface with the well-defined cross-hatch morphology enabled us to determine a lower bound of actual density of misfit dislocations. However, a close correspondence between the asymmetric distribution of interfacial misfit dislocations and undulating surface morphology is observed.

  12. Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project - Systems Integration and Operationalization (SIO) Demonstration

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Swieringa, Kurt

    2018-01-01

    The UAS-NAS Project hosted a Systems Integration Operationalization (SIO) Industry Day for the SIO Request for Information (RFI) on November 30, 2017 in San Diego, California. This presentation is being presented to the same group as a follow up regarding the progress that the UAS-NAS project has made on the SIO RFI. The presentation will be virtual with a teleconference

  13. UAS Integration in the NAS Project: Integrated Test and LVC Infrastructure

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Murphy, Jim; Hoang, Ty

    2015-01-01

    Overview presentation of the Integrated Test and Evaluation sub-project of the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS). The emphasis of the presentation is the Live, Virtual, and Constructive (LVC) system (a broadly used name for classifying modeling and simulation) infrastructure and use of external assets and connection.

  14. UAS Integration in the NAS Project: Flight Test 3 Data Analysis of JADEM-Autoresolver Detect and Avoid System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gong, Chester; Wu, Minghong G.; Santiago, Confesor

    2016-01-01

    The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System project, or UAS Integration in the NAS, aims to reduce technical barriers related to safety and operational challenges associated with enabling routine UAS access to the NAS. The UAS Integration in the NAS Project conducted a flight test activity, referred to as Flight Test 3 (FT3), involving several Detect-and-Avoid (DAA) research prototype systems between June 15, 2015 and August 12, 2015 at the Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC). This report documents the flight testing and analysis results for the NASA Ames-developed JADEM-Autoresolver DAA system, referred to as 'Autoresolver' herein. Four flight test days (June 17, 18, 22, and July 22) were dedicated to Autoresolver testing. The objectives of this test were as follows: 1. Validate CPA prediction accuracy and detect-and-avoid (DAA, formerly known as self-separation) alerting logic in realistic flight conditions. 2. Validate DAA trajectory model including maneuvers. 3. Evaluate TCAS/DAA interoperability. 4. Inform final Minimum Operating Performance Standards (MOPS). Flight test scenarios were designed to collect data to directly address the objectives 1-3. Objective 4, inform final MOPS, was a general objective applicable to the UAS in the NAS project as a whole, of which flight test is a subset. This report presents analysis results completed in support of the UAS in the NAS project FT3 data review conducted on October 20, 2015. Due to time constraints and, to a lesser extent, TCAS data collection issues, objective 3 was not evaluated in this analysis.

  15. Commission Review of a Proposal by the State Center Community College District to Establish the Willow-International Community College Center: A Report to the Governor and Legislature in Response to a Request from the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Commission Report 03-05

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    California Postsecondary Education Commission, 2003

    2003-01-01

    This report reviews a proposal by the State Center Community College District to establish a State-approved education center in the city of Fresno. The center would be named the Willow-International Community College Center, and it would replace an existing Clovis operational outreach center that is considered by the district to be insufficient…

  16. Comprehensive analysis of commercial willow bark extracts by new technology platform: combined use of metabolomics, high-performance liquid chromatography-solid-phase extraction-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and high-resolution radical scavenging assay.

    PubMed

    Agnolet, Sara; Wiese, Stefanie; Verpoorte, Robert; Staerk, Dan

    2012-11-02

    Here, proof-of-concept of a new analytical platform used for the comprehensive analysis of a small set of commercial willow bark products is presented, and compared with a traditional standardization solely based on analysis of salicin and salicin derivatives. The platform combines principal component analysis (PCA) of two chemical fingerprints, i.e., HPLC and (1)H NMR data, and a pharmacological fingerprint, i.e., high-resolution 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) radical cation (ABTS(+)) reduction profile, with targeted identification of constituents of interest by hyphenated HPLC-solid-phase extraction-tube transfer NMR, i.e., HPLC-SPE-ttNMR. Score plots from PCA of HPLC and (1)H NMR fingerprints showed the same distinct grouping of preparations formulated as capsules of Salix alba bark and separation of S. alba cortex. Loading plots revealed this to be due to high amount of salicin in capsules and ampelopsin, taxifolin, 7-O-methyltaxifolin-3'-O-glucoside, and 7-O-methyltaxifolin in S. alba cortex, respectively. PCA of high-resolution radical scavenging profiles revealed clear separation of preparations along principal component 1 due to the major radical scavengers (+)-catechin and ampelopsin. The new analytical platform allowed identification of 16 compounds in commercial willow bark extracts, and identification of ampelopsin, taxifolin, 7-O-methyltaxifolin-3'-O-glucoside, and 7-O-methyltaxifolin in S. alba bark extract is reported for the first time. The detection of the novel compound, ethyl 1-hydroxy-6-oxocyclohex-2-enecarboxylate, is also described. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Many-body design of highly strained GaInNAs electroabsorption modulators on GaInAs ternary substrates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fujisawa, Takeshi; Arai, Masakazu; Kano, Fumiyoshi

    2010-05-01

    Electroabsorption in highly strained GaInAs and GaInNAs quantum wells (QWs) grown on GaInAs or quasi-GaInAs substrates is investigated by using microscopic many-body theory. The effects of various parameters, such as strain, barrier height, substrate composition, and temperature are thoroughly examined. It is shown that the value of the absorption coefficient strongly depends on the depth of the QWs under large bias electric field due to the small overlap integral of wave functions between the conduction and valence bands. The use of GaInNAs QWs makes the strain in the well layer very small. Further, the effective quantum-well depth is increased in GaInNAs QWs due to the anticrossing interaction between the conduction and N-resonant bands, making it possible to obtain larger absorption coefficient under large bias electric fields without using wide-band gap materials for barriers.

  18. UAS Integration in the NAS Project: Detect and Avoid Display UNITED Demo

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Roberts, Zachary

    2017-01-01

    This demo shows the UAS-NAS project's Vigilant Spirit Control Station developed in partnership with the U.S. Air Force Research Lab. Attendees will be able to view encounters and see how the DAA and TCAS II alerting and guidance displays are used to avoid simulated aircraft.

  19. Performance and Scalability of the NAS Parallel Benchmarks in Java

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Frumkin, Michael A.; Schultz, Matthew; Jin, Haoqiang; Yan, Jerry; Biegel, Bryan A. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    Several features make Java an attractive choice for scientific applications. In order to gauge the applicability of Java to Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), we have implemented the NAS (NASA Advanced Supercomputing) Parallel Benchmarks in Java. The performance and scalability of the benchmarks point out the areas where improvement in Java compiler technology and in Java thread implementation would position Java closer to Fortran in the competition for scientific applications.

  20. NASA UAS Integration into the NAS Project: Human Systems Integration

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shively, Jay

    2016-01-01

    This presentation provides an overview of the work the Human Systems Integration (HSI) sub-project has done on detect and avoid (DAA) displays while working on the UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) Integration into the NAS project. The most recent simulation on DAA interoperability with Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) is discussed in the most detail. The relationship of the work to the larger UAS community and next steps are also detailed.

  1. Water-quality data for the Ohio River from Willow Island Dam to Belleville Dam, West Virginia and Ohio, June-October 1991

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Chambers, D.B.; Miller, K.F.; Waldron, M.C.; Falkenburg, C.W.

    1994-01-01

    This report contains water-quality data for the Ohio River from river mile 160.6 (1.1 mi upstream from Willow Island Dam) to river mile 203.6 (0.3 mi upstream from Belleville Dam) during the summer of 1991. Water quality was determined by a combi- nation of synoptic field measurements and laboratory analyses. Synoptic sampling consisted of 8 cross-sectional transects and a longitudinal transect with 28 mid-channel stations. Each cross- sectional transect included five vertical profiles of water temperature, dissolved oxygen concen- tration, pH, and specific conductance. Longi- tudinal transect stations were sampled at three depths (near the surface, middle of the water column, and at or near the bottom) for the same characteristics. Sampling was completed in 3 days or less, and was repeated approximately every 2 weeks from June through October 1991. Beginning in August 1991, water samples were collected at selected locations and analyzed for chlorophyll-a and pheophytin concentrations, as measures of phytoplankton biomass and phytoplankton-degradation products, respectively. The depth of light penetration was estimated at all pigment-sampling locations.

  2. Evolution in situ: hybrid origin and establishment of willows (Salix L.) on alpine glacier forefields

    PubMed Central

    Gramlich, S; Sagmeister, P; Dullinger, S; Hadacek, F; Hörandl, E

    2016-01-01

    Little attention has been paid to the evolutionary consequences of the colonizing dynamics and succession processes following glacier retreat. Here we studied hybrid populations that have recently formed and established on glacier forefields of the European Alps owing to secondary contact of a lowland colonizer with a subalpine species. We analyzed the composition of two hybrid populations between Salix purpurea and Salix helvetica with nine microsatellite markers by using Bayesian methods (structure and NewHybrids), and simulations. We also studied niche differentiation between the hybrids and the parental species based on indicator values, soil pH and water retention potential measurements. Allelic structure of hybrids confirms the assumed parentage and in situ origin of the crosses on two independent sites within the last decades. Both hybrid populations comprised F1 and later generation hybrids (F2 and backcrosses), confirming hybrid fertility. The parental species showed significant differences in niche characteristics for temperature, soil pH, nutrients and moisture. Remarkably, the hybrids exhibited a higher tolerance to cold temperatures, nutrient-poor and acidic soils than either parent. Our results show that willow hybrids originated after glacier retreat and have established persistent populations within a few decades. One factor contributing to hybrid establishment in sympatry with their parents is their ability to occupy more extreme niches than either parental species within a mosaic-like pattern of microhabitats on the forefield. Introgression and/or transgressive segregation may have resulted in novel genotypes that are able to expand the ecological spectrum of either parent. PMID:26980342

  3. Evaluation of geophysical logs, Phase I, at Willow Grove Naval Air Station, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Conger, R.W.

    1997-01-01

    Between April and June 1997, the U.S. Navy contracted Brown and Root Environmental, Inc., to drill 20 monitor wells at the Willow Grove Naval Air Station in Horsham Township, Montgomery County, Pa. The wells were installed to monitor water levels and allow collection of water samples from shallow, intermediate, and deep water-bearing zones. Analysis of the samples will determine the horizontal and vertical distribution of any contaminated ground water migrating from known contaminant sources. Eight wells were drilled near the Fire Training Area (Site 5), five wells near the 9th Street Landfill (Site 3), four wells at the Antenna Field Landfill (Site 2), and three wells near Privet Road Compound (Site 1). Depths range from 73 to 167 feet below land surface. The U.S. Geological Survey conducted borehole-geophysical and borehole-video logging to identify water-bearing zones so that appropriate intervals could be screened in each monitor well. Geophysical logs were run on the 20 monitor wells and 1 existing well. Video logs were run on 16 wells. Caliper and video logs were used to locate fractures, inflections on fluid-temperature and fluid-resistivity logs were used to locate possible water-bearing fractures, and flowmeter measurements verified these locations. Single-point-resistance and natural-gamma logs provided information on stratigraphy. After interpretation of geophysical logs, video logs, and driller's notes, all wells were screened such that water-level fluctuations could be monitored and discrete water samples collected from one or more shallow and intermediate water-bearing zones in each borehole.

  4. Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project Subcommittee Final

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Johnson, Chuck; Griner, James H.; Hayhurst, Kelly J.; Shively, Robert J.; Consiglio, Maria; Muller, Eric; Murphy, James; Kim, Sam

    2012-01-01

    UAS Integration in the NAS Project overview with details from each of the subprojects. Subprojects include: Communications, Certification, Integrated Test and Evaluation, Human Systems Integration, and Separation Assurance/Sense and Avoid Interoperability.

  5. Parasitism, productivity, and population growth: response of Least Bell's Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus) and Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus) to cowbird (Molothrus spp.) control

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Kus, Barbara E.; Whitfield, Mary J.

