Storage and stability of mineral-associated soil organic matter pools in genetic horizons of harvested coniferous forest soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gabriel, C. E.; Kellman, L. M.; Ziegler, S.

2016-12-01

Mineral soil organic matter (SOM) is associated with a suite of secondary minerals that can confer stability, resulting in the potential for long-term storage of carbon (C). Not all interactions impart the same level of stability, however; evidence is suggesting that SOM in certain mineral phases is dynamic and vulnerable to soil disturbance, such as forest harvesting. The objective of this research was to characterize SOM-mineral interactions in horizons of harvested soils of contrasting stand age. Sequential selective dissolutions representing increasingly stable SOM pools from soluble minerals (deionized water (DI)), non-crystalline (Na-pyrophosphate), poorly-crystalline minerals (HCl hydroxylamine), to crystalline secondary minerals (Na-dithionite HCl)) were carried out for Ae, Bf and BC horizons sampled from a young and mature forest site (35 and 110 years post-harvest) in Mooseland, Nova Scotia, Canada. Selective dissolution extracts were analyzed for dissolved organic carbon (DOC), its δ13C, Fe and Al. Initial isotopic analysis indicates that separate operational SOM pools were isolated: δ13C values of pyrophosphate-extracted non-crystalline (NC) phases were -27 to -28‰, similar to δ13C of bulk C and to plant-derived humic acids and fungal biomass, whereas the δ13C of DI extracts were more depleted in 13C (1-2 ‰). These SOM pools retained their isotopic signature through depth despite an enrichment in bulk SOM δ13C. NC dominated the C distribution for all horizons, followed by poorly crystalline (PC) minerals, and the C content of these two phases explained the variation in bulk C, while C in crystalline pools were similar for the two sites through depth. The mature site had twice as much C in the NC pool as the young site in the Bf horizons, supported by higher C/Fe+Al ratios, suggesting a change in loading following harvesting. Despite the destabilizing processes that occur with forest harvesting and evidence for the increased destabilization of NC and PC pools of SOM, those pools associated with crystalline OM remain stable, suggesting that the nature of mineral-SOM binding determines its stability and therefore its potential for long-term storage.

Vertical Stability of Ephemeral Step-Pool Streams Largely Controlled By Tree Roots, Central Kentucky, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macmannis, K. R.; Hawley, R. J.

2013-12-01

The mechanisms controlling stability on small streams in steep settings are not well documented but have many implications related to stream integrity and water quality. For example, channel instability on first and second order streams is a potential source of sediment in regulated areas with Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) on water bodies that are impaired for sedimentation, such as the Chesapeake Bay. Management strategies that preserve stream integrity and protect channel stability are critical to communities that may otherwise require large capital investments to meet TMDLs and other water quality criteria. To contribute to an improved understanding of ephemeral step-pool systems, we collected detailed hydrogeomorphic data on 4 steep (0.06 - 0.12 meter/meter) headwater streams draining to lower relief alluvial valleys in Spencer County, Kentucky, USA. The step-pool streams (mean step height of 0.47 meter, mean step spacing of 4 meters) drained small undeveloped catchments dominated by early successional forest. Data collection for each of the 4 streams included 2 to 3 cross section surveys, bed material particle counts at cross section locations, and profile surveys ranging from approximately 125 to 225 meters in length. All survey data was systematically processed to understand geometric parameters such as cross sectional area, depth, and top width; bed material gradations; and detailed profile measurements such as slope, pool and riffle lengths, pool spacing, pool depth, step height, and step length. We documented the location, frequency, and type of step-forming materials (i.e., large woody debris (LWD), rock, and tree roots), compiling a database of approximately 130 total steps. Lastly, we recorded a detailed tree assessment of all trees located within 2 meters of the top of bank, detailing the species of tree, trunk diameter, and approximate distance from the top of bank. Analysis of geometric parameters illustrated correlations between channel characteristics (e.g., step height was positively correlated to slope while pool spacing was inversely correlated to slope). Most importantly, we assessed the step-forming materials with respect to channel stability. LWD has been widely documented as an important component of geomorphic stability and habitat diversity across many settings; however, our research highlights the importance of roots in providing bed stability in steep, first and second-order ephemeral streams, as 40 percent of the steps in these step-pool systems were controlled by tree roots. Similar to the key member in naturally-occurring log jams, lateral tree roots frequently served as the anchor for channel steps that were often supplemented by rocks or LWD. Assessment of the trees throughout the riparian zone suggested average tree densities of 0.30 trees/square meter or 0.40 trees/meter could provide adequate riparian zone coverage to promote channel stability. These results have implications to land use planning and stormwater management. For example, on developments draining to step-pool systems, maintaining the integrity of the riparian zone would seem to be as important as ensuring hydrologic mimicry if channel integrity is to be preserved.

HPLC DETERMINATION OF CYANURIC ACID IN SWIMMING POOL WATERS USING PHENYL AND CONFIRMATORY POROUS GRAPHITIC CARBON COLUMNS

EPA Science Inventory

The chlorinated salts of cyanuric acid have found an important role in recreational swimming pool waters across the United States. Upon application to pool water, they can (1) release disinfectant chlorine or (2) stabilize the free available chlorine by acting as chlorine reserv...

Sensitivity of Deep Soil Organic Carbon Age to Sorption, Transport and Microbial Interactions - Insights from a Calibrated Process Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahrens, B.; Schrumpf, M.; Reichstein, M.

2013-12-01

Subsoil soil organic carbon (SOC) is characterized by conventional radiocarbon ages on the order of centuries to millennia. Most vertically explicit SOC turnover models represent this persistence of deep SOC by one pool that has millennial turnover times. This approach lumps different stabilizing mechanisms such as chemical recalcitrance, sorptive stabilization and energy limitation into a single rate constant. As an alternative, we present a continuous, vertically explicit SOC decomposition model that allows for stabilization via sorption and microbial interactions (COMISSION model). We compare the COMISSION model with the SOC profile of a Haplic Podzol under a Norway spruce forest. In the COMISSION model two pools receive aboveground litter input and vertically distributed root litter input. The readily leachable and soluble fraction of litter input enters a dissolved organic carbon pool (DOC), while the rest enters the residue pool which represents polymeric, non-soluble SOC. The residue pool is depolymerized with extracellular enzymes produced by a microbial pool to enter the DOC pool which represents SOC potentially available for assimilation by microbes. The adsorption/desorption of DOC from/to mineral surfaces controls the availability of carbon in the DOC pool for assimilatory uptake by microbes. The sorption of DOC is modeled with dynamic Langmuir equations. The desorbed part of the DOC pool not only constitutes the substrate for the microbial pool, but is also transported via advection. Interactions of microbes with the residue and DOC pool are modeled with Michaelis-Menten kinetics - this not only allows representing ';priming', but also the retardation of decomposition via energy limitation in the deep soil where substrate is scarce. Further, soil organic matter is recycled within the soil profile through microbial processing - dead microbes either enter the DOC or the residue pool, and thereby also contribute to longer residence times with soil depth. First results of a calibration against SOC, SO14C, MOC and MO14C profiles (mineral associated organic carbon, density fraction >1.6 g cm-3) of a Haplic Podzol of the Waldstein site (Germany) show that we can use the maximum sorption capacity (qmax) estimated from batch sorption experiments to parameterize the dynamic Langmuir sorption equation. qmax could potentially be extrapolated to other soil profiles based on relations to iron and aluminum oxide contents. Although we are able to capture the secondary maximum of SOC contents in the Bh horizon with qmax from batch sorption experiments, our results indicate that the adsorption and desorption rates retrieved from batch sorption experiments are too fast to explain the low Δ14C values of the MOC. This could point to other processes apart from DOC sorption that trigger stabilization by organo-mineral associations with a stronger apparent irreversibility (e.g. inclusion in small pores). Alternatively, the conditions of batch sorption experiments (constant shaking in centrifuge tubes) might not be representative for in situ sorption conditions. Overall, we show how effective decomposition rates and 14C ages readily emerge from a combination of known stabilizing and destabilizing mechanisms and we discuss how to identify these processes with a model-data fusion framework.

Body Mass Index (BMI) and All-Cause Mortality Pooling Project

Cancer.gov

The BMI and All-Cause Mortality Pooling Project quantified the risk associated with being overweight and the extent to which the relationship between BMI and all-cause mortality varies by certain factors.

Insights into soil carbon dynamics across climatic and geologic gradients from time-series and fraction-specific radiocarbon analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Voort, Tessa Sophia; Hagedorn, Frank; Zell, Claudia; McIntyre, Cameron; Eglinton, Tim

2016-04-01

Understanding the interaction between soil organic matter (SOM) and climatic, geologic and ecological factors is essential for the understanding of potential susceptibility and vulnerability to climate and land use change. Radiocarbon constitutes a powerful tool for unraveling SOM dynamics and is increasingly used in studies of carbon turnover. The complex and inherently heterogeneous nature of SOM renders it challenging to assess the processes that govern SOM stability by solely looking at the bulk signature on a plot-scale level. This project combines bulk radiocarbon measurements on a regional-scale spanning wide climatic and geologic gradients with a more in-depth approach for a subset of locations. For this subset, time-series and carbon pool-specific radiocarbon data has been acquired for both topsoil and deeper soils. These well-studied sites are part of the Long-Term Forest Ecosystem Research (LWF) program of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape research (WSL). Statistical analysis was performed to examine relationships of radiocarbon signatures with variables such as temperature, precipitation and elevation. Bomb-curve modeling was applied determine carbon turnover using time-series data. Results indicate that (1) there is no significant correlation between Δ14C signature and environmental conditions except a weak positive correlation with mean annual temperature, (2) vertical gradients in Δ14C signatures in surface and deeper soils are highly similar despite covering disparate soil-types and climatic systems, and (3) radiocarbon signatures vary significantly between time-series samples and carbon pools. Overall, this study provides a uniquely comprehensive dataset that allows for a better understanding of links between carbon dynamics and environmental settings, as well as for pool-specific and long-term trends in carbon (de)stabilization.

Leveraging Resources to Address Transportation Needs: Transportation Pooled Fund Program

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-05-28

This brochure describes the Transportation Pooled Fund (TPF) Program. The objectives of the TPF Program are to leverage resources, avoid duplication of effort, undertake large-scale projects, obtain greater input on project definition, achieve broade...

13 CFR 120.801 - How a 504 Project is financed.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... businesses may apply for 504 financing through a CDC serving the area where the 504 Project is located. SBA... with the proceeds of a CDC Debenture for up to 40 percent of the Project costs and certain... Pools and receive Certificates representing ownership of all or part of a Debenture Pool. SBA and CDCs...

13 CFR 120.801 - How a 504 Project is financed.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... businesses may apply for 504 financing through a CDC serving the area where the 504 Project is located. SBA... with the proceeds of a CDC Debenture for up to 40 percent of the Project costs and certain... Pools and receive Certificates representing ownership of all or part of a Debenture Pool. SBA and CDCs...

13 CFR 120.801 - How a 504 Project is financed.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... businesses may apply for 504 financing through a CDC serving the area where the 504 Project is located. SBA... with the proceeds of a CDC Debenture for up to 40 percent of the Project costs and certain... Pools and receive Certificates representing ownership of all or part of a Debenture Pool. SBA and CDCs...

13 CFR 120.801 - How a 504 Project is financed.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... businesses may apply for 504 financing through a CDC serving the area where the 504 Project is located. SBA... with the proceeds of a CDC Debenture for up to 40 percent of the Project costs and certain... Pools and receive Certificates representing ownership of all or part of a Debenture Pool. SBA and CDCs...

13 CFR 120.801 - How a 504 Project is financed.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... businesses may apply for 504 financing through a CDC serving the area where the 504 Project is located. SBA... with the proceeds of a CDC Debenture for up to 40 percent of the Project costs and certain... Pools and receive Certificates representing ownership of all or part of a Debenture Pool. SBA and CDCs...

Mapping soil carbon from cradle to grave: drafting a molecular blueprint for C transformation from roots to stabilized soil organic C

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

Firestone, Mary

The soil surrounding plant roots, the rhizosphere, has long been recognized as a zone of great functional importance to plants and the terrestrial ecosystems they inhabit. The primary objective of this research project was to determine how organic carbon (C) decomposition and stabilization processes in soil are impacted by the interactions between plant roots and the soil microbial community. The project addressed three hypotheses: H1: The microbiomes of the rhizosphere and detritosphere undergo a functional succession driven by the molecular composition and quantity of root-derived C. H2: Elevated CO 2 impacts the function and succession of rhizosphere communities thus alteringmore » the fate of root-derived C. H3: Microbial metabolism of root derived C is a critical controller of the accumulation of organic C in the mineral-associated soil pool. Researchers combined stable isotope approaches with metagenomic analyses in order to map the flow of C from roots to specific organisms within the rhizosphere. These analyses allowed us to assess the metabolic capabilities and functional profiles of the organisms using root carbon.« less

Controls on terrestrial carbon feedbacks by productivity versus turnover in the CMIP5 Earth System Models

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

Koven, C. D.; Chambers, J. Q.; Georgiou, K.

To better understand sources of uncertainty in projections of terrestrial carbon cycle feedbacks, we present an approach to separate the controls on modeled carbon changes. We separate carbon changes into four categories using a linearized, equilibrium approach: those arising from changed inputs (productivity-driven changes), and outputs (turnover-driven changes), of both the live and dead carbon pools. Using Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) simulations for five models, we find that changes to the live pools are primarily explained by productivity-driven changes, with only one model showing large compensating changes to live carbon turnover times. For dead carbon pools, themore » situation is more complex as all models predict a large reduction in turnover times in response to increases in productivity. This response arises from the common representation of a broad spectrum of decomposition turnover times via a multi-pool approach, in which flux-weighted turnover times are faster than mass-weighted turnover times. This leads to a shift in the distribution of carbon among dead pools in response to changes in inputs, and therefore a transient but long-lived reduction in turnover times. Since this behavior, a reduction in inferred turnover times resulting from an increase in inputs, is superficially similar to priming processes, but occurring without the mechanisms responsible for priming, we call the phenomenon "false priming", and show that it masks much of the intrinsic changes to dead carbon turnover times as a result of changing climate. These patterns hold across the fully coupled, biogeochemically coupled, and radiatively coupled 1 % yr −1 increasing CO 2 experiments. We disaggregate inter-model uncertainty in the globally integrated equilibrium carbon responses to initial turnover times, initial productivity, fractional changes in turnover, and fractional changes in productivity. For both the live and dead carbon pools, inter-model spread in carbon changes arising from initial conditions is dominated by model disagreement on turnover times, whereas inter-model spread in carbon changes from fractional changes to these terms is dominated by model disagreement on changes to productivity in response to both warming and CO 2 fertilization. However, the lack of changing turnover time control on carbon responses, for both live and dead carbon pools, in response to the imposed forcings may arise from a common lack of process representation behind changing turnover times (e.g., allocation and mortality for live carbon; permafrost, microbial dynamics, and mineral stabilization for dead carbon), rather than a true estimate of the importance of these processes.« less

Controls on terrestrial carbon feedbacks by productivity versus turnover in the CMIP5 Earth System Models

DOE PAGES

Koven, C. D.; Chambers, J. Q.; Georgiou, K.; ...

2015-09-07

To better understand sources of uncertainty in projections of terrestrial carbon cycle feedbacks, we present an approach to separate the controls on modeled carbon changes. We separate carbon changes into four categories using a linearized, equilibrium approach: those arising from changed inputs (productivity-driven changes), and outputs (turnover-driven changes), of both the live and dead carbon pools. Using Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) simulations for five models, we find that changes to the live pools are primarily explained by productivity-driven changes, with only one model showing large compensating changes to live carbon turnover times. For dead carbon pools, themore » situation is more complex as all models predict a large reduction in turnover times in response to increases in productivity. This response arises from the common representation of a broad spectrum of decomposition turnover times via a multi-pool approach, in which flux-weighted turnover times are faster than mass-weighted turnover times. This leads to a shift in the distribution of carbon among dead pools in response to changes in inputs, and therefore a transient but long-lived reduction in turnover times. Since this behavior, a reduction in inferred turnover times resulting from an increase in inputs, is superficially similar to priming processes, but occurring without the mechanisms responsible for priming, we call the phenomenon "false priming", and show that it masks much of the intrinsic changes to dead carbon turnover times as a result of changing climate. These patterns hold across the fully coupled, biogeochemically coupled, and radiatively coupled 1 % yr −1 increasing CO 2 experiments. We disaggregate inter-model uncertainty in the globally integrated equilibrium carbon responses to initial turnover times, initial productivity, fractional changes in turnover, and fractional changes in productivity. For both the live and dead carbon pools, inter-model spread in carbon changes arising from initial conditions is dominated by model disagreement on turnover times, whereas inter-model spread in carbon changes from fractional changes to these terms is dominated by model disagreement on changes to productivity in response to both warming and CO 2 fertilization. However, the lack of changing turnover time control on carbon responses, for both live and dead carbon pools, in response to the imposed forcings may arise from a common lack of process representation behind changing turnover times (e.g., allocation and mortality for live carbon; permafrost, microbial dynamics, and mineral stabilization for dead carbon), rather than a true estimate of the importance of these processes.« less

NREL-Led Efforts Help Bring Financing to Solar Projects - Continuum

Science.gov Websites

public investment in solar power? "There's a large pool of money that does not invest in renewable Michael Mendelsohn. To help connect that pool of money with the solar projects that need low-cost

WATER INGESTION DURING SWIMMING ACTIVITIES IN A POOL: A PILOT STUDY

EPA Science Inventory

Chloroisocyanurates are commonly added to outdoor swimming pools to stabilize chlorine disinfectants. The chloroisocyanurates decompose slowly to release chlorine and cyanuric acid. Studies conducted to determine if the chloroisocyanurates might be toxic to swimmers showed that...

Beyond clay: Towards an improved set of variables for predicting soil organic matter content

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rasmussen, Craig; Heckman, Katherine; Wieder, William R.; Keiluweit, Marco; Lawrence, Corey R.; Berhe, Asmeret Asefaw; Blankinship, Joseph C.; Crow, Susan E.; Druhan, Jennifer; Hicks Pries, Caitlin E.; Marin-Spiotta, Erika; Plante, Alain F.; Schadel, Christina; Schmiel, Joshua P.; Sierra, Carlos A.; Thompson, Aaron; Wagai, Rota

2018-01-01

Improved quantification of the factors controlling soil organic matter (SOM) stabilization at continental to global scales is needed to inform projections of the largest actively cycling terrestrial carbon pool on Earth, and its response to environmental change. Biogeochemical models rely almost exclusively on clay content to modify rates of SOM turnover and fluxes of climate-active CO2 to the atmosphere. Emerging conceptual understanding, however, suggests other soil physicochemical properties may predict SOM stabilization better than clay content. We addressed this discrepancy by synthesizing data from over 5,500 soil profiles spanning continental scale environmental gradients. Here, we demonstrate that other physicochemical parameters are much stronger predictors of SOM content, with clay content having relatively little explanatory power. We show that exchangeable calcium strongly predicted SOM content in water-limited, alkaline soils, whereas with increasing moisture availability and acidity, iron- and aluminum-oxyhydroxides emerged as better predictors, demonstrating that the relative importance of SOM stabilization mechanisms scales with climate and acidity. These results highlight the urgent need to modify biogeochemical models to better reflect the role of soil physicochemical properties in SOM cycling.

Investigation of wintertime cold-air pools and aerosol layers in the Salt Lake Valley using a lidar ceilometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, Joseph Swyler

This thesis investigates the utility of lidar ceilometers, a type of aerosol lidar, in improving the understanding of meteorology and air quality in persistent wintertime stable boundary layers, or cold-air pools, that form in urbanized valley and basin topography. This thesis reviews the scientific literature to survey the present knowledge of persistent cold-air pools, the operating principles of lidar ceilometers, and their demonstrated utility in meteorological investigations. Lidar ceilometer data from the Persistent Cold-Air Pool Study (PCAPS) are then used with meteorological and air quality data from other in situ and remote sensing equipment to investigate cold-air pools that formed in Utah's Salt Lake Valley during the winter of 2010-2011. The lidar ceilometer is shown to accurately measure aerosol layer depth and aerosol loading, when compared to visual observations. A linear relationship is found between low-level lidar backscatter and surface particulate measurements. Convective boundary layer lidar analysis techniques applied to cold-air pool ceilometer profiles can detect useful layer characteristics. Fine-scale waves are observed and analyzed within the aerosol layer, with emphasis on Kelvin-Helmholz waves. Ceilometer aerosol backscatter profiles are analyzed to quantify and describe mixing processes in persistent cold-air pools. Overlays of other remote and in-situ observations are combined with ceilometer particle backscatter to describe specific events during PCAPS. This analysis describes the relationship between the aerosol layer and the valley inversion as well as interactions with large-scale meteorology. The ceilometer observations of hydrometers are used to quantify cloudiness and precipitation during the project, observing that 50% of hours when a PCAP was present had clouds or precipitation below 5 km above ground level (AGL). Then, combining an objective technique for determining hourly aerosol layer depths and correcting this subjectively during periods with low clouds or precipitation, a time series of aerosol depths was obtained. The mean depth of the surface-based aerosol layer during PCAP events was 1861 m MSL with a standard deviation of 135 m. The aerosol layer depth, given the approximate 1300 m altitude of the valley floor, is thus about 550 m, about 46% of the basin depth. The aerosol layer is present during much of the winter and is removed only during strong or prolonged precipitation periods or when surface winds are strong. Nocturnal fogs that formed near the end of high-stability PCAP episodes had a limited effect on aerosol layer depth. Aerosol layer depth was relatively invariant during the winter and during the persistent cold-air pools, while PM10 concentrations at the valley floor varied with bulk atmospheric stability associated primarily with passage of large-scale high- and low-pressure weather systems. PM10 concentrations also increased with cold-air pool duration. Mean aerosol loading in the surface-based aerosol layer, as determined from ceilometer backscatter coefficients, showed weaker variations than those of surface PM10 concentrations, suggesting that ineffective vertical mixing and aerosol layering are present in the cold-air pools. This is supported by higher time-resolution backscatter data, and it distinguishes the persistent cold-air pools from well-mixed convective boundary layers where ground-based air pollution concentrations are closely related to time-dependent convective boundary layer/aerosol depths. These results are discussed along with recommendations for future explorations of the ceilometer and cold-air pool topics.

Does the projected pathway to global warming targets matter?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bärring, Lars; Strandberg, Gustav

2018-02-01

Since the ‘Paris agreement’ in 2015 there has been much focus on what a +1.5 °C or +2 °C warmer world would look like. Since the focus lies on policy relevant global warming targets, or specific warming levels (SWLs), rather than a specific point in time, projections are pooled together to form SWL ensembles based on the target temperature rather than emission scenario. This study uses an ensemble of CMIP5 global model projections to analyse how well SWL ensembles represent the stabilized climate of global warming targets. The results show that the SWL ensembles exhibit significant trends that reflect the transient nature of the RCP scenarios. These trends have clear effect on the timing and clustering of monthly cold and hot extremes, even though the effect on the temperature of the extreme months is less visible. In many regions there is a link between choice of RCP scenario used in the SWL ensemble and climate change signal in the highest monthly temperatures. In other regions there is no such clear-cut link. From this we conclude that comprehensive analyses of what prospects the different global warming targets bring about will require stabilization scenarios. Awaiting such targeted scenarios we suggest that prudent use of SWL scenarios, taking their characteristics and limitations into account, may serve as reasonable proxies in many situations.

Backwater control on riffle pool hydraulics, fish habitat quality, and sediment transport regime in gravel-bed rivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pasternack, Gregory B.; Bounrisavong, Michael K.; Parikh, Kaushal K.

2008-07-01

SummaryThe importance of channel non-uniformity to natural hydrogeomorphic and ecological processes in gravel-bed rivers is becoming increasingly known, but its use in channel rehabilitation lags behind. Many projects still use methods that assume steady, uniform flow and simple channel geometries. One aspect of channel non-uniformity that has not been considered much is its role in controlling backwater conditions and thus potentially influencing patterns of physical habitat and channel stability in sequences of riffles and pools. In this study, 2D hydrodynamic models of two non-uniform pool-riffle-pool configurations were used to systematically explore the effects of four different downstream water surface elevations at three different discharges (24 total simulations) on riffle-pool ecohydraulics. Downstream water surface elevations tested included backwater, uniform, accelerating, and critical conditions, which are naturally set by downstream riffle-crest morphology but may also be re-engineered artificially. Discharges included a fish-spawning low flow, summer fish-attraction flow, and a peak snowmelt pulse. It was found that the occurrence of a significant area of high-quality fish spawning habitat at low flow depends on riffles being imposed upon by backwater conditions, which also delay the onset of full bed mobility on riffles during floods. The assumption of steady, uniform flow was found to be inappropriate for gravel-bed rivers, since their non-uniformity controls spatial patterns of habitat and sediment transport. Also, model results indicated that a "reverse domino" mechanism can explain catastrophic failure and re-organization of a sequence of riffles based on the water surface elevation response to scour on downstream riffles, which then increases scour on upstream riffles.

Morphology of drying blood pools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laan, Nick; Smith, Fiona; Nicloux, Celine; Brutin, David; D-Blood project Collaboration

2016-11-01

Often blood pools are found on crime scenes providing information concerning the events and sequence of events that took place on the scene. However, there is a lack of knowledge concerning the drying dynamics of blood pools. This study focuses on the drying process of blood pools to determine what relevant information can be obtained for the forensic application. We recorded the drying process of blood pools with a camera and measured the weight. We found that the drying process can be separated into five different: coagulation, gelation, rim desiccation, centre desiccation, and final desiccation. Moreover, we found that the weight of the blood pool diminishes similarly and in a reproducible way for blood pools created in various conditions. In addition, we verify that the size of the blood pools is directly related to its volume and the wettability of the surface. Our study clearly shows that blood pools dry in a reproducible fashion. This preliminary work highlights the difficult task that represents blood pool analysis in forensic investigations, and how internal and external parameters influence its dynamics. We conclude that understanding the drying process dynamics would be advancement in timeline reconstitution of events. ANR funded project: D-Blood Project.

Private purchasing pools to harness individual tax credits for consumers.

PubMed

Curtis, R E; Neuschler, E; Forland, R

2001-01-01

While health insurance tax credits could help people who otherwise could not afford to purchase coverage, many might still find individual coverage too expensive and its marketplace dynamics bewildering. As an alternative, this paper outlines an approach using private purchasing pools for tax-credit recipients. The objective is to offer these individuals and families a choice among competing health plans, and provide many of the same advantages enjoyed by workers in large employer groups, such as relatively low administrative costs, no health rating, and an effective "sponsor." Some express optimism that private pools will emerge naturally and thrive as an option for individual tax-credit recipients. However, adverse selection and other individual health insurance market forces make this a dubious prospect. The approach presented here gives purchasing pools the same tool employer groups use to maintain stability and cohesion--a significant contribution that cannot be used elsewhere. The ability to offer health plans exclusive access to a sizable new, previously uninsured clientele--tax-credit recipients-would enable purchasing pools to attract health plan participation and thus overcome one major reason several state-directed pools for small employers have failed. To avoid other pitfalls, the paper also suggests private pool structures, as well as federal and state roles that seek to balance objectives for market innovation and choice with those for coverage-source stability and efficiency.