    2005-01-01

    Cowbird (Molothrus spp.) control is a major focus of recovery-oriented management of two endangered riparian bird species,the Least Bell's Vireo (Vireo bellii pusillus) and Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus). During the past 20 years, annual trapping of cowbirds at Least Bell's Vireo and Southwestern Willow Flycatcher breeding sites has eliminated or reduced parasitism in comparison with pretrapping rates and, thereby, significantly increased seasonal productivity of nesting pairs. Enhanced productivity, in turn, has resulted in an 8-fold increase in numbers of Least Bell's Vireos; Southwestern Willow Flycatcher abundance, however, has changed little, and at some sites has declined despite cowbird control. Although generally successful by these short-term measures of host population response, cowbird control poses potential negative consequences for long-term recovery of endangered species. As currently employed, cowbird control lacks predetermined biological criteria to trigger an end to the control, making these species' dependence on human intervention open-ended. Prolonged reliance on cowbird control to manage endangered species can shift attention from identifying and managing other factors that limit populations--in particular, habitat availability. On the basis of our analysis of these long-term programs, we suggest that cowbird control be reserved for short-term crisis management and be replaced, when appropriate, by practices emphasizing restoration and maintenance of natural processes on which species depend. /// El manejo orientado hacia la recuperación de dos especies de aves ribereñas Vireo belli pusillus y Empidonax trailli extimus se ha focalizado principalmente en el control de los Molothrus spp parásitos. Durante los pasados 20 años, la captura anual de los Molothrus en las áreas de nidificación de Vireo belli pusillus y Empidonax trailli extimus ha eliminado o reducido el parasitismo en comparación con las tasas

  6. Toward an improved understanding of the role of transpiration in critical zone dynamics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mitra, B.; Papuga, S. A.

    2012-12-01

    Evapotranspiration (ET) is an important component of the total water balance across any ecosystem. In subalpine mixed-conifer ecosystems, transpiration (T) often dominates the total water flux and therefore improved understanding of T is critical for accurate assessment of catchment water balance and for understanding of the processes that governs the complex dynamics across critical zone (CZ). The interaction between T and plant vegetation not only modulates soil water balance but also influences water transit time and hydrochemical flux - key factors in our understanding of how the CZ evolves and responds. Unlike an eddy covariance system which provides only an integrated ET flux from an ecosystem, a sap flow system can provide an estimate of the T flux from the ecosystem. By isolating T, the ecohydrological drivers of this major water loss from the CZ can be identified. Still, the species composition of mixed-conifer ecosystems vary and the drivers of T associated with each species are expected to be different. Therefore, accurate quantification of T from a mixed-conifer requires knowledge of the unique transpiration dynamics of each of the tree species. Here, we installed a sap flow system within two mixed-conifer study sites of the Jemez River Basin - Santa Catalina Mountains Critical Zone Observatory (JRB - SCM CZO). At both sites, we identified the dominant tree species and installed sap flow sensors on healthy representatives for each of those species. At the JRB CZO site, sap sensors were installed in fir (4) and spruce (4) trees; at the SCM CZO site, sap sensors were installed at white fir (4) and maple (4) and one dead tree. Meteorological data as well as soil temperature (Ts) and soil moisture (θ) at multiple depths were also collected from each of the two sites. Preliminary analysis of two years of sap flux rate at JRB - SCM CZO shows that the environmental drivers of fir, spruce, and maple are different and also vary throughout the year. For JRB fir

  7. Evaluating the Information Power Grid using the NAS Grid Benchmarks

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    VanderWijngaartm Rob F.; Frumkin, Michael A.

    2004-01-01

    The NAS Grid Benchmarks (NGB) are a collection of synthetic distributed applications designed to rate the performance and functionality of computational grids. We compare several implementations of the NGB to determine programmability and efficiency of NASA's Information Power Grid (IPG), whose services are mostly based on the Globus Toolkit. We report on the overheads involved in porting existing NGB reference implementations to the IPG. No changes were made to the component tasks of the NGB can still be improved.

  8. Optimization of nas lemoore scheduling to support a growing aircraft population

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-03-01

    requirements, and, without knowing the other squadrons’ flight plans , creates his or her squadron’s flight schedule. Figure 2 illustrates the process each...Lemoore, they do not communicate their flight schedules among themselves; hence, the daily flight plan generated by each squadron is independently...manual process for aircraft flight scheduling at Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore accommodates the independent needs of 16 fighter resident squadrons as

  9. Web Prep: How to Prepare NAS Reports For Publication on the Web

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Walatka, Pamela; Balakrishnan, Prithika; Clucas, Jean; McCabe, R. Kevin; Felchle, Gail; Brickell, Cristy

    1996-01-01

    This document contains specific advice and requirements for NASA Ames Code IN authors of NAS reports. Much of the information may be of interest to other authors writing for the Web. WebPrep has a graphic Table of Contents in the form of a WebToon, which simulates a discussion between a scientist and a Web publishing consultant. In the WebToon, Frequently Asked Questions about preparing reports for the Web are linked to relevant text in the body of this document. We also provide a text-only Table of Contents. The text for this document is divided into chapters: each chapter corresponds to one frame of the WebToons. The chapter topics are: converting text to HTML, converting 2D graphic images to gif, creating imagemaps and tables, converting movie and audio files to Web formats, supplying 3D interactive data, and (briefly) JAVA capabilities. The last chapter is specifically for NAS staff authors. The Glossary-Index lists web related words and links to topics covered in the main text.

  10. The Performance of the NAS HSPs in 1st Half of 1994

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bergeron, Robert J.; Walter, Howard (Technical Monitor)

    1995-01-01

    During the first six months of 1994, the NAS (National Airspace System) 16-CPU Y-MP C90 Von Neumann (VN) delivered an average throughput of 4.045 GFLOPS while the ACSF (Aeronautics Consolidated Supercomputer Facility) 8-CPU Y-MP C90 Eagle averaged 1.658 GFLOPS. The VN rate represents a machine efficiency of 26.3% whereas the Eagle rate corresponds to a machine efficiency of 21.6%. VN displayed a greater efficiency than Eagle primarily because the stronger workload demand for its CPU cycles allowed it to devote more time to user programs and less time to idle. An additional factor increasing VN efficiency was the ability of the UNICOS 8.0 Operating System to deliver a larger fraction of CPU time to user programs. Although measurements indicate increasing vector length for both workloads, insufficient vector lengths continue to hinder HSP (High Speed Processor) performance. To improve HSP performance, NAS should continue to encourage the HSP users to modify their codes to increase program vector length.

  11. 48 CFR 852.236-82 - Payments under fixed-price construction contracts (without NAS).

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ...-conditioning system (Specified under 600 Sections) 5 Entire boiler plant system (Specified under 700 Sections... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Payments under fixed-price construction contracts (without NAS). 852.236-82 Section 852.236-82 Federal Acquisition Regulations System...

  12. 48 CFR 852.236-83 - Payments under fixed-price construction contracts (including NAS).

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... (cold, constant temperature) 5 Entire air-conditioning system (Specified under 600 Sections) 5 Entire... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Payments under fixed-price construction contracts (including NAS). 852.236-83 Section 852.236-83 Federal Acquisition Regulations System...

  13. NAS Decadal Review Town Hall

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine is seeking community input for a study on the future of materials research (MR). Frontiers of Materials Research: A Decadal Survey will look at defining the frontiers of materials research ranging from traditional materials science and engineering to condensed matter physics. Please join members of the study committee for a town hall to discuss future directions for materials research in the United States in the context of worldwide efforts. In particular, input on the following topics will be of great value: progress, achievements, and principal changes in the R&D landscape over the past decade; identification of key MR areas that have major scientific gaps or offer promising investment opportunities from 2020-2030; and the challenges that MR may face over the next decade and how those challenges might be addressed. This study was requested by the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation. The National Academies will issue a report in 2018 that will offer guidance to federal agencies that support materials research, science policymakers, and researchers in materials research and other adjoining fields. Learn more about the study at http://nas.edu/materials.

  14. X-ray micro-computed tomography in willow reveals tissue patterning of reaction wood and delay in programmed cell death.

    PubMed

    Brereton, Nicholas James Beresford; Ahmed, Farah; Sykes, Daniel; Ray, Michael Jason; Shield, Ian; Karp, Angela; Murphy, Richard James

    2015-03-11

    Variation in the reaction wood (RW) response has been shown to be a principle component driving differences in lignocellulosic sugar yield from the bioenergy crop willow. The phenotypic cause(s) behind these differences in sugar yield, beyond their common elicitor, however, remain unclear. Here we use X-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT) to investigate RW-associated alterations in secondary xylem tissue patterning in three dimensions (3D). Major architectural alterations were successfully quantified in 3D and attributed to RW induction. Whilst the frequency of vessels was reduced in tension wood tissue (TW), the total vessel volume was significantly increased. Interestingly, a delay in programmed-cell-death (PCD) associated with TW was also clearly observed and readily quantified by μCT. The surprising degree to which the volume of vessels was increased illustrates the substantial xylem tissue remodelling involved in reaction wood formation. The remodelling suggests an important physiological compromise between structural and hydraulic architecture necessary for extensive alteration of biomass and helps to demonstrate the power of improving our perspective of cell and tissue architecture. The precise observation of xylem tissue development and quantification of the extent of delay in PCD provides a valuable and exciting insight into this bioenergy crop trait.

  15. Pressure and PL study of dilute-N GaInNAs films for applications in photovoltaics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lindberg, George; Fukuda, Miwa; Al Khalfioui, M.; Hossain, Khalid; Sellers, Ian; Weinstein, Bernard

    2013-03-01

    Multi-junction photovoltaic devices employing dilute-N GaInNAs alloys are currently of high interest for efficient solar energy conversion. The negative band-bowing produced by introducing a few percent N into GaInAs provides a convenient way to match the 1eV component of the solar spectrum, providing recombination losses in localized states can be reduced while maintaining favorable carrier extraction. High pressure photoluminescence (PL) experiments exploring the localization of band-edge excitons in dilute-N GaInNAs films grown by plasma assisted MBE will be discussed. The effects of post-growth annealing and hydrogen incorporation on the PL spectra of the films are considered. Research supported by Amethyst Research Inc. through the State of Oklahoma, ONAP program.

  16. Room-temperature electron spin amplifier based on Ga(In)NAs alloys.

    PubMed

    Puttisong, Yuttapoom; Buyanova, Irina A; Ptak, Aaron J; Tu, Charles W; Geelhaar, Lutz; Riechert, Henning; Chen, Weimin M

    2013-02-06

    The first experimental demonstration of a spin amplifier at room temperature is presented. An efficient, defect-enabled spin amplifier based on a non-magnetic semiconductor, Ga(In)NAs, is proposed and demonstrated, with a large spin gain (up to 2700% at zero field) for conduction electrons and a high cut-off frequency of up to 1 GHz. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  17. Fungal pretreatment of willow sawdust and its combination with alkaline treatment for enhancing biogas production.

    PubMed

    Alexandropoulou, Maria; Antonopoulou, Georgia; Fragkou, Efsevia; Ntaikou, Ioanna; Lyberatos, Gerasimos

    2017-12-01

    In this study fungal pretreatment of willow sawdust (WSD) via the white rot fungi Leiotrametes menziesii and Abortiporus biennis was studied and the effect on fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass and biochemical methane potential (BMP), was evaluated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and IR spectroscopy were used to investigate the changes in the structural characteristics of the pretreated WSD. Fungal pretreatment results revealed that A. biennis is more attractive, since it resulted in higher lignin degradation and lower holocellulose uptake. Samples of the 14th and 30th d of cultivation (i.e. the middle and the end of the pretreatment experiment) with both fungi were used for BMP tests and the effect of pretreatment duration was also evaluated. BMP increase by 31 and 43% was obtained due to the cultivation of WSD with A. biennis, for 14 and 30 d, respectively. In addition, combination of biological (after 30 d of cultivation) with alkaline (NaOH 20 g/100 gTS) pretreatment was performed, in order to assess the effect of the chemical agent on biologically pretreated WSD, in terms of lignocellulosic content and BMP. Combination of alkaline with fungal pretreatment led to high lignin degradation for both fungi, while the cellulose and hemicellulose removal efficiencies were higher for combined alkaline and L. menziesii pretreatment. The maximum BMP was observed for the combined alkaline and A. biennis pretreatment and was 12.5 and 50.1% higher than the respective alkaline and fungal pretreatment alone and 115% higher than the respective BMP of raw WSD. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. 48 CFR 852.236-82 - Payments under fixed-price construction contracts (without NAS).

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... “Network Analysis System (NAS).” Payments Under Fixed-Price Construction Contracts (APR 1984) The clause..., as applied to each branch, shall equal the total cost of such branch. The total cost of all branches... readily available for inspection and inventory by the resident engineer. (4) Such materials and/or...

  19. 48 CFR 852.236-82 - Payments under fixed-price construction contracts (without NAS).

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... “Network Analysis System (NAS).” Payments Under Fixed-Price Construction Contracts (APR 1984) The clause..., as applied to each branch, shall equal the total cost of such branch. The total cost of all branches... readily available for inspection and inventory by the resident engineer. (4) Such materials and/or...

  20. 48 CFR 852.236-82 - Payments under fixed-price construction contracts (without NAS).

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... “Network Analysis System (NAS).” Payments Under Fixed-Price Construction Contracts (APR 1984) The clause..., as applied to each branch, shall equal the total cost of such branch. The total cost of all branches... readily available for inspection and inventory by the resident engineer. (4) Such materials and/or...

  1. 48 CFR 852.236-82 - Payments under fixed-price construction contracts (without NAS).

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... “Network Analysis System (NAS).” Payments Under Fixed-Price Construction Contracts (APR 1984) The clause..., as applied to each branch, shall equal the total cost of such branch. The total cost of all branches... readily available for inspection and inventory by the resident engineer. (4) Such materials and/or...

  2. 48 CFR 852.236-83 - Payments under fixed-price construction contracts (including NAS).

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... shall show on the critical path method (CPM) network the total cost of the guarantee period services in... prescribed in 832.111, insert the following clause in contracts that contain a section entitled “Network...) Failure either to meet schedules in Section Network Analysis System (NAS), or to process the Interim Arrow...

  3. 48 CFR 852.236-83 - Payments under fixed-price construction contracts (including NAS).

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... shall show on the critical path method (CPM) network the total cost of the guarantee period services in... prescribed in 832.111, insert the following clause in contracts that contain a section entitled “Network...) Failure either to meet schedules in Section Network Analysis System (NAS), or to process the Interim Arrow...

  4. 48 CFR 852.236-83 - Payments under fixed-price construction contracts (including NAS).

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... shall show on the critical path method (CPM) network the total cost of the guarantee period services in... prescribed in 832.111, insert the following clause in contracts that contain a section entitled “Network...) Failure either to meet schedules in Section Network Analysis System (NAS), or to process the Interim Arrow...

  5. Hydrologic regime and herbivory stabilize an alternative state in Yellowstone National Park.

    PubMed

    Wolf, Evan C; Cooper, David J; Hobbs, N Thompson

    2007-09-01

    A decline in the stature and abundance of willows during the 20th century occurred throughout the northern range of Yellowstone National Park, where riparian woody-plant communities are key components in multiple-trophic-level interactions. The potential causes of willow decline include climate change, increased elk browsing coincident with the loss of an apex predator, the gray wolf, and an absence of habitat engineering by beavers. The goal of this study was to determine the spatial and temporal patterns of willow establishment through the 20th century and to identify causal processes. Sampled willows established from 1917 to 1999 and contained far fewer young individuals than was predicted from a modeled stable willow population, indicating reduced establishment during recent decades. Two hydrologically distinct willow establishment environments were identified: fine-grained beaver pond sediments and coarse-grained alluvium. Willows established on beaver pond sediment earlier in time, higher on floodplain surfaces, and farther from the current stream channel than did willows on alluvial sediment. Significant linear declines from the 1940s to the 1990s in alluvial willow establishment elevation and lateral distance from the stream channel resulted in a much reduced area of alluvial willow establishment. Willow establishment was not well correlated with climate-driven hydrologic variables, but the trends were consistent with the effects of stream channel incision initiated in ca. 1950, 20-30 years after beaver dam abandonment. Radiocarbon dates and floodplain stratigraphy indicate that stream incision of the present magnitude may be unprecedented in the past two millennia. We propose that hydrologic changes, stemming from competitive exclusion of beaver by elk overbrowsing, caused the landscape to transition from a historical beaver-pond and willow-mosaic state to its current alternative stable state where active beaver dams and many willow stands are absent

  6. Extended Late-Cretaceous Magnetostratigraphy of the James Ross Basin Island, Antarctica

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chaffee, T. M.; Mitchell, R.; Slotznick, S. P.; Buz, J.; Biasi, J.; O'Rourke, J.; Sousa, F.; Flannery, D.; Fu, R. R.; Kirschvink, J. L.

    2017-12-01

    Sediments in the James Ross Island Basin (JRB) in the West Antarctic Peninsula contain one of the world's highest-resolution records of the late Cretaceous period, including the end-Cretaceous (K-Pg) mass extinction event. However, the geological record of this region has been poorly studied, limited in the past only to the relative dating of local fossils. Recent studies of this region have provided only low-resolution data, with gaps of greater than 0.5 million years between samples where no data was collected. A high-resolution magnetostratigraphic sampling and analysis is necessary in order to accurately determine the age of the JRB sediments and connect them to the global time record. During the 2016 field season in Antarctica, our team collected nearly 1,300 sample cores from JRB sediments using a diamond-tipped, gasoline powered coring drill. Drill sites were densely clustered across bedding in order to obtain a high-resolution record of magnetostratigraphy, permitting the recognition of distinct, high-resolution units of time (<50 thousand years) present in local stratigraphy Our current results come from thermal demagnetization of the characteristic remanance (ChRM) of a group of over 300 of these samples from the Brandy Bay area which constrain the end of the Cretaceous Superchron (C34N) and the C34N/C34R reversal and allow us to investigate the presence of geomagnetic excursions before the end of superchron. These samples span in age from the top of C34N to the mid-Maastrichtian. We also test the Late Cretaceous True Polar Wander (TPW) hypothesis. Current theories on the global extent of TPW are not substantiated by any data sets that confirm the presence and similarity of the effect across multiple continents. Evidence of a rapid TPW oscillation in Antarctica can be correlated with other samples from the North American continent currently under study to provide evidence for the theory of global, short-timescale TPW.

  7. Remotely Operated Aircraft (ROA) Impact on the National Airspace System (NAS) Work Package: Automation Impacts of ROA's in the NAS

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2005-01-01

    The purpose of this document is to analyze the impact of Remotely Operated Aircraft (ROA) operations on current and planned Air Traffic Control (ATC) automation systems in the En Route, Terminal, and Traffic Flow Management domains. The operational aspects of ROA flight, while similar, are not entirely identical to their manned counterparts and may not have been considered within the time-horizons of the automation tools. This analysis was performed to determine if flight characteristics of ROAs would be compatible with current and future NAS automation tools. Improvements to existing systems / processes are recommended that would give Air Traffic Controllers an indication that a particular aircraft is an ROA and modifications to IFR flight plan processing algorithms and / or designation of airspace where an ROA will be operating for long periods of time.

  8. Validation of the nursing workload scoring systems "Nursing Activities Score" (NAS), and "Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System For Critically Ill Children" (TISS-C) in a Greek Paediatric Intensive Care Unit.

    PubMed

    Nieri, Alexandra-Stavroula; Manousaki, Kalliopi; Kalafati, Maria; Padilha, Katia Grilio; Stafseth, Siv K; Katsoulas, Theodoros; Matziou, Vasiliki; Giannakopoulou, Margarita

    2018-04-11

    To assess the reliability and validity of the Greek version of Nursing Activities Score (NAS), and Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System for Critically Ill Children (TISS-C) in a Greek Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). A methodological study was performed in one PICU of the largest Paediatric Hospital in Athens-Greece. The culturally adapted and validated Greek NAS version, enriched according to the Norwegian paediatric one (P-NAS), was used. TISS-C and Norwegian paediatric interventions were translated to Greek language and backwards. Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System (TISS-28) was used as a gold standard. Two independent observers simultaneously recorded 30 daily P-NAS and TISS-C records. Totally, 188 daily P-NAS, TISS-C and TISS-28 reports in a sample of 29 patients have been obtained during 5 weeks. Descriptive statistics, reliability and validity measures were applied using SPSS (ver 22.0) (p ≤ 0.05). Kappa was 0.963 for P-NAS and 0.9895 for TISS-C (p < 0.001) and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient for all scale items of TISS-C was 1.00 (p < 0.001). P-NAS, TISS-28 and TISS-C measurements were significantly correlated (0.680 ≤ rho ≤ 0.743, p < 0.001). The mean score(±SD) for TISS-28, P-NAS and TISS-C was 23.05(±5.72), 58.14(±13.98) and 20.21(±9.66) respectively. These results support the validity of P-NAS and TISS-C scales to be used in Greek PICUs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Navigation in Grid Space with the NAS Grid Benchmarks

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Frumkin, Michael; Hood, Robert; Biegel, Bryan A. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    We present a navigational tool for computational grids. The navigational process is based on measuring the grid characteristics with the NAS Grid Benchmarks (NGB) and using the measurements to assign tasks of a grid application to the grid machines. The tool allows the user to explore the grid space and to navigate the execution at a grid application to minimize its turnaround time. We introduce the notion of gridscape as a user view of the grid and show how it can be me assured by NGB, Then we demonstrate how the gridscape can be used with two different schedulers to navigate a grid application through a rudimentary grid.

  10. Habitat and sex differences in physiological condition of breeding Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Owen, J.C.; Sogge, M.K.; Kern, M.D.

    2005-01-01

    The Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus; here- after “flycatcher”) is a federally listed endangered species that breeds in densely vegetated riparian habitats dominated by native and exotic plants, including introduced monotypic saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissima). Some workers have theorized that saltcedar is unsuitable habitat for the flycatcher, primarily because it generally supports a smaller and less diverse invertebrate community (the flycatcher's food base) than native habitats (e.g. Salix spp.). However, differences in insect communities between native and saltcedar habitats are not proof that saltcedar habitats are inferior. The only way to evaluate whether the habitats differ in dietary or energetic quality is to document actual food limitation or its manifestations. Measurements of an individual's body condition and metabolic state can serve as indicators of environmental stressors, such as food limitation and environmental extremes. We captured 130 flycatchers breeding in native and saltcedar habitats in Arizona and New Mexico and measured 12 variables of physiological condition. These variables included body mass, fat level, body condition index, hematocrit, plasma triglycerides, plasma free fatty acids and glycerol, plasma glucose and beta-hydroxybutyrate, plasma uric acid, total leukocyte count, and heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio. We found substantial sex-based differences in the condition of male and female flycatchers. Ten of the 12 measures of physiological condition differed significantly between the sexes. In all cases where male and female condition differed (except mass), the differences suggest that males were in poorer condition than females. We found few habitat-based differences in flycatcher condition. Only 3 of the 12 physiological condition indices differed significantly between habitats. Our data show that, at least in some parts of the flycatcher's range, there is no evidence that flycatchers breeding in

  11. Genetics of phenotypic plasticity and biomass traits in hybrid willows across contrasting environments and years.

    PubMed

    Berlin, Sofia; Hallingbäck, Henrik R; Beyer, Friderike; Nordh, Nils-Erik; Weih, Martin; Rönnberg-Wästljung, Ann-Christin

    2017-07-01

    Phenotypic plasticity can affect the geographical distribution of taxa and greatly impact the productivity of crops across contrasting and variable environments. The main objectives of this study were to identify genotype-phenotype associations in key biomass and phenology traits and the strength of phenotypic plasticity of these traits in a short-rotation coppice willow population across multiple years and contrasting environments to facilitate marker-assisted selection for these traits. A hybrid Salix viminalis  × ( S. viminalis × Salix schwerinii ) population with 463 individuals was clonally propagated and planted in three common garden experiments comprising one climatic contrast between Sweden and Italy and one water availability contrast in Italy. Several key phenotypic traits were measured and phenotypic plasticity was estimated as the trait value difference between experiments. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping analyses were conducted using a dense linkage map and phenotypic effects of S. schwerinii haplotypes derived from detected QTL were assessed. Across the climatic contrast, clone predictor correlations for biomass traits were low and few common biomass QTL were detected. This indicates that the genetic regulation of biomass traits was sensitive to environmental variation. Biomass QTL were, however, frequently shared across years and across the water availability contrast. Phenology QTL were generally shared between all experiments. Substantial phenotypic plasticity was found among the hybrid offspring, that to a large extent had a genetic origin. Individuals carrying influential S. schwerinii haplotypes generally performed well in Sweden but less well in Italy in terms of biomass production. The results indicate that specific genetic elements of S. schwerinii are more suited to Swedish conditions than to those of Italy. Therefore, selection should preferably be conducted separately for such environments in order to maximize biomass

  12. Application of high-performance liquid chromatography for research of salicin in bark of different varieties of Salix.

    PubMed

    Kenstaviciene, Palmyra; Nenortiene, Palma; Kiliuviene, Guoda; Zevzikovas, Andrejus; Lukosius, Audronis; Kazlauskiene, Daiva

    2009-01-01

    Willow (Salix L.) species are widely spread in Lithuanian natural dendroflora. Willow bark contains active substances known for anti-inflammatory properties and is known as a phytotherapeutic precursor of aspirin. Bark extracts are components of analgesic and antirheumatic preparations. Therapeutic effectiveness is associated with salicin (2-(hydroxymethyl)phenyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside), which turns into salicylic acid. Increasing attention to natural preparations gives primary importance to research of plants. This study focused on 12 willow taxa and employed routine pharmacopoeia methods. High-performance liquid chromatography method was applied for the analysis of bark extractions. The investigation revealed that not all willow species accumulated a therapeutically sufficient amount of salicin. Bark samples were investigated after 1- and 2-year growth in autumn and spring. Salicin content ranged from 0.08 to 12.6%. Higher contents of active materials were determined in autumn and in 2-year-old willows. Certain willow taxa (Salix alba L., Salix mollissima L., Salix triandra L., Salix viminalis "Americana", Salix dasyclados L.) possessed extremely low salicin amounts. In the second year, analysis covered 32 willow species. Results indicated striking differences in salicin amounts (from 0.04% in Salix viminalis "Americana" to 12.06% in Salix acutifolia). Willow species, plant age, and season should be considered when collecting medicinal plant material. The amount of salicylates in 2-year-old willow bark collected in autumn exceeded by 25% that in 1-year-old willow bark collected in spring. Bark of some analyzed willow species contained the amount of salicylates too low for using as anti-inflammatory or antipyretic remedy.