Transformation kinetics of corn and clover residues in mineral substrates of different composition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pinskii, D. L.; Maltseva, A. N.; Zolotareva, B. N.; Dmitrieva, E. D.

2017-06-01

Mineralization kinetics of corn and clover residues in quartz sand, loam, sand + 15% bentonite, and sand + 30% kaolinite have been studied. A scheme has been proposed for the transformation of plant residues in mineral substrates. Kinetic parameters of mineralization have been calculated with the use of a first-order two-term exponential polynomial. It has been shown that the share of labile organic carbon pool in the clover biomass is higher (57-63%) than in the corn biomass (47-49%), which is related to the biochemical composition of plant residues. The mineralization constants of clover residues generally significantly exceed those of corn because of the stronger stabilization of the decomposition products of corn residues. The turnover time of the labile clover pool (4-9 days) in all substrates and that of the labile corn pool (8-10 days) in sands and substrates containing kaolinites and bentonite are typical for organic acids, amino acids, and simple sugars. In the loamy substrate, the turnover time of labile corn pool is about 46 days due to the stronger stabilization of components of the labile pool containing large amounts of organic acids. The turnover time of the stable clover pool (0.95 years) is significantly lower than that of the stable corn pool (1.60 years) and largely corresponds to the turnover time of plant biomass.

Spatially dependent responses of a large-river fish assemblage to bank stabilization and side channels

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reinhold, Ann Marie; Bramblett, Robert G.; Zale, Alexander V.; Poole, Geoffrey C.; Roberts, David W.

2017-01-01

The alteration of rivers by anthropogenic bank stabilization to prevent the erosion of economically valuable lands and structures has become commonplace. However, such alteration has ambiguous consequences for fish assemblages, especially in large rivers. Because most large, temperate rivers have impoundments, it can be difficult to separate the influences of bank stabilization structures from those of main-stem impoundments, especially because both stabilization structures and impoundments can cause side-channel loss. Few large rivers are free flowing and retain extensive side channels, but the Yellowstone River (our study area) is one such river. We hypothesized that in this river (1) bank stabilization has changed fish assemblage structure by altering habitats, (2) side-channel availability has influenced fish assemblage structure by providing habitat heterogeneity, and (3) the influences of bank stabilization and side channels on fish assemblages were spatially scale dependent. We developed a spatially explicit framework to test these hypotheses. Fish assemblage structure varied with the extent of bank stabilization and the availability of side channels; however, not all assemblage subsets were influenced. Nevertheless, bank stabilization and side channels had different and sometimes opposite influences on the fish assemblage. The effects of side channels on fish were more consistent and widespread than those of bank stabilization; the catches of more fishes were positively correlated with side-channel availability than with the extent of bank stabilization. The influences of bank stabilization and side channels on the relative abundances of fish also varied, depending on species and river bend geomorphology. The variation in river morphology probably contributed to the assemblage differences between stabilized and reference river bends; stabilized alluvial pools were deeper than reference alluvial pools, but the depths of stabilized and reference bluff pools did not differ. The strengths of the relationships among fish assemblages, bank stabilization, and side channels were spatially scale dependent; optimum spatial scales ranged from less than 200 m to 3,200 m up- and downstream, suggesting that bank stabilization and side channels influenced fish assemblages across multiple spatial scales.

IDENTIFICATION OF DISINFECTION BY-PRODUCTS IN SWIMMING POOL WATER

EPA Science Inventory

In order to kill harmful pathogens, swimming pool water is treated with a disinfectant, such as chlorine or ozone. One of the most commonly used disinfectants is stabilized chlorine (typically trichloro-S-triazinetrione). Trichloro-S-triazinetrione reacts in water to form one m...

Stability and Scalability of the CMS Global Pool: Pushing HTCondor and GlideinWMS to New Limits

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

Balcas, J.; Bockelman, B.; Hufnagel, D.

The CMS Global Pool, based on HTCondor and glideinWMS, is the main computing resource provisioning system for all CMS workflows, including analysis, Monte Carlo production, and detector data reprocessing activities. The total resources at Tier-1 and Tier-2 grid sites pledged to CMS exceed 100,000 CPU cores, while another 50,000 to 100,000 CPU cores are available opportunistically, pushing the needs of the Global Pool to higher scales each year. These resources are becoming more diverse in their accessibility and configuration over time. Furthermore, the challenge of stably running at higher and higher scales while introducing new modes of operation such asmore » multi-core pilots, as well as the chaotic nature of physics analysis workflows, places huge strains on the submission infrastructure. This paper details some of the most important challenges to scalability and stability that the CMS Global Pool has faced since the beginning of the LHC Run II and how they were overcome.« less

Stability and scalability of the CMS Global Pool: Pushing HTCondor and glideinWMS to new limits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balcas, J.; Bockelman, B.; Hufnagel, D.; Hurtado Anampa, K.; Aftab Khan, F.; Larson, K.; Letts, J.; Marra da Silva, J.; Mascheroni, M.; Mason, D.; Perez-Calero Yzquierdo, A.; Tiradani, A.

2017-10-01

The CMS Global Pool, based on HTCondor and glideinWMS, is the main computing resource provisioning system for all CMS workflows, including analysis, Monte Carlo production, and detector data reprocessing activities. The total resources at Tier-1 and Tier-2 grid sites pledged to CMS exceed 100,000 CPU cores, while another 50,000 to 100,000 CPU cores are available opportunistically, pushing the needs of the Global Pool to higher scales each year. These resources are becoming more diverse in their accessibility and configuration over time. Furthermore, the challenge of stably running at higher and higher scales while introducing new modes of operation such as multi-core pilots, as well as the chaotic nature of physics analysis workflows, places huge strains on the submission infrastructure. This paper details some of the most important challenges to scalability and stability that the CMS Global Pool has faced since the beginning of the LHC Run II and how they were overcome.

Effect of Inverter Power Source Characteristics on Welding Stability and Heat Affected Zone Dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Il'yaschenko, D. P.; Chinakhov, D. A.; Mamadaliev, R. A.

2018-01-01

The paper presents results the research in the effect of power sources dynamic characteristics on stability of melting and electrode metal transfer to the weld pool shielded metal arc welding. It is proved that when applying inverter-type welding power sources, heat and mass transfer characteristics change, arc gap short-circuit time and drop generation time are reduced. This leads to reduction of weld pool heat content and contraction of the heat-affected zone by 36% in comparison the same parameters obtained using a diode rectifier.

Analysis of Combined Data from Heterogeneous Study Designs: A Methodological Proposal from the Patient Navigation Research program

PubMed Central

Roetzheim, Richard G.; Freund, Karen M.; Corle, Don K.; Murray, David M.; Snyder, Frederick R.; Kronman, Andrea C.; Jean-Pierre, Pascal; Raich, Peter C.; Holden, Alan E. C.; Darnell, Julie S.; Warren-Mears, Victoria; Patierno, Steven; Design, PNRP; Committee, Analysis

2013-01-01

Background The Patient Navigation Research Program (PNRP) is a cooperative effort of nine research projects, each employing its own unique study design. To evaluate projects such as PNRP, it is desirable to perform a pooled analysis to increase power relative to the individual projects. There is no agreed upon prospective methodology, however, for analyzing combined data arising from different study designs. Expert opinions were thus solicited from members of the PNRP Design and Analysis Committee Purpose To review possible methodologies for analyzing combined data arising from heterogeneous study designs. Methods The Design and Analysis Committee critically reviewed the pros and cons of five potential methods for analyzing combined PNRP project data. Conclusions were based on simple consensus. The five approaches reviewed included: 1) Analyzing and reporting each project separately, 2) Combining data from all projects and performing an individual-level analysis, 3) Pooling data from projects having similar study designs, 4) Analyzing pooled data using a prospective meta analytic technique, 5) Analyzing pooled data utilizing a novel simulated group randomized design. Results Methodologies varied in their ability to incorporate data from all PNRP projects, to appropriately account for differing study designs, and in their impact from differing project sample sizes. Limitations The conclusions reached were based on expert opinion and not derived from actual analyses performed. Conclusions The ability to analyze pooled data arising from differing study designs may provide pertinent information to inform programmatic, budgetary, and policy perspectives. Multi-site community-based research may not lend itself well to the more stringent explanatory and pragmatic standards of a randomized controlled trial design. Given our growing interest in community-based population research, the challenges inherent in the analysis of heterogeneous study design are likely to become more salient. Discussion of the analytic issues faced by the PNRP and the methodological approaches we considered may be of value to other prospective community-based research programs. PMID:22273587

Analysis of combined data from heterogeneous study designs: an applied example from the patient navigation research program.

PubMed

Roetzheim, Richard G; Freund, Karen M; Corle, Don K; Murray, David M; Snyder, Frederick R; Kronman, Andrea C; Jean-Pierre, Pascal; Raich, Peter C; Holden, Alan Ec; Darnell, Julie S; Warren-Mears, Victoria; Patierno, Steven

2012-04-01

The Patient Navigation Research Program (PNRP) is a cooperative effort of nine research projects, with similar clinical criteria but with different study designs. To evaluate projects such as PNRP, it is desirable to perform a pooled analysis to increase power relative to the individual projects. There is no agreed-upon prospective methodology, however, for analyzing combined data arising from different study designs. Expert opinions were thus solicited from the members of the PNRP Design and Analysis Committee. To review possible methodologies for analyzing combined data arising from heterogeneous study designs. The Design and Analysis Committee critically reviewed the pros and cons of five potential methods for analyzing combined PNRP project data. The conclusions were based on simple consensus. The five approaches reviewed included the following: (1) analyzing and reporting each project separately, (2) combining data from all projects and performing an individual-level analysis, (3) pooling data from projects having similar study designs, (4) analyzing pooled data using a prospective meta-analytic technique, and (5) analyzing pooled data utilizing a novel simulated group-randomized design. Methodologies varied in their ability to incorporate data from all PNRP projects, to appropriately account for differing study designs, and to accommodate differing project sample sizes. The conclusions reached were based on expert opinion and not derived from actual analyses performed. The ability to analyze pooled data arising from differing study designs may provide pertinent information to inform programmatic, budgetary, and policy perspectives. Multisite community-based research may not lend itself well to the more stringent explanatory and pragmatic standards of a randomized controlled trial design. Given our growing interest in community-based population research, the challenges inherent in the analysis of heterogeneous study design are likely to become more salient. Discussion of the analytic issues faced by the PNRP and the methodological approaches we considered may be of value to other prospective community-based research programs.

Using "residual depths" to monitor pool depths independently of discharge

Treesearch

Thomas E. Lisle

1987-01-01

As vital components of habitat for stream fishes, pools are often monitored to follow the effects of enhancement projects and natural stream processes. Variations of water depth with discharge, however, can complicate monitoring changes in the depth and volume of pools. To subtract the effect of discharge on depth in pools, residual depths can be measured. Residual...

Interactions between pool geometry and hydraulics

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thompson, Douglas M.; Nelson, Jonathan M.; Wohl, Ellen E.

1998-01-01

An experimental and computational research approach was used to determine interactions between pool geometry and hydraulics. A 20-m-long, 1.8-m-wide flume was used to investigate the effect of four different geometric aspects of pool shape on flow velocity. Plywood sections were used to systematically alter constriction width, pool depth, pool length, and pool exit-slope gradient, each at two separate levels. Using the resulting 16 unique geometries with measured pool velocities in four-way factorial analyses produced an empirical assessment of the role of the four geometric aspects on the pool flow patterns and hence the stability of the pool. To complement the conclusions of these analyses, a two-dimensional computational flow model was used to investigate the relationships between pool geometry and flow patterns over a wider range of conditions. Both experimental and computational results show that constriction and depth effects dominate in the jet section of the pool and that pool length exhibits an increasing effect within the recirculating-eddy system. The pool exit slope appears to force flow reattachment. Pool length controls recirculating-eddy length and vena contracta strength. In turn, the vena contracta and recirculating eddy control velocities throughout the pool.

Assessing the stability of soil organic matter by fractionation and 13C isotope techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Larionova, A. A.; Zolotareva, B. N.; Kvitkina, A. K.; Evdokimov, I. V.; Bykhovets, S. S.; Stulin, A. F.; Kuzyakov, Ya. V.; Kudeyarov, V. N.

2015-02-01

Carbon pools of different stabilities have been separated from the soil organic matter of agrochernozem and agrogray soil samples. The work has been based on the studies of the natural abundance of the carbon isotope composition by C3-C4 transition using the biokinetic, size-density, and chemical fractionation (6 M HCl hydrolysis) methods. The most stable pools with the minimum content of new carbon have been identified by particle-size and chemical fractionation. The content of carbon in the fine fractions has been found to be close to that in the nonhydrolyzable residue. This pool makes up 65 and 48% of Corg in the agrochernozems and agrogray soils, respectively. The combination of the biokinetic approach with particle-size fractionation or 6 M HCl hydrolysis has allowed assessing the size of the medium-stable organic carbon pool with a turnover time of several years to several decades. The organic matter pool with this turnover rate is usually identified from the variation in the 13C abundance by C3-C4 transition. In the agrochernozems and agrogray soils, the medium-stable carbon pool makes up 35 and 46% of Corg, respectively. The isotope indication may be replaced by a nonisotope method to significantly expand the study of the inert and mediumstable organic matter pools in the geographical aspect, but this requires a comparative analysis of particle-size and chemical fractionation data for all Russian soils.

A network of autism linked genes stabilizes two pools of synaptic GABAA receptors

PubMed Central

Tong, Xia-Jing; Hu, Zhitao; Liu, Yu; Anderson, Dorian; Kaplan, Joshua M

2015-01-01

Changing receptor abundance at synapses is an important mechanism for regulating synaptic strength. Synapses contain two pools of receptors, immobilized and diffusing receptors, both of which are confined to post-synaptic elements. Here we show that immobile and diffusing GABAA receptors are stabilized by distinct synaptic scaffolds at C. elegans neuromuscular junctions. Immobilized GABAA receptors are stabilized by binding to FRM-3/EPB4.1 and LIN-2A/CASK. Diffusing GABAA receptors are stabilized by the synaptic adhesion molecules Neurexin and Neuroligin. Inhibitory post-synaptic currents are eliminated in double mutants lacking both scaffolds. Neurexin, Neuroligin, and CASK mutations are all linked to Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Our results suggest that these mutations may directly alter inhibitory transmission, which could contribute to the developmental and cognitive deficits observed in ASD. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09648.001 PMID:26575289

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.

First on-sun test of NaK pool-boiler solar receiver

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moreno, J. B.; Andraka, C. E.; Moss, T. A.; Cordeiro, P. G.; Dudley, V. E.; Rawlinson, K. S.

During 1989-1990, a refluxing liquid-metal pool-boiler solar receiver designed for dish/Stirling application at 75 kW(sub t) throughput was successfully demonstrated at Sandia National Laboratories. Significant features of this receiver included (1) boiling sodium as the heat transfer medium, and (2) electric-discharge-machined (EDM) cavities as artificial nucleation sites to stabilize boiling. Following this first demonstration, a second-generation pool-boiler receiver that brings the concept closer to commercialization has been designed, constructed, and successfully tested. For long life, the new receiver is built from Haynes Alloy 230. For increased safety factors against film boiling and flooding, the absorber area and vapor-flow passages have been enlarged. To eliminate the need for trace heating, sodium has been replaced by the sodium-potassium alloy NaK-78. To reduce manufacturing costs, the receiver has a powdered-metal coating instead of EDM cavities for stabilization of boiling. To control incipient-boiling superheats, especially during hot restarts, it contains a small amount of xenon. In this paper, we present the receiver design and report the results of on-sun tests using a nominal 75 kW(sub t) test-bed concentrator to characterize boiling stability, hot-restart behavior, and thermal efficiency at temperatures up to 750 C. We also report briefly on late results from an advanced-concepts pool-boiler receiver.

Teaching Psychometrics in South Korea through a Reunification Attitude Scale Class Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Webster, Sandra K.

The introduction of a team term project into a Korean psychometrics class is described. Students developed an item pool of attitude statements regarding the reunification of South Korea and North Korea. Then teams of students used the item pool to develop attitude questionnaires, survey other students, analyze the results, and recommend which…

Riparian rehabilitation using vegetation patches: field and laboratory investigations linking hydrology, vegetation and geomorphology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodriguez, J. F.; Gorrick, S.

2010-12-01

We present results of a riparian revegetation project on an oversized sand stream in eastern Australia. The Widden Brook in New South Wales has undergone extensive widening due to extraordinary floods in the 1950’s and is currently showing some signs of recovery. These include emergence of pool-riffle structure and stabilization of stream width, which are the result of upstream sediment control, riparian revegetation and livestock exclusion. Revegetation of a mild bend was carried out in 2004 using native plants in an arrangement that consisted of three vegetation patches. The same arrangement was tested in a reduced scale model in the laboratory, where extensive measurements of flow, sediment and bed changes provided insight into the links between hydrology, vegetation and geomorphology. Laboratory tests also included runs without vegetation and with a continuous vegetation cover. In terms of bank stability, the patches provided as much protection as the continuous vegetation. Based on the experiments, a series of analytical relationships were developed to help guide the design of vegetation patches focusing on the geomorphic stability of the whole reach instead of concentrating only on the near bank effects.

A more holistic understanding of soil organic matter pools of alpine and pre-alpine grassland soils in a changing climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garcia Franco, Noelia; Wiesmeier, Martin; Kiese, Ralf; Dannenmann, Michael; Wolf, Benjamin; Brandhuber, Robert; Beck, Robert; Kögel-Knabner, Ingrid

2016-04-01

In southern Germany, the alpine and pre-alpine grassland systems (> 1 Mio ha) provide an important economic value via fodder used for milk and meat production and grassland soils support environmental key functions (C and N storage, water retention, erosion control and biodiversity hot spot). In addition, these grassland soils constitute important regions for tourism and recreation. However, the different land use and management practices in this area introduce changes which are likely to accelerate due to climate change. The newly launched SUPSALPS project within the BonaRes Initiative of the German Ministry for Education and Research is focused on the development and evaluation of innovative grassland management strategies under climate change with an emphasis on soil functions, which are on the one hand environmental sustainable and on the other hand economically viable. Several field experiments of the project will be initialized in order to evaluate grassland soil functioning for a range of current and climate adapted management practices. A multi-factorial design combines ongoing and new plant-soil meso-/macrocosm and field studies at a multitude of existing long-term research sites along an elevation gradient in Bavaria. One of the specific objectives of the project is to improve our knowledge on the sensitivity of specific soil organic matter (SOM) fractions to climate change. Moreover, the project aims to determine the processes and mechanisms involved in the build-up and stabilization of C and N pools under different management practices. In order to derive sensitive SOM pools, a promising physical fractionation method was developed that enables the separation of five different SOM fractions by density, ultrasonication and sieving separation: fine particulate organic matter (fPOM), occluded particulate organic matter (oPOM>20μm and oPOM<20μm) and mineral associated organic matter (sand and coarse silt, > 20 μm; medium + fine silt and clay, < 20 μm). Methods to further characterize SOM (NMR, 13C and 15N stable isotopes, SEM, NanoSIMS) and the dynamics of plant and microbial communities will help us to fill knowledge gaps in the interaction of C and N dynamics in alpine and pre-alpine grassland soils and the rhizosphere under climate and land management changes.

A strategy to accelerate protein production from a pool of clones in Chinese hamster ovary cells for toxicology studies.

PubMed

Hu, Zhilan; Hsu, Wendy; Pynn, Abby; Ng, Domingos; Quicho, Donna; Adem, Yilma; Kwong, Zephie; Mauger, Brad; Joly, John; Snedecor, Bradley; Laird, Michael W; Andersen, Dana C; Shen, Amy

2017-11-01

In the biopharmaceutical industry, a clonally derived cell line is typically used to generate material for investigational new drug (IND)-enabling toxicology studies. The same cell line is then used to generate material for clinical studies. If a pool of clones can be used to produce material for IND-enabling toxicology studies (Pool for Tox (PFT) strategy) during the time a lead clone is being selected for clinical material production, the toxicology studies can be accelerated significantly (approximately 4 months at Genentech), leading to a potential acceleration of 4 months for the IND submission. We explored the feasibility of the PFT strategy with three antibodies-mAb1, mAb2, and mAb3-at the 2 L scale. For each antibody, two lead cell lines were identified that generated material with similar product quality to the material generated from the associated pool. For two antibody molecules, mAb1 and mAb2, the material generated by the lead cell lines from 2 L bioreactors was tested in an accelerated stability study and was shown to have stability comparable to the material generated by the associated pool. Additionally, we used this approach for two antibody molecules, mAb4 and mAb5, at Tox and GMP production. The materials from the Tox batch at 400 L scale and three GMP batches at 2000 L scale have comparable product quality attributes for both molecules. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of using a pool of clonally derived cell lines to generate material of similar product quality and stability for use in IND-enabling toxicology studies as was derived from the final production clone, which enabled significant acceleration of timelines into clinical development. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:1449-1455, 2017. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

The balance between keystone clustering and bed roughness in experimental step-pool stabilization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, J. P.

2016-12-01

Predicting how mountain channels will respond to environmental perturbations such as floods requires an improved quantitative understanding of morphodynamic feedbacks among bed topography, surface grain size and sediment sorting. In boulder-rich gravel streams, transport and sorting often lead to the development of step pool morphologies, which are expressed both in bed topography and coarse grain clustering. Bed stability is difficult to measure, and is sometimes inferred from the presence of step pools. I use scaled flume experiments to explore feedbacks among surface grain sizes, coarse grain clustering, bed roughness and hydraulic roughness during progressive bed stabilization and over a range of sediment transport rates. While grain clusters are sometimes identified by subjective interpretation, I quantify the degree of coarse surface grain clustering using spatial statistics, including a novel normalization of Ripley's K function. This approach is objective and provides information on the strength of clustering over a range of length scales. Flume experiments start with an initial bed surface with a broad grain size distribution and spatially random positions. Flow causes the bed surface to progressively stabilize in response to erosion, surface coarsening, roughening and grain reorganization. At 95% confidence, many but not all beds stabilized with coarse grains becoming more clustered than complete spatial randomness (CSR). I observe a tradeoff between topographic roughness and clustering. Beds that stabilized with higher degrees of coarse-grain clustering were topographically smoother, and vice-versa. Initial conditions influenced the degree of clustering at stability: Beds that happened to have fewer initial coarse grains had more coarse grain reorganization during stabilization, leading to more clustering. Finally, regressions demonstrate that clustering statistics actually predict hydraulic roughness significantly better than does D84 (the size at which 84% of grains are smaller). In the experimental data, the spatial organization of surface grains is a stronger control on flow characteristics than the size of surface grains.

WEST VALLEY DEMONSTRATION PROJECT ANNUAL SITE ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT CALENDAR YEAR 2002

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

NONE

2003-09-12

This annual environmental monitoring report for the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP or Project) is published to inform those with interest about environmental conditions at the WVDP. In accordance with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Order 231.1, Environment, Safety, and Health Reporting, the report summarizes calendar year (CY) 2002 environmental monitoring data so as to describe the performance of the WVDP's environmental management system, confirm compliance with standards and regulations, and highlight important programs. In 2002, the West Valley Demonstration Project, the site of a DOE environmental cleanup activity operated by West Valley Nuclear Services Co. (WVNSCO), was in themore » final stages of stabilizing high-level radioactive waste (HLW) that remained at the site after commercial nuclear fuel reprocessing had been discontinued in the early 1970s. The Project is located in western New York State, about 30 miles south of Buffalo, within the New York State-owned Western New York Nuclear Service Center (WNYNSC). The WVDP is being conducted in cooperation with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Ongoing work activities at the WVDP during 2002 included: (1) completing HLW solidification and melter shutdown; (2) shipping low-level radioactive waste off-site for disposal; (3) constructing a facility where large high-activity components can be safely packaged for disposal; (4) packaging and removing spent materials from the vitrification facility; (5) preparing environmental impact statements for future activities; (6) removing as much of the waste left behind in waste tanks 8D-1 and 8D-2 as was reasonably possible; (7) removing storage racks, canisters, and debris from the fuel receiving and storage pool, decontaminating pool walls, and beginning shipment of debris for disposal; (8) ongoing decontamination in the general purpose cell and the process mechanical cell (also referred to as the head end cells); (9) planning for cleanup of waste in the plutonium purification cell (south) and extraction cell number 2 in the main plant; (10) ongoing characterization of facilities such as the waste tank farm and process cells; (11) monitoring the environment and managing contaminated areas within the Project facility premises; and (12) flushing and rinsing HLW solidification facilities.« less

75 FR 44942 - 2015 Resource Pool-Sierra Nevada Customer Service Region

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-30

...The Western Area Power Administration (Western), a Federal power marketing administration of the Department of Energy (DOE), published its 2004 Power Marketing Plan (Marketing Plan) for the Sierra Nevada Customer Service Region (SNR) in the Federal Register on June 25, 1999. The Marketing Plan specifies the terms and conditions under which Western will market power from the Central Valley Project (CVP) and the Washoe Project beginning January 1, 2005, and continuing through December 31, 2024. The Marketing Plan provided for a portion of SNR's resources to be reallocated through a 2015 Resource Pool. On June 3, 2009, Western published a Call for 2015 Resource Pool Applications. On September 28, 2009, Western published a Notice of Extension to file applications. This notice announces Western's proposed allocations of power from the 2015 Resource Pool.

Temporal change in soil carbon stability at a paired old-growth douglas-fir forest/clear-cut site

EPA Science Inventory

Forest ecosystems are estimated to contain one-half of the total terrestrial carbon (C) pool (1146 Pg), with two-thirds of this C (787 Pg) residing in forest soils. Given the magnitude of this C pool, it is critical to understand the effects of forest management practices on soil...

Monitoring changes in soil organic carbon pools, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur under different agricultural management practices in the tropics.

PubMed

Verma, Bibhash C; Datta, Siba Prasad; Rattan, Raj K; Singh, Anil K

2010-12-01

Soil organic matter not only affects sustainability of agricultural ecosystems, but also extremely important in maintaining overall quality of environment as soil contains a significant part of global carbon stock. Hence, we attempted to assess the influence of different tillage and nutrient management practices on various stabilized and active soil organic carbon pools, and their contribution to the extractable nitrogen phosphorus and sulfur. Our study confined to the assessment of impact of agricultural management practices on the soil organic carbon pools and extractable nutrients under three important cropping systems, viz. soybean-wheat, maize-wheat, and rice-wheat. Results indicated that there was marginal improvement in Walkley and Black content in soil under integrated and organic nutrient management treatments in soybean-wheat, maize-wheat, and rice-wheat after completion of four cropping cycles. Improvement in stabilized pools of soil organic carbon (SOC) was not proportional to the applied amount of organic manures. While, labile pools of SOC were increased with the increase in amount of added manures. Apparently, green manure (Sesbania) was more effective in enhancing the lability of SOC as compared to farmyard manure and crop residues. The KMnO(4)-oxidizable SOC proved to be more sensitive and consistent as an index of labile pool of SOC compared to microbial biomass carbon. Under different cropping sequences, labile fractions of soil organic carbon exerted consistent positive effect on the extractable nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur in soil.

Improving Processes of Mechanized Pulsed Arc Welding of Low-Frequency Range Variation of Mode Parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saraev, Yu N.; Solodskiy, S. A.; Ulyanova, O. V.

2016-04-01

A new technology of low-frequency modulation of the arc current in MAG and MIG welding is presented. The technology provides control of thermal and crystallization processes, stabilizes the time of formation and crystallization of the weld pool. Conducting theoretical studies allowed formulating the basic criteria for obtaining strong permanent joints for high-duty structures, providing conditions for more equilibrium structure of the deposited metal and the smaller width of the HAZ. The stabilization of time of the formation and crystallization of the weld pool improves the formation of the weld and increases productivity in welding thin sheet metal.

Is pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified less stable than autistic disorder? A meta-analysis.

PubMed

Rondeau, Emélie; Klein, Leslie S; Masse, André; Bodeau, Nicolas; Cohen, David; Guilé, Jean-Marc

2011-09-01

We reviewed the stability of the diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). A Medline search found eight studies reiterating a diagnostic assessment for PDD-NOS. The pooled group included 322 autistic disorder (AD) and 122 PDD-NOS cases. We used percentage of individuals with same diagnose at Times 1 and 2 as response criterion. The pooled Relative Risk was 1.95 (p < 0.001) showing that AD diagnostic stability was higher than PDD-NOS. When diagnosed before 36 months PDD-NOS bore a 3-year stability rate of 35%. Examining the developmental trajectories showed that PDD-NOS corresponded to a group of heterogeneous pathological conditions including prodromic forms of later AD, remitted or less severe forms of AD, and developmental delays in interaction and communication.

Systematic review finds that study data not published in full text articles have unclear impact on meta-analyses results in medical research.

PubMed

Schmucker, Christine M; Blümle, Anette; Schell, Lisa K; Schwarzer, Guido; Oeller, Patrick; Cabrera, Laura; von Elm, Erik; Briel, Matthias; Meerpohl, Joerg J

2017-01-01

A meta-analysis as part of a systematic review aims to provide a thorough, comprehensive and unbiased statistical summary of data from the literature. However, relevant study results could be missing from a meta-analysis because of selective publication and inadequate dissemination. If missing outcome data differ systematically from published ones, a meta-analysis will be biased with an inaccurate assessment of the intervention effect. As part of the EU-funded OPEN project (www.open-project.eu) we conducted a systematic review that assessed whether the inclusion of data that were not published at all and/or published only in the grey literature influences pooled effect estimates in meta-analyses and leads to different interpretation. Systematic review of published literature (methodological research projects). Four bibliographic databases were searched up to February 2016 without restriction of publication year or language. Methodological research projects were considered eligible for inclusion if they reviewed a cohort of meta-analyses which (i) compared pooled effect estimates of meta-analyses of health care interventions according to publication status of data or (ii) examined whether the inclusion of unpublished or grey literature data impacts the result of a meta-analysis. Seven methodological research projects including 187 meta-analyses comparing pooled treatment effect estimates according to different publication status were identified. Two research projects showed that published data showed larger pooled treatment effects in favour of the intervention than unpublished or grey literature data (Ratio of ORs 1.15, 95% CI 1.04-1.28 and 1.34, 95% CI 1.09-1.66). In the remaining research projects pooled effect estimates and/or overall findings were not significantly changed by the inclusion of unpublished and/or grey literature data. The precision of the pooled estimate was increased with narrower 95% confidence interval. Although we may anticipate that systematic reviews and meta-analyses not including unpublished or grey literature study results are likely to overestimate the treatment effects, current empirical research shows that this is only the case in a minority of reviews. Therefore, currently, a meta-analyst should particularly consider time, effort and costs when adding such data to their analysis. Future research is needed to identify which reviews may benefit most from including unpublished or grey data.

Systematic review finds that study data not published in full text articles have unclear impact on meta-analyses results in medical research

PubMed Central

Blümle, Anette; Schell, Lisa K.; Schwarzer, Guido; Oeller, Patrick; Cabrera, Laura; von Elm, Erik; Briel, Matthias; Meerpohl, Joerg J.

2017-01-01

Background A meta-analysis as part of a systematic review aims to provide a thorough, comprehensive and unbiased statistical summary of data from the literature. However, relevant study results could be missing from a meta-analysis because of selective publication and inadequate dissemination. If missing outcome data differ systematically from published ones, a meta-analysis will be biased with an inaccurate assessment of the intervention effect. As part of the EU-funded OPEN project (www.open-project.eu) we conducted a systematic review that assessed whether the inclusion of data that were not published at all and/or published only in the grey literature influences pooled effect estimates in meta-analyses and leads to different interpretation. Methods and findings Systematic review of published literature (methodological research projects). Four bibliographic databases were searched up to February 2016 without restriction of publication year or language. Methodological research projects were considered eligible for inclusion if they reviewed a cohort of meta-analyses which (i) compared pooled effect estimates of meta-analyses of health care interventions according to publication status of data or (ii) examined whether the inclusion of unpublished or grey literature data impacts the result of a meta-analysis. Seven methodological research projects including 187 meta-analyses comparing pooled treatment effect estimates according to different publication status were identified. Two research projects showed that published data showed larger pooled treatment effects in favour of the intervention than unpublished or grey literature data (Ratio of ORs 1.15, 95% CI 1.04–1.28 and 1.34, 95% CI 1.09–1.66). In the remaining research projects pooled effect estimates and/or overall findings were not significantly changed by the inclusion of unpublished and/or grey literature data. The precision of the pooled estimate was increased with narrower 95% confidence interval. Conclusions Although we may anticipate that systematic reviews and meta-analyses not including unpublished or grey literature study results are likely to overestimate the treatment effects, current empirical research shows that this is only the case in a minority of reviews. Therefore, currently, a meta-analyst should particularly consider time, effort and costs when adding such data to their analysis. Future research is needed to identify which reviews may benefit most from including unpublished or grey data. PMID:28441452

ENHANCED RETENTION AND SENSITIVITY IN THE ANALYSIS OF CYANURIC ACID IN WATER USING POROUS GRAPHITIC CARBON AND UV DETECTION IN HIGH PRESSURE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY

EPA Science Inventory

Cyanuric acid (CA) has found application as a chlorine stabilizer in pool waters. The National Swimming Pool Foundation recommends CA levels between 30-50 ppm and a chlorine residual of 1.0-3.0 ppm. These chlorine levels are needed to destroy harmful pathogenic organisms. Develo...

Limits to soil carbon stability; Deep, ancient soil carbon decomposition stimulated by new labile organic inputs

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soil carbon (C) pools store about one-third of the total terrestrial organic carbon. Deep soil C pools (below 1 m) are thought to be stable due to their low biodegradability, but little is known about soil microbial processes and carbon dynamics below the soil surface, or how global change might aff...

The Group-Level Consequences of Sexual Conflict in Multigroup Populations

PubMed Central

Eldakar, Omar Tonsi; Gallup, Andrew C.

2011-01-01

In typical sexual conflict scenarios, males best equipped to exploit females are favored locally over more prudent males, despite reducing female fitness. However, local advantage is not the only relevant form of selection. In multigroup populations, groups with less sexual conflict will contribute more offspring to the next generation than higher conflict groups, countering the local advantage of harmful males. Here, we varied male aggression within-and between-groups in a laboratory population of water striders and measured resulting differences in local population growth over a period of three weeks. The overall pool fitness (i.e., adults produced) of less aggressive pools exceeded that of high aggression pools by a factor of three, with the high aggression pools essentially experiencing no population growth over the course of the study. When comparing the fitness of individuals across groups, aggression appeared to be under stabilizing selection in the multigroup population. The use of contextual analysis revealed that overall stabilizing selection was a product of selection favoring aggression within groups, but selected against it at the group-level. Therefore, this report provides further evidence to show that what evolves in the total population is not merely an extension of within-group dynamics. PMID:22039491

Water ingestion during swimming activities in a pool: a pilot study.

PubMed

Dufour, Alfred P; Evans, Otis; Behymer, Thomas D; Cantú, Ricardo

2006-12-01

Chloroisocyanurates are commonly added to outdoor swimming pools to stabilize chlorine disinfectants. The chloroisocyanurates decompose slowly to release chlorine and cyanuric acid. Studies conducted to determine if the chloroisocyanurates might be toxic to swimmers showed that they were not and that ingested cyanuric acid passed through the body unmetabolized. This fact was used to determine the amount of water swallowed during swimming activity. Fifty-three recreational swimmers, using a community swimming pool disinfected with cyanuric acid stabilized chlorine, participated in the study. The participants did not swim on the day before or after the test swim. The swimmers were asked to actively swim for at least 45 minutes and to collect their urine for the next 24 hours. Cyanuric acid was measured in pool water using high performance liquid chromatography and porous graphitic carbon columns with UV detection. The urine sample assay required a clean-up procedure to remove urinary proteins and interfering substances. Results of the study indicate that non-adults ingest about twice as much water as adults during swimming activity. The average amount of water swallowed by non-adults and adults was 37 ml and 16 ml, respectively. The design for this study and the analytical methodology used to assay cyanuric acid in swimming pool water and human urine were effective for measuring the volume of water swallowed during swimming activity.

77 FR 43350 - Draft Environmental Assessment and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan for the San Diego Unified...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-24

...) restoration and enhancement of vernal pools occupied by San Diego fairy shrimp on the McAuliffe Park and... would permanently remove all San Diego fairy shrimp and its vernal pool habitat from the project site. To mitigate impacts to the San Diego fairy shrimp and its vernal pool habitat, the applicant would...

Modeling lateral geniculate nucleus response with contrast gain control. Part 2: Analysis

PubMed Central

Cope, Davis; Blakeslee, Barbara; McCourt, Mark E.

2014-01-01

Cope, Blakeslee and McCourt (2013) proposed a class of models for LGN ON-cell behavior consisting of a linear response with divisive normalization by local stimulus contrast. Here we analyze a specific model with the linear response defined by a difference-of-Gaussians filter and a circular Gaussian for the gain pool weighting function. For sinusoidal grating stimuli, the parameter region for band-pass behavior of the linear response is determined, the gain control response is shown to act as a switch (changing from “off” to “on” with increasing spatial frequency), and it is shown that large gain pools stabilize the optimal spatial frequency of the total nonlinear response at a fixed value independent of contrast and stimulus magnitude. Under- and super-saturation as well as contrast saturation occur as typical effects of stimulus magnitude. For circular spot stimuli, it is shown that large gain pools stabilize the spot size that yields the maximum response. PMID:24562034

Soil compaction monitoring of the Pool Timber Sale, Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado, 16 years after logging

Treesearch

John J. Rawinski; Deborah S. Page-Dumroese

2008-01-01

We conducted a soil monitoring project in 1992 after a shelterwood harvest. One year after harvesting, we determined that 21.32 percent of the area in Unit 5 of the Pool Timber Sale was considered to have detrimental soil compaction. In 2007, we conducted another monitoring project on the same stand by the same person to determine the degree of soil compaction recovery...

Boiling behavior of sodium-potassium alloy in a bench-scale solar receiver

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moreno, J. B.; Andraka, C. E.; Moss, T. A.

During 1989-90, a 75-kW(sub t) sodium reflux pool-boiler solar receiver was successfully demonstrated at Sandia National Laboratories. Significant features of this receiver include the following: (1) boiling sodium as the heat transfer medium, and (2) electric-discharge-machined (EDM) cavities as artificial nucleation sites to stabilize boiling. Since this first demonstration, design of a second-generation pool-boiler receiver that will bring the concept closer to commercialization has begun. For long life, the new receiver uses Haynes Alloy 230. For increased safety factors against film boiling and flooding, it has a refined shape and somewhat larger dimensions. To eliminate the need for trace heating, the receiver will boil the sodium-potassium alloy NaK-78 instead of sodium. To reduce manufacturing costs, it will use one of a number of alternatives to EDM cavities for stabilization of boiling. To control incipient-boiling superheats, especially during hot restarts, it will contain a small amount of inert gas. Before the new receiver design could be finalized, bench-scale tests of some of the proposed changes were necessary. A series of bench-scale pool boilers were built from Haynes Alloy 230 and filled with NaK-78. Various boiling-stabilizer candidates were incorporated into them, including laser-drilled cavities and a number of different sintered-powder-metal coatings. These bench-scale pool boilers have been operated at temperatures up to 750 C, heated by quartz lamps with incident radiant fluxes up to 95 W/sq cm. The effects of various orientations and added gases have been studied. Results of these studies are presented.

Weight Gain and Metabolic Effects of Mood Stabilizers and Antipsychotics in Pediatric Bipolar Disorder: A Systematic Review and Pooled Analysis of Short-Term Trials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Correll, Christoph U.

2007-01-01

Objective: To review weight and metabolic effects of mood-stabilizing treatments in pediatric bipolar disorder. Method: Systematic PubMed/Medline search of studies reporting on change in weight and/or glucose/lipid values with mood-stabilizing drugs in at least nine pediatric patients with bipolar disorder. Results: Nineteen studies, including 24…

The Importance of the Regional Species Pool, Ecological Species Traits and Local Habitat Conditions for the Colonization of Restored River Reaches by Fish

PubMed Central

Stoll, Stefan; Kail, Jochem; Lorenz, Armin W.; Sundermann, Andrea; Haase, Peter

2014-01-01

It is commonly assumed that the colonization of restored river reaches by fish depends on the regional species pools; however, quantifications of the relationship between the composition of the regional species pool and restoration outcome are lacking. We analyzed data from 18 German river restoration projects and adjacent river reaches constituting the regional species pools of the restored reaches. We found that the ability of statistical models to describe the fish assemblages established in the restored reaches was greater when these models were based on ‘biotic’ variables relating to the regional species pool and the ecological traits of species rather than on ‘abiotic’ variables relating to the hydromorphological habitat structure of the restored habitats and descriptors of the restoration projects. For species presence in restored reaches, ‘biotic’ variables explained 34% of variability, with the occurrence rate of a species in the regional species pool being the most important variable, while ’abiotic’ variables explained only the negligible amount of 2% of variability. For fish density in restored reaches, about twice the amount of variability was explained by ‘biotic’ (38%) compared to ‘abiotic’ (21%) variables, with species density in the regional species pool being most important. These results indicate that the colonization of restored river reaches by fish is largely determined by the assemblages in the surrounding species pool. Knowledge of species presence and abundance in the regional species pool can be used to estimate the likelihood of fish species becoming established in restored reaches. PMID:24404187

New insights into phosphorus management in agriculture--A crop rotation approach.

PubMed

Łukowiak, Remigiusz; Grzebisz, Witold; Sassenrath, Gretchen F

2016-01-15

This manuscript presents research results examining phosphorus (P) management in a soil–plant system for three variables: i) internal resources of soil available phosphorus, ii) cropping sequence, and iii) external input of phosphorus (manure, fertilizers). The research was conducted in long-term cropping sequences with oilseed rape (10 rotations) and maize (six rotations) over three consecutive growing seasons (2004/2005, 2005/2006, and 2006/2007) in a production farm on soils originated from Albic Luvisols in Poland. The soil available phosphorus pool, measured as calcium chloride extractable P (CCE-P), constituted 28% to 67% of the total phosphorus input (PTI) to the soil–plant system in the spring. Oilseed rape and maize dominant cropping sequences showed a significant potential to utilize the CCE-P pool within the soil profile. Cropping sequences containing oilseed rape significantly affected the CCE-P pool, and in turn contributed to the P(TI). The P(TI) uptake use efficiency was 50% on average. Therefore, the CCE-P pool should be taken into account as an important component of a sound and reliable phosphorus balance. The instability of the yield prediction, based on the P(TI), was mainly due to an imbalanced management of both farmyard manure and phosphorus fertilizer. Oilseed rape plants provide a significant positive impact on the CCE-P pool after harvest, improving the productive stability of the entire cropping sequence. This phenomenon was documented by the P(TI) increase during wheat cultivation following oilseed rape. The Unit Phosphorus Uptake index also showed a higher stability in oilseed rape cropping systems compared to rotations based on maize. Cropping sequences are a primary factor impacting phosphorus management. Judicious implementation of crop rotations can improve soil P resources, efficiency of crop P use, and crop yield and yield stability. Use of cropping sequences can reduce the need for external P sources such as farmyard manure and chemical fertilizers.

Methodology for estimating soil carbon for the forest carbon budget model of the United States, 2001

Treesearch

L. S. Heath; R. A. Birdsey; D. W. Williams

2002-01-01

The largest carbon (C) pool in United States forests is the soil C pool. We present methodology and soil C pool estimates used in the FORCARB model, which estimates and projects forest carbon budgets for the United States. The methodology balances knowledge, uncertainties, and ease of use. The estimates are calculated using the USDA Natural Resources Conservation...

A rapid and cost-effective method for sequencing pooled cDNA clones by using a combination of transposon insertion and Gateway technology.

PubMed

Morozumi, Takeya; Toki, Daisuke; Eguchi-Ogawa, Tomoko; Uenishi, Hirohide

2011-09-01

Large-scale cDNA-sequencing projects require an efficient strategy for mass sequencing. Here we describe a method for sequencing pooled cDNA clones using a combination of transposon insertion and Gateway technology. Our method reduces the number of shotgun clones that are unsuitable for reconstruction of cDNA sequences, and has the advantage of reducing the total costs of the sequencing project.

Persistence in soil of Miscanthus biochar in laboratory and field conditions

PubMed Central

Budai, Alice; O’Toole, Adam; Ma, Xingzhu; Rumpel, Cornelia; Abiven, Samuel

2017-01-01

Evaluating biochars for their persistence in soil under field conditions is an important step towards their implementation for carbon sequestration. Current evaluations might be biased because the vast majority of studies are short-term laboratory incubations of biochars produced in laboratory-scale pyrolyzers. Here our objective was to investigate the stability of a biochar produced with a medium-scale pyrolyzer, first through laboratory characterization and stability tests and then through field experiment. We also aimed at relating properties of this medium-scale biochar to that of a laboratory-made biochar with the same feedstock. Biochars were made of Miscanthus biomass for isotopic C-tracing purposes and produced at temperatures between 600 and 700°C. The aromaticity and degree of condensation of aromatic rings of the medium-scale biochar was high, as was its resistance to chemical oxidation. In a 90-day laboratory incubation, cumulative mineralization was 0.1% for the medium-scale biochar vs. 45% for the Miscanthus feedstock, pointing to the absence of labile C pool in the biochar. These stability results were very close to those obtained for biochar produced at laboratory-scale, suggesting that upscaling from laboratory to medium-scale pyrolyzers had little effect on biochar stability. In the field, the medium-scale biochar applied at up to 25 t C ha-1 decomposed at an estimated 0.8% per year. In conclusion, our biochar scored high on stability indices in the laboratory and displayed a mean residence time > 100 years in the field, which is the threshold for permanent removal in C sequestration projects. PMID:28873471

A Preferentially Segregated Recycling Vesicle Pool of Limited Size Supports Neurotransmission in Native Central Synapses

PubMed Central

Marra, Vincenzo; Burden, Jemima J.; Thorpe, Julian R.; Smith, Ikuko T.; Smith, Spencer L.; Häusser, Michael; Branco, Tiago; Staras, Kevin

2012-01-01

Summary At small central synapses, efficient turnover of vesicles is crucial for stimulus-driven transmission, but how the structure of this recycling pool relates to its functional role remains unclear. Here we characterize the organizational principles of functional vesicles at native hippocampal synapses with nanoscale resolution using fluorescent dye labeling and electron microscopy. We show that the recycling pool broadly scales with the magnitude of the total vesicle pool, but its average size is small (∼45 vesicles), highly variable, and regulated by CDK5/calcineurin activity. Spatial analysis demonstrates that recycling vesicles are preferentially arranged near the active zone and this segregation is abolished by actin stabilization, slowing the rate of activity-driven exocytosis. Our approach reveals a similarly biased recycling pool distribution at synapses in visual cortex activated by sensory stimulation in vivo. We suggest that in small native central synapses, efficient release of a limited pool of vesicles relies on their favored spatial positioning within the terminal. PMID:23141069

From antidunes to step-pools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Recking, Alain; Leduc, Pauline

2014-05-01

Step-pools are bed morphologies that are typical in high-gradient streams , recognizable by a staircase-like longitudinal profile resulting from accumulation of cobbles and boulders that are transverse to the channel and alternating with pools containing finer sediments. Within the last two decades step-pools have been the subject of increased efforts to characterize their nature; however their origin is still in debate. Researchers have very soon suspected step-pools to be the residual form of antidunes produced during flooding, but this hypothesis was continuously contested. Other theories has been proposed, considering, that step-pool profile develops a maximum flow resistance, or that pools geometry is controlled by the energy of a falling jet, or that steps form by boulders accumulation in a channel-spanning manner. All these theories gave very satisfying results when compared with experimental data, but does it mean that the antidune theory should we abandoned? We performed new flume experiments on steep slopes to investigate the antidune origin for step-pools. Our experiments showed that step-pools can have several origins, depending on the flow conditions and sediment mixture used. In some circumstances antidunes were well observed but did not produce stable step-pools morphology. In many occasions, step-pools obtained in the flume were isolated step-pools, with no real apparent periodicity. Only a few flow and sediment conditions allowed us to reproduce trains of antidunes which stabilized at the flow recession to produce stable periodical step-pools. These conditions are presented and discussed.

An Experimental Investigation On The Antidune Origin of Step-pools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Recking, A.; Leduc, P.

2013-12-01

Step-pools are bed morphologies that are typical in high-gradient streams , recognizable by a staircase-like longitudinal profile resulting from accumulation of cobbles and boulders that are transverse to the channel and alternating with pools containing finer sediments. Within the last two decades step-pools have been the subject of increased efforts to characterize their nature; however their origin is still in debate. Researchers have very soon suspected step-pools to be the residual form of antidunes produced during flooding, but this hypothesis was continuously contested. Other theories has been proposed, considering, that step-pool profile develops a maximum flow resistance, or that pools geometry is controlled by the energy of a falling jet, or that steps form by boulders accumulation in a channel-spanning manner. All these theories gave very satisfying results when compared with experimental data, but does it mean that the antidune theory should we abandoned? We performed new flume experiments on steep slopes to investigate the antidune origin for step-pools. Our experiments showed that step-pools can have several origins, depending on the flow conditions and sediment mixture used. In some circumstances antidunes were well observed but did not produce stable step-pools morphology. In many occasions, step-pools obtained in the flume were isolated step-pools, with no real apparent periodicity. Only a few flow and sediment conditions allowed us to reproduce trains of antidunes which stabilized at the flow recession to produce stable periodical step-pools. These conditions are presented and discussed.

Sculpting the Barnyard Gene Pool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Childers, Gina; Wolfe, Kim; Dupree, Alan; Young, Sheila; Caver, Jessica; Quintanilla, Ruby; Thornton, Laura

2016-01-01

Project-based learning (PBL) takes student engagement to a higher level through reflective collaboration, inquiry, critical thinking, problem solving, and personal relevance. This article explains how six high school teachers developed an interconnected, interdisciplinary STEM-focused PBL called "Sculpting the Barnyard Gene Pool." The…

Study of the stability of electrode metal melting and transfer in the process of consumable electrode welding powered by supplies with differing dynamic characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saraev, Y. N.; Chinakhov, D. A.; Il'yashchenko, D. P.; Kiselev, A. S.; Gardiner, A. S.; Raev, I. V.

2016-11-01

In the paper we present the results of the study of the power supply characteristics effect upon the stability of electrode metal melting and transfer into the weld pool in the process of consumable electrode welding. It was shown that application of inverter type welding power supplies of the new generation results in changing the characteristics of the heat and mass transfer which has a decisive impact upon the heat content of the weld pool, reduction of residual stresses in the heat-affected zone (HAZ). The authors also substantiate the tendency to the reduction of the structural constituents in the area of the permanent joint.

Melanocortin-1 receptor, skin cancer and phenotypic characteristics (M-SKIP) project: study design and methods for pooling results of genetic epidemiological studies

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background For complex diseases like cancer, pooled-analysis of individual data represents a powerful tool to investigate the joint contribution of genetic, phenotypic and environmental factors to the development of a disease. Pooled-analysis of epidemiological studies has many advantages over meta-analysis, and preliminary results may be obtained faster and with lower costs than with prospective consortia. Design and methods Based on our experience with the study design of the Melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) gene, SKin cancer and Phenotypic characteristics (M-SKIP) project, we describe the most important steps in planning and conducting a pooled-analysis of genetic epidemiological studies. We then present the statistical analysis plan that we are going to apply, giving particular attention to methods of analysis recently proposed to account for between-study heterogeneity and to explore the joint contribution of genetic, phenotypic and environmental factors in the development of a disease. Within the M-SKIP project, data on 10,959 skin cancer cases and 14,785 controls from 31 international investigators were checked for quality and recoded for standardization. We first proposed to fit the aggregated data with random-effects logistic regression models. However, for the M-SKIP project, a two-stage analysis will be preferred to overcome the problem regarding the availability of different study covariates. The joint contribution of MC1R variants and phenotypic characteristics to skin cancer development will be studied via logic regression modeling. Discussion Methodological guidelines to correctly design and conduct pooled-analyses are needed to facilitate application of such methods, thus providing a better summary of the actual findings on specific fields. PMID:22862891

Increased Functional Stability and Homogeneity of Viral Envelope Spikes through Directed Evolution

PubMed Central

Leaman, Daniel P.; Zwick, Michael B.

2013-01-01

The functional HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) trimer, the target of anti-HIV-1 neutralizing antibodies (Abs), is innately labile and coexists with non-native forms of Env. This lability and heterogeneity in Env has been associated with its tendency to elicit non-neutralizing Abs. Here, we use directed evolution to overcome instability and heterogeneity of a primary Env spike. HIV-1 virions were subjected to iterative cycles of destabilization followed by replication to select for Envs with enhanced stability. Two separate pools of stable Env variants with distinct sequence changes were selected using this method. Clones isolated from these viral pools could withstand heat, denaturants and other destabilizing conditions. Seven mutations in Env were associated with increased trimer stability, primarily in the heptad repeat regions of gp41, but also in V1 of gp120. Combining the seven mutations generated a variant Env with superior homogeneity and stability. This variant spike moreover showed resistance to proteolysis and to dissociation by detergent. Heterogeneity within the functional population of hyper-stable Envs was also reduced, as evidenced by a relative decrease in a proportion of virus that is resistant to the neutralizing Ab, PG9. The latter result may reflect a change in glycans on the stabilized Envs. The stabilizing mutations also increased the proportion of secreted gp140 existing in a trimeric conformation. Finally, several Env-stabilizing substitutions could stabilize Env spikes from HIV-1 clades A, B and C. Spike stabilizing mutations may be useful in the development of Env immunogens that stably retain native, trimeric structure. PMID:23468626

Gd-complexes of macrocyclic DTPA conjugates of 1,1'-bis(amino)ferrocenes as high relaxivity MRI blood-pool contrast agents (BPCAs).

PubMed

Kim, Hee-Kyung; Park, Ji-Ae; Kim, Kyeong Min; Nasiruzzaman, Sk Md; Kang, Duk-Sik; Lee, Jongmin; Chang, Yongmin; Kim, Tae-Jeong

2010-11-28

We report the synthesis of macrocyclic DTPA conjugates of 1,1'-bis(amino)ferrocenes (1a-b) and their Gd-complexes [Gd(L)(H(2)O)] (2a-b, L = 1a-b) for use as new MRI blood-pool contrast agents. High R(1) relaxivity in HSA as well as high thermodynamic and kinetic stabilities is observed for 2a.