  13. NASA's UAS Integration into the NAS: A Report on the Human Systems Integration Phase 1 Simulation Activities

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fern, Lisa; Rorie, R. Conrad; Shively, R. Jay

    2014-01-01

    In 2011 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) began a five-year Project to address the technical barriers related to routine access of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS). Planned in two phases, the goal of the first phase was to lay the foundations for the Project by identifying those barriers and key issues to be addressed to achieve integration. Phase 1 activities were completed two years into the five-year Project. The purpose of this paper is to review activities within the Human Systems Integration (HSI) subproject in Phase 1 toward its two objectives: 1) develop GCS guidelines for routine UAS access to the NAS, and 2) develop a prototype display suite within an existing Ground Control Station (GCS). The first objective directly addresses a critical barrier for UAS integration into the NAS - a lack of GCS design standards or requirements. First, the paper describes the initial development of a prototype GCS display suite and supporting simulation software capabilities. Then, three simulation experiments utilizing this simulation architecture are summarized. The first experiment sought to determine a baseline performance of UAS pilots operating in civil airspace under current instrument flight rules for manned aircraft. The second experiment examined the effect of currently employed UAS contingency procedures on Air Traffic Control (ATC) participants. The third experiment compared three GCS command and control interfaces on UAS pilot response times in compliance with ATC clearances. The authors discuss how the results of these and future simulation and flight-testing activities contribute to the development of GCS guidelines to support the safe integration of UAS into the NAS. Finally, the planned activities for Phase 2, including an integrated human-in-the-loop simulation and two flight tests are briefly described.

  14. An in vivo study examining the antiinflammatory effects of chamomile, meadowsweet, and willow bark in a novel functional beverage.

    PubMed

    Drummond, Elaine M; Harbourne, Niamh; Marete, Eunice; Jacquier, J C; O'Riordan, Dolores; Gibney, Eileen R

    2013-12-01

    The antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties of polyphenols are well documented in vitro but there are few human studies. A herbal beverage composed of chamomile, meadowsweet, and willow bark (CMW) was developed and tested for its antiinflammatory effect in a cohort of healthy adults (n = 20) during a 4-week intervention. Subjects were randomised to either the treatment (TG) or placebo group (PG). The three herbs under study, which have been used in traditional and alternative medicine, were delivered in a berry extract matrix. This berry extract was used as a control in the experiment. The objective was to assess the herbs' effects on systemic inflammation and joint function by examining circulating cytokines and mechanical joint flexibility. Blood serum was analyzed for cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and TNFα. There was an average decrease of 21.7% IL-1β in the treatment group, whereas the decrease seen in the placebo group was 3% but these were not statistically significant. Quartile analysis based on baseline production of TNFα demonstrated a decrease in the treatment group's IL-6 levels. This group showed improvements in mechanical joint function and pain upon movement of joints specific to the knee and lower back. Overall, no significant antiinflammatory effects were seen. The evidence is therefore inconclusive and further investigations are required using a larger cohort with some degree of elevated inflammatory activity.

  15. Willow water uptake and shoot extension growth in response to nutrient and moisture on a clay landfill cap soil.

    PubMed

    Martin, Peter J; Stephens, William

    2008-09-01

    Extension growth of willow (Salix viminalis L.) and changes in soil water were measured in lysimeters containing clay and sandy loam soils with different amendment and watering treatments. No water uptake was found below 0.3m in the nutritionally poor unamended clay; amendment with organic matter to 0.4m depth resulted in water extraction down to 0.5m depth whereas in the sandy loam, there was greater extraction from all depths down to 0.6m. With water stress, wilting of plants occurred when the volumetric soil water content at 0.1m was about 31% in the clay and 22% in the sandy loam. Compared with shoots on plants in the amended clay, those in the unamended treatment showed reduced extension growth, little increase in stem basal area (SBA) and a small shoot leaf area, resulting from a reduced number of leaves shoot(-1) and a small average area leaf(-1). Water stress also reduced shoot extension growth, SBA gain and the leaf area on extension growth. Shoot growth rates were significantly correlated with air temperature and base temperatures between 2.0 and 7.6 degrees C were indicated for the different treatments. These studies have helped to explain some of the large treatment effects described previously on biomass production and plant leaf area.

  16. Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Griner, James H.

    2013-01-01

    NASA's UAS Integration in the NAS project, has partnered with Rockwell Collins to develop a concept Control and Non-Payload Communication system prototype radio, operating on recently allocated UAS frequency spectrum bands. The prototype radio will be used to validate initial proposed performance requirements for UAS control communications. This presentation will give an overview of the current status of the design, development, and flight test planning for this prototype radio.

  17. Enhancement of photoluminescence from GaInNAsSb quantum wells upon annealing: improvement of material quality and carrier collection by the quantum well.

    PubMed

    Baranowski, M; Kudrawiec, R; Latkowska, M; Syperek, M; Misiewicz, J; Sarmiento, T; Harris, J S

    2013-02-13

    In this study we apply time resolved photoluminescence and contactless electroreflectance to study the carrier collection efficiency of a GaInNAsSb/GaAs quantum well (QW). We show that the enhancement of photoluminescence from GaInNAsSb quantum wells annealed at different temperatures originates not only from (i) the improvement of the optical quality of the GaInNAsSb material (i.e., removal of point defects, which are the source of nonradiative recombination) but it is also affected by (ii) the improvement of carrier collection by the QW region. The total PL efficiency is the product of these two factors, for which the optimal annealing temperatures are found to be ~700 °C and ~760 °C, respectively, whereas the optimal annealing temperature for the integrated PL intensity is found to be between the two temperatures and equals ~720 °C. We connect the variation of the carrier collection efficiency with the modification of the band bending conditions in the investigated structure due to the Fermi level shift in the GaInNAsSb layer after annealing.

  18. Ultramicroporous Carbon through an Activation-Free Approach for Li-S and Na-S Batteries in Carbonate-Based Electrolyte.

    PubMed

    Hu, Lei; Lu, Yue; Zhang, Tianwen; Huang, Tao; Zhu, Yongchun; Qian, Yitai

    2017-04-26

    We report an activation-free approach for fabricating ultramicroporous carbon as an accommodation of sulfur molecules for Li-S and Na-S batteries applications in carbonate-based electrolyte. Because of the high specific surface area of 967 m 2 g -1 , as well as 51.8% of the pore volume is contributed by ultramicropore with pore size less than 0.7 nm, sulfur cathode exhibits superior electrochemical behavior in carbonate-based electrolyte with a capacity of 507.9 mA h g -1 after 500 cycles at 2 C in Li-S batteries and 392 mA h g -1 after 200 cycles at 1 C in Na-S batteries, respectively.

  19. The OpenMP Implementation of NAS Parallel Benchmarks and its Performance

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jin, Hao-Qiang; Frumkin, Michael; Yan, Jerry

    1999-01-01

    As the new ccNUMA architecture became popular in recent years, parallel programming with compiler directives on these machines has evolved to accommodate new needs. In this study, we examine the effectiveness of OpenMP directives for parallelizing the NAS Parallel Benchmarks. Implementation details will be discussed and performance will be compared with the MPI implementation. We have demonstrated that OpenMP can achieve very good results for parallelization on a shared memory system, but effective use of memory and cache is very important.

  20. Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project: KDP-A for Phase 2 Minimum Operational Performance Standards

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Grindle, Laurie; Hackenberg, Davis L.

    2016-01-01

    UAS Integration in the NAS Project has: a) Developed Technical Challenges that are crucial to UAS integration, aligned with NASA's Strategic Plan and Thrusts, and support FAA standards development. b) Demonstrated rigorous project management processes through the execution of previous phases. c) Defined Partnership Plans. d) Established path to KDP-C. Request approval of Technical Challenges, execution of partnerships and plans, and execution of near-term FY17 activities. There is an increasing need to fly UAS in the NAS to perform missions of vital importance to National Security and Defense, Emergency Management, and Science. There is also an emerging need to enable commercial applications such as cargo transport (e.g. FedEx). Unencumbered NAS Access for Civil/Commercial UAS. Provide research findings, utilizing simulation and flight tests, to support the development and validation of DAA and C2 technologies necessary for integrating Unmanned Aircraft Systems into the National Airspace System.

  1. Spatiotemporal analysis of hydro-meteorological drought in the Johor River Basin, Malaysia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tan, Mou Leong; Chua, Vivien P.; Li, Cheng; Brindha, K.

    2018-02-01

    Assessment of historical hydro-meteorological drought is important to develop a robust drought monitoring and prediction system. This study aims to assess the historical hydro-meteorological drought of the Johor River Basin (JRB) from 1975 to 2010, an important basin for the population of southern Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Standardized Streamflow Index (SSI) were selected to represent the meteorological and hydrological droughts, respectively. Four absolute homogeneity tests were used to assess the rainfall data from 20 stations, and two stations were flagged by these tests. Results indicate the SPI duration to be comparatively low (3 months), and drier conditions occur over the upper JRB. The annual SSI had a strong decreasing trend at 95% significance level, showing that human activities such as reservoir construction and agriculture (oil palm) have a major influence on streamflow in the middle and lower basin. In addition, moderate response rate of SSI to SPI was found, indicating that hydrological drought could also have occurred in normal climate condition. Generally, the El Niño-Southern Oscillation and Madden Julian Oscillation have greater impacts on drought events in the basin. Findings of this study could be beneficial for future drought projection and water resources management.

  2. NAS (Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation Program) technical summaries, March 1989 - February 1990

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1990-01-01

    Given here are selected scientific results from the Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation (NAS) Program's third year of operation. During this year, the scientific community was given access to a Cray-2 and a Cray Y-MP supercomputer. Topics covered include flow field analysis of fighter wing configurations, large-scale ocean modeling, the Space Shuttle flow field, advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes for rotary-wing airloads and performance prediction, turbulence modeling of separated flows, airloads and acoustics of rotorcraft, vortex-induced nonlinearities on submarines, and standing oblique detonation waves.

  3. Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fern, Lisa

    2017-01-01

    This presentation summarizes the simulation work conducted by the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project. It focuses on the contribution of that research to the development of RTCA Special Committee 228's (SC-228) Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS) for UAS. The research objectives and primary findings from four different human-in-the-loop simulations are discussed, along with the specific requirements these studies led to in the final MOPS document.

  4. De novo transcriptome assembly, development of EST-SSR markers and population genetic analyses for the desert biomass willow, Salix psammophila

    PubMed Central

    Jia, Huixia; Yang, Haifeng; Sun, Pei; Li, Jianbo; Zhang, Jin; Guo, Yinghua; Han, Xiaojiao; Zhang, Guosheng; Lu, Mengzhu; Hu, Jianjun

    2016-01-01

    Salix psammophila, a sandy shrub known as desert willow, is regarded as a potential biomass feedstock and plays an important role in maintaining local ecosystems. However, a lack of genomic data and efficient molecular markers limit the study of its population evolution and genetic breeding. In this study, chromosome counts, flow cytometry and SSR analyses indicated that S. psammophila is tetraploid. A total of 6,346 EST-SSRs were detected based on 71,458 de novo assembled unigenes from transcriptome data. Twenty-seven EST-SSR markers were developed to evaluate the genetic diversity and population structure of S. psammophila from eight natural populations in Northern China. High levels of genetic diversity (mean 10.63 alleles per locus; mean HE 0.689) were dectected in S. psammophila. The weak population structure and little genetic differentiation (pairwise FST = 0.006–0.016) were found among Population 1-Population 7 (Pop1-Pop7; Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi), but Pop8 (Ningxia) was clearly separated from Pop1-Pop7 and moderate differentiation (pairwise FST = 0.045–0.055) was detected between them, which may be influenced by local habitat conditions. Molecular variance analyses indicated that most of the genetic variation (94.27%) existed within populations. These results provide valuable genetic informations for natural resource conservation and breeding programme optimisation of S. psammophila. PMID:27995985

  5. [Inventive activity of the Department of Metabolism Regulation of the Palladin Institute of Biochemistry of NAS of Ukraine].