Accounting Considerations in Public Sector Risk Management Pools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Commons, Harriet V.

1987-01-01

The Government Accounting Standards Board's Insurance Issues Project has issued an invitation to comment on two issues: (1) whether governmental risk pools should follow the same accounting principles as commercial insurance companies and (2) financial statement disclosures required of entities with public accountability (MLF)

76 FR 45551 - Post-2014 Resource Pool; Loveland Area Projects, Proposed Power Allocation

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-29

... Proposed Power Allocation. SUMMARY: Western Area Power Administration (Western), a Federal power marketing... Pool Proposed Power Allocation developed under the requirements of the Power Marketing Initiative of Western's Energy Planning and Management Program (Program). Western notified the public of allocation...

Monosynaptic rabies virus reveals premotor network organization and synaptic specificity of cholinergic partition cells.

PubMed

Stepien, Anna E; Tripodi, Marco; Arber, Silvia

2010-11-04

Movement is the behavioral output of neuronal activity in the spinal cord. Motor neurons are grouped into motor neuron pools, the functional units innervating individual muscles. Here we establish an anatomical rabies virus-based connectivity assay in early postnatal mice. We employ it to study the connectivity scheme of premotor neurons, the neuronal cohorts monosynaptically connected to motor neurons, unveiling three aspects of organization. First, motor neuron pools are connected to segmentally widely distributed yet stereotypic interneuron populations, differing for pools innervating functionally distinct muscles. Second, depending on subpopulation identity, interneurons take on local or segmentally distributed positions. Third, cholinergic partition cells involved in the regulation of motor neuron excitability segregate into ipsilaterally and bilaterally projecting populations, the latter exhibiting preferential connections to functionally equivalent motor neuron pools bilaterally. Our study visualizes the widespread yet precise nature of the connectivity matrix for premotor interneurons and reveals exquisite synaptic specificity for bilaterally projecting cholinergic partition cells. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Corporate good citizenship pays off in Central America.

PubMed

1974-07-22

Fear of expropriation and increasing public scrutiny of the activities of multinational companies are forcing these companies to develop social programs in the countries where they operate. Frequently these programs are viewed as products of colonialism or as veiled attempts to dominate the nationals employed by these companies. The United Brands Company, which is involved in large scale banana production in several Central American countries, has adopted a program which seeks to reduce the paternalism which was associated with the operations of the United Fruit Company, the predecessor of the United Brands Company. A series of new programs emphasizing community self help projects were developed by a company-hired sociologist and initiated 4 years ago. In Panama, the projects were started by holding town meetings in which the citizens decided what projects to pursue. With company help the community has begun to build recreational and educational facilities and are also building new docks. The company is contributing $10 million annually to promote these projects. Other programs involve selling homes to workers for half the cost of constructing these homes and increasing efforts to put host country citizens into management positions. Home ownership is expected to stabilize the work force and increased opportunities for advancement are expected to increase productivity. Future plans include the construction of technical schools which will provide a pool of skilled technicians needed by the banana company.

Southeast regional fatal study : a causal chain analysis in North Carolina

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-01-01

This project completed the North Carolina portion of the pooled fund Southeast Fatal Analysis Project. In addition : to completing this portion of the causal chain analysis for NC Crashes, the project developed a ranked : comprehensive list of candid...

78 FR 21498 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Regulation Project

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-10

... computation of foreign taxes deemed paid under section 902 pursuant to a pooling mechanism for undistributed... assured of consideration. ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Yvette Lawrence, Internal Revenue...: Computation of Foreign Taxes Deemed Paid Under Section 902 Pursuant to a Pooling Mechanism for Undistributed...

Assessment of soil organic matter persistence under different land uses applying a physical fractionation procedure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giannetta, Beatrice; Plaza, César; López-de-Sá, Esther G.; Vischetti, Costantino; Zaccone, Claudio

2017-04-01

The understanding of the mechanisms involved in the build-up of soil organic matter (SOM) pools with long residence time is tightly linked to the comprehension of C dynamics. Organo-mineral associations are known to be strongly correlated with the accumulation of selective preserved C forms. Adsorption to minerals, as well as occlusion within aggregates, may affect SOM protection in different ways depending on its molecular structure and pedo-climatic conditions. In this research, we investigated changes in quantity and quality of SOM pools characterized by different protection mechanisms in coniferous and broadleaved forest soils, grassland soils, technosols and an agricultural soil with different organic amendments, in order to evaluate the influence of both land use and organic matter nature on physical and/or chemical stabilization of SOM. In particular, free (FR), intra-macroaggregate (MA), intra-microaggregate (MI), and mineral-associated (Min) fractions were separated in order to define physical and chemical mechanisms responsible for the SOM protection against degradation. All these SOM fractions were analyzed for organic C and total N concentration, and their stability assessed by thermogravimetric analysis (TD-TGA). Preliminary data show that, for all land uses, most of the organic C (40-60%) is found in the Min pool, followed by FR (20-40%)>MI MA. With the only exception of the FR, no significant correlations were found between the C/N ratio and a thermal stability index (H550-400/400-250) of each fraction; at the same time, a highly significant and positive correlation was found between these two parameters in all fractions isolated from agricultural soils. In particular, the thermal stability index measured in all Min fractions may be related to the more marked presence of labile compounds in this pool relative to recalcitrant compounds. Conversely, FR OM could not always represent a fresh and readily decomposable fraction.Furthermore, OM associated with soil minerals exhibits a low C/N ratio, possibly attributed to the association of proteins and peptides with the mineral phase. Future research steps will allow a better understanding of the role of molecular structure on SOM stabilization mechanisms, with a particular focus on the description of C and N compounds in organo-mineral associations.

Gravitational effects on weld pool shape and microstructural evolution during gas tungsten arc and laser beam welding on 304 stainless steel, nickel, and aluminum-4 wt.% copper alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Namhyun

The objective of the present work was to investigate effects of gravitational (acceleration) level and orientation on Ni 200 alloy (99.5% Ni purity), 304 stainless steel, and Al-4 wt.% Cu alloy during gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) and laser beam welding (LBW). Main characterization was focused on the weld pool shape, microstructure, and solute distribution as a function of gravitational level and orientation. The welds were divided into two classes, i.e., 'stable' and 'unstable' welds, in view of the variation of weld pool shape as a function of gravitational level and orientation. In general, higher arc current and translational GTAW produced more significant effects of gravitational orientation on the weld pool shape than the case of lower arc current and spot welding. Cross-sectional area (CSA) was a secondary factor in determining the stability of weld pool shape. For the 'stable' weld of 304 stainless steel GTAW, the II-U weld showed less convexity in the pool bottom and more depression of the free surface, therefore producing deeper penetration (10--20%) than the case of II-D weld. The II-D weld of 304 stainless steel showed 31% deeper penetration, 28% narrower width, and more hemispherical shape of the weld pool than the case of II-U weld. For GTAW on 304 stainless steel, gravitational level variation from low gravity (LG ≈ 1.2 go) to high gravity (HG ≈ 1.8 go) caused 10% increase in width and 10% decrease in depth while maintaining the overall weld pool volume. Furthermore, LBW on 304 stainless steels showed mostly constant shape of weld pool as a function of gravitational orientation. GTAW on Ni showed similar trends of weld pool shape compared with GTAW on 304 stainless steel, i.e., the weld pool became unstable by showing more penetration in the II-D weld for slower arc translational velocity (V a) and larger weld pool size. However, the Ni weld pool shape had greater stability of the weld pool shape with respect to the gravitational orientation than the case of 304 stainless steel, i.e., higher current boundary and no humping. Regardless of the gravitational level, the ferrite content and the distribution of the solutes (Cr and Ni) remained constant for GTAW on 304 stainless steel. However, for GTAW on Al-4 wt.% Cu alloys, the gravitational orientation changed the weld pool shape associated with convection flows. In summary, gravity influenced the weld pool shape that was associated with convection flows and weld surface deformation for specific welding conditions. The variation of convection flows and weld pool shape played a role in modifying VS and GL. Solidification orientation and morphology were affected because VS and GL were changed as a function of gravity. Studies of gravity on the welding process are expected to play a significant role in the space-station construction and circumferential pipe welding on the earth. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Overview of the Cohort Consortium Vitamin D Pooling Project of Rarer Cancers.

PubMed

Helzlsouer, Kathy J

2010-07-01

The Cohort Consortium Vitamin D Pooling Project of Rarer Cancers (VDPP) brought together 10 cohorts to conduct a prospective study of the association between vitamin D status, measured as serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), and the development of 7 rarer cancer sites: endometrial, esophageal, gastric, kidney, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers. The cohorts come from 3 continents, with participants from a wide range of latitude who are racially diverse. Across each cancer site, there was no evidence of a protective association between higher concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (>75 nmol/L) and cancer outcome. An increased risk at very high levels (> or =100 nmol/L) was noted for pancreatic cancer, confirming previous reports. The articles included in this issue detail the overall design and governance of the project, correlates of vitamin D status, and results from the cancer site-specific investigations. The Vitamin D Pooling Project realizes a major goal of consortium efforts, namely, to rigorously test hypotheses for rarer cancer outcomes that may not be adequately addressed in any one prospective cohort study. The results of this study have application for the planning and conduct of intervention trials, especially in determining potential risks.

Stability of organic carbon in deep soil layers controlled by fresh carbon supply.

PubMed

Fontaine, Sébastien; Barot, Sébastien; Barré, Pierre; Bdioui, Nadia; Mary, Bruno; Rumpel, Cornelia

2007-11-08

The world's soils store more carbon than is present in biomass and in the atmosphere. Little is known, however, about the factors controlling the stability of soil organic carbon stocks and the response of the soil carbon pool to climate change remains uncertain. We investigated the stability of carbon in deep soil layers in one soil profile by combining physical and chemical characterization of organic carbon, soil incubations and radiocarbon dating. Here we show that the supply of fresh plant-derived carbon to the subsoil (0.6-0.8 m depth) stimulated the microbial mineralization of 2,567 +/- 226-year-old carbon. Our results support the previously suggested idea that in the absence of fresh organic carbon, an essential source of energy for soil microbes, the stability of organic carbon in deep soil layers is maintained. We propose that a lack of supply of fresh carbon may prevent the decomposition of the organic carbon pool in deep soil layers in response to future changes in temperature. Any change in land use and agricultural practice that increases the distribution of fresh carbon along the soil profile could however stimulate the loss of ancient buried carbon.

Peatland Open-water Pool Biogeochemistry: The Influence of Hydrology and Vegetation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arsenault, J.; Talbot, J.; Moore, T. R.

2017-12-01

Peatland open-water pools are net sources of carbon to the atmosphere. However, their interaction with the surrounding peat remains poorly known. In a previous study, we showed that shallow pools are richer in nutrients than deep pools. While depth was the main driver of biogeochemistry variations across time and space, analyses also showed that pool's adjacent vegetation may have an influence on water chemistry. Our goal is to understand the relationship between the biogeochemistry of open-water pools and their surroundings in a subboreal ombrotrophic peatland of southern Quebec (Canada). To assess the influence of vegetation on pool water chemistry, we compare two areas covered with different types of vegetation: a forested zone dominated by spruce trees and an open area mostly covered by Sphagnum spp. To evaluate the direction of water (in or out of the pools), we installed capacitance water level probes in transects linking pools in the two zones. Wells were also installed next to each probe to collect peat pore water samples. Samples were taken every month during summer 2017 and analyzed for dissolved organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus, pH and specific UV absorbance. Preliminary results show differences in peat water chemistry depending on the dominant vegetation. In both zones, water levels fluctuations are disconnected between peat and the pools, suggesting poor horizontal water movement. Pool water chemistry may be mostly influenced by the immediate surrounding vegetation than by the local vegetation pattern. Climate and land-use change may affect the vegetation structure of peatlands, thus affecting pool biogeochemistry. Considering the impact of pools on the overall peatland capacity to accumulate carbon, our results show that more focus must be placed on pools to better understand peatland stability over time.

Study on water evaporation rate from indoor swimming pools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rzeźnik, Ilona

2017-11-01

The air relative humidity in closed spaces of indoor swimming pools influences significantly on users thermal comfort and the stability of the building structure, so its preservation on suitable level is very important. For this purpose, buildings are equipped with HVAC systems which provide adequate level of humidity. The selection of devices and their technical parameters is made using the mathematical models of water evaporation rate in the unoccupied and occupied indoor swimming pool. In the literature, there are many papers describing this phenomena but the results differ from each other. The aim of the study was the experimental verification of published models of evaporation rate in the pool. The tests carried out on a laboratory scale, using model of indoor swimming pool, measuring 99cm/68cm/22cm. The model was equipped with water spray installation with six nozzles to simulate conditions during the use of the swimming pool. The measurements were made for conditions of sports pools (water temperature 24°C) and recreational swimming pool (water temperature 34°C). According to the recommendations the air temperature was about 2°C higher than water temperature, and the relative humidity ranged from 40% to 55%. Models Shah and Biasin & Krumm were characterized by the best fit to the results of measurements on a laboratory scale.

The Birth and Slow Death of the Ontario Assessment Instrument Pool.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raphael, Dennis

1993-01-01

Describes the development of the Ontario Assessment Instrument Pool (OAIP), a curriculum-based item bank for use in Ontario schools. The nearly $10,000,000 project, lacking implementation and evaluation activities, resulted in limited classroom use. The objective-based assessment also contradicted a child-centered educational philosophy. (KS)

7 CFR 1980.451 - Filing and processing applications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... categories, and their point scores, are: (A) Project will contribute to the overall economic stability of the... points). (B) Project will contribute to the overall economic stability of the project area and will...'s economy (20 points). (C) Project will contribute to the overall economic stability of the project...

A new pooling strategy for high-throughput screening: the Shifted Transversal Design

PubMed Central

Thierry-Mieg, Nicolas

2006-01-01

Background In binary high-throughput screening projects where the goal is the identification of low-frequency events, beyond the obvious issue of efficiency, false positives and false negatives are a major concern. Pooling constitutes a natural solution: it reduces the number of tests, while providing critical duplication of the individual experiments, thereby correcting for experimental noise. The main difficulty consists in designing the pools in a manner that is both efficient and robust: few pools should be necessary to correct the errors and identify the positives, yet the experiment should not be too vulnerable to biological shakiness. For example, some information should still be obtained even if there are slightly more positives or errors than expected. This is known as the group testing problem, or pooling problem. Results In this paper, we present a new non-adaptive combinatorial pooling design: the "shifted transversal design" (STD). It relies on arithmetics, and rests on two intuitive ideas: minimizing the co-occurrence of objects, and constructing pools of constant-sized intersections. We prove that it allows unambiguous decoding of noisy experimental observations. This design is highly flexible, and can be tailored to function robustly in a wide range of experimental settings (i.e., numbers of objects, fractions of positives, and expected error-rates). Furthermore, we show that our design compares favorably, in terms of efficiency, to the previously described non-adaptive combinatorial pooling designs. Conclusion This method is currently being validated by field-testing in the context of yeast-two-hybrid interactome mapping, in collaboration with Marc Vidal's lab at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Many similar projects could benefit from using the Shifted Transversal Design. PMID:16423300

The Role of Priming in the Development of Stable and Radioactive Carbon Isotope Profiles of Soil Organic Matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serach, L.; Breecker, D.

2017-12-01

The stability of soil carbon (C) is one of the largest sources of uncertainty in global C cycle models and is central to identifying potential feedbacks to a warming climate. The role that more stable soil organic matter (SOM) pools could have in these feedbacks is highly uncertain. Stable C isotope (δ13C) and radiocarbon (14C) SOM profiles are used to understand the processes involved in soil C stabilization. In this study, we use a 1-dimensional, 3 pool soil C model to simulate the development of SOM δ13C and 14C profiles in a well-drained forest soil. Under the simplest model scenario where decomposition rate constants for each SOM pool remain fixed, model runs exhibit a buildup of slowly degrading C in the shallow subsurface (0-5cm) where fresh, labile C typically dominates in natural soils. Additionally, magnitudes of trends in SOM δ13C and 14C profiles were inconsistent with those observed in natural profiles, suggesting a deficiency in this version of the model. We hypothesize that the observed disparity between modeled and natural profiles is due to the absence of priming in the model. Priming effects presume a change in decomposition rate constants for recalcitrant C pools upon the addition of labile C to the soil. As such, priming effects were simulated in the model by making decomposition rate constants a function of labile C input (e.g., root C and leaf litter). The incorporation of priming into the model yields larger, more realistic shifts in SOM δ13C profiles and trends in 14C profiles that vary based on the sensitivity of recalcitrant pools to labile C addition. So far, the results from this study support the hypothesis that SOM δ13C and 14C profiles cannot be explained without priming. These results highlight the importance of priming to our understanding of the persistence of stable C in the soil and our ability to use SOM δ13C and 14C trends as a means to quantify C stability.

Monitoring of treatment with vitamin K antagonists: recombinant thromboplastins are more sensitive to factor VII than tissue-extract thromboplastins.

PubMed

Biedermann, J S; van den Besselaar, A M H P; de Maat, M P M; Leebeek, F W G; Kruip, M J H A

2017-03-01

Essentials Differences in sensitivity to factor VII (FVII) have been suggested between thromboplastins. FVII-induced International Normalized Ratio (INR) changes differ between commercial reagents. Recombinant human thromboplastins are more sensitive to FVII than tissue-extract thromboplastins. Thromboplastin choice may affect FVII-mediated INR stability. Background Differences regarding sensitivity to factor VII have been suggested for recombinant human and tissue-extract thromboplastins used for International Normalized Ratio (INR) measurement, but the evidence is scarce. Differences in FVII sensitivity are clinically relevant, as they can affect INR stability during treatment with vitamin K antagonists (VKAs). Objectives To determine whether commercial thromboplastins react differently to changes in FVII. Methods We studied the effect of addition of FVII on the INR in plasma by using three tissue-extract (Neoplastin C1+, Hepato Quick, and Thromborel S) and three recombinant human (Recombiplastin 2G, Innovin, and CoaguChek XS) thromboplastins. Three different concentrations of purified human FVII (0.006, 0.012 and 0.062 μg mL -1 plasma), or buffer, were added to five certified pooled plasmas of patients using VKAs (INR of 1.5-3.5). Changes in FVII activity were measured with two bioassays (Neoplastin and Recombiplastin), and relative INR changes were compared between reagents. Results After addition of 0.062 μg mL -1 FVII, FVII activity in the pooled plasmas increased by approximately 20% (Neoplastin) or 32% (Recombiplastin) relative to the activity in pooled normal plasma. All thromboplastins showed dose-dependent INR decreases. The relative INR change in the pooled plasmas significantly differed between the six thromboplastins. No differences were observed among recombinant or tissue-extract thromboplastins. Pooled results indicated that the FVII-induced INR change was greater for recombinant than for tissue-extract thromboplastins. Conclusions Differences regarding FVII sensitivity exist between various thromboplastins used for VKA monitoring. Recombinant human thromboplastins are more sensitive to FVII than tissue-extract thromboplastins. Therefore, thromboplastin choice may affect FVII-mediated INR stability. © 2017 International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis.

Using Facebook to Supplement Participant Pools for Class Research Projects: Should We Like It?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sciutto, Mark J.

2015-01-01

In-class research projects are a valuable way of providing research experience for undergraduate students in psychology. This article evaluates the use of online social networks to supplement sample recruitment for in-class research projects. Specifically, this article presents a systematic analysis of seven student research projects that…

Modifying the food supply at a community swimming pool: a case study.

PubMed

Lloyd, Beverley; Dumbrell, Susan

2011-04-01

We report on a process evaluation of a project that aimed to replace energy-dense, nutrient-poor (EDNP) items at a community swimming pool kiosk. The analytic framework was the Analysis Grid for Environments Linked to Obesity (ANGELO). To contribute to health promotion practice in recreational settings, the process evaluation sought to determine the extent to which project'controversies' modified project objectives and strategies. The case study method captured the project narrative. The primary data were interviews with key project participants, supplemented with project records and media articles.These were analysed thematically. The socio-cultural and political environments, particularly the capacity to exercise choice in relation to ENDP products, had considerable influence on the project. In the face of two controversies -"I thought everyone was signed up to it"and "We can't deny the kiddies their ice-cream" it was necessary for the project partners to modify the objectives and strategies and substantially change the target. The setting is highly responsive to both the micro and macro socio-cultural and political aspects of the environment.

Stability of Full Penetration, Flat Position Weld Pools

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nunes, Arthur C., Jr.; Coan, Al. B.

1999-01-01

The dynamics of the dropthrough distance of a full penetration, flat position weld pool is described. Close to incipient root side penetration the dropthrough is metastable, so that a small drop in power can cause a loss of penetration if not followed soon enough by a compensating rise in power. The SPA (Soft Plasma Arc) process with higher pressure on top of the weld pool loses penetration more quickly than the GTA (Gas Tungsten Arc) process. 2195 aluminum-lithium alloy with a lower surface tension loses penetration more quickly than 2219 aluminum alloy. An instance of loss of penetration of a SPA weld in 2195 aluminum-lithium alloy is discussed in the light of the model.

Recognition of digital characteristics based new improved genetic algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Meng; Xu, Guoqiang; Lin, Zihao

2017-08-01

In the field of digital signal processing, Estimating the characteristics of signal modulation parameters is an significant research direction. The paper determines the set of eigenvalue which can show the difference of the digital signal modulation based on the deep research of the new improved genetic algorithm. Firstly take them as the best gene pool; secondly, The best gene pool will be changed in the genetic evolvement by selecting, overlapping and eliminating each other; Finally, Adapting the strategy of futher enhance competition and punishment to more optimizer the gene pool and ensure each generation are of high quality gene. The simulation results show that this method not only has the global convergence, stability and faster convergence speed.

ONAV - An Expert System for the Space Shuttle Mission Control Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mills, Malise; Wang, Lui

1992-01-01

The ONAV (Onboard Navigation) Expert System is being developed as a real-time console assistant to the ONAV flight controller for use in the Mission Control Center at the Johnson Space Center. Currently, Oct. 1991, the entry and ascent systems have been certified for use on console as support tools, and were used for STS-48. The rendezvous system is in verification with the goal to have the system certified for STS-49, Intelsat retrieval. To arrive at this stage, from a prototype to real-world application, the ONAV project has had to deal with not only Al issues but operating environment issues. The Al issues included the maturity of Al languages and the debugging tools, verification, and availability, stability and size of the expert pool. The environmental issues included real time data acquisition, hardware suitability, and how to achieve acceptance by users and management.

A real-time navigation monitoring expert system for the Space Shuttle Mission Control Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Lui; Fletcher, Malise

1993-01-01

The ONAV (Onboard Navigation) Expert System has been developed as a real time console assistant for use by ONAV flight controllers in the Mission Control Center at the Johnson Space Center. This expert knowledge based system is used to monitor the Space Shuttle onboard navigation system, detect faults, and advise flight operations personnel. This application is the first knowledge-based system to use both telemetry and trajectory data from the Mission Operations Computer (MOC). To arrive at this stage, from a prototype to real world application, the ONAV project has had to deal with not only AI issues but operating environment issues. The AI issues included the maturity of AI languages and the debugging tools, verification, and availability, stability and size of the expert pool. The environmental issues included real time data acquisition, hardware suitability, and how to achieve acceptance by users and management.

Dissolved organic C and N pools in soils amended with composted and thermally-dried sludge as affected by soil tillage systems and sampling depth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

García-Gil, Juan Carlos; Soler-Rovira, Pedro Angel; García López de Sa, Esther; Polo, Alfredo

2013-04-01

Soil tillage practices exert a significant influence on the dynamic of soluble organic C and N pools, affecting nutrient cycling in agricultural systems by enhancing its mineralization through microbial activities or stabilization in soil microaggregates, which contribute to mitigate greenhouse gases emissions. The objective of the present research was to determine the influence of three different soil management systems (moldboard plowing, chisel and no-tillage) and the application of composted sludge (CS) and thermally-dried sewage sludge (TSS) obtained from wastewater treatment processes on dissolved organic C (water-soluble organic C -WSOC-, carbohydrates, phenolic compounds) and soluble N (total-N, NH4+, NO3-) pools in a long-term field experiment (27 years) conducted on a sandy-loam soil at the experimental station "La Higueruela" (40° 03'N, 4° 24'W) under semi-arid conditions. Both organic amendments were applied at a rate of 30 tonnes per hectare prior to tillage practices. Unamended soils were used as control for each tillage system. Soil sampling was performed two months after tillage practices at the following depths for each treatment: 0-10 cm, 10-20 cm and 20-30 cm. Results obtained for unamended soils showed that no-tillage management increased total-N, NH4+ and NO3- contents at the 0-10 cm depth samples, meanwhile WSC and carbohydrates contents were larger at 20-30 cm depth samples in both moldboard and no-tillage plots. CS and TSS-amended soils presented a general increase in soluble C and N compounds, being significantly higher in TSS-amended soils, as TSS contains a great amount of labile organic C and N substrates due to the lack of stabilization treatment. TSS-amended soils under no-tillage and chisel plowing showed larger N, NH4+ and NO3- content at the 0-10 cm samples, meanwhile moldboard management exhibited larger NH4+ and NO3- content at 10-20 and 20-30 cm samples, possibly due to the incorporation of TSS at deeper depths (20-40 cm). CS and TSS-amended soils in no-tillage system showed the largest content of organic C pools at 0-10 cm depth samples due to less soil disturbance and the input of organic substrates with CS and TSS on soil surface. CS and TSS-amended soils under chisel plowing exhibited similar contents of soluble organic C pools at 10-20 and 20-30 cm depth samples and only TSS-amended soils increased significantly WSOC content at 0-10 cm samples. Similarly, contents of WSOC and carbohydrates in moldboard plowing were distributed more uniformly throughout the soil profile due to the turnover of soil and CS and TSS amendments into the plow layer. Acknowledgements: this research was supported by the Spanish CICYT, Project no. CTM2011-25557.

Targeted and Non-Targeted Analysis of Serum Pools to Provide Chemical Exposure Data for Exposure Modeling and Chemical Prioritization

EPA Science Inventory

Biomonitoring data can help inform the development and calibration of high-throughput exposure modeling for use in prioritization and risk evaluation. A pilot project was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of using pooled banked blood samples to generate initial data on popul...

Developing an International Pool of Certified Quality Reviewers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adair, Deborah

2017-01-01

This article covers the origins, growth, rationale, calibration, and inspiration of an international pool of certified Quality Matters™ (QM) Peer Reviewers. From the beginning in 2003, as a U.S. Department of Education, Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education funded project, QM was developed as a faculty-centered, peer-based approach…

26 CFR 1.263A-10 - Unit of property.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... road and clears the land for one house. Under the principles of paragraph (b)(1) of this section, each... project consisting of a condominium building and a common swimming pool that is not held for the..., and each story is occupied by a single condominium. Production of the swimming pool begins in January...

26 CFR 1.263A-10 - Unit of property.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... road and clears the land for one house. Under the principles of paragraph (b)(1) of this section, each... project consisting of a condominium building and a common swimming pool that is not held for the..., and each story is occupied by a single condominium. Production of the swimming pool begins in January...