    PubMed

    Danilova, V M; Vynogradova, R P; Chernysh, I G; Petrenko, T M

    2016-01-01

    The article is devoted to the inventive activity of the Department of Metabolism Regulation of the Palladin Institute of Biochemistry of NAS of Ukraine in the context of the history of its inception, development and the research activities of its founder, academician of NAS of Ukraine M. F. Guly as well as his students and followers. It briefly tells about practical achievements of M. F. Guly which were as significant, immense and diverse as his scientific accomplishments. The paper analyses in detail the practical results of scientific research of his students and followers aimed to solve practical problems of medicine, food-processing, agriculture, and which are essentially a continuation of the ideas and projects of M. F. Guly.

  6. Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project FY16 Annual Review

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Grindle, Laurie; Hackenberg, Davis

    2016-01-01

    This presentation gives insight into the research activities and efforts being executed in order to integrate unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system. This briefing is to inform others of the UAS-NAS FY16 progress and future directions.

  7. Amorphous MoS3 as the sulfur-equivalent cathode material for room-temperature Li-S and Na-S batteries.

    PubMed

    Ye, Hualin; Ma, Lu; Zhou, Yu; Wang, Lu; Han, Na; Zhao, Feipeng; Deng, Jun; Wu, Tianpin; Li, Yanguang; Lu, Jun

    2017-12-12

    Many problems associated with Li-S and Na-S batteries essentially root in the generation of their soluble polysulfide intermediates. While conventional wisdom mainly focuses on trapping polysulfides at the cathode using various functional materials, few strategies are available at present to fully resolve or circumvent this long-standing issue. In this study, we propose the concept of sulfur-equivalent cathode materials, and demonstrate the great potential of amorphous MoS 3 as such a material for room-temperature Li-S and Na-S batteries. In Li-S batteries, MoS 3 exhibits sulfur-like behavior with large reversible specific capacity, excellent cycle life, and the possibility to achieve high areal capacity. Most remarkably, it is also fully cyclable in the carbonate electrolyte under a relatively high temperature of 55 °C. MoS 3 can also be used as the cathode material of even more challenging Na-S batteries to enable decent capacity and good cycle life. Operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) experiments are carried out to track the structural evolution of MoS 3 It largely preserves its chain-like structure during repetitive battery cycling without generating any free polysulfide intermediates.

  8. Identification of nitrogen- and host-related deep-level traps in n-type GaNAs and their evolution upon annealing

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gelczuk, Ł., E-mail: lukasz.gelczuk@pwr.edu.pl; Kudrawiec, R., E-mail: robert.kudrawiec@pwr.edu.pl; Henini, M.

    2014-07-07

    Deep level traps in as-grown and annealed n-GaNAs layers (doped with Si) of various nitrogen concentrations (N=0.2%, 0.4%, 0.8%, and 1.2%) were investigated by deep level transient spectroscopy. In addition, optical properties of GaNAs layers were studied by photoluminescence and contactless electroreflectance. The identification of N- and host-related traps has been performed on the basis of band gap diagram [Kudrawiec, Appl. Phys. Lett. 101, 082109 (2012)], which assumes that the activation energy of electron traps of the same microscopic nature decreases with the rise of nitrogen concentration in accordance with the N-related shift of the conduction band towards trap levels.more » The application of this diagram has allowed to investigate the evolution of donor traps in GaNAs upon annealing. In general, it was observed that the concentration of N- and host-related traps decreases after annealing and PL improves very significantly. However, it was also observed that some traps are generated due to annealing. It explains why the annealing conditions have to be carefully optimized for this material system.« less

  9. Distribution and abundance of Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus) and Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus) on the Middle San Luis Rey River, San Diego, southern California—2016 data summary

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Allen, Lisa D.; Howell, Scarlett L.; Kus, Barbara E.

    2017-09-29

    Executive SummaryWe surveyed for Least Bell’s Vireos (LBVI) (Vireo bellii pusillus) and Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (SWFL) (Empidonax traillii extimus) along the San Luis Rey River, between College Boulevard in Oceanside and Interstate 15 in Fallbrook, California (middle San Luis Rey River), in 2016. Surveys were done from March 30 to July 11 (LBVI) and from May 18 to July 30 (SWFL). We found 142 LBVI territories, at least 106 of which were occupied by pairs. Six additional transient LBVIs were detected. Of 20 banded LBVIs detected in the survey area, 9 had been given full color-band combinations prior to 2016, although we were unable to determine the exact color combination of 1 female LBVI. Seven other LBVIs with single (natal) federal bands were recaptured and banded in 2016. Four vireos with single dark blue federal bands indicating that they were banded as nestlings on the lower San Luis Rey River could not be recaptured for identification.Three SFWL territories were observed in the survey area in 2016. Two territories were occupied by pairs and one by a male of unknown breeding status. Both pairs attempted to nest at least once, and both pairs were successful, fledging three young each. Nesting began in early June and continued into July. Brown-Headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) eggs were not observed in either nest. An additional 12 transient Willow Flycatchers of unknown subspecies were detected in 2016.Two of the five resident SWFLs were originally banded as nestlings on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. One male and one female were banded as nestlings on Camp Pendleton in 2009 and 2011, respectively. One natal male of unknown breeding status, originally banded as a nestling on the middle San Luis Rey River in 2015, was recaptured and given a unique color combination in 2016. This male was later detected on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

  10. Effects of growth rate on structural property and adatom migration behaviors for growth of GaInNAs/GaAs (001) by molecular beam epitaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Jingling; Gao, Peng; Zhang, Shuguang; Wen, Lei; Gao, Fangliang; Li, Guoqiang

    2018-03-01

    We have investigated the structural properties and the growth mode of GaInNAs films prepared at different growth rates (Rg) by molecular beam epitaxy. The crystalline structure is studied by high resolution X-ray diffraction, and the evolution of GaInNAs film surface morphologies is studied by atomic force microscopy. It is found that both the crystallinity and the surface roughness are improved by increasing Rg, and the change in the growth mode is attributed to the adatom migration behaviors particularly for In atoms, which is verified by elemental analysis. In addition, we have presented some theoretical calculation results related to the N adsorption energy to show the unique N migration behavior, which is instructive to interpret the growth mechanism of GaInNAs films.

  11. Beaver (Castor canadensis) in heavily browsed environments

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Baker, Bruce W.

    2003-01-01

    Beaver (Castor canadensis) populations have declined or failed to recover in heavily browsed environments. I suggest that intense browsing by livestock or ungulates can disrupt beaver-willow (Salix spp.) mutualisms that likely evolved under relatively low herbivory in a more predator-rich environment, and that this interaction may explain beaver and willow declines. Field experiments in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA, found the interaction of beaver and elk (Cervus elaphus) herbivory suppressed compensatory growth in willow. Intense elk browsing of simulated beaver-cut willow produced plants which were small and hedged with a high percentage of dead stems, whereas protected plants were large and highly branched with a low percentage of dead stems. Evaluation of a winter food cache showed beaver had selected woody stems with a lower percentage of leaders browsed by elk. A lack of willow stems suitable as winter beaver food may cause beaver populations to decline, creating a negative feedback mechanism for beaver and willow. In contrast, if browsing by livestock or ungulates can be controlled, and beaver can disperse from a nearby source population, then beaver may build dams in marginal habitat which will benefit willow and cause a positive riparian response that restores proper function to degraded habitat. In a shrub-steppe riparian ecosystem of northwestern Colorado, USA, rest from overgrazing of livestock released herbaceous vegetation initiating restoration of a beaver-willow community. Thus, competition from livestock or ungulates can cause beaver and willow to decline and can prevent their restoration in heavily browsed riparian environments, but beaver and willow populations can recover under proper grazing management.

  12. A habitat overlap analysis derived from maxent for tamarisk and the south-western willow flycatcher

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    York, Patricia; Evangelista, Paul; Kumar, Sunil; Graham, James; Flather, Curtis; Stohlgren, Thomas

    2011-06-01

    Biologic control of the introduced and invasive, woody plant tamarisk ( Tamarix spp, saltcedar) in south-western states is controversial because it affects habitat of the federally endangered South-western Willow Flycatcher ( Empidonax traillii extimus). These songbirds sometimes nest in tamarisk where floodplain-level invasion replaces native habitats. Biologic control, with the saltcedar leaf beetle ( Diorhabda elongate), began along the Virgin River, Utah, in 2006, enhancing the need for comprehensive understanding of the tamarisk-flycatcher relationship. We used maximum entropy (Maxent) modeling to separately quantify the current extent of dense tamarisk habitat (>50% cover) and the potential extent of habitat available for E. traillii extimus within the studied watersheds. We used transformations of 2008 Landsat Thematic Mapper images and a digital elevation model as environmental input variables. Maxent models performed well for the flycatcher and tamarisk with Area Under the ROC Curve (AUC) values of 0.960 and 0.982, respectively. Classification of thresholds and comparison of the two Maxent outputs indicated moderate spatial overlap between predicted suitable habitat for E. traillii extimus and predicted locations with dense tamarisk stands, where flycatcher habitat will potentially change flycatcher habitats. Dense tamarisk habitat comprised 500 km2 within the study area, of which 11.4% was also modeled as potential habitat for E. traillii extimus. Potential habitat modeled for the flycatcher constituted 190 km2, of which 30.7% also contained dense tamarisk habitat. Results showed that both native vegetation and dense tamarisk habitats exist in the study area and that most tamarisk infestations do not contain characteristics that satisfy the habitat requirements of E. traillii extimus. Based on this study, effective biologic control of Tamarix spp. may, in the short term, reduce suitable habitat available to E. traillii extimus, but also has the potential

  13. A Framework for Safe Integration of Small UAS Into the NAS

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Logan, Michael J.; Bland, Geoffrey; Murray, Jennifer

    2011-01-01

    This paper discusses a proposed framework for the safe integration of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS). The paper examines the potential uses of sUAS to build an understanding of the location and frequency of potential future flight operations based on the future applications of the sUAS systems. The paper then examines the types of systems that would be required to meet the application-level demand to determine classes of platforms and operations. Finally, a framework is proposed for both airworthiness and operations that attempts to balance safety with utility for these important systems.

  14. UAS Integration Into the NAS: An Examination of Baseline Compliance in the Current Airspace System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fern, Lisa; Kenny, Caitlin A.; Shively, Robert J.; Johnson, Walter

    2012-01-01

    As a result of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) are expected to be integrated into the National Airspace System (NAS) by 2015. Several human factors challenges need to be addressed before UAS can safely and routinely fly in the NAS with manned aircraft. Perhaps the most significant challenge is for the UAS to be non-disruptive to the air traffic management system. Another human factors challenge is how to provide UAS pilots with intuitive traffic information in order to support situation awareness (SA) of their airspace environment as well as a see-and-avoid capability comparable to manned aircraft so that a UAS pilot could safely maneuver the aircraft to maintain separation and collision avoidance if necessary. A simulation experiment was conducted to examine baseline compliance of UAS operations in the current airspace system. Researchers also examined the effects of introducing a Cockpit Situation Display (CSD) into a UAS Ground Control Station (GCS) on UAS pilot performance, workload and situation awareness while flying in a positively controlled sector. Pilots were tasked with conducting a highway patrol police mission with a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAS in L.A. Center airspace with two mission objectives: 1) to reroute the UAS when issued new instructions from their commander, and 2) to communicate with Air Traffic Control (ATC) to negotiate flight plan changes and respond to vectoring and altitude change instructions. Objective aircraft separation data, workload ratings, SA data, and subjective ratings regarding UAS operations in the NAS were collected. Results indicate that UAS pilots were able to comply appropriately with ATC instructions. In addition, the introduction of the CSD improved pilot SA and reduced workload associated with UAS and ATC interactions.

  15. Redshift and blueshift of GaNAs/GaAs multiple quantum wells induced by rapid thermal annealing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Yijun; Cheng, Zhiyuan; Zhou, Qiang; Sun, Ying; Sun, Jiabao; Liu, Yanhua; Wang, Meifang; Cao, Zhen; Ye, Zhi; Xu, Mingsheng; Ding, Yong; Chen, Peng; Heuken, Michael; Egawa, Takashi

    2018-02-01

    The effects of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on the optical properties of GaNAs/GaAs multiple quantum wells (MQWs) grown by chemical beam epitaxy (CBE) are studied by photoluminescence (PL) at 77 K. The results show that the optical quality of the MQWs improves significantly after RTA. With increasing RTA temperature, PL peak energy of the MQWs redshifts below 1023 K, while it blueshifts above 1023 K. Two competitive processes which occur simultaneously during RTA result in redshift at low temperature and blueshift at high temperature. It is also found that PL peak energy shift can be explained neither by nitrogen diffusion out of quantum wells nor by nitrogen reorganization inside quantum wells. PL peak energy shift can be quantitatively explained by a modified recombination coupling model in which redshift nonradiative recombination and blueshift nonradiative recombination coexist. The results obtained have significant implication on the growth and RTA of GaNAs material for high performance optoelectronic device application.