26 CFR 1.263A-10 - Unit of property.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... road and clears the land for one house. Under the principles of paragraph (b)(1) of this section, each... project consisting of a condominium building and a common swimming pool that is not held for the..., and each story is occupied by a single condominium. Production of the swimming pool begins in January...

26 CFR 1.263A-10 - Unit of property.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... road and clears the land for one house. Under the principles of paragraph (b)(1) of this section, each... project consisting of a condominium building and a common swimming pool that is not held for the..., and each story is occupied by a single condominium. Production of the swimming pool begins in January...

78 FR 45896 - Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Trimester Closure...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-30

... Fishery; Trimester Closure for the Common Pool Fishery AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS... remainder of Trimester 1, through August 31, 2013. Based on our projection, the common pool fishery has... area for the remainder of the trimester. This action is intended to prevent an overage of the common...

Dynamics of skirting droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akers, Caleb; Hale, Jacob

2014-11-01

It has been observed that non-coalescence between a droplet and pool of like fluid can be prolonged or inhibited by sustained relative motion between the two fluids. In this study, we quantitatively describe the motion of freely moving droplets that skirt across the surface of a still pool of like fluid. Droplets of different sizes and small Weber number were directed horizontally onto the pool surface. After stabilization of the droplet shape after impact, the droplets smoothly moved across the surface, slowing until coalescence. Using high-speed imaging, we recorded the droplet's trajectory from a top-down view as well as side views both slightly above and below the fluid surface. The droplets' speed is observed to decrease exponentially, with the smaller droplets slowing down at a greater rate. Droplets infused with neutral density micro beads showed that the droplet rolls along the surface of the pool. A qualitative model of this motion is presented.

Research on Optimization of Pooling System and Its Application in Drug Supply Chain Based on Big Data Analysis

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Reform of drug procurement is being extensively implemented and expanded in China, especially in today's big data environment. However, the pattern of supply mode innovation lags behind procurement improvement. Problems in financial strain and supply break frequently occur, which affect the stability of drug supply. Drug Pooling System is proposed and applied in a few pilot cities to resolve these problems. From the perspective of supply chain, this study analyzes the process of setting important parameters and sets out the tasks of involved parties in a pooling system according to the issues identified in the pilot run. The approach is based on big data analysis and simulation using system dynamic theory and modeling of Vensim software to optimize system performance. This study proposes a theoretical framework to resolve problems and attempts to provide a valuable reference for future application of pooling systems. PMID:28293258

Impacts and Benefits of a Satellite Power System on the Electric Utility Industry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winer, B. M.

1977-01-01

The purpose of this limited study was to investigate six specific issues associated with interfacing a Satellite Power System (5 GW) with large (by present standards) terrestrial power pools to a depth sufficient to determine if certain interface problems and/or benefits exist and what future studies of these problems are required. The issues investigated are as follows: (1) Stability of Power Pools Containing a 5 GWe SPS; (2) Extra Reserve Margin Required to Maintain the Reliability of Power Pools Containing a 5 GWe SPS; (3) Use of the SPS in Load Following Service (i.e. in two independent pools whose times of peak demand differ by three hours); (4) Ownership of the SPS and its effect on SPS Usage and Utility Costs; (5) Utility Sharing of SPS related RD and D Costs; (6) Utility Liability for SPS Related Hazards.

Conventional drilling versus piezosurgery for implant site preparation: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Sendyk, Daniel Isaac; Oliveira, Natacha Kalline; Pannuti, Claudio Mendes; Naclério-Homem, Maria da Graça; Wennerberg, Ann; Zindel Deboni, Maria Cristina

2018-03-27

The aim of this study was to evaluate the evidence of a correlation between the stability of dental implants placed by piezosurgery, compared with implants placed by conventional drilling. An electronic search in MEDLINE, SCOPUS and the Cochrane Library was undertaken until August 2016 and was supplemented by manual searches and by unpublished studies at OpenGray. Only randomized controlled clinical trials that reported implant site preparation with piezosurgery and with conventional drilling were considered eligible for inclusion in this review. Meta-analyses were performed to evaluate the impact of piezosurgery on implant stability. Of 456 references electronically retrieved, 3 were included in the qualitative analysis and quantitative synthesis. The pooled estimates suggest that there is no significant difference between piezosurgery and conventional drilling at baseline (WMD: 2.20; 95% CI: -5.09, 9,49; p = 0.55). At 90 days, the pooled estimates revealed a statistically significant difference (WMD: 3.63; 95% CI: 0.58, 6.67, p = 0.02) favouring piezosurgery. Implant stability is slightly improved when osteotomy was performed by a piezoelectric device. More randomized controlled clinical trials are needed to verify these findings.

Colonization and development of stream communities across a 200-year gradient in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Milner, Alexander M.; Knudsen, E. Eric; Soiseth, Chad; Robertson, Anne L.; Schell, Don; Phillips, Ian T.; Magnusson, Katrina

2000-01-01

In May 1997, physical and biological variables were studied in 16 streams of different ages and contrasting stages of development following glacial recession in Glacier Bay National Park, southeast Alaska. The number of microcrustacean and macroinvertebrate taxa and juvenile fish abundance and diversity were significantly greater in older streams. Microcrustacean diversity was related to the amount of instream wood and percent pool habitat, while the number of macroinvertebrate taxa was related to bed stability, amount of instream wood, and percent pool habitat. The percent contribution of Ephemeroptera to stream benthic communities increased significantly with stream age and the amount of coarse benthic organic matter. Juvenile Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma) were dominant in the younger streams, but juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) abundance was greater in older streams associated with increased pool habitat. Upstream lakes significantly influenced channel stability, percent Chironomidae, total macroinvertebrate and meiofaunal abundance, and percent fish cover. Stable isotope analyses indicated nitrogen enrichment from marine sources in macroinvertebrates and juvenile fish in older streams with established salmon runs. The findings are encapsulated in a conceptual summary of stream development that proposes stream assemblages to be determined by direct interactions with the terrestrial, marine, and lake ecosystems.

Developing a decision support system for R&D project portfolio selection with interdependencies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashrafi, Maryam; Davoudpour, Hamid; Abbassi, Mohammad

2012-11-01

Although investment in research and technology is a promising tool for technology centered organizations through obtaining their objectives, resource constraints make organizations select between their pool of research and technology projects through means of R&D project portfolio selection techniques mitigating corresponding risks and enhancing the overall value of project portfolio.

New England salt marsh pools: A quantitative analysis of geomorphic and geographic features

USGS Publications Warehouse

Adamowicz, S.C.; Roman, C.T.

2005-01-01

New England salt marsh pools provide important wildlife habitat and are the object of on-going salt marsh restoration projects; however, they have not been quantified in terms of their basic geomorphic and geographic traits. An examination of 32 ditched and unditched salt marshes from the Connecticut shore of Long Island Sound to southern Maine, USA, revealed that pools from ditched and unditched marshes had similar average sizes of about 200 m2, averaged 29 cm in depth, and were located about 11 m from the nearest tidal flow. Unditched marshes had 3 times the density (13 pools/ha), 2.5 times the pool coverage (83 m pool/km transect), and 4 times the total pool surface area per hectare (913 m2 pool/ha salt marsh) of ditched sites. Linear regression analysis demonstrated that an increasing density of ditches (m ditch/ha salt marsh) was negatively correlated with pool density and total pool surface area per hectare. Creek density was positively correlated with these variables. Thus, it was not the mere presence of drainage channels that were associated with low numbers of pools, but their type (ditch versus creek) and abundance. Tidal range was not correlated with pool density or total pool surface area, while marsh latitude had only a weak relationship to total pool surface area per hectare. Pools should be incorporated into salt marsh restoration planning, and the parameters quantified here may be used as initial design targets.

The Maine Vernal Pool Mapping and Assessment Program: Engaging Municipal Officials and Private Landowners in Community-Based Citizen Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jansujwicz, Jessica S.; Calhoun, Aram J. K.; Lilieholm, Robert J.

2013-12-01

The Vernal Pool Mapping and Assessment Program (VPMAP) was initiated in 2007 to create a vernal pool database as a planning tool to foster local compliance with new state vernal pool regulations. In the northeastern United States, vernal pools are seasonal wetlands that provide critical breeding habitat for a number of amphibians and invertebrates and provide important resting and foraging habitat for some rare and endangered state-listed species. Using participant observation, interviews, and focus groups, we examined the engagement of municipal officials and private landowners in VPMAP. Important outcomes of municipal and landowner engagement included mobilization of town support for proactive planning, improved awareness and understanding of vernal pools, and increased interactions between program coordinators, municipal officials, and private landowners. Challenges to municipal and landowner engagement included an inconsistency in expectations between coordinators and municipal officials and a lack of time and sufficient information for follow-up with landowners participating in VPMAP. Our study highlights the importance of developing relationships among coordinators, municipal officials, and private landowners in facilitating positive outcomes for all stakeholders and for effective resource management. We suggest an expanded citizen science model that focuses on improving two-way communication among project coordinators, municipal officials, and local citizens and places communication with private landowners on par with volunteer citizen scientist recruitment and field training. Lessons learned from this research can inform the design and implementation of citizen science projects on private land.

Homogenizing and diversifying effects of intensive agricultural land-use on plant species beta diversity in Central Europe - A call to adapt our conservation measures

Treesearch

Constanze Buhk; Martin Alt; Manuel J. Steinbauer; Carl Beierkuhnlein; Steve Warren; Anke Jentsch

2017-01-01

The prevention of biodiversity loss in agricultural landscapes to protect ecosystem stability and functions is of major importance to stabilize overall diversity. Intense agriculture leads to a loss in species richness and homogenization of species pools, but the processes behind are poorly understood due to a lack of systematic case studies: The specific...

Teaching Potential Energy Functions and Stability with Slap Bracelets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Hook, Stephen J.

2005-10-01

The slap bracelet, an inexpensive child's toy, makes it easy to engage students in hands-on exploration of potential energy curves as well as of stable, unstable, and meta-stable states. Rather than just observing the teacher performing a demonstration, the students can manipulate the equipment themselves and make their own observations, which are then pooled to focus a class discussion on potential energy functions and stability.

DNA Precursor Metabolism and Mitochondrial Genome Stability

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-04-01

mitochondrial DNA replication , to learn how the pool sizes are regulated, and to understand how perturbations of normal dNTP metabolism within the...mitochondria raises the possibility, however unlikely, that it is serving a function in addition to its role in DNA replication . The literature on non-DNA...is below since many authors do not follow the 200 word limit 14. SUBJECT TERMS Mitochondria, Genome stability, DNA precursors, Mitochondrial DNA

Alcohol intake and gastric cancer: Meta-analyses of published data versus individual participant data pooled analyses (StoP Project).

PubMed

Ferro, Ana; Morais, Samantha; Rota, Matteo; Pelucchi, Claudio; Bertuccio, Paola; Bonzi, Rossella; Galeone, Carlotta; Zhang, Zuo-Feng; Matsuo, Keitaro; Ito, Hidemi; Hu, Jinfu; Johnson, Kenneth C; Yu, Guo-Pei; Palli, Domenico; Ferraroni, Monica; Muscat, Joshua; Malekzadeh, Reza; Ye, Weimin; Song, Huan; Zaridze, David; Maximovitch, Dmitry; Fernández de Larrea, Nerea; Kogevinas, Manolis; Vioque, Jesus; Navarrete-Muñoz, Eva M; Pakseresht, Mohammadreza; Pourfarzi, Farhad; Wolk, Alicja; Orsini, Nicola; Bellavia, Andrea; Håkansson, Niclas; Mu, Lina; Pastorino, Roberta; Kurtz, Robert C; Derakhshan, Mohammad H; Lagiou, Areti; Lagiou, Pagona; Boffetta, Paolo; Boccia, Stefania; Negri, Eva; La Vecchia, Carlo; Peleteiro, Bárbara; Lunet, Nuno

2018-05-01

Individual participant data pooled analyses allow access to non-published data and statistical reanalyses based on more homogeneous criteria than meta-analyses based on systematic reviews. We quantified the impact of publication-related biases and heterogeneity in data analysis and presentation in summary estimates of the association between alcohol drinking and gastric cancer. We compared estimates obtained from conventional meta-analyses, using only data available in published reports from studies that take part in the Stomach Cancer Pooling (StoP) Project, with individual participant data pooled analyses including the same studies. A total of 22 studies from the StoP Project assessed the relation between alcohol intake and gastric cancer, 19 had specific data for levels of consumption and 18 according to cancer location; published reports addressing these associations were available from 18, 5 and 5 studies, respectively. The summary odds ratios [OR, (95%CI)] estimate obtained with published data for drinkers vs. non-drinkers was 10% higher than the one obtained with individual StoP data [18 vs. 22 studies: 1.21 (1.07-1.36) vs. 1.10 (0.99-1.23)] and more heterogeneous (I 2 : 63.6% vs 54.4%). In general, published data yielded less precise summary estimates (standard errors up to 2.6 times higher). Funnel plot analysis suggested publication bias. Meta-analyses of the association between alcohol drinking and gastric cancer tended to overestimate the magnitude of the effects, possibly due to publication bias. Additionally, individual participant data pooled analyses yielded more precise estimates for different levels of exposure or cancer subtypes. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Long-term rice cultivation stabilizes soil organic carbon and promotes soil microbial activity in a salt marsh derived soil chronosequence

PubMed Central

Wang, Ping; Liu, Yalong; Li, Lianqing; Cheng, Kun; Zheng, Jufeng; Zhang, Xuhui; Zheng, Jinwei; Joseph, Stephen; Pan, Genxing

2015-01-01

Soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration with enhanced stable carbon storage has been widely accepted as a very important ecosystem property. Yet, the link between carbon stability and bio-activity for ecosystem functioning with OC accumulation in field soils has not been characterized. We assessed the changes in microbial activity versus carbon stability along a paddy soil chronosequence shifting from salt marsh in East China. We used mean weight diameter, normalized enzyme activity (NEA) and carbon gain from straw amendment for addressing soil aggregation, microbial biochemical activity and potential C sequestration, respectively. In addition, a response ratio was employed to infer the changes in all analyzed parameters with prolonged rice cultivation. While stable carbon pools varied with total SOC accumulation, soil respiration and both bacterial and fungal diversity were relatively constant in the rice soils. Bacterial abundance and NEA were positively but highly correlated to total SOC accumulation, indicating an enhanced bio-activity with carbon stabilization. This could be linked to an enhancement of particulate organic carbon pool due to physical protection with enhanced soil aggregation in the rice soils under long-term rice cultivation. However, the mechanism underpinning these changes should be explored in future studies in rice soils where dynamic redox conditions exist. PMID:26503629

Long-term rice cultivation stabilizes soil organic carbon and promotes soil microbial activity in a salt marsh derived soil chronosequence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ping; Liu, Yalong; Li, Lianqing; Cheng, Kun; Zheng, Jufeng; Zhang, Xuhui; Zheng, Jinwei; Joseph, Stephen; Pan, Genxing

2015-10-01

Soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration with enhanced stable carbon storage has been widely accepted as a very important ecosystem property. Yet, the link between carbon stability and bio-activity for ecosystem functioning with OC accumulation in field soils has not been characterized. We assessed the changes in microbial activity versus carbon stability along a paddy soil chronosequence shifting from salt marsh in East China. We used mean weight diameter, normalized enzyme activity (NEA) and carbon gain from straw amendment for addressing soil aggregation, microbial biochemical activity and potential C sequestration, respectively. In addition, a response ratio was employed to infer the changes in all analyzed parameters with prolonged rice cultivation. While stable carbon pools varied with total SOC accumulation, soil respiration and both bacterial and fungal diversity were relatively constant in the rice soils. Bacterial abundance and NEA were positively but highly correlated to total SOC accumulation, indicating an enhanced bio-activity with carbon stabilization. This could be linked to an enhancement of particulate organic carbon pool due to physical protection with enhanced soil aggregation in the rice soils under long-term rice cultivation. However, the mechanism underpinning these changes should be explored in future studies in rice soils where dynamic redox conditions exist.

Long-term rice cultivation stabilizes soil organic carbon and promotes soil microbial activity in a salt marsh derived soil chronosequence.

PubMed

Wang, Ping; Liu, Yalong; Li, Lianqing; Cheng, Kun; Zheng, Jufeng; Zhang, Xuhui; Zheng, Jinwei; Joseph, Stephen; Pan, Genxing

2015-10-27

Soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration with enhanced stable carbon storage has been widely accepted as a very important ecosystem property. Yet, the link between carbon stability and bio-activity for ecosystem functioning with OC accumulation in field soils has not been characterized. We assessed the changes in microbial activity versus carbon stability along a paddy soil chronosequence shifting from salt marsh in East China. We used mean weight diameter, normalized enzyme activity (NEA) and carbon gain from straw amendment for addressing soil aggregation, microbial biochemical activity and potential C sequestration, respectively. In addition, a response ratio was employed to infer the changes in all analyzed parameters with prolonged rice cultivation. While stable carbon pools varied with total SOC accumulation, soil respiration and both bacterial and fungal diversity were relatively constant in the rice soils. Bacterial abundance and NEA were positively but highly correlated to total SOC accumulation, indicating an enhanced bio-activity with carbon stabilization. This could be linked to an enhancement of particulate organic carbon pool due to physical protection with enhanced soil aggregation in the rice soils under long-term rice cultivation. However, the mechanism underpinning these changes should be explored in future studies in rice soils where dynamic redox conditions exist.

Effects of surface-water and groundwater inflows and outflows on the hydrology of the Tsala Apopka Lake Basin in Citrus County, Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sepúlveda, Nicasio; Fulkerson, Mark; Basso, Ron; Ryan, Patrick J.

2018-05-21

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Southwest Florida Water Management District, initiated a study to quantify the inflows and outflows in the Floral City, Inverness, and Hernando pools of the Tsala Apopka Lake Basin in Citrus County, Florida. This study assesses hydrologic changes in pool stages, groundwater levels, spring flows, and streamflows caused by the diversion of streamflow from the Withlacoochee River to the Tsala Apopka Lake Basin through water-control structures. A surface-water/groundwater flow model was developed using hydraulic parameters for lakes, streams, the unsaturated zone, and the underlying surficial and Upper Floridan aquifers estimated using an inverse modeling calibration technique. After calibration, the model was used to assess the relation between inflows and outflows in the Tsala Apopka Lake Basin and changes in pool stages.Simulation results using the calibrated surface-water/groundwater flow model showed that leakage rates from the pools to the Upper Floridan aquifer were largest at the deep lake cells and that these leakage rates to the Upper Floridan aquifer were the highest in the model area. Downward leakage to the Upper Floridan aquifer occurred beneath most of the extent of the Floral City, Inverness, and Hernando pools. These leakage rates depended on the lakebed leakance and the difference between lake stages and heads in the Upper Floridan aquifer. Leakage rates were higher for the Floral City pool than for the Inverness pool, and higher for the Inverness pool than for the Hernando pool. Lakebed leakance was higher for the Floral City pool than for the Hernando pool, and higher for the Hernando pool than for the Inverness pool.Simulation results showed that the average recharge rate to the surficial aquifer was 10.3 inches per year for the 2004 to 2012 simulation period. Areas that recharge the surficial aquifer covered about 86 percent of the model area. Simulations identified areas along segments of the Withlacoochee River and within land-surface depressions that receive water from the surficial aquifer. Recharge rates were largest in physiographic regions having a deep water table. Simulated heads in the Upper Floridan aquifer indicated the general flow directions in the active flow model area were from the northeast toward the southwest and then westward toward the coast, and from the southeast toward the northwest and then westward toward the coast, consistent with flow directions inferred from the estimated potentiometric surface map for May 2010. The largest inflow in the water budget of the Upper Floridan aquifer was downward leakage from the overlying hydrogeologic unit. The largest outflow in the water budget of the Upper Floridan aquifer was spring flow.The calibrated surface-water and groundwater flow model was used to simulate hydrologic scenarios that included changes in rainfall rates, projected increases in groundwater pumping rates for 2025 and 2035, no flow for the 2004–12 period through the eight water-control structures in the Tsala Apopka Lake Basin, and the removal of the Inglis Dam and the Inglis Bypass Spillway on Lake Rousseau. Scenario simulation results were compared to annual average calibrated water levels and flows from 2004 to 2012. Simulated declines in the Tsala Apopka Lake pool stages under the 10-percent lower rainfall scenario were about 0.8, 0.3, and 1.3 feet (ft) for the Floral City, Inverness, and Hernando pools, respectively. Simulated groundwater levels under the same scenario declined up to 5.4 ft in the surficial aquifer and up to 2.9 ft in the Upper Floridan aquifer. Under the projected increases in groundwater pumping rates for 2035 that represented an increase of 36 percent from average 2004 to 2012 pumping rates, the simulated declines in the Floral City, Inverness, and Hernando pool stages were, in downstream order, 0.02, 0.06, and 0.04 ft. The largest drawdown under the projected increases in groundwater pumping rates for 2035 was 2.1 ft in the surficial aquifer and about 1.8 ft in the Upper Floridan aquifer. A scenario of decreased rainfall by 10 percent caused greater declines in water levels and pool stages than projected increases in groundwater pumping rates. The simulation with no flow through the eight Tsala Apopka Lake water-control structures resulted in simulated declines in average pool stage of 1.8, 1.9, and 0.5 ft in the Floral City, Inverness, and Hernando pools, respectively. The simulated removal of the two water-control structures in Lake Rousseau caused flow to increase at Rainbow Springs by 28 cubic feet per second, an increase of 4.7 percent from the average calibrated flow for 2004 to 2012.

Targeting climate diversity in conservation planning to build resilience to climate change

USGS Publications Warehouse

Heller, Nicole E.; Kreitler, Jason R.; Ackerly, David; Weiss, Stuart; Recinos, Amanda; Branciforte, Ryan; Flint, Lorraine E.; Flint, Alan L.; Micheli, Elisabeth

2015-01-01

Climate change is raising challenging concerns for systematic conservation planning. Are methods based on the current spatial patterns of biodiversity effective given long-term climate change? Some conservation scientists argue that planning should focus on protecting the abiotic diversity in the landscape, which drives patterns of biological diversity, rather than focusing on the distribution of focal species, which shift in response to climate change. Climate is one important abiotic driver of biodiversity patterns, as different climates host different biological communities and genetic pools. We propose conservation networks that capture the full range of climatic diversity in a region will improve the resilience of biotic communities to climate change compared to networks that do not. In this study we used historical and future hydro-climate projections from the high resolution Basin Characterization Model to explore the utility of directly targeting climatic diversity in planning. Using the spatial planning tool, Marxan, we designed conservation networks to capture the diversity of climate types, at the regional and sub-regional scale, and compared them to networks we designed to capture the diversity of vegetation types. By focusing on the Conservation Lands Network (CLN) of the San Francisco Bay Area as a real-world case study, we compared the potential resilience of networks by examining two factors: the range of climate space captured, and climatic stability to 18 future climates, reflecting different emission scenarios and global climate models. We found that the climate-based network planned at the sub-regional scale captured a greater range of climate space and showed higher climatic stability than the vegetation and regional based-networks. At the same time, differences among network scenarios are small relative to the variance in climate stability across global climate models. Across different projected futures, topographically heterogeneous areas consistently show greater climate stability than homogenous areas. The analysis suggests that utilizing high-resolution climate and hydrological data in conservation planning improves the likely resilience of biodiversity to climate change. We used these analyses to suggest new conservation priorities for the San Francisco Bay Area.

Development of the laboratory prototype "CavyPool" for assessing treatments and materials for swimming pools.

PubMed

Valeriani, F; Gianfranceschi, G; Vitali, M; Protano, C; Romano Spica, V

2017-01-01

Hygiene and surveillance in swimming pools are established by WHO Guidelines and national laws. Progress in water management and pool construction is revolutionizing the field, introducing new materials, systems, disinfection procedures or monitoring markers. Innovation advances challenge the upgrading of safety and quality in pools and the appropriate implementation of guidelines. In order to provide a device for laboratory test, a prototype was realized and applied to study and compare swimming pool materials and treatments. A pool scale-model was engineered and evaluated by computational fluid dynamics algorithms. An automated real time monitoring assured steady state. Critical control points along the water circuit were made accessible to allow the placing of different biocides or water sampling. Simulations were safely performed in a standard hood. Materials for pool surfaces and pipelines were evaluated for biofilm formation under different disinfection conditions. Adherent microorganisms were assayed by mfDNA analysis using real time PCR. The prototype reached the steady state within 5-25 hours under different conditions, showing chemical, physical and fluid-dynamic stability. A method was optimized for testing materials showing their different response to biofilm induction. Several innovative PVC samples displayed highest resistance to bacterial adhesion. A device and method was developed for testing swimming pool hygienic parameters in laboratory. It allowed to test materials for pools hygiene and maintenance, including biofilm formation. It can be applied to simulate contaminations under different water treatments or disinfection strategies. It may support technical decisions and help policymakers in acquiring evidences for comparing or validating innovative solutions.

Design of a pool boiler heat transport system for a 25 kWe advanced Stirling conversion system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, W. G.; Rosenfeld, J. H.; Noble, J.; Kesseli, J.

1991-01-01

The overall operating temperature and efficiency of solar-powered Stirling engines can be improved by adding a heat transport system to more uniformly supply heat to the heater head tubes. One heat transport system with favorable characteristics is an alkali metal pool boiler. An alkali metal pool boiler heat transport system was designed for a 25-kW advanced Stirling conversion system (ASCS). Solar energy concentrated on the absorber dome boils a eutectic mixture of sodium and potassium. The alkali metal vapors condense on the heater head tubes, supplying the Stirling engine with a uniform heat flux at a constant temperature. Boiling stability is achieved with the use of an enhanced boiling surface and noncondensible gas.

Using the Nominal Response Model to Evaluate Response Category Discrimination in the PROMIS Emotional Distress Item Pools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Preston, Kathleen; Reise, Steven; Cai, Li; Hays, Ron D.

2011-01-01

The authors used a nominal response item response theory model to estimate category boundary discrimination (CBD) parameters for items drawn from the Emotional Distress item pools (Depression, Anxiety, and Anger) developed in the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information Systems (PROMIS) project. For polytomous items with ordered response…

50 CFR 648.86 - NE Multispecies possession restrictions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... § 648.90(a)(4) will exceed the pertinent sub-ACL, NMFS may implement or adjust, at any time prior to or... possession limit and/or a maximum trip limit in order to prevent exceeding the common pool sub-ACL in that.... If the Regional Administrator projects that the sub-ACL of any stock allocated to the common pool...

50 CFR 648.86 - NE Multispecies possession restrictions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... the pertinent sub-ACL, NMFS may implement or adjust, at any time prior to or during the fishing year... maximum trip limit in order to prevent exceeding the common pool sub-ACL in that fishing year. (2... Administrator projects that the sub-ACL of any stock allocated to the common pool pursuant to § 648.90(a)(4...

A two-generation analysis of pollen pool genetic structure in flowering dogwood Cornus florida (Cornaceae), in the Missouri Ozarks

Treesearch

Victoria L. Sork; Peter E. Smouse; Victoria J. Apsit; Rodney J. Dyer; Robert D. Westfall

2005-01-01

Anthropogenic landscape change can disrupt gene flow. As part of the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project, this study examined whether silvicultural practices influence pollen-mediated gene movement in the insect-pollinated species, Cornus florida L., by comparing pollen pool structure (ΦST) among clear-cutting,...