  16. NAS Demand Predictions, Transportation Systems Analysis Model (TSAM) Compared with Other Forecasts

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Viken, Jeff; Dollyhigh, Samuel; Smith, Jeremy; Trani, Antonio; Baik, Hojong; Hinze, Nicholas; Ashiabor, Senanu

    2006-01-01

    The current work incorporates the Transportation Systems Analysis Model (TSAM) to predict the future demand for airline travel. TSAM is a multi-mode, national model that predicts the demand for all long distance travel at a county level based upon population and demographics. The model conducts a mode choice analysis to compute the demand for commercial airline travel based upon the traveler s purpose of the trip, value of time, cost and time of the trip,. The county demand for airline travel is then aggregated (or distributed) to the airport level, and the enplanement demand at commercial airports is modeled. With the growth in flight demand, and utilizing current airline flight schedules, the Fratar algorithm is used to develop future flight schedules in the NAS. The projected flights can then be flown through air transportation simulators to quantify the ability of the NAS to meet future demand. A major strength of the TSAM analysis is that scenario planning can be conducted to quantify capacity requirements at individual airports, based upon different future scenarios. Different demographic scenarios can be analyzed to model the demand sensitivity to them. Also, it is fairly well know, but not well modeled at the airport level, that the demand for travel is highly dependent on the cost of travel, or the fare yield of the airline industry. The FAA projects the fare yield (in constant year dollars) to keep decreasing into the future. The magnitude and/or direction of these projections can be suspect in light of the general lack of airline profits and the large rises in airline fuel cost. Also, changes in travel time and convenience have an influence on the demand for air travel, especially for business travel. Future planners cannot easily conduct sensitivity studies of future demand with the FAA TAF data, nor with the Boeing or Airbus projections. In TSAM many factors can be parameterized and various demand sensitivities can be predicted for future travel. These

  17. Enhancement of photocurrent in epitaxial lift-off thin-film GaInNAsSb solar cells due to light-confinement structure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miyashita, Naoya; Behaghel, Benoît; Guillemoles, Jean-François; Okada, Yoshitaka

    2018-07-01

    This work focuses on the characterization of GaInNAsSb solar cells whose substrates are removed via the epitaxial lift-off (ELO) technique. As a result of the substrate removal, increases in the photocurrent and the interference feature were clearly observed. This is clear evidence of the light-confinement effect, whereby some of the unabsorbed photons at the rear metal contact were reflected back towards the front side of the ELO thin-film cell. We successfully demonstrated that the ELO technique can be applied for the GaInNAsSb cell, and the light management should add flexibility in designing the cell structures.

  18. Control and Optimization Tools for Systems Governed by Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-09-06

    parameter a) leading to a J&(a) f VST (X, y; a). ih dFb. aai Jrb where ST= aT " caai This sensitivity variable, along with s,, =-u and s = _-•p satisfy...with respect to the parameter ai: p(sU-Vu+u-Vsu) = --Vsp+V-.T(s)-pgI0sT+f, v.s =O0 pC (Su. VT + u VST ) V (KVST) +±q where we have assumed, among other

  19. Novel microsatellite DNA markers indicate strict parthenogenesis and few genotypes in the invasive willow sawfly Nematus oligospilus.

    PubMed

    Caron, V; Norgate, M; Ede, F J; Nyman, T; Sunnucks, P

    2013-02-01

    Invasive organisms can have major impacts on the environment. Some invasive organisms are parthenogenetic in their invasive range and, therefore, exist as a number of asexual lineages (=clones). Determining the reproductive mode of invasive species has important implications for understanding the evolutionary genetics of such species, more especially, for management-relevant traits. The willow sawfly Nematus oligospilus Förster (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae) has been introduced unintentionally into several countries in the Southern Hemisphere where it has subsequently become invasive. To assess the population expansion, reproductive mode and host-plant relationships of this insect, microsatellite markers were developed and applied to natural populations sampled from the native and expanded range, along with sequencing of the cytochrome-oxidase I mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) region. Other tenthredinids across a spectrum of taxonomic similarity to N. oligospilus and having a range of life strategies were also tested. Strict parthenogenesis was apparent within invasive N. oligospilus populations throughout the Southern Hemisphere, which comprised only a small number of genotypes. Sequences of mtDNA were identical for all individuals tested in the invasive range. The microsatellite markers were used successfully in several sawfly species, especially Nematus spp. and other genera of the Nematini tribe, with the degree of success inversely related to genetic divergence as estimated from COI sequences. The confirmation of parthenogenetic reproduction in N. oligospilus and the fact that it has a very limited pool of genotypes have important implications for understanding and managing this species and its biology, including in terms of phenotypic diversity, host relationships, implications for spread and future adaptive change. It would appear to be an excellent model study system for understanding evolution of invasive parthenogens that diverge without sexual reproduction and

  20. Variation in drought resistance, drought acclimation and water conservation in four willow cultivars used for biomass production.

    PubMed

    Wikberg, Jenny; Ogren, Erling

    2007-09-01

    Growth and water-use parameters of four willow (Salix spp.) clones grown in a moderate drought regime or with ample water supply were determined to characterize their water-use efficiency, drought resistance and capacity for drought acclimation. At the end of the 10-week, outdoor pot experiment, clonal differences were observed in: (1) water-use efficiency of aboveground biomass production (WUE); (2) resistance to xylem cavitation; and (3) stomatal conductance to leaf-specific, whole-plant hydraulic conductance ratio (g(st)/K(P); an indicator of water balance). Across clones and regimes, WUE was positively correlated with the assimilation rate to stomatal conductance ratio (A/g(st)), a measure of instantaneous water-use efficiency. Both of these water-use efficiency indicators were generally higher in drought-treated trees compared with well-watered trees. However, the between-treatment differences in (shoot-based) WUE were smaller than expected, considering the differences in A/g(st) for two of the clones, possibly because plants reallocated dry mass from shoots to roots when subject to drought. Higher root hydraulic conductance to shoot hydraulic conductance ratios (K(R)/K(S)) during drought supports this hypothesis. The same clones were also the most sensitive to xylem cavitation and, accordingly, showed the strongest reduction in g(st)/K(P) in response to drought. Drought acclimation was manifested in decreased g(st), g(st)/K(P), osmotic potential and leaf area to vessel internal cross-sectional area ratio, and increased K(R), K(P) and WUE. Increased resistance to stem xylem cavitation in response to drought was observed in only one clone. It is concluded that WUE and drought resistance traits are inter-linked and that both may be enhanced by selection and breeding.

  1. The influence of a severe reservoir drawdown on springtime zooplankton and larval fish assemblages in Red Willow Reservoir, Nebraska

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    DeBoer, Jason A.; Webber, Christa M.; Dixon, Taylor A.; Pope, Kevin L.

    2016-01-01

    Reservoirs can be dynamic systems, often prone to unpredictable and extreme water-level fluctuations, and can be environments where survival is difficult for zooplankton and larval fish. Although numerous studies have examined the effects of extreme reservoir drawdown on water quality, few have examined extreme drawdown on both abiotic and biotic characteristics. A fissure in the dam at Red Willow Reservoir in southwest Nebraska necessitated an extreme drawdown; the water level was lowered more than 6 m during a two-month period, reducing reservoir volume by 76%. During the subsequent low-water period (i.e., post-drawdown), spring sampling (April–June) showed dissolved oxygen concentration was lower, while turbidity and chlorophyll-a concentration were greater, relative to pre-drawdown conditions. Additionally, there was an overall increase in zooplankton density, although there were differences among taxa, and changes in mean size among taxa, relative to pre-drawdown conditions. Zooplankton assemblage composition had an average dissimilarity of 19.3% from pre-drawdown to post-drawdown. The ratio of zero to non-zero catches was greater post-drawdown for larval common carp and for all larval fishes combined, whereas we observed no difference for larval gizzard shad. Larval fish assemblage composition had an average dissimilarity of 39.7% from pre-drawdown to post-drawdown. Given the likelihood that other dams will need repair or replacement in the near future, it is imperative for effective reservoir management that we anticipate the likely abiotic and biotic responses of reservoir ecosystems as these management actions will continue to alter environmental conditions in reservoirs.

  2. Evaluation of geophysical logs, Phase II, at Willow Grove Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Conger, Randall W.

    1999-01-01

    Between March and April 1998, the U.S. Navy contracted Tetra Tech NUS Inc., to drill two monitor wells in the Stockton Formation at the Willow Grove Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, Horsham Township, Montgomery County, Pa. The wells MG-1634 and MG-1635 were installed to monitor water levels and sample contaminants in the shallow, intermediate, and deep water-producing zones of the fractured bedrock. Chemical analyses of the samples will help determine the horizontal and vertical distribution of any contaminated ground water migrating from known contaminant sources. Wells were drilled near the Fire Training Area (Site 5). Depths of all boreholes range from 69 to 149 feet below land surface. The U.S. Geological Survey conducted borehole geophysical logging and video surveys to identify water-producing zones in newly drilled monitor wells MG-1634 and MG-1635 and in wells MG-1675 and MG-1676. The logging was conducted from March 5, 1998, to April 16, 1998. This work is a continuation of the Phase I work. Caliper logs and video surveys were used to locate fractures; inflections on fluid-temperature and fluid-resistivity logs were used to locate possible water-producing fractures. Heatpulse-flowmeter measurements were used to verify the locations of water-producing or water-receiving zones and to measure rates of flow between water-bearing fractures. Single-point-resistance and natural-gamma logs provided information on stratigraphy. After interpretation of geophysical logs, video surveys, and driller's notes, wells MG-1634 and MG-1635 were screened such that water-levels fluctuations could be monitored and discrete water samples collected from one or more water-producing zones in each borehole.

  3. Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS): Addressing the Regulatory Issues for National Airspace System (NAS) Integration

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-04-01

    terms of IFR operations or passenger enplanements. The configuration of each Class B airspace area is individually tailored and consists of a surface...are serviced by a radar approach control, and that have a certain number of IFR operations or passenger enplanements. Although the configuration of...ft MSL Figure 3 depicts DoD UASs operating in their respective NAS classifications: Global Hawk Predator B Transponder See & Avoid DME IFR

  4. Operational Overview for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace (NAS) Project Flight Test Series 3

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Valkov, Steffi

    2017-01-01

    This presentation is a high level overview of the flight testing that took place in 2015 for the UAS-NAS project. All topics in the presentation discussed at a high level and no technical details are provided.

  5. Effects of elk herbivory on vegetation and nitrogen processes

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Schoenecker, Kathryn A.; Singer, Francis J.; Zeigenfuss, Linda C.; Binkley, Dan; Menezes, Romulo S.C.

    2004-01-01

    We used 35-year and 4-year ungulate exclosures to determine the effects of elk (Cervus elaphus) herbivory on above-ground and below-ground production and soil fertility on the elk winter range in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), Colorado, USA. We used paired grazed and ungrazed plots to evaluate ungulate herbivory effects in short and tall willow (Salix spp.), aspen (Populus spp.), and upland grass/shrub vegetation associations. We measured nitrogen (N) fluxes (litter deposition, fecal and urinary deposition from elk, movements of N by elk, N mineralization, soil N availability, elk consumption rates) within the elk winter, above-ground and below-ground N pools (herbaceous, shrub and root biomass, %N in plants, roots, and soil), and N fluxes on and off the elk winter range (seasonal movement of N by elk). Nitrogen mineralization and soil nitrate (NO3) pools were reduced in the short willow community (P = 0.07 and 0.10, respectively; n = 4 sites) in grazed plots, but not in the upland grass/shrub community or tall willow sites (P >0.10). Annual growth of willows was reduced by 98% in grazed plots, relative to 35-year exclosures, and 66% relative to 4-year exclosures. Thus, height, canopy size, and litter biomass of willows were reduced, and N yield of willows was 64% less in grazed plots. We evaluated movement of N by elk among 6 major vegetation associations and found that elk grazed more and bedded less in willow vegetation association compared to mixed conifer, mesic meadow, and grassland/shrub associations (P = 0.014, 0.001, and 0.026, respectively), suggesting that elk herbivory and movement led to a net loss of N in the willow vegetation association. Elk spent less total time in willows than mesic meadow association, yet they consumed large amounts of willow plant biomass. We recommend management of elk numbers and elk herbivory that takes into consideration impacts to N process function, as negative effects from current levels of herbivory were observed

  6. Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project. NASA Contributions to the SARP WC Definition

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Randall, Debra K.; Consiglio, Maria Cristina; Santiago, Confesor

    2014-01-01

    To better inform sense and avoid research needs and to understand ongoing investigation of potential solutions that ultimately lead to the assisting the FAA with their Congressional mandate to fly UAS in the NAS.