Study on Dynamic Development of Three-dimensional Weld Pool Surface in Stationary GTAW

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Jiankang; He, Jing; He, Xiaoying; Shi, Yu; Fan, Ding

2018-04-01

The weld pool contains abundant information about the welding process. In particular, the type of the weld pool surface shape, i. e., convex or concave, is determined by the weld penetration. To detect it, an innovative laser-vision-based sensing method is employed to observe the weld pool surface of the gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). A low-power laser dots pattern is projected onto the entire weld pool surface. Its reflection is intercepted by a screen and captured by a camera. Then the dynamic development process of the weld pool surface can be detected. By observing and analyzing, the change of the reflected laser dots reflection pattern, for shape of the weld pool surface shape, was found to closely correlate to the penetration of weld pool in the welding process. A mathematical model was proposed to correlate the incident ray, reflected ray, screen and surface of weld pool based on structured laser specular reflection. The dynamic variation of the weld pool surface and its corresponding dots laser pattern were simulated and analyzed. By combining the experimental data and the mathematical analysis, the results show that the pattern of the reflected laser dots pattern is closely correlated to the development of weld pool, such as the weld penetration. The concavity of the pool surface was found to increase rapidly after the surface shape was changed from convex to concave during the stationary GTAW process.

Recent Progress in Measuring and Modeling Patterns of Biomass and Soil Carbon Pools Across the Amazon Basin

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Potter, Christopher; Malhi, Yadvinder

2004-01-01

Ever more detailed representations of above-ground biomass and soil carbon pools have been developed during the LBA project. Environmental controls such as regional climate, land cover history, secondary forest regrowth, and soil fertility are now being taken into account in regional inventory studies. This paper will review the evolution of measurement-extrapolation approaches, remote sensing, and simulation modeling techniques for biomass and soil carbon pools, which together help constrain regional carbon budgets and enhance in our understanding of uncertainty at the regional level.

The Learning Process and Technological Change in Wind Power: Evidence from China's CDM Wind Projects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tang, Tian; Popp, David

2016-01-01

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is a project-based carbon trade mechanism that subsidizes the users of climate-friendly technologies and encourages technology transfer. The CDM has provided financial support for a large share of Chinese wind projects since 2002. Using pooled cross-sectional data of 486 registered CDM wind projects in China…

The After Breast Cancer Pooling Project: rationale, methodology, and breast cancer survivor characteristics.

PubMed

Nechuta, Sarah J; Caan, Bette J; Chen, Wendy Y; Flatt, Shirley W; Lu, Wei; Patterson, Ruth E; Poole, Elizabeth M; Kwan, Marilyn L; Chen, Zhi; Weltzien, Erin; Pierce, John P; Shu, Xiao Ou

2011-09-01

The After Breast Cancer Pooling Project was established to examine the role of physical activity, adiposity, dietary factors, supplement use, and quality of life (QOL) in breast cancer prognosis. This paper presents pooled and harmonized data on post-diagnosis lifestyle factors, clinical prognostic factors, and breast cancer outcomes from four prospective cohorts of breast cancer survivors (three US-based and one from Shanghai, China) for 18,314 invasive breast cancer cases diagnosed between 1976 and 2006. Most participants were diagnosed with stage I-II breast cancer (84.7%). About 60% of breast tumors were estrogen receptor (ER)+/progesterone receptor (PR)+; 21% were ER-/PR-. Among 8,118 participants with information on HER-2 tumor status, 74.8% were HER-2- and 18.5% were HER-2+. At 1-2 years post-diagnosis (on average), 17.9% of participants were obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2), 32.6% were overweight (BMI 25-29 kg/m2), and 59.9% met the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (≥ 2.5 h per week of moderate activity). During follow-up (mean = 8.4 years), 3,736 deaths (2,614 from breast cancer) and 3,564 recurrences have been documented. After accounting for differences in year of diagnosis and timing of post-diagnosis enrollment, five-year overall survival estimates were similar across cohorts. This pooling project of 18,000 breast cancer survivors enables the evaluation of associations of post-diagnosis lifestyle factors, QOL, and breast cancer outcomes with an adequate sample size for investigation of heterogeneity by hormone receptor status and other clinical predictors. The project sets the stage for international collaborations for the investigation of modifiable predictors for breast cancer outcomes.

Stability and activity modulation of chymotrypsins in AOT reversed micelles by protein-interface interaction: interaction of alpha-chymotrypsin with a negative interface leads to a cooperative breakage of a salt bridge that keeps the catalytic active conformation (Ile16-Asp194).

PubMed

Almeida, F C; Valente, A P; Chaimovich, H

1998-08-05

The stability of alpha-chymotrypsin and delta-chymotrypsin was studied in reversed micelles of sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT) in isooctane. alpha-Chymotrypsin is inactivated at the interface and at the water pool, while delta-chymotrypsin is inactivated only at the water pool. The mechanism of inactivation at the interface is related to the interaction of N-terminal group alanine 149 (absent in delta-chymotrypsin) with the negative interface. The dependence of enzyme activity on water content of these two enzymes in reversed micelles of AOT is also related with the interface interaction, since delta-chymotrypsin does not have a bell-shaped curve as observed for alpha-chymotrypsin. Copyright 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Impact of Oral Fluid Collection Device on Cannabinoid Stability Following Smoked Cannabis

PubMed Central

Anizan, Sébastien; Bergamaschi, Mateus M.; Barnes, Allan J.; Milman, Garry; Desrosiers, Nathalie; Lee, Dayong; Gorelick, David A.; Huestis, Marilyn A.

2014-01-01

Evaluation of cannabinoid stability in authentic oral fluid (OF) is critical, as most OF stability studies employed fortified or synthetic OF. Participants (n=16) smoked a 6.8% delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) cigarette, and baseline concentrations of THC, 11-nor-9-carboxy-THC (THCCOOH), cannabidiol (CBD), and cannabinol (CBN) were determined within 24h in 16 separate pooled samples (collected 1h before to 10.5 or 13h after smoking). OF was collected with the StatSure Saliva Sampler™ and Oral-Eze® devices. Oral-Eze samples were re-analyzed after room temperature (RT) storage for 1 week, and for both devices after 4°C for 1 and 4 weeks, and –20°C for 4 and 24 weeks. Concentrations ±20% from initial concentrations were considered stable. With the StatSure device, all cannabinoids were within 80-120% median %baseline for all storage conditions. Individual THC, CBD, CBN and THCCOOH pool concentrations were stable in 100%, 100%, 80-94% and >85%, respectively, across storage conditions. With the Oral-Eze device, at RT or refrigerated storage (for 1 and 4 weeks), THC, CBD and THCCOOH were stable in 94-100%, 78-89% and 93-100% of samples, respectively, while CBN concentrations were 53–79% stable. However, after 24 weeks at -20°C, stability decreased, especially for CBD, with a median of 56% stability. Overall, the collection devices’ elution/stabilizing buffers provided good stability for OF cannabinoids, with the exception of the more labile CBN. To ensure OF cannabinoid concentration accuracy, these data suggest analysis within 4 weeks at 4°C storage for Oral-Eze collection and within 4 weeks at 4°C or 24 weeks at -20°C for StatSure collection. PMID:24995604

Nucleotide pools dictate the identity and frequency of ribonucleotide incorporation in mitochondrial DNA.

PubMed

Berglund, Anna-Karin; Navarrete, Clara; Engqvist, Martin K M; Hoberg, Emily; Szilagyi, Zsolt; Taylor, Robert W; Gustafsson, Claes M; Falkenberg, Maria; Clausen, Anders R

2017-02-01

Previous work has demonstrated the presence of ribonucleotides in human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and in the present study we use a genome-wide approach to precisely map the location of these. We find that ribonucleotides are distributed evenly between the heavy- and light-strand of mtDNA. The relative levels of incorporated ribonucleotides reflect that DNA polymerase γ discriminates the four ribonucleotides differentially during DNA synthesis. The observed pattern is also dependent on the mitochondrial deoxyribonucleotide (dNTP) pools and disease-causing mutations that change these pools alter both the absolute and relative levels of incorporated ribonucleotides. Our analyses strongly suggest that DNA polymerase γ-dependent incorporation is the main source of ribonucleotides in mtDNA and argues against the existence of a mitochondrial ribonucleotide excision repair pathway in human cells. Furthermore, we clearly demonstrate that when dNTP pools are limiting, ribonucleotides serve as a source of building blocks to maintain DNA replication. Increased levels of embedded ribonucleotides in patient cells with disturbed nucleotide pools may contribute to a pathogenic mechanism that affects mtDNA stability and impair new rounds of mtDNA replication.

Pushing HTCondor and glideinWMS to 200K+ Jobs in a Global Pool for CMS before Run 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balcas, J.; Belforte, S.; Bockelman, B.; Gutsche, O.; Khan, F.; Larson, K.; Letts, J.; Mascheroni, M.; Mason, D.; McCrea, A.; Saiz-Santos, M.; Sfiligoi, I.

2015-12-01

The CMS experiment at the LHC relies on HTCondor and glideinWMS as its primary batch and pilot-based Grid provisioning system. So far we have been running several independent resource pools, but we are working on unifying them all to reduce the operational load and more effectively share resources between various activities in CMS. The major challenge of this unification activity is scale. The combined pool size is expected to reach 200K job slots, which is significantly bigger than any other multi-user HTCondor based system currently in production. To get there we have studied scaling limitations in our existing pools, the biggest of which tops out at about 70K slots, providing valuable feedback to the development communities, who have responded by delivering improvements which have helped us reach higher and higher scales with more stability. We have also worked on improving the organization and support model for this critical service during Run 2 of the LHC. This contribution will present the results of the scale testing and experiences from the first months of running the Global Pool.

Snow removal performance metrics : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-05-01

This document is the final report for the Clear Roads project entitled Snow Removal Performance Metrics. The project team was led by researchers at Washington State University on behalf of Clear Roads, an ongoing pooled fund research effort focused o...

The Program Evaluator's Role in Cross-Project Pollination.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yasgur, Bruce J.

An expanded duties role of the multiple-program evaluator as an integral part of the ongoing decision-making process in all projects served is defended. Assumptions discussed included that need for projects with related objectives to pool resources and avoid duplication of effort and the evaluator's unique ability to provide an objective…

Long-term effect of land use change on soil quality: Afforestation and land abandonment in semi-arid Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zethof, Jeroen; Cammeraat, Erik; Nadal-Romero, Estela

2016-04-01

Soils under the Mediterranean climate are vulnerable for degradation, especially after land abandonment. Abandonment is an important factor in the Mediterranean landscape as vegetation regeneration is hampered due to the characteristic semi-arid and sub-humid Mediterranean climate regime. During the past 70 year extensive afforestation projects have been conducted with the aim to protect landscapes and soils against degradation. While large investments are still being made, little is known about the impact of afforestation on soil quality on a longer time scale. During the past decade, there is a growing interest in qualifying and quantifying the carbon storage in soils by such afforestation projects, to get a better understanding of the carbon cycle and look for possibilities to fixate atmospheric CO2 in the soil. It is generally accepted that afforestation projects will increase the soil carbon pool, but data on this process is scarce. Therefore an intensive fieldwork has been carried out in Murcia, southeastern Spain to study the effects of land abandonment and afforestation on soil quality along a chronosequence and included two afforested areas (from the early '70s and 1993). The Pinus halepensis trees were planted in rows, for which the underlying calcrete was broken. Samples were taken to study changes in soil quality (Aggregate stability, Corg, N, P, K, Na), Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) stocks and soil hydraulic properties, such as infiltration and water retention, between the afforestation projects, abandoned agricultural plots of similar age, semi-natural vegetation, cereal crop fields and almond orchards. As the natural vegetation is characterized by a spotted pattern of bare areas and trees, forming so-called "islands of fertility", both bare and vegetation covered sub-sites were sampled. First results showed a positive effect of both land abandonment and afforestation on the soil aggregation. Especially the 40-year-old plots showed underneath trees similar values as the semi-natural sites, while the open areas in the afforested sites lag behind. Especially the soil at a depth of 10-20 cm showed a clear decrease in aggregate stability, while the surface layer showed a clear increase in aggregate stability. Abandonment sites showed a non-linear increase in soil quality, which means that aggregate stability slightly declines after 20 year of abandonment, but the positive change was less than on the afforested sites. Changes in vegetation along the chronosequence studied, could be expected to have an impact on organic matter input quality and quantity. Such changes in vegetation cover, structure and composition were not observed for the afforested sites in the field, but preliminary results suggest that the 40-year-old afforested sites could have a higher soil quality than the semi-natural sites.

Hydraulic displacement of dense nonaqueous phase liquids for source zone stabilization.

PubMed

Alexandra, Richards; Gerhard, Jason I; Kueper, Bernard H

2012-01-01

Hydraulic displacement is a mass removal technology suitable for stabilization of a dense, nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) source zone, where stabilization is defined as reducing DNAPL saturations and reducing the risk of future pool mobilization. High resolution three-dimensional multiphase flow simulations incorporating a spatially correlated, heterogeneous porous medium illustrate that hydraulic displacement results in an increase in the amount of residual DNAPL present, which in turn results in increased solute concentrations in groundwater, an increase in the rate of DNAPL dissolution, and an increase in the solute mass flux. A higher percentage of DNAPL recovery is associated with higher initial DNAPL release volumes, lower density DNAPLs, more heterogeneous porous media, and increased drawdown of groundwater at extraction wells. The fact that higher rates of recovery are associated with more heterogeneous porous media stems from the fact that larger contrasts in permeability provide for a higher proportion of capillary barriers upon which DNAPL pooling and lateral migration can occur. Across all scenarios evaluated in this study, the ganglia-to-pool (GTP) ratio generally increased from approximately 0.1 to between approximately 0.3 and 0.7 depending on the type of DNAPL, the degree of heterogeneity, and the imposed hydraulic gradient. The volume of DNAPL recovered as a result of implementing hydraulic displacement ranged from between 9.4% and 45.2% of the initial release volume, with the largest percentage recovery associated with 1,1,1 trichloroethane, the least dense of the three DNAPLs considered. © 2012, The Author(s). Ground Water © 2012, National Ground Water Association.

Landform position and charring conditions control decomposition of soil organic matter and pyrogenic carbon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abney, R.; Jin, L.; Berhe, A. A.

2017-12-01

Wildfire is a significant global control on both ecosystem properties and biogeochemical cycling, and wildfires are projected to increase in both size and severity with continued climate change. Post-fire, charred biomass, or pyrogenic carbon, is left behind as a significant, relatively slow-cycling component of the soil organic matter pool. Pyrogenic carbon has a turnover time on the centennial scale, and previous research has demonstrated that it is highly susceptible to erosion. However, the interaction of the roles of landform position and combustion temperature remains unexplored. We collected live Pinus jeffreyi bark and charred it under combustion conditions at three temperatures (200°C, 350°C, and 500°C). The charred bark was mixed with soil collected from both eroding and depositional landform positions and incubated for six months. Throughout this incubation, microbial respiration was monitored via collection of CO2, and cumulative respiration was fitted using both single- and multi-pool exponential models. Overall, respiration was highest in soil and char mixtures in the depositional landform positions. Pyrogenic carbon concentrations, as determined by the Kurth Mackenzie Deluca method, declined only slightly in the 200°C char mixed with the depositional soil. Scanning electron microscopy images of the chars before and after incubation illustrate some incorporation of soil organic matter into the structures of the char, and some breakdown of the physical structures of the char. Altogether, the lower temperature chars mixed with the soil from the depositional landform position had the highest decomposition rates, which suggests the role that landform position may play on the stability of pyrogenic carbon at the landscape scale. Furthermore, this implies that the post-fire erosional re-distribution of pyrogenic carbon may act as a significant control of its long-term stabilization in soil and landscape-scale soil carbon stocks.

Communication Enhancement Project. Manitoba Pool Elevators and United Grain Growers. Phase One Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howell, Sandi

In 1992, United Grain Growers (UGG) and Manitoba Pool (MP) formed a partnership to examine the literacy and numeracy needs of their rural grain elevator operators and the potential of delivering a communications enhancement program in the rural areas. During part 1, the committee held a series of initial planning meetings. Both companies held…

Accelerated testing for studying pavement design and performance (FY 2002) : research summary.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-01-01

This report covers the Fiscal Year 2002 project conducted at the Accelerated Testing : Laboratory at Kansas State University. The project was selected and funded by the : Midwest States Accelerated Testing Pooled Fund Program, which includes Iowa, Ka...

PROJECT REPORT : Alaska-Metro/Rural Deployment Project CARS/511 – Anchorage Integration

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-03-19

The Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) initiated the Alaska Travel Information System by joining the Condition Acquisition & Reporting System/511 (CARS/511) Pooled Fund in October 2002. CARS was jointly developed by the...

Little effects on soil organic matter chemistry of density fractions after seven years of forest soil warming.

PubMed

Schnecker, Jörg; Borken, Werner; Schindlbacher, Andreas; Wanek, Wolfgang

2016-12-01

Rising temperatures enhance microbial decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM) and thereby increase the soil CO 2 efflux. Elevated decomposition rates might differently affect distinct SOM pools, depending on their stability and accessibility. Soil fractions derived from density fractionation have been suggested to represent SOM pools with different turnover times and stability against microbial decomposition. To investigate the effect of soil warming on functionally different soil organic matter pools, we here investigated the chemical and isotopic composition of bulk soil and three density fractions (free particulate organic matter, fPOM; occluded particulate organic matter, oPOM; and mineral associated organic matter, MaOM) of a C-rich soil from a long-term warming experiment in a spruce forest in the Austrian Alps. At the time of sampling, the soil in this experiment had been warmed during the snow-free period for seven consecutive years. During that time no thermal adaptation of the microbial community could be identified and CO 2 release from the soil continued to be elevated by the warming treatment. Our results, which included organic carbon content, total nitrogen content, δ 13 C, Δ 14 C, δ 15 N and the chemical composition, identified by pyrolysis-GC/MS, showed no significant differences in bulk soil between warming treatment and control. Surprisingly, the differences in the three density fractions were mostly small and the direction of warming induced change was variable with fraction and soil depth. Warming led to reduced N content in topsoil oPOM and subsoil fPOM and to reduced relative abundance of N-bearing compounds in subsoil MaOM. Further, warming increased the δ 13 C of MaOM at both sampling depths, reduced the relative abundance of carbohydrates while it increased the relative abundance of lignins in subsoil oPOM. As the size of the functionally different SOM pools did not significantly change, we assume that the few and small modifications in SOM chemistry result from an interplay of enhanced microbial decomposition of SOM and increased root litter input in the warmed plots. Overall, stable functional SOM pool sizes indicate that soil warming had similarly affected easily decomposable and stabilized SOM of this C-rich forest soil.

A Monte Carlo model for 3D grain evolution during welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodgers, Theron M.; Mitchell, John A.; Tikare, Veena

2017-09-01

Welding is one of the most wide-spread processes used in metal joining. However, there are currently no open-source software implementations for the simulation of microstructural evolution during a weld pass. Here we describe a Potts Monte Carlo based model implemented in the SPPARKS kinetic Monte Carlo computational framework. The model simulates melting, solidification and solid-state microstructural evolution of material in the fusion and heat-affected zones of a weld. The model does not simulate thermal behavior, but rather utilizes user input parameters to specify weld pool and heat-affect zone properties. Weld pool shapes are specified by Bézier curves, which allow for the specification of a wide range of pool shapes. Pool shapes can range from narrow and deep to wide and shallow representing different fluid flow conditions within the pool. Surrounding temperature gradients are calculated with the aide of a closest point projection algorithm. The model also allows simulation of pulsed power welding through time-dependent variation of the weld pool size. Example simulation results and comparisons with laboratory weld observations demonstrate microstructural variation with weld speed, pool shape, and pulsed-power.

Evaluating Mineral-Associated Soil Organic Matter Pools as Indicators of Forest Harvesting Disturbance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kellman, L. M.; Gabriel, C. E.

2015-12-01

Soil organic matter (SOM) in northern forest soils is associated with a suite of minerals that can confer SOM stability, resulting in the potential for long-term storage of carbon. Increasingly, evidence is suggesting that SOM in certain mineral phases is dynamic and vulnerable to soil disturbance. The objective of this research was to investigate changes in a suite of mineral-associated pools of SOM through depth in a temperate forest soil to determine which mineral-associated carbon pools are most sensitive to forest harvesting disturbance. Sequential selective dissolutions representing increasingly stable SOM pools (soluble minerals (deionized water); humus-mineral complexes (Na-pyrophosphate); poorly crystalline minerals (HCl hydroxylamine); and crystalline secondary minerals (Na-dithionite + HCl)) of mineral soils through depth to 50 cm were carried out in podzolic soils sampled from temperate red spruce forests of contrasting stand age in Nova Scotia, Canada. Results of this analysis point to a loss of carbon from SOM within the B-horizon of the most recently harvested site from the pyrophosphate-extracted humus mineral complexed SOM, suggesting that it is this exchangeable pool that appears to be destabilized following clearcut harvesting at these study sites. This suggests that recovery from this landuse disturbance is dependent upon increasing storage of this SOM pool, and that mineral-associated pools, particularly pyrophosphate-extractable SOM, may be a useful indicator of changes to soil carbon storage following land use change.

Recycling pool provides innovative financing for an integrated system.

PubMed

Ciolek, R J; Fahy, P A

1997-12-01

Not-for-profit integrated delivery systems require innovative financing mechanisms to compete effectively with expanding for-profit systems. The Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority (Mass HEFA), in collaboration with Partners HealthCare Systems, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts, developed such a mechanism--a capital asset recycling pool funded through a $150 million bond issue. The recycling pool gives Partners flexible access to tax-exempt capital to fund routine capital expenses across the system and has enabled the system to centralize control of capital resources. Over the pool's 30-year life-span, Partners will be able to issue tax-exempt loans from the pool to any of its affiliates or, with Mass HEFA and insurer approval, transfer the funds to outside organizations. When the loans are repaid, the funds remain available and can be recycled at no additional cost to fund further capital projects. Creation of the pool was made possible by Partners' outstanding credit, strong market position, expanding primary care network, and substantial unrestricted net assets.

Early repositioning through compound set enrichment analysis: a knowledge-recycling strategy.

PubMed

Temesi, Gergely; Bolgár, Bence; Arany, Adám; Szalai, Csaba; Antal, Péter; Mátyus, Péter

2014-04-01

Despite famous serendipitous drug repositioning success stories, systematic projects have not yet delivered the expected results. However, repositioning technologies are gaining ground in different phases of routine drug development, together with new adaptive strategies. We demonstrate the power of the compound information pool, the ever-growing heterogeneous information repertoire of approved drugs and candidates as an invaluable catalyzer in this transition. Systematic, computational utilization of this information pool for candidates in early phases is an open research problem; we propose a novel application of the enrichment analysis statistical framework for fusion of this information pool, specifically for the prediction of indications. Pharmaceutical consequences are formulated for a systematic and continuous knowledge recycling strategy, utilizing this information pool throughout the drug-discovery pipeline.

Data-Driven Microbial Modeling for Soil Carbon Decomposition and Stabilization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Yiqi; Chen, Ji; Chen, Yizhao; Feng, Wenting

2017-04-01

Microorganisms have long been known to catalyze almost all the soil organic carbon (SOC) transformation processes (e.g., decomposition, stabilization, and mineralization). Representing microbial processes in Earth system models (ESMs) has the potential to improve projections of SOC dynamics. We have recently examined (1) relationships of microbial functions with environmental factors and (2) microbial regulations of decomposition and other key soil processes. According to three lines of evidence, we have developed a data-driven enzyme (DENZY) model to simulate soil microbial decomposition and stabilization. First, our meta-analysis of 64 published field studies showed that field experimental warming significantly increased soil microbial communities abundance, which is negatively correlated with the mean annual temperature. The negative correlation indicates that warming had stronger effects in colder than warmer regions. Second, we found that the SOC decomposition, especially the transfer between labile SOC and protected SOC, is nonlinearly regulated by soil texture parameters, such as sand and silt contents. Third, we conducted a global analysis of the C-degrading enzyme activities, soil respiration, and SOC content under N addition. Our results show that N addition has contrasting effects on cellulase (hydrolytic C-degrading enzymes) and ligninase (oxidative C-degrading enzymes) activities. N-enhanced cellulase activity contributes to the minor stimulation of soil respiration whereas N-induced repression on ligninase activity drives soil C sequestration. Our analysis links the microbial extracellular C-degrading enzymes to the SOC dynamics at ecosystem scales across scores of experimental sites around the world. It offers direct evidence that N-induced changes in microbial community and physiology play fundamental roles in controlling the soil C cycle. Built upon those three lines of empirical evidence, the DENZY model includes two enzyme pools and explicitly characterizes two classes of extracellular enzyme activities: one that degrades organic molecules containing both C and N (e.g., chitin or protein) and another that degrades only C (e.g., cellulose). The DENZY model assumes that the microbes allocate resources to different enzyme pools so as to exactly satisfy microbial CN ratio stoichiometry in response to changes in climate conditions and soil attributes. The DENZY model can simulate differential effects of nitrogen fertilization on the two groups of enzymes and thus soil respiration and SOC dynamics. We will select field experimental sites to test the DENZY model. With increasing amounts of available observations and data synthesis, this DENZY model will be better parameterized and have a potential to reveal how responses of microbial enzymes to environmental changes regulate soil carbon decomposition and stabilization.

ZrP nanoplates based fire-fighting foams stabilizer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Lecheng; Cheng, Zhengdong; Li, Hai

2015-03-01

Firefighting foam, as a significant innovation in fire protection, greatly facilitates extinguishments for liquid pool fire. Recently, with developments in LNG industry, high-expansion firefighting foams are also used for extinguishing LNG fire or mitigating LNG leakage. Foam stabilizer, an ingredient in fire-fighting foam, stabilizes foam bubbles and maintains desired foam volume. Conventional foam stabilizers are organic molecules. In this work, we developed a inorganic based ZrP (Zr(HPO4)2 .H2O, Zirconium phosphate) plates functionalized as firefighting foam stabilizer, improving firefighting foam performance under harsh conditions. Several tests were conducted to illustrate performance. The mechanism for the foam stabilization is also proposed. Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA. Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843-3122

Analysis of Terrestrial Carbon Stocks in a Small Catchment of Northeastern Siberia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heard, K.; Natali, S.; Bunn, A. G.; Loranty, M. M.; Kholodov, A. L.; Schade, J. D.; Berner, L. T.; Spektor, V.; Zimov, N.; Alexander, H. D.

2015-12-01

As arctic terrestrial ecosystems comprise about one-third of the global terrestrial ecosystem carbon total, understanding arctic carbon cycling and the feedback of terrestrial carbon pools to accelerated warming is an issue of global concern. For this research, we examined above- and belowground carbon stocks in a larch-dominated catchment underlain by yedoma and located within the Kolyma River watershed in northeastern Siberia. We quantified carbon stocks in vegetation, active layer, and permafrost, and we assessed the correlation between plant and active layer carbon pools and four environmental correlates — slope, solar insolation, canopy density, and leaf area index ­— at 20 sites. Carbon in the active layer was approximately four times greater than aboveground carbon pools (972 g C m-2), and belowground carbon to 1 m depth was approximately 18 times greater than aboveground carbon pools. Canopy density and slope had a robust positive association with aboveground carbon pools, and soil moisture was positively related to %C in organic, thawed mineral and permafrost soil. Thaw depth was negatively correlated with moss cover and larch biomass, highlighting the importance of vegetation and surface characteristics on permafrost carbon vulnerability. These data suggest that landscape and ecosystem characteristics affect carbon accumulation and storage, but they also play an important role in stabilizing permafrost carbon pools.

Process control of GMAW by detection of discontinuities in the molten weld pool

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

Carlson, N.M.; Kunerth, D.C.; Johnson, J.A.

1988-01-01

The use of ultrasonic sensors to detect discontinuities associated with the molten pool is one phase of a project to automate the welding process. In this work, ultrasonic sensors were used to interrogate the region around the molten/solid interface during gas metal arc welding (GMAW). The ultrasonic echoes from the interface and the molten pool provide information about the quality of the fusion zone and the molten pool. This information can be sent to a controller that can vary the welding parameters to correct the process. Previously ultrasonic shear waves were used to determine if the geometry of the molten/solidmore » interface was indicative of an acceptable weld. In this work, longitudinal waves were used to interrogate the molten weld pool for discontinuities. Unacceptable welding conditions that can result in porosity, incomplete penetration, or undercut were detected. 8 refs., 4 figs.« less

POOL WATER TREATMENT AND COOLING SYSTEM DESCRIPTION DOCUMENT

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

V. King

2000-06-19

The Pool Water Treatment and Cooling System is located in the Waste Handling Building (WHB), and is comprised of various process subsystems designed to support waste handling operations. This system maintains the pool water temperature within an acceptable range, maintains water quality standards that support remote underwater operations and prevent corrosion, detects leakage from the pool liner, provides the capability to remove debris from the pool, controls the pool water level, and helps limit radiological exposure to personnel. The pool structure and liner, pool lighting, and the fuel staging racks in the pool are not within the scope of themore » Pool Water Treatment and Cooling System. Pool water temperature control is accomplished by circulating the pool water through heat exchangers. Adequate circulation and mixing of the pool water is provided to prevent localized thermal hotspots in the pool. Treatment of the pool water is accomplished by a water treatment system that circulates the pool water through filters, and ion exchange units. These water treatment units remove radioactive and non-radioactive particulate and dissolved solids from the water, thereby providing the water clarity needed to conduct waste handling operations. The system also controls pool water chemistry to prevent advanced corrosion of the pool liner, pool components, and fuel assemblies. Removal of radioactivity from the pool water contributes to the project ALARA (as low as is reasonably achievable) goals. A leak detection system is provided to detect and alarm leaks through the pool liner. The pool level control system monitors the water level to ensure that the minimum water level required for adequate radiological shielding is maintained. Through interface with a demineralized water system, adequate makeup is provided to compensate for loss of water inventory through evaporation and waste handling operations. Interface with the Site Radiological Monitoring System provides continuous radiological monitoring of the pool water. The Pool Water Treatment and Cooling System interfaces with the Waste Handling Building System, Site-Generated Radiological Waste Handling System, Site Radiological Monitoring System, Waste Handling Building Electrical System, Site Water System, and the Monitored Geologic Repository Operations Monitoring and Control System.« less

[Black carbon content and distribution in different particle size fractions of forest soils in the middle part of Great Xing'an Mountains, China.

PubMed

Xu, Jia Hui; Gao, Lei; Cui, Xiao Yang

2017-10-01

Soil black carbon (BC) is considered to be the main component of passive C pool because of its inherent biochemical recalcitrance. In this paper, soil BC in the middle part of Great Xing'an Mountains was quantified, the distribution of BC in different particle size fractions was analyzed, and BC stabilization mechanism and its important role in soil C pool were discussed. The results showed that BC expressed obvious accumulation in surface soil, accounting for about 68.7% in the whole horizon (64 cm), and then decreased with the increasing soil depth, however, BC/OC showed an opposite pattern. Climate conditions redistributed BC in study area, and the soil under cooler and moister conditions would sequester more BC. BC proportion in different particle size fractions was in the order of clay>silt>fine sand>coarse sand. Although BC content in clay was the highest and was enhanced with increasing soil depth, BC/OC in clay did not show a marked change. Thus, the rise of BC/OC was attributed to the preservation of BC particles in the fine sand and silt fractions. Biochemical recalcitrance was the main stabilization mechanism for surface BC, and with the increasing soil depth, the chemical protection from clay mineral gradually played a predominant role. BC not only was the essential component of soil stable carbon pool, but also took up a sizable proportion in particulate organic carbon pool. Therefore, the storage of soil stable carbon and the potential of soil carbon sequestration would be enhanced owing to the existence of BC.

Compendium of Operations Research and Economic Analysis Studies.

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-09-01

Project 6034 ) 88-19. Enhanced DLA Distribution System (EDDS) - "Pooling" (June 1988) This study looked at the "pooling" concept as proposed under the EIDDS...1-3., Mi3 1 1 ionl. 81-19. LLt Warenousia, tiju Stkrj’.te t\\UL~jidJ’L ytot!ai .ca Analysis (mady 1961) *This r elpr L dOUCctIens anl UCOnIO:li

Transport and deposition of carbon at catchment scale: stabilization mechanisms approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martínez-Mena, María; Almagro, María; Díaz-Pereira, Elvira; García-Franco, Noelia; Boix-Fayos, Carolina

2016-04-01

Terrestrial sedimentation buries large amounts of organic carbon (OC) annually, contributing to the terrestrial carbon sink. The temporal significance of this sink will strongly depend on the attributes of the depositional environment, but also on the characteristics of the OC reaching these sites and its stability upon deposition. The fate of the redistributed OC will ultimately depend on the mechanisms of its physical and chemical protection against decomposition, its turnover rates and the conditions under which the OC is stored in sedimentary settings. This framework is more complex in Mediterranean river basins where sediments are often redistributed under a range of environmental conditions in ephemeral, intermittent and perennial fluvial courses, sometimes within the same catchment. The OC stabilization mechanisms and their relations with aggregation at different transport and sedimentary deposits is under those conditions highly uncertain. The main objective of this work was to characterize the stabilization and mineralization of OC in sediments in transit (suspended load), at a range of depositional settings (alluvial bars, reservoir sediments) and soils from the source areas in a sub-catchment (111 km2) at the headwaters of the Segura catchment in South East Spain. In order to obtain a deeper knowledge on the predominant stabilization mechanism corresponding to each erosional phase, the following organic carbon fractionation method was carried out: Four aggregate size classes were distinguished by sieving (large and small macroaggregates, free microaggregates, and free silt plus clay fraction), and the microaggregates occluded within macroaggregates (SMm) were isolated. As a further step, an oxidation of the OC occluded in silt plus clay fraction and that of the free silt plus clay fraction was performed to estimate the oxidant resistant OC pool. Measured OC in these fractions can be related to three functional pools: active (free particulate organic matter), slow (carbon associated to clay and silt or stabilized in aggregates) and passive (oxidation-resistant OC). In addition, the potential mineralized C (incubation method) in each deposit and soil was determined. Preliminary results indicate a higher OC content in the suspended sediments in transit and in the reservoir deposited sediments than in the alluvial bars, being in all sediments the total OC content lower than in the source soils. Slow and passive pools prevailed in suspended sediments and in reservoir sediments compared to alluvial bars, indicating different OC stabilization mechanisms. In addition, in the alluvial bars, mineralization rates were higher in bars located in channels with ephemeral flow conditions and vegetated areas than in bars located in channels with perennial flow conditions.

Radiocarbon Evidence That Millennial and Fast-Cycling Soil Carbon are Equally Sensitive to Warming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaughn, L. S.; Torn, M. S.; Porras, R. C.

2017-12-01

Within the century, the Arctic is expected to shift from a sink to a source of atmospheric CO2 due to climate-induced increases in soil carbon mineralization. The magnitude of this effect remains uncertain, due in large part to unknown temperature sensitivities of organic matter decomposition. In particular, the distribution of temperature sensitivities across soil carbon pools remains unknown. New experimental approaches are needed, because studies that fit multi-pool models to CO2 flux measurements may be sensitive to model assumptions, statistical effects, and non-steady-state changes in substrate availability or microbial activity. In this study, we developed a new methodology using natural abundance radiocarbon to evaluate temperature sensitivities across soil carbon pools. In two incubation experiments with soils from Barrow, AK, we (1) evaluated soil carbon age and decomposability, (2) disentangled the effects of temperature and substrate depletion on carbon mineralization, and (3) compared the temperature sensitivities of fast- and slow-cycling soil carbon pools. From a long-term incubation, both respired CO2 and the remaining soil organic matter were highly depleted in radiocarbon. At 20 cm depth, median Δ14C values were -167‰ in respired CO2 and -377‰ in soil organic matter, corresponding to turnover times of 1800 and 4800 years, respectively. Such negative Δ14C values indicate both storage and decomposition of old, stabilized carbon, while radiocarbon differences between the mineralized and non-mineralized fractions suggest that decomposability varies along a turnover time gradient. Applying a new analytical method combining CO2 flux and Δ14C, we found that fast- and slow-cycling carbon pools were equally sensitive to temperature, with a Q10 of 2 irrespective of turnover time. We conclude that in these Arctic soils, ancient soil carbon is vulnerable to warming under thawed, aerobic conditions. In contrast to many previous studies, we found no difference in temperature sensitivity of decomposition between fast- and slow-cycling pools. These findings suggest that in these soils, carbon stabilization mechanisms other than chemical recalcitrance mediate temperature sensitivities, and even old SOC will be readily decomposable as climate warms.

Evolution of soil organic matter energetic and chemical composition during long-term bare fallow: implications for soil carbon vulnerability to global change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barré, P.; Cécillon, L.; Plante, A. F.; Chenu, C.; Christensen, B. T.; Fernandez, J. M.; Gherardi, C. M.; Houot, S.; Kätterer, T.; van Oort, F.; Peltre, C.; Poulton, P. R.

2012-04-01

Determining the relative stability of soil organic carbon (SOC) is a critical step to better understanding its vulnerability to global change. The absence of convincing physical or chemical procedures to define, characterize or isolate relatively labile versus stable pools of SOC makes it difficult to study. Long-term bare fallow (LTBF) experiments, in which C inputs have been stopped for several decades, provide a unique opportunity to study stable SOC without the inherent artefacts induced by extraction procedures, the hypothesis being that SOC is gradually enriched in stable C with time as labile components decompose. We determined the evolution of energetic and chemical characteristics of bulk SOC in five LTBF experiments across Europe: Askov (DK), Grignon (FR), Rothamsted (UK), Ultuna (SW) and Versailles (FR), using simultaneous thermal analysis (i.e., thermogravimetry (TG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and evolved CO2 gas analysis (CO2-EGA)) and diffuse reflectance Fourier transformed mid-infrared spectroscopy (DRIFT-MIRS). Results of TG analyses showed that the temperature needed to combust the first half of the SOC (i.e., TG-T50) increased with bare fallow duration at all sites. Conversely, the energy density (in mJ mg-1 C) decreased with bare fallow duration. Combined together, these results provide a means to contrast the stable, mineral-associated SOC pool from any potential pyrogenic C, which would have much greater energy density. DRIFT-MIRS results showed that the "carboxylation index" (the ratio of C=O bonds peak area over (C=C + C=O) bonds peak areas) decreased with bare fallow duration, that aromaticity (C=C bond peak area over C content) increased with bare-fallow duration, and that the "reticulation index" (CH3 peak area over CH2 peak area) decreased with increasing bare fallow duration at Rothamsted, Versailles and Ultuna. These trends were less clear or not observed at Grignon due to the presence of carbonates or at Askov due to greater variability, thus precluding unequivocal conclusions. Our results showed that in spite of the heterogeneity of the soils at the LTBF sites, generalized energetic and chemical pathways exist for SOC stabilization. The DRIFT-MIRS indices demonstrate that SOC stabilization is accompanied by a consistent evolution of its bulk chemical composition across most sites, over decades (ca. 50 years). The general decarboxylation of SOC observed in bare fallow challenges the current view of SOM decomposition, raising questions about the oxidative state of the stable C pool. The increased burning temperature and lower energy density of stable SOC suggest that decomposition of the stable C pool may be more temperature sensitive and thus vulnerable to increased temperature. Conversely, decreasing energy density suggests that priming might be the only means available for the microbial community to decompose this pool of SOC, and that SOC stability may be a function of low potential energy gain from decomposition of this material. Finally, this study illustrates the enormous value of such long-term field experiments, and a potential multi-faceted approach to quantify SOC stability as an ecosystem property.

Co-evolving Physical and Biological Organization in Step-pool Channels: Experiments from a Restoration Reach on Wildcat Creek, California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chin, A.; O'Dowd, A. P.; Mendez, P. K.; Velasco, K. Z.; Leventhal, R. D.; Storesund, R.; Laurencio, L. R.

2014-12-01

Step-pools are important features in fluvial systems. Through energy dissipation, step-pools provide stability in high-energy environments that otherwise may erode and degrade. Although research has focused on geomorphological aspects of step-pool channels, the ecological significance of step-pool streams is increasingly recognized. Step-pool streams often contain higher density and diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates and are critical habitats for organisms such as salmonids and tailed frogs. Step-pools are therefore increasingly used to restore eroding channels and improve ecological conditions. This paper addresses a restoration reach of Wildcat Creek in Berkeley, California that featured an installation of step-pools in 2012. The design framework recognized step-pool formation as a self-organizing process that produces a rhythmic morphology. After placing step particles at locations where step-pools are expected to form according to hydraulic theory, the self-organizing approach allowed fluvial processes to refine the rocks into adjusted sequences over time. In addition, a 30-meter "experimental" reach was created to explore the co-evolution of geomorphological and ecological characteristics. After constructing a plane bed channel, boulders and cobbles piled at the upstream end allowed natural flows to mobilize and sort them into step-pool sequences. Ground surveys and LiDAR recorded the development of step-pool sequences over several seasons. Concurrent sampling of benthic macroinvertebrates documented the formation of biological communities in conjunction with habitat. Biological sampling in an upstream reference reach provided a comparison with the restored reach over time. Results to date show an emergent step-pool channel with steps that segment the plane bed into initial step and pool habitats. Biological communities are beginning to form, showing more distinction among habitat types during some seasons, although they do not yet approach reference values at this stage of development. Research over longer timeframes is needed to reveal how biological and physical characteristics may co-organize toward an equilibrium landscape. Such integrated understanding will assist development of innovative restoration designs.

7 CFR 1710.252 - Construction work plans-power supply borrowers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... operating systems of supporting power pools and to connect with adjacent power suppliers; (4) Improvements..., new substations and substation improvements and replacements, and Systems Control and Data Acquisition... include studies of load flows, voltage regulation, and stability characteristics to demonstrate system...

7 CFR 1710.252 - Construction work plans-power supply borrowers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... operating systems of supporting power pools and to connect with adjacent power suppliers; (4) Improvements..., new substations and substation improvements and replacements, and Systems Control and Data Acquisition... include studies of load flows, voltage regulation, and stability characteristics to demonstrate system...

7 CFR 1710.252 - Construction work plans-power supply borrowers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... operating systems of supporting power pools and to connect with adjacent power suppliers; (4) Improvements..., new substations and substation improvements and replacements, and Systems Control and Data Acquisition... include studies of load flows, voltage regulation, and stability characteristics to demonstrate system...

7 CFR 1710.252 - Construction work plans-power supply borrowers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... operating systems of supporting power pools and to connect with adjacent power suppliers; (4) Improvements..., new substations and substation improvements and replacements, and Systems Control and Data Acquisition... include studies of load flows, voltage regulation, and stability characteristics to demonstrate system...

7 CFR 1710.252 - Construction work plans-power supply borrowers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... operating systems of supporting power pools and to connect with adjacent power suppliers; (4) Improvements..., new substations and substation improvements and replacements, and Systems Control and Data Acquisition... include studies of load flows, voltage regulation, and stability characteristics to demonstrate system...

Nucleotide pools dictate the identity and frequency of ribonucleotide incorporation in mitochondrial DNA

PubMed Central

Hoberg, Emily; Szilagyi, Zsolt; Taylor, Robert W.; Gustafsson, Claes M.; Falkenberg, Maria

2017-01-01

Previous work has demonstrated the presence of ribonucleotides in human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and in the present study we use a genome-wide approach to precisely map the location of these. We find that ribonucleotides are distributed evenly between the heavy- and light-strand of mtDNA. The relative levels of incorporated ribonucleotides reflect that DNA polymerase γ discriminates the four ribonucleotides differentially during DNA synthesis. The observed pattern is also dependent on the mitochondrial deoxyribonucleotide (dNTP) pools and disease-causing mutations that change these pools alter both the absolute and relative levels of incorporated ribonucleotides. Our analyses strongly suggest that DNA polymerase γ-dependent incorporation is the main source of ribonucleotides in mtDNA and argues against the existence of a mitochondrial ribonucleotide excision repair pathway in human cells. Furthermore, we clearly demonstrate that when dNTP pools are limiting, ribonucleotides serve as a source of building blocks to maintain DNA replication. Increased levels of embedded ribonucleotides in patient cells with disturbed nucleotide pools may contribute to a pathogenic mechanism that affects mtDNA stability and impair new rounds of mtDNA replication. PMID:28207748

Pushing HTCondor and glideinWMS to 200K+ Jobs in a Global Pool for CMS before Run 2

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

Balcas, J.; Belforte, S.; Bockelman, B.

2015-12-23

The CMS experiment at the LHC relies on HTCondor and glideinWMS as its primary batch and pilot-based Grid provisioning system. So far we have been running several independent resource pools, but we are working on unifying them all to reduce the operational load and more effectively share resources between various activities in CMS. The major challenge of this unification activity is scale. The combined pool size is expected to reach 200K job slots, which is significantly bigger than any other multi-user HTCondor based system currently in production. To get there we have studied scaling limitations in our existing pools, themore » biggest of which tops out at about 70K slots, providing valuable feedback to the development communities, who have responded by delivering improvements which have helped us reach higher and higher scales with more stability. We have also worked on improving the organization and support model for this critical service during Run 2 of the LHC. This contribution will present the results of the scale testing and experiences from the first months of running the Global Pool.« less

Seasonal Influenza Forecasting in Real Time Using the Incidence Decay With Exponential Adjustment Model.

PubMed

Nasserie, Tahmina; Tuite, Ashleigh R; Whitmore, Lindsay; Hatchette, Todd; Drews, Steven J; Peci, Adriana; Kwong, Jeffrey C; Friedman, Dara; Garber, Gary; Gubbay, Jonathan; Fisman, David N

2017-01-01

Seasonal influenza epidemics occur frequently. Rapid characterization of seasonal dynamics and forecasting of epidemic peaks and final sizes could help support real-time decision-making related to vaccination and other control measures. Real-time forecasting remains challenging. We used the previously described "incidence decay with exponential adjustment" (IDEA) model, a 2-parameter phenomenological model, to evaluate the characteristics of the 2015-2016 influenza season in 4 Canadian jurisdictions: the Provinces of Alberta, Nova Scotia and Ontario, and the City of Ottawa. Model fits were updated weekly with receipt of incident virologically confirmed case counts. Best-fit models were used to project seasonal influenza peaks and epidemic final sizes. The 2015-2016 influenza season was mild and late-peaking. Parameter estimates generated through fitting were consistent in the 2 largest jurisdictions (Ontario and Alberta) and with pooled data including Nova Scotia counts (R 0 approximately 1.4 for all fits). Lower R 0 estimates were generated in Nova Scotia and Ottawa. Final size projections that made use of complete time series were accurate to within 6% of true final sizes, but final size was using pre-peak data. Projections of epidemic peaks stabilized before the true epidemic peak, but these were persistently early (~2 weeks) relative to the true peak. A simple, 2-parameter influenza model provided reasonably accurate real-time projections of influenza seasonal dynamics in an atypically late, mild influenza season. Challenges are similar to those seen with more complex forecasting methodologies. Future work includes identification of seasonal characteristics associated with variability in model performance.

Refuge habitats for fishes during seasonal drying in an intermittent stream: movement, survival and abundance of three minnow species

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hodges, S.W.; Magoulick, Daniel D.

2011-01-01

Drought and summer drying can be important disturbance events in many small streams leading to intermittent or isolated habitats. We examined what habitats act as refuges for fishes during summer drying, hypothesizing that pools would act as refuge habitats. We predicted that during drying fish would show directional movement into pools from riffle habitats, survival rates would be greater in pools than in riffles, and fish abundance would increase in pool habitats. We examined movement, survival and abundance of three minnow species, bigeye shiner (Notropis boops), highland stoneroller (Campostoma spadiceum) and creek chub (Semotilus atromaculatus), during seasonal stream drying in an Ozark stream using a closed robust multi-strata mark-recapture sampling. Population parameters were estimated using plausible models within program MARK, where a priori models are ranked using Akaike's Information Criterion. Creek chub showed directional movement into pools and increased survival and abundance in pools during drying. Highland stonerollers showed strong directional movement into pools and abundance increased in pools during drying, but survival rates were not significantly greater in pools than riffles. Bigeye shiners showed high movement rates during drying, but the movement was non-directional, and survival rates were greater in riffles than pools. Therefore, creek chub supported our hypothesis and pools appear to act as refuge habitats for this species, whereas highland stonerollers partly supported the hypothesis and bigeye shiners did not support the pool refuge hypothesis. Refuge habitats during drying are species dependent. An urgent need exists to further understand refuge habitats in streams given projected changes in climate and continued alteration of hydrological regimes.

Discerning the biochemical stability of pyrogenic C in soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De la Rosa, José M.; Paneque, Marina; Contreras-Bernal, Lidia; Miller, Ana Z.; Knicker, Heike

2016-04-01

The soil organic matter (SOM) constitutes approximately 2/3 of the global terrestrial C pool, which corresponds to estimated 4000 Pg to a depth of 3 m [1] and therefore, the dynamics of organic carbon (OC) in soils control a large part of the terrestrial C cycle. The term Pyrogenic Carbon (PyC) comprises the whole range of pyrogenic organic materials, from partly charred material through charcoal to soot produced during fire, as well as technical chars (biochars) produced by pyrolysis of biomass. The previously common assumption of PyC being inert has long been proven wrong [2]. In theory, the pyrogenic process confers these materials a longer mean residence time in the soils than their precursors, thus the application of PyC in general and particularly biochar to soil is proposed as a valid approach to establish a significant, long-term sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide in terrestrial ecosystems [3]. Nevertheless, the knowledge concerning the biochemical recalcitrance of PyOM in soils is still limited. This study combines the analysis by 13C solid state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (13C NMR), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), analytical pyrolysis (Py-GC/MS) and CO2 emissions in incubated pots of burned and unburned soils as well as in biochar amended and un-amended soils. By using this integrated approach we achieved a more complete understanding of the stability of different forms of PyC in the soil and the chemical changes occurring during aging. Significant differences are found between the stability of PyC. They depend on the nature of the source material, surficial properties of PyC, the pyrolysis process and the soil conditions during aging. Acknowledgements: The Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions (PCIG12-GA-2012-333784-Biocharisma project and PIEF-GA-2012-328689-DECAVE project), and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) (project PCGL2012-37041) are thanked for the financial support of the present study. References: [1] Hernández-Soriano M.C., Peña A., Mingorance MD., 2013. Env. Toxicol. Chem. 32(5), 1027-1032. [2] De la Rosa J.M., Knicker H., 2011. Soil Biol. Biochem. 43, 2368-2373. [3] Sohi S., Lopez-Capel E., Krull E., Bol R., 2009. Rep. No. 05/09. CSIRO. 1834-6618.

Simulation and Technology of Hybrid Welding of Thick Steel Parts with High Power Fiber Laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turichin, Gleb; Valdaytseva, Ekaterina; Tzibulsky, Igor; Lopota, Alexander; Velichko, Olga

The article devoted to steady state and dynamic simulation of melt pool behavior during hybrid laser-arc welding of pipes and shipbuilding sections. The quasi-stationary process-model was used to determine an appropriate welding mode. The dynamical model of laser welding was used for investigation of keyhole depth and width oscillations. The experiments of pipe steel and stainless steel hybrid laser-MAG welding have been made with 15-kW fiber laser in wide range of welding mode parameters. Comparison of experimentally measured and simulated behavior of penetration depth as well as their oscillation spectra approved the self-oscillation nature of melt pool behavior. The welding mode influence of melt pool stability has also been observed. The technological peculiarities, which allow provide high quality weld seam, has been discussed also.

[Responses of forest soil carbon pool and carbon cycle to the changes of carbon input].

PubMed

Wang, Qing-kui

2011-04-01

Litters and plant roots are the main sources of forest soil organic carbon (C). This paper summarized the effects of the changes in C input on the forest soil C pool and C cycle, and analyzed the effects of these changes on the total soil C, microbial biomass C, dissoluble organic C, and soil respiration. Different forests in different regions had inconsistent responses to C input change, and the effects of litter removal or addition and of root exclusion or not differed with tree species and regions. Current researches mainly focused on soil respiration and C pool fractions, and scarce were about the effects of C input change on the changes of soil carbon structure and stability as well as the response mechanisms of soil organisms especially soil fauna, which should be strengthened in the future.

Splish-splash: Center of mass, stability, and a fun pool toy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashman, Seth

2018-03-01

Center of mass is a common topic in physics courses. It appears in relation to studies of stable and unstable equilibrium, momentum, and rotation. Science products suppliers frequently include gadgets that demonstrate the concepts of center of mass and stability, such as the classic balancing bird. Additionally, The Physics Teacher has featured articles studying the center of mass of a rotating baton, locating the center of mass of a hanging Slinky toy, and describing a wide range of interesting systems.

Meteorological Modeling of Wintertime Cold Air Pool Stagnation Episodes in the Uintah and Salt Lake Basins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crosman, E.; Horel, J.; Blaylock, B. K.; Foster, C.

2014-12-01

High wintertime ozone concentrations in rural areas associated with oil and gas development and high particulate concentrations in urban areas have become topics of increasing concern in the Western United States, as both primary and secondary pollutants become trapped within stable wintertime boundary layers. While persistent cold air pools that enable such poor wintertime air quality are typically associated with high pressure aloft and light winds, the complex physical processes that contribute to the formation, maintenance, and decay of persistent wintertime temperature inversions are only partially understood. In addition, obtaining sufficiently accurate numerical weather forecasts and meteorological simulations of cold air pools for input into chemical models remains a challenge. This study examines the meteorological processes associated with several wintertime pollution episodes in Utah's Uintah and Salt Lake Basins using numerical Weather Research and Forecasting model simulations and observations collected from the Persistent Cold Air Pool and Uintah Basin Ozone Studies. The temperature, vertical structure, and winds within these cold air pools was found to vary as a function of snow cover, snow albedo, land use, cloud cover, large-scale synoptic flow, and episode duration. We evaluate the sensitivity of key atmospheric features such as stability, planetary boundary layer depth, local wind flow patterns and transport mechanisms to variations in surface forcing, clouds, and synoptic flow. Finally, noted deficiencies in the meteorological models of cold air pools and modifications to the model snow and microphysics treatment that have resulted in improved cold pool simulations will be presented.