  7. Remotely Operated Aircraft (ROA) Impact on the National Airspace System (NAS) Work Package, 2005: Composite Report on FAA Flight Plan and Operational Evaluation Plan. Version 7.0

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2005-01-01

    The purpose of this document is to present the findings that resulted from a high-level analysis and evaluation of the following documents: (1) The OEP (Operational Evolution Plan) Version 7 -- a 10-year plan for operational improvements to increase capacity and efficiency in U.S. air travel and transport and other use of domestic airspace. The OEP is the FAA commitment to operational improvements. It is outcome driven, with clear lines of accountability within FAA organizations. The OEP concentrates on operational solutions and integrates safety, certification, procedures, staffing, equipment, avionics and research; (2) The Draft Flight Plan 2006 through 2010 -- a multi-year strategic effort, setting a course for the FAA through 2001, to provide the safest and most efficient air transportation system in the world; (3) The NAS System Architecture Version 5 -- a blueprint for modernizing the NAS and improving NAS services and capabilities through the year 2015; and (4) The NAS-SR-1000 System Requirements Specification (NASSRS) -- a compilation of requirements which describe the operational capabilities for the NAS. The analysis is particularly focused on examining the documents for relevance to existing and/or planned future UAV operations. The evaluation specifically focuses on potential factors that could materially affect the development of a commercial ROA industry, such as: (1) Design limitations of the CNS/ATM system, (2) Human limitations, The information presented was taken from program specifications or program office lead personnel.

  8. EPA's Reanalysis of Key Issues Related to Dioxin Toxicity and Response to NAS Comments (External Review Draft)

    EPA Science Inventory

  1. GaInNAs Structures Grown by MBE for High-Efficiency Solar Cells: Final Report; 25 June 1999--24 August 2002

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tu, C. W.

    The focus of this work is to improve the quality of GaInNAs by advanced thin-film growth techniques, such as digital-alloy growth techniques and migration-enhanced epitaxy (MEE). The other focus is to further investigate the properties of such materials, which are potentially beneficial for high-efficiency, multijunction solar cells. 400-nm-thick strain-compensated Ga0.92In0.08As/GaN0.03As0.97 short-period superlattices (SPSLs) are grown lattice-matched to GaAs substrates. The photoluminescence (PL) intensity of digital alloys is 3 times higher than that of random alloys at room temperature, and the improvement is even greater at low temperature, by a factor of about 12. The room-temperature PL intensity of the GaInNAsmore » quantum well grown by the strained InAs/GaN0.023As SPSL growth mode is higher by a factor 5 as compare to the continuous growth mode. The SPSL growth method allows for independent adjustment of the In-to-Ga ratio without group III competition. MEE reduces the low-energy tail of PL, and PL peaks become more intense and sharper. The twin peaks photoluminescence of GaNAs grown on GaAs was observed at room temperature. The peaks splitting increase with increase in nitrogen alloy content. The strain-induced splitting of light-hole and heavy-hole bands of tensile-strained GaNAs is proposed as an explanation of such behavior.« less

  2. NOD promoter-controlled AtIRT1 expression functions synergistically with NAS and FERRITIN genes to increase iron in rice grains.

    PubMed

    Boonyaves, Kulaporn; Gruissem, Wilhelm; Bhullar, Navreet K

    2016-02-01

    Rice is a staple food for over half of the world's population, but it contains only low amounts of bioavailable micronutrients for human nutrition. Consequently, micronutrient deficiency is a widespread health problem among people who depend primarily on rice as their staple food. Iron deficiency anemia is one of the most serious forms of malnutrition. Biofortification of rice grains for increased iron content is an effective strategy to reduce iron deficiency. Unlike other grass species, rice takes up iron as Fe(II) via the IRON REGULATED TRANSPORTER (IRT) in addition to Fe(III)-phytosiderophore chelates. We expressed Arabidopsis IRT1 (AtIRT1) under control of the Medicago sativa EARLY NODULIN 12B promoter in our previously developed high-iron NFP rice lines expressing NICOTIANAMINE SYNTHASE (AtNAS1) and FERRITIN. Transgenic rice lines expressing AtIRT1 alone had significant increases in iron and combined with NAS and FERRITIN increased iron to 9.6 µg/g DW in the polished grains that is 2.2-fold higher as compared to NFP lines. The grains of AtIRT1 lines also accumulated more copper and zinc but not manganese. Our results demonstrate that the concerted expression of AtIRT1, AtNAS1 and PvFERRITIN synergistically increases iron in both polished and unpolished rice grains. AtIRT1 is therefore a valuable transporter for iron biofortification programs when used in combination with other genes encoding iron transporters and/or storage proteins.

  3. Spatial distribution of cadmium in leaves and its impact on photosynthesis: examples of different strategies in willow and poplar clones.

    PubMed

    Pietrini, F; Zacchini, M; Iori, V; Pietrosanti, L; Ferretti, M; Massacci, A

    2010-03-01

    The interaction of cadmium (Cd) with photosynthesis was investigated in poplar (Populus x canadensis Mönch., clone A4A, Populus nigra L., clone Poli) and willow (Salix alba L., clone SS5) clones that had different leaf metal concentrations in preliminary experiments. Plants grown in the presence of 50 microm CdSO(4) for 3 weeks under hydroponic conditions were used to examine leaf gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and images, and for Cd detection using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF). Leaves were finally analysed for Cd and phytochelatin concentrations. Results showed that SS5 had the highest leaf Cd concentration and high gas exchange activity similar to that of Poli, which had the lowest Cd concentration. Leaf fluorescence images evidenced in large undamaged areas of SS5 corresponded to high values of F(v)/F(m), F(o), PhiPSII, qP and NPQ, while patches of dark colour (visible necrosis) close to the main vein corresponded to low values of these parameters. In A4A, these necrotic patches were more diffuse on the leaf blade and associated with a range of fluorescence parameter values. ED-XRF analysis indicated that Cd was only detectable in necroses of SS5 leaves, while in A4A it was relatively more diffuse. Phytochelatins (PCs) were not detected in SS5, while their concentration was high in both Poli and A4A. The absence of these molecules in SS5 is thought to favour confinement of high accumulations of Cd to necrotic areas and gives SS5 the ability to maintain high photosynthesis and transpiration in remaining parts of the leaf.

  4. Development of AFLP and RAPD markers linked to a locus associated with twisted growth in corkscrew willow (Salix matsudana 'Tortuosa').

    PubMed

    Lin, Juan; Gunter, Lee E; Harding, Scott A; Kopp, Richard F; McCord, Rachel P; Tsai, Chung-Jui; Tuskan, Gerald A; Smart, Lawrence B

    2007-11-01

    Salix matsudana Koidz. cultivar 'Tortuosa' (corkscrew willow) is characterized by extensive stem bending and curling of leaves. To investigate the genetic basis of this trait, controlled crosses were made between a corkscrew female (S. matsudana 'Tortuosa') and a straight-stemmed, wild-type male (Salix alba L. Clone 99010). Seventy-seven seedlings from this family (ID 99270) were grown in the field for phenotypic observation. Among the progeny, 39 had straight stems and leaves and 38 had bent stems and curled leaves, suggesting that a dominant allele at a single locus controls this phenotype. As a first step in characterizing the locus, we searched for amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers linked to the tortuosa allele using bulked segregant analysis. Samples of DNA from 10 corkscrew individuals were combined to produce a corkscrew pool, and DNA from 10 straight progeny was combined to make a wild-type pool. Sixty-four AFLP primer combinations and 640 RAPD primers were screened to identify marker bands amplified from the corkscrew parent and progeny pool, but not from the wild-type parent or progeny pool. An AFLP marker and a RAPD marker linked to and flanking the tortuosa locus were placed on a preliminary linkage map constructed based on segregation among the 77 progeny. Sectioning and analysis of shoot tips revealed that the corkscrew phenotype is associated with vascular cell collapse, smaller cell size in regions near the cambium and less developed phloem fibers than in wild-type progeny. Identification of a gene associated with this trait could lead to greater understanding of the control of normal stem development in woody plants.

  5. Contrasting the Community Structure of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi from Hydrocarbon-Contaminated and Uncontaminated Soils following Willow (Salix spp. L.) Planting

    PubMed Central

    Stefani, Franck O. P.; Denis, David; Hijri, Mohamed; St-Arnaud, Marc

    2014-01-01

    Phytoremediation is a potentially inexpensive alternative to chemical treatment of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils, but its success depends heavily on identifying factors that govern the success of root-associated microorganisms involved in hydrocarbon degradation and plant growth stimulation. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form symbioses with many terrestrial plants, and are known to stimulate plant growth, although both species identity and the environment influence this relationship. Although AMF are suspected to play a role in plant adaptation to hydrocarbon contamination, their distribution in hydrocarbon-contaminated soils is not well known. In this study, we examined how AMF communities were structured within the rhizosphere of 11 introduced willow cultivars as well as unplanted controls across uncontaminated and hydrocarbon-contaminated soils at the site of a former petrochemical plant. We obtained 69 282 AMF-specific 18S rDNA sequences using 454-pyrosequencing, representing 27 OTUs. Contaminant concentration was the major influence on AMF community structure, with different AMF families dominating at each contaminant level. The most abundant operational taxonomic unit in each sample represented a large proportion of the total community, and this proportion was positively associated with increasing contamination, and seemingly, by planting as well. The most contaminated soils were dominated by three phylotypes closely related to Rhizophagus irregularis, while these OTUs represented only a small proportion of sequences in uncontaminated and moderately contaminated soils. These results suggest that in situ inoculation of AMF strains could be an important component of phytoremediation treatments, but that strains should be selected from the narrow group that is both adapted to contaminant toxicity and able to compete with indigenous AMF species. PMID:25032685

  6. An experimental test of fitness variation across a hydrologic gradient predicts willow and poplar species distributions.

    PubMed

    Wei, Xiaojing; Savage, Jessica A; Riggs, Charlotte E; Cavender-Bares, Jeannine

    2017-05-01

    Environmental filtering is an important community assembly process influencing species distributions. Contrasting species abundance patterns along environmental gradients are commonly used to provide evidence for environmental filtering. However, the same abundance patterns may result from alternative or concurrent assembly processes. Experimental tests are an important means to decipher whether species fitness varies with environment, in the absence of dispersal constraints and biotic interactions, and to draw conclusions about the importance of environmental filtering in community assembly. We performed an experimental test of environmental filtering in 14 closely related willow and poplar species (family Salicaceae) by transplanting cuttings of each species into 40 common gardens established along a natural hydrologic gradient in the field, where competition was minimized and herbivory was controlled. We analyzed species fitness responses to the hydrologic environment based on cumulative growth and survival over two years using aster fitness models. We also examined variation in nine drought and flooding tolerance traits expected to contribute to performance based on a priori understanding of plant function in relation to water availability and stress. We found substantial evidence that environmental filtering along the hydrologic gradient played a critical role in determining species distributions. Fitness variation of each species in the field experiment was used to model their water table depth optima. These optima predicted 68% of the variation in species realized hydrologic niches based on peak abundance in naturally assembled communities in the surrounding region. Multiple traits associated with water transport efficiency and water stress tolerance were correlated with species hydrologic niches, but they did not necessarily covary with each other. As a consequence, species occupying similar hydrologic niches had different combinations of trait values

  7. The effect of cathode felt geometries on electrochemical characteristics of sodium sulfur (NaS) cells: Planar vs. tubular

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Goun; Park, Yoon-Cheol; Lee, Younki; Cho, Namung; Kim, Chang-Soo; Jung, Keeyoung

    2016-09-01

    Two sodium sulfur (NaS) cells, one with a planar design and the other with a tubular design, were subject to discharge-charge cycles in order to investigate the effect of cathode felt geometries on electrochemical characteristics of NaS cells. Their discharge-charge behaviors over 200 cycles were evaluated at the operation temperature of 350 °C with the current densities of 100 mA cm-2 for discharge and 80 mA cm-2 for charge. The results showed that the deviation from theoretical open circuit voltage changes of a planar cell was smaller than those of a tubular cell resulting in potential specific power loss reduction during operation. In order to understand the effect, a three dimensional statistically representative matrix for a cathode felt has been generated using experimentally measured data. It turns out that the area specific fiber number density in the outer side area of a tubular cathode felt is smaller than that of a planar felt resulting in occurrence of larger voltage drops via retarded convection of cathode melts during cell operation.