A Monte Carlo model for 3D grain evolution during welding

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

Rodgers, Theron M.; Mitchell, John A.; Tikare, Veena

Welding is one of the most wide-spread processes used in metal joining. However, there are currently no open-source software implementations for the simulation of microstructural evolution during a weld pass. Here we describe a Potts Monte Carlo based model implemented in the SPPARKS kinetic Monte Carlo computational framework. The model simulates melting, solidification and solid-state microstructural evolution of material in the fusion and heat-affected zones of a weld. The model does not simulate thermal behavior, but rather utilizes user input parameters to specify weld pool and heat-affect zone properties. Weld pool shapes are specified by Bezier curves, which allow formore » the specification of a wide range of pool shapes. Pool shapes can range from narrow and deep to wide and shallow representing different fluid flow conditions within the pool. Surrounding temperature gradients are calculated with the aide of a closest point projection algorithm. Furthermore, the model also allows simulation of pulsed power welding through time-dependent variation of the weld pool size. Example simulation results and comparisons with laboratory weld observations demonstrate microstructural variation with weld speed, pool shape, and pulsed-power.« less

A Monte Carlo model for 3D grain evolution during welding

DOE PAGES

Rodgers, Theron M.; Mitchell, John A.; Tikare, Veena

2017-08-04

Welding is one of the most wide-spread processes used in metal joining. However, there are currently no open-source software implementations for the simulation of microstructural evolution during a weld pass. Here we describe a Potts Monte Carlo based model implemented in the SPPARKS kinetic Monte Carlo computational framework. The model simulates melting, solidification and solid-state microstructural evolution of material in the fusion and heat-affected zones of a weld. The model does not simulate thermal behavior, but rather utilizes user input parameters to specify weld pool and heat-affect zone properties. Weld pool shapes are specified by Bezier curves, which allow formore » the specification of a wide range of pool shapes. Pool shapes can range from narrow and deep to wide and shallow representing different fluid flow conditions within the pool. Surrounding temperature gradients are calculated with the aide of a closest point projection algorithm. Furthermore, the model also allows simulation of pulsed power welding through time-dependent variation of the weld pool size. Example simulation results and comparisons with laboratory weld observations demonstrate microstructural variation with weld speed, pool shape, and pulsed-power.« less

Strategic deployment of CHO expression platforms to deliver Pfizer's Monoclonal Antibody Portfolio.

PubMed

Scarcelli, John J; Shang, Tanya Q; Iskra, Tim; Allen, Martin J; Zhang, Lin

2017-11-01

Development of stable cell lines for expression of large-molecule therapeutics represents a significant portion of the time and effort required to advance a molecule to enabling regulatory toxicology studies and clinical evaluation. Our development strategy employs two different approaches for cell line development based on the needs of a particular project: a random integration approach for projects where high-level expression is critical, and a site-specific integration approach for projects in which speed and reduced employee time spend is a necessity. Here we describe both our random integration and site-specific integration platforms and their applications in support of monoclonal antibody development and production. We also compare product quality attributes of monoclonal antibodies produced with a nonclonal cell pool or clonal cell lines derived from the two platforms. Our data suggests that material source (pools vs. clones) does not significantly alter the examined product quality attributes. Our current practice is to leverage this observation with our site-specific integration platform, where material generated from cell pools is used for an early molecular assessment of a given candidate to make informed decisions around development strategy. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:1463-1467, 2017. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Reinsurance of health insurance for the informal sector.

PubMed Central

Dror, D. M.

2001-01-01

Deficient financing of health services in low-income countries and the absence of universal insurance coverage leaves most of the informal sector in medical indigence, because people cannot assume the financial consequences of illness. The role of communities in solving this problem has been recognized, and many initiatives are under way. However, community financing is rarely structured as health insurance. Communities that pool risks (or offer insurance) have been described as micro-insurance units. The sources of their financial instability and the options for stabilization are explained. Field data from Uganda and the Philippines, as well as simulated situations, are used to examine the arguments. The article focuses on risk transfer from micro-insurance units to reinsurance. The main insight of the study is that when the financial results of micro-insurance units can be estimated, they can enter reinsurance treaties and be stabilized from the first year. The second insight is that the reinsurance pool may require several years of operation before reaching cost neutrality. PMID:11477971

Determination and impact of surface radiative processes for TOGA COARE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Curry, Judith A.; Ackerman, Thomas; Rossow, William B.; Webster, Peter J.

1991-01-01

Experiments using atmospheric general circulation models have shown that the atmospheric circulation is very sensitive to small changes in sea surface temperature in the tropical western Pacific Ocean warm pool region. The mutual sensitivity of the ocean and the atmosphere in the warm pool region places stringent requirements on models of the coupled ocean atmosphere system. At present, the situation is such that diagnostic studies using available data sets have been unable to balance the surface energy budget in the warm pool region to better than 50 to 80 W/sq m. The Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere (TOGA) Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment (COARE) is an observation and modelling program that aims specifically at the elucidation of the physical process which determine the mean and transient state of the warm pool region and the manner in which the warm pool interacts with the global ocean and atmosphere. This project focuses on one very important aspect of the ocean atmosphere interface component of TOGA COARE, namely the temporal and spatial variability of surface radiative fluxes in the warm pool region.

Shifted Transversal Design smart-pooling for high coverage interactome mapping

PubMed Central

Xin, Xiaofeng; Rual, Jean-François; Hirozane-Kishikawa, Tomoko; Hill, David E.; Vidal, Marc; Boone, Charles; Thierry-Mieg, Nicolas

2009-01-01

“Smart-pooling,” in which test reagents are multiplexed in a highly redundant manner, is a promising strategy for achieving high efficiency, sensitivity, and specificity in systems-level projects. However, previous applications relied on low redundancy designs that do not leverage the full potential of smart-pooling, and more powerful theoretical constructions, such as the Shifted Transversal Design (STD), lack experimental validation. Here we evaluate STD smart-pooling in yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) interactome mapping. We employed two STD designs and two established methods to perform ORFeome-wide Y2H screens with 12 baits. We found that STD pooling achieves similar levels of sensitivity and specificity as one-on-one array-based Y2H, while the costs and workloads are divided by three. The screening-sequencing approach is the most cost- and labor-efficient, yet STD identifies about twofold more interactions. Screening-sequencing remains an appropriate method for quickly producing low-coverage interactomes, while STD pooling appears as the method of choice for obtaining maps with higher coverage. PMID:19447967

Cooperative fish-rearing programs in Hanford Site excess facilities

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

Herborn, D.I.; Anderson, B.N.

1994-05-01

In, 1993, two successful fish-rearing pilot projects were conducted in Hanford Site 100 K Area water treatment pools (K Pools) that are excess to the US Department of Energy needs. Beginning this spring, two larger cooperative fish programs will be undertaken in the K Pools. One program will involve the Yakama Indian Nation, which will rear, acclimate, and release 500,000 fall chinook salmon. The other program involves the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, which will rear warm-water specie (walleye and channel catfish) for planting in state lakes. Renewed economic vitality is the goal expected from these and follow-on fishmore » programs.« less

78 FR 38308 - PK Ventures, Inc.; North Carolina; Notice Soliciting Applications

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-26

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Project No. 4093-031] PK Ventures, Inc... at normal pool elevation of 315 feet mean sea level and a gross storage capacity of 100 acre-feet; and (5) appurtenant facilities. The project operates run-of-river and generates and estimated average...

Promoting Health Literacy through the Health Education Assessment Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marx, Eva; Hudson, Nancy; Deal, Tami B.; Pateman, Beth; Middleton, Kathleen

2007-01-01

Background: The Council of Chief State School Officers' State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards Health Education Assessment Project (SCASS-HEAP) allows states to pool financial and human resources to develop effective ready-to-use health education assessment resources through a collaborative process. The purpose of this article is…

Skills Conversion Project: Chapter 2, Executive Summary. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Society of Professional Engineers, Washington, DC.

This final report describes the Skills Conversion Project conducted by The National Society of Professional Engineers under contract to the Department of Labor to study methods of utilizing the large pool of highly skilled unemployed technicians and professional personnel who were formerly employed in the aerospace and defense industries. If…

77 FR 787 - Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC; Notice of Application

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-06

.... Transco states that the proposed Project is an expansion of its existing pipeline system under which... Market Pool in New Jersey and the existing Manhattan, Central Manhattan, and Narrows delivery points in... appurtenant underground and minor aboveground facilities. The estimated cost of the proposed Project is $341...

Changing Permafrost in the Arctic and its Global Effects in the 21st Century (PAGE21): A very large international and integrated project to measure the impact of permafrost degradation on the climate system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lantuit, Hugues; Boike, Julia; Dahms, Melanie; Hubberten, Hans-Wolfgang

2013-04-01

The northern permafrost region contains approximately 50% of the estimated global below-ground organic carbon pool and more than twice as much as is contained in the current atmos-pheric carbon pool. The sheer size of this carbon pool, together with the large amplitude of predicted arctic climate change im-plies that there is a high potential for global-scale feedbacks from arctic climate change if these carbon reservoirs are desta-bilized. Nonetheless, significant gaps exist in our current state of knowledge that prevent us from producing accurate assess-ments of the vulnerability of the arctic permafrost to climate change, or of the implications of future climate change for global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Specifically: • Our understanding of the physical and biogeochemical processes at play in permafrost areas is still insuffi-cient in some key aspects • Size estimates for the high latitude continental carbon and nitrogen stocks vary widely between regions and research groups. • The representation of permafrost-related processes in global climate models still tends to be rudimentary, and is one reason for the frequently poor perform-ances of climate models at high latitudes. The key objectives of PAGE21 are: • to improve our understanding of the processes affect-ing the size of the arctic permafrost carbon and nitro-gen pools through detailed field studies and monitor-ing, in order to quantify their size and their vulnerability to climate change, • to produce, assemble and assess high-quality datasets in order to develop and evaluate representations of permafrost and related processes in global models, • to improve these models accordingly, • to use these models to reduce the uncertainties in feed-backs from arctic permafrost to global change, thereby providing the means to assess the feasibility of stabili-zation scenarios, and • to ensure widespread dissemination of our results in order to provide direct input into the ongoing debate on climate-change mitigation. The concept of PAGE21 is to directly address these questions through a close interaction between monitoring activities, proc-ess studies and modeling on the pertinent temporal and spatial scales. Field sites have been selected to cover a wide range of environmental conditions for the validation of large scale mod-els, the development of permafrost monitoring capabilities, the study of permafrost processes, and for overlap with existing monitoring programs. PAGE21 will contribute to upgrading the project sites with the objective of providing a measurement baseline, both for process studies and for modeling programs. PAGE21 is determined to break down the traditional barriers in permafrost sciences between observational and model-supported site studies and large-scale climate modeling. Our concept for the interaction between site-scale studies and large-scale modeling is to establish and maintain a direct link be-tween these two areas for developing and evaluating, on all spatial scales, the land-surface modules of leading European global climate models taking part in the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5), designed to inform the IPCC process. The timing of this project is such that the main scientific results from PAGE21, and in particular the model-based assessments will build entirely on new outputs and results from the CMIP5 Climate Model Intercomparison Project designed to inform the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report. However, PAGE21 is designed to leave a legacy that will en-dure beyond the lifetime of the projections that it produces. This legacy will comprise • an improved understanding of the key processes and parameters that determine the vulnerability of arctic permafrost to climate change, • the production of a suite of major European coupled climate models including detailed and validated repre-sentations of permafrost-related processes, that will reduce uncertainties in future climate projections pro-duced well beyond the lifetime of PAGE21, and • the training of a new generation of permafrost scien-tists who will bridge the long-standing gap between permafrost field science and global climate modeling, for the long-term benefit of science and society.

Experimental Evidence that Hemlock Mortality Enhances Carbon Stabilization in Southern Appalachian Forest Soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fraterrigo, J.; Ream, K.; Knoepp, J.

2017-12-01

Forest insects and pathogens (FIPs) can cause uncertain changes in forest carbon balance, potentially influencing global atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations. We quantified the effects of hemlock (Tsuga canadensis L. Carr.) mortality on soil carbon fluxes and pools for a decade following either girdling or natural infestation by hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA; Adelges tsugae) to improve mechanistic understanding of soil carbon cycling response to FIPs. Although soil respiration (Rsoil) was similar among reference plots and plots with hemlock mortality, both girdled and HWA-infested plots had greater activities of β-glucosidase, a cellulose-hydrolyzing extracellular enzyme, and decreased O-horizon mass and fine root biomass from 2005 to 2013. During this period, total mineral soil carbon accumulated at a higher rate in disturbed plots than in reference plots in both the surface (0-10 cm) and subsurface (10-30 cm); increases were predominantly in the mineral-associated fraction of the soil organic matter. In contrast, particulate organic matter carbon accrued slowly in surface soils and declined in the subsurface of girdled plots. δ13C values of this fraction demonstrate that particulate organic matter carbon in the surface soil has become more microbially processed over time, suggesting enhanced decomposition of organic matter in this pool. Together, these findings indicate that hemlock mortality and subsequent forest regrowth has led to enhanced soil carbon stabilization in southern Appalachian forests through the translocation of carbon from detritus and particulate soil organic matter pools to the mineral-associated organic matter pool. These findings have implications for ecosystem management and modeling, demonstrating that forests may tolerate moderate disturbance without diminishing soil carbon storage when there is a compensatory growth response by non-host trees.

Nature and Dynamics of Carbon Accrued in a Forest Soil During Five Years of Atmospheric CO2 Enrichment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jastrow, J. D.; O'Brien, S. L.; Dria, K. J.; Moran, K. K.; Filley, T. R.; Boutton, T. W.

2004-12-01

The potential for enhanced soil C storage to partially offset rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations is being evaluated by long-term field CO2 enrichment experiments. Although plant productivity is often stimulated in such experiments, the fate of increased detrital inputs to soil has yet to be definitively resolved, in part because detecting changes in soil C against the relatively large, spatially heterogeneous pool of existing soil organic matter has proven difficult. Even when significant changes in whole soil C are evident, predictions of the potential for long-term sequestration will require detailed studies of C dynamics and stability in functionally meaningful soil organic matter pools. In our studies at the free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) experiment on a sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua L.) forest plantation in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, we are using (1) repeated sampling over time, (2) the isotopic tracer provided by the highly depleted 13C signature of the CO2 source used for fumigation, and (3) physical and chemical fractionation procedures to determine the fate and dynamics of FACE-derived C inputs to soil organic matter. After five years of CO2 enrichment, soil C accumulated at a linear rate in both unprotected and aggregate-protected pools, suggesting that additional C inputs were being processed and cycled in much the same manner as under ambient conditions. However, selective analysis of the biopolymer composition (lignin, suberin, and cutin) and oxidation state of the organic matter in physically and chemically isolated soil fractions will be used to assess the source, nature and potential stability of the C accrued in protected and unprotected pools.

Effects of nitrogen enrichment on soil organic matter in tropical forests with different ambient nutrient status

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaughan, E.; Cusack, D. F.; McDowell, W. H.; Marin-Spiotta, E.

2017-12-01

Nitrogen (N) enrichment is a widespread and increasingly important human influence on ecosystems globally, with implications for net primary production and biogeochemical processes. Previous research has shown that N enrichment can alter soil carbon (C) cycling, although the direction and magnitude of the changes are not consistent across studies, and may change with time. Inconsistent responses to N additions may be due to differences in ambient nutrient status, and/or variable responses of plant C inputs and microbial decomposition. Although plant production in the tropics is not often limited by N, soil processes may respond differently to N enrichment. Our study uses a 15-year N addition experiment at two different tropical forest sites in the Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research project site in Puerto Rico to address long-term changes in soil C pools due to fertilization. The two forests differ in elevation and ambient nutrient status. Soil sampling three and five years post-fertilization showed increased soil C concentrations under fertilization, driven by increases in mineral-associated C (Cusack et al. 2011). However, the longer-term trends at these sites are unknown. To this end, soil samples were collected following fifteen years of fertilization. Soils were sampled from 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm. Bulk soil C and N concentrations will be measured and compared to samples collected before fertilization (2002) and three years post fertilization (2005). We are using density fractionation to isolate different soil organic matter pools into a free light, occluded light, and dense, mineral associated fraction. These pools represent different mechanisms of soil organic matter stabilization, and provide more detailed insight into changes in bulk soil C. These data will provide insight into the effects of N enrichment on tropical forest soils, and how those effects may change through time with a unique long-term data set.

Refuge habitats for fishes during seasonal drying in an intermittent stream: Movement, survival and abundance of three minnow species

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hodges, S.W.; Magoulick, D.D.

2011-01-01

Drought and summer drying can be important disturbance events in many small streams leading to intermittent or isolated habitats. We examined what habitats act as refuges for fishes during summer drying, hypothesizing that pools would act as refuge habitats. We predicted that during drying fish would show directional movement into pools from riffle habitats, survival rates would be greater in pools than in riffles, and fish abundance would increase in pool habitats. We examined movement, survival and abundance of three minnow species, bigeye shiner (Notropis boops), highland stoneroller (Campostoma spadiceum) and creek chub (Semotilus atromaculatus), during seasonal stream drying in an Ozark stream using a closed robust multi-strata mark-recapture sampling. Population parameters were estimated using plausible models within program MARK, where a priori models are ranked using Akaike's Information Criterion. Creek chub showed directional movement into pools and increased survival and abundance in pools during drying. Highland stonerollers showed strong directional movement into pools and abundance increased in pools during drying, but survival rates were not significantly greater in pools than riffles. Bigeye shiners showed high movement rates during drying, but the movement was non-directional, and survival rates were greater in riffles than pools. Therefore, creek chub supported our hypothesis and pools appear to act as refuge habitats for this species, whereas highland stonerollers partly supported the hypothesis and bigeye shiners did not support the pool refuge hypothesis. Refuge habitats during drying are species dependent. An urgent need exists to further understand refuge habitats in streams given projected changes in climate and continued alteration of hydrological regimes. ?? 2011 Springer Basel AG (outside the USA).

Projected climate changes threaten ancient refugia of kelp forests in the North Atlantic.

PubMed

Assis, Jorge; Araújo, Miguel B; Serrão, Ester A

2018-01-01

Intraspecific genetic variability is critical for species adaptation and evolution and yet it is generally overlooked in projections of the biological consequences of climate change. We ask whether ongoing climate changes can cause the loss of important gene pools from North Atlantic relict kelp forests that persisted over glacial-interglacial cycles. We use ecological niche modelling to predict genetic diversity hotspots for eight species of large brown algae with different thermal tolerances (Arctic to warm temperate), estimated as regions of persistence throughout the Last Glacial Maximum (20,000 YBP), the warmer Mid-Holocene (6,000 YBP), and the present. Changes in the genetic diversity within ancient refugia were projected for the future (year 2100) under two contrasting climate change scenarios (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5). Models predicted distributions that matched empirical distributions in cross-validation, and identified distinct refugia at the low latitude ranges, which largely coincide among species with similar ecological niches. Transferred models into the future projected polewards expansions and substantial range losses in lower latitudes, where richer gene pools are expected (in Nova Scotia and Iberia for cold affinity species and Gibraltar, Alboran, and Morocco for warm-temperate species). These effects were projected for both scenarios but were intensified under the extreme RCP8.5 scenario, with the complete borealization (circum-Arctic colonization) of kelp forests, the redistribution of the biogeographical transitional zones of the North Atlantic, and the erosion of global gene pools across all species. As the geographic distribution of genetic variability is unknown for most marine species, our results represent a baseline for identification of locations potentially rich in unique phylogeographic lineages that are also climatic relics in threat of disappearing. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Postnatal Maturation of the Red Nucleus Motor Map Depends on Rubrospinal Connections with Forelimb Motor Pools

PubMed Central

Williams, Preston T. J. A.; Kim, Sangsoo

2014-01-01

The red nucleus (RN) and rubrospinal tract (RST) are important for forelimb motor control. Although the RST is present postnatally in cats, nothing is known about when rubrospinal projections could support motor functions or the relation between the development of the motor functions of the rubrospinal system and the corticospinal system, the other major system for limb control. Our hypothesis is that the RN motor map is present earlier in development than the motor cortex (M1) map, to support early forelimb control. We investigated RN motor map maturation with microstimulation and RST cervical enlargement projections using anterograde tracers between postnatal week 3 (PW3) and PW16. Microstimulation and tracer injection sites were verified histologically to be located within the RN. Microstimulation at PW4 evoked contralateral wrist, elbow, and shoulder movements. The number of sites producing limb movement increased and response thresholds decreased progressively through PW16. From the outset, all forelimb joints were represented. At PW3, RST projections were present within the cervical intermediate zone, with a mature density of putative synapses. In contrast, beginning at PW5 there was delayed and age-dependent development of forelimb motor pool projections and putative rubromotoneuronal synapses. The RN has a more complete forelimb map early in development than previous studies showed for M1, supporting our hypothesis of preferential rubrospinal rather than corticospinal control for early movements. Remarkably, development of the motor pool, not intermediate zone, RST projections paralleled RN motor map development. The RST may be critical for establishing the rudiments of motor skills that subsequently become refined with further CST development. PMID:24647962

Upper Mississippi River System, Environment Management Program, Definite Project Report with Integrated Environmental Assessment (R-8). Bay Island, Missouri Rehabilitation and Enhancement. Pool 22, Mississippi River Miles 311 through 312, Marion County, Missouri

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-03-01

rare in Missouri. The record is from 1987. Red berried elder ( Sambucus pubens) occurs within 1.0 miles of the project area. This plant is endangered...hIALLARD IYPIACTS AAHU’x r U rr PLAN Figure 1- Plan Comparisons A-19 Note that Plan C (sediment deflection) would provide essentially no benefits to...S TA.T$ OIL UTAILS jfy 9.LE.CTtICA.l. 0 BasMW6 WORN Mfaiss wo1nu SYSTEM ,mW30mmoRALummAnuGiWEN PinOain =1~ POOL sIKIrval wLI $11 t PLATE I 44 D ~SAY8

Formation and maintenance of a forced pool-riffle couplet following loading of large wood

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, D. M.; Fixler, S. A.

2017-11-01

Pool-riffle maintenance has been documented in numerous studies, but it has been almost impossible to characterize detailed natural pool-riffle formation mechanisms because of the lack of baseline data prior to pool establishment. In 2013, a study was conducted on the Blackledge River in Connecticut to document the formation of a new pool-riffle couplet on a section of river that had previously been studied from 1999 to 2001. In 2001, the study reach contained a scour hole with a residual depth of 0.08 ± 0.09 m downstream of a 1930s paired deflector with no identifiable riffle immediately downstream. At this time, a large, severely undercut, hemlock tree was noted along the left bank. Sometime between fall 2001 and 2004, the tree fell perpendicular to flow across the channel and formed a large wood (LW) jam and new pool-riffle couplet several meters downstream of the old scour hole. Pool spacing along the reach decreased from 4.47 bankfull widths (BFW) in 1999 to 3.83 BFW after the new pool-riffle couplet formed. The new pool has a residual depth, the water depth of the streambed depression below the elevation of the immediate downstream hydraulic control, of 1.36 ± 0.075 to 1.59 ± 0.075 m, which resulted from a combination of 1.32 ± 0.09 m or less of incision below the old scour hole (95.6% or less of the depth increase) and up to 0.18 ± 0.09 m of downstream deposition and associated backwater formation (13.2% or less of the depth increase). To assess dynamic stability of the pool-riffle couplet over several flood cycles, surficial fine-sediment and organic material along the reach were quantified. The 23-m-long pool stores 25.7% of the surficial fine grained sediments and 15.4% of organic material along a 214-m-long reach that includes one additional artificially created pool. An adjacent 50-m-long secondary channel impacted by the LW jam stores 65.3% of the surficial fine-grained sediments and 54.8% of organic material along the full reach.

Sanctions as honest signals--the evolution of pool punishment by public sanctioning institutions.

PubMed

Schoenmakers, Sarah; Hilbe, Christian; Blasius, Bernd; Traulsen, Arne

2014-09-07

In many species, mutual cooperation is stabilized by forms of policing and peer punishment: if cheaters are punished, there is a strong selective pressure to cooperate. Most human societies have complemented, and sometimes even replaced, such peer punishment mechanisms with pool punishment, where punishment is outsourced to central institutions such as the police. Even before free-riding occurs, such institutions require investments, which could serve as costly signals. Here, we show with a game theoretical model that this signaling effect in turn can be crucial for the evolution of punishment institutions: In the absence of such signals, pool punishment is only stable with second-order punishment and can only evolve when individuals have the freedom not to take part in any interaction. With such signals, individuals can opportunistically adjust their behavior, which promotes the evolution of stable pool punishment even in situations where no one can stand aside. Thus, the human propensity to react opportunistically to credible punishment threats is often sufficient to establish stable punishment institutions and to maintain high levels of cooperation. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Sanctions as honest signals – The evolution of pool punishment by public sanctioning institutions

PubMed Central

Schoenmakers, Sarah; Hilbe, Christian; Blasius, Bernd; Traulsen, Arne

2014-01-01

In many species, mutual cooperation is stabilized by forms of policing and peer punishment: if cheaters are punished, there is a strong selective pressure to cooperate. Most human societies have complemented, and sometimes even replaced, such peer punishment mechanisms with pool punishment, where punishment is outsourced to central institutions such as the police. Even before free-riding occurs, such institutions require investments, which could serve as costly signals. Here, we show with a game theoretical model that this signaling effect in turn can be crucial for the evolution of punishment institutions: In the absence of such signals, pool punishment is only stable with second-order punishment and can only evolve when individuals have the freedom not to take part in any interaction. With such signals, individuals can opportunistically adjust their behavior, which promotes the evolution of stable pool punishment even in situations where no one can stand aside. Thus, the human propensity to react opportunistically to credible punishment threats is often sufficient to establish stable punishment institutions and to maintain high levels of cooperation. PMID:24768866

Common Market measures to promote the use of solar energy - The demonstration project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaut, W.

A series of solar technical projects being conducted under the auspices of the Common Market is discussed. The history and legal foundations of this demonstration project, previous proposal requests and their results, and the experiences to date and present status of the project are assessed. Twenty-six projects proposals are being funded; the only German one concerns solar heating of swimming pools. The economic and administrative aspects of these projects are detailed. Problems of the project are discussed, including the allocation of funds between older and newer aspects and financial constraints.

Diflerent formulations of microbial respiratory losses and microbial efficiency have pronounced short and long term consequences for soil C dynamics and soil respiration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ballantyne, F.; Billings, S. A.

2016-12-01

Much of the variability in projections of Earth's future C balance derives from uncertainty in how to formulate and parameterize models of biologically mediated transformations of soil organic C (SOC). Over the past decade, models of belowground decomposition have incorporated more realism, namely microbial biomass and exoenzyme pools, but it remains unclear whether microbially mediated decomposition is accurately formulated. Different models and different assumptions about how microbial efficiency, defined in terms of respiratory losses, varies with temperature exert great influence on SOC and CO2 flux projections for the future. Here, we incorporate a physiologically realistic formulation of CO2 loss from microbes, distinct from extant formulations and logically consistent with microbial C uptake and losses, into belowground dynamics and contrast its projections for SOC pools and CO2 flux from soils to those from the phenomenological formulations of efficiency in current models. We quantitatively describe how short and long term SOC dynamics are influenced by different mathematical formulations of efficiency