  8. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Study entitled The Effect of Climate Change on Indoor Air Quality and Public Health.

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Institute of Medicine of the NAS is conducting a study to evaluate the state of scientific understanding of the effects of climate change on indoor air quality and public health. General topics may include the likely impacts of climate change in the U.S. on the indoor environ...

  9. 75 FR 33615 - Draft EPA's Reanalysis of Key Issues Related to Dioxin Toxicity and Response to NAS Comments (EPA...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-06-14

    ... the IRIS Program, EPA provides the highest quality science-based human health assessments to support... comments included in the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) 2006 report. In addition, it includes new analyses on potential human effects that may result from exposure to 2,3,7,8- tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin...

  10. MOVPE growth studies of Ga(NAsP)/(BGa)(AsP) multi quantum well heterostructures (MQWH) for the monolithic integration of laser structures on (001) Si-substrates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ludewig, P.; Reinhard, S.; Jandieri, K.; Wegele, T.; Beyer, A.; Tapfer, L.; Volz, K.; Stolz, W.

    2016-03-01

    High-quality, pseudomorphically strained Ga(NAsP)/(BGa)(AsP)-multiple quantum well heterostructures (MQWH) have been deposited on exactly oriented (001) Si-substrate by metal organic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE) in a wide temperature range between 525 °C and 700 °C. The individual atomic incorporation efficiencies, growth rates as well as nanoscale material properties have been clarified by applying detailed high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and high-angle annular dark field (HAADF) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) studies. An almost constant N-incorporation efficiency is obtained for a wide growth temperature range from 550 °C up to 650 °C. The P-incorporation is steadily increasing with increasing growth temperature reaching values at high temperatures in excess of the applied gas phase ratio. While the lower interface from the binary GaP- to the quaternary Ga(NAsP)-material system is very sharp, the upper interface is significantly rougher with a roughness scale of ±0.43 nm in quantum well thickness variation at a growth temperature of 525 °C. This roughness scale increases steadily with increasing growth temperature. No indication of any phase separation effects is detected in the Ga(NAsP)-material system even at the highest growth temperature of 700 °C. The obtained experimental results are briefly discussed with respect to the anticipated metastable character of the novel dilute-nitride Ga(NAsP)-material system grown lattice-matched to (001) Si-substrate.

  11. Phosphorus sorption capacity of biochars varies with biochar type and salinity level.

    PubMed

    Dugdug, Abdelhafid Ahmed; Chang, Scott X; Ok, Yong Sik; Rajapaksha, Anushka Upamali; Anyia, Anthony

    2018-02-10

    Biochar is recognized as an effective material for recovering excess nutrients, including phosphorus (P), from aqueous solutions. Practically, that benefits the environment through reducing P losses from biochar-amended soils; however, how salinity influences P sorption by biochar is poorly understood and there has been no direct comparison on P sorption capacity between biochars derived from different feedstock types under non-saline and saline conditions. In this study, biochars derived from wheat straw, hardwood, and willow wood were used to compare P sorption at three levels of electrical conductivity (EC) (0, 4, and 8 dS m -1 ) to represent a wide range of salinity conditions. Phosphorus sorption by wheat straw and hardwood biochars increased as aqueous solution P concentration increased, with willow wood biochar exhibiting an opposite trend for P sorption. However, the pattern for P sorption became the same as the other biochars after the willow wood biochar was de-ashed with 1 M HCl and 0.05 M HF. Willow wood biochar had the highest P sorption (1.93 mg g -1 ) followed by hardwood (1.20 mg g -1 ) and wheat straw biochars (1.06 mg g -1 ) in a 25 mg L -1 P solution. Although the pH in the equilibrium solution was higher with willow wood biochar (~ 9.5) than with the other two biochars (~ 6.5), solution pH had no or minor effects on P sorption by willow wood biochar. The high sorption rate of P by willow wood biochar could be attributed to the higher concentrations of salt and other elements (i.e., Ca and Mg) in the biochar in comparison to that in wheat straw and hardwood biochars; the EC values were 2.27, 0.53, and 0.27 dS m -1 for willow wood, wheat straw, and hardwood biochars, respectively. A portion of P desorbed from the willow wood biochar; and that desorption increased with the decreasing P concentration in the aqueous solution. Salinity in the aqueous solution influenced P sorption by hardwood and willow wood but not by wheat straw

  12. NAS Parallel Benchmark Results 11-96. 1.0

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bailey, David H.; Bailey, David; Chancellor, Marisa K. (Technical Monitor)

    1997-01-01

    The NAS Parallel Benchmarks have been developed at NASA Ames Research Center to study the performance of parallel supercomputers. The eight benchmark problems are specified in a "pencil and paper" fashion. In other words, the complete details of the problem to be solved are given in a technical document, and except for a few restrictions, benchmarkers are free to select the language constructs and implementation techniques best suited for a particular system. These results represent the best results that have been reported to us by the vendors for the specific 3 systems listed. In this report, we present new NPB (Version 1.0) performance results for the following systems: DEC Alpha Server 8400 5/440, Fujitsu VPP Series (VX, VPP300, and VPP700), HP/Convex Exemplar SPP2000, IBM RS/6000 SP P2SC node (120 MHz), NEC SX-4/32, SGI/CRAY T3E, SGI Origin200, and SGI Origin2000. We also report High Performance Fortran (HPF) based NPB results for IBM SP2 Wide Nodes, HP/Convex Exemplar SPP2000, and SGI/CRAY T3D. These results have been submitted by Applied Parallel Research (APR) and Portland Group Inc. (PGI). We also present sustained performance per dollar for Class B LU, SP and BT benchmarks.

  13. Performance Analysis of the NAS Y-MP Workload

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bergeron, Robert J.; Kutler, Paul (Technical Monitor)

    1997-01-01

    This paper describes the performance characteristics of the computational workloads on the NAS Cray Y-MP machines, a Y-MP 832 and later a Y-MP 8128. Hardware measurements indicated that the Y-MP workload performance matured over time, ultimately sustaining an average throughput of 0.8 GFLOPS and a vector operation fraction of 87%. The measurements also revealed an operation rate exceeding 1 per clock period, a well-balanced architecture featuring a strong utilization of vector functional units, and an efficient memory organization. Introduction of the larger memory 8128 increased throughput by allowing a more efficient utilization of CPUs. Throughput also depended on the metering of the batch queues; low-idle Saturday workloads required a buffer of small jobs to prevent memory starvation of the CPU. UNICOS required about 7% of total CPU time to service the 832 workloads; this overhead decreased to 5% for the 8128 workloads. While most of the system time went to service I/O requests, efficient scheduling prevented excessive idle due to I/O wait. System measurements disclosed no obvious bottlenecks in the response of the machine and UNICOS to the workloads. In most cases, Cray-provided software tools were- quite sufficient for measuring the performance of both the machine and operating, system.

  14. High-density linkage mapping and evolution of paralogs and orthologs in Salix and Populus

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background Salix (willow) and Populus (poplar) are members of the Salicaceae family and they share many ecological as well as genetic and genomic characteristics. The interest of using willow for biomass production is growing, which has resulted in increased pressure on breeding of high yielding and resistant clones adapted to different environments. The main purpose of this work was to develop dense genetic linkage maps for mapping of traits related to yield and resistance in willow. We used the Populus trichocarpa genome to extract evenly spaced markers and mapped the orthologous loci in the willow genome. The marker positions in the two genomes were used to study genome evolution since the divergence of the two lineages some 45 mya. Results We constructed two linkage maps covering the 19 linkage groups in willow. The most detailed consensus map, S1, contains 495 markers with a total genetic distance of 2477 cM and an average distance of 5.0 cM between the markers. The S3 consensus map contains 221 markers and has a total genetic distance of 1793 cM and an average distance of 8.1 cM between the markers. We found high degree of synteny and gene order conservation between willow and poplar. There is however evidence for two major interchromosomal rearrangements involving poplar LG I and XVI and willow LG Ib, suggesting a fission or a fusion in one of the lineages, as well as five intrachromosomal inversions. The number of silent substitutions were three times lower (median: 0.12) between orthologs than between paralogs (median: 0.37 - 0.41). Conclusions The relatively slow rates of genomic change between willow and poplar mean that the genomic resources in poplar will be most useful in genomic research in willow, such as identifying genes underlying QTLs of important traits. Our data suggest that the whole-genome duplication occurred long before the divergence of the two genera, events which have until now been regarded as contemporary. Estimated silent

  15. Intelligence in the Now: Robust Intelligence in Complex Domains

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-09-26

    We have applied our model and the resulting search strategy for a mobile manipulator modeled on a Willow Garage PR2 robot. As shown in Figure 12...with them – the robot tries to move a handle to various target locations and observes the reached location. Figure 13 shows Willow Garage PR2 robot...Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA barragan@mit.edu, tlp@mit.edu, lpk@mit.edu Fig. 1. Willow Garage PR2 robot manipulating

  16. 75 FR 5073 - Alabama Power Company; Notice of Application for Amendment of License and Soliciting Comments...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-02-01

    ... facilities associated with the Willow Glynn at Willow Point residential subdivision. These facilities include 2 floating docks, with 16 double-slips each, a wooden pedestrian bridge, a wooden boardwalk along 1...

  17. [Scientific and practical activity of the Department of Muscle Biochemistry of the Palladin Institute of Biochemistry of NAS of Ukraine].

    PubMed

    Vynogradova, R P; Danilova, V M; Yurasova, S P

    2017-01-01

    The article focuses on scientific and practical activity of the Department of Muscle Biochemistry of the Palladin Institute of Biochemistry of NAS of Ukraine in the context of its foundation and development. Main findings and practical achievements in the area of muscle biochemistry are summarized and discussed.

  18. EPA's Reanalysis of Key Issues Related to Dioxin Toxicity and Response to NAS Comments (Volume 1) (Interagency Science Discussion Draft)

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA is releasing the draft report, EPA's Reanalysis of Key Issues Related to Dioxin Toxicity and Response to NAS Comments (Volume 1), that was distributed to Federal agencies and White House Offices for comment during the Science Discussion step of the Serious Gaming for Test & Evaluation of Clean-Slate (Ab Initio) National Airspace System (NAS) Designs

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Allen, B. Danette; Alexandrov, Natalia

    2016-01-01

    Incremental approaches to air transportation system development inherit current architectural constraints, which, in turn, place hard bounds on system capacity, efficiency of performance, and complexity. To enable airspace operations of the future, a clean-slate (ab initio) airspace design(s) must be considered. This ab initio National Airspace System (NAS) must be capable of accommodating increased traffic density, a broader diversity of aircraft, and on-demand mobility. System and subsystem designs should scale to accommodate the inevitable demand for airspace services that include large numbers of autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and a paradigm shift in general aviation (e.g., personal air vehicles) in addition to more traditional aerial vehicles such as commercial jetliners and weather balloons. The complex and adaptive nature of ab initio designs for the future NAS requires new approaches to validation, adding a significant physical experimentation component to analytical and simulation tools. In addition to software modeling and simulation, the ability to exercise system solutions in a flight environment will be an essential aspect of validation. The NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) Autonomy Incubator seeks to develop a flight simulation infrastructure for ab initio modeling and simulation that assumes no specific NAS architecture and models vehicle-to-vehicle behavior to examine interactions and emergent behaviors among hundreds of intelligent aerial agents exhibiting collaborative, cooperative, coordinative, selfish, and malicious behaviors. The air transportation system of the future will be a complex adaptive system (CAS) characterized by complex and sometimes unpredictable (or unpredicted) behaviors that result from temporal and spatial interactions among large numbers of participants. A CAS not only evolves with a changing environment and adapts to it, it is closely coupled to all systems that constitute the environment. Thus, the ecosystem that

  19. Stream restoration at Denali National Park and Preserve

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Densmore, Roseann V.; Karle, Kenneth F.

    1999-01-01

    Placer mining for gold has severely disturbed many riparian ecosystems in northern regions. We are conducting a long-term project to test methods to promote restoration of a placer-mined watershed in Denali National Park and Preserve. The project included hydrological restoration of the unstable and excessively confined stream with heavy equipment. We stabilized the floodplain with bioengineering techniques, including alder and willow brush bars anchored laterally to the channel and willow cuttings along the channel. A moderate flood near the end of construction showed that the brush bars provided substantial protection, but some bank erosion and changes in slope and sinuosity occurred. Subsequent refinements included greater sinuosity and channel depth, pool/riffie construction with stone weirs, and buried alder and willow brush projecting from the bank. The reconstructed stream and floodplain have remained stable for five years, but have not been re-tested by a another large flood. The willow/alder riparian plant community is naturally revegetating on the new floodplains, but vigorous willows which sprouted from branches in brush bars and banks still provide the erosion protection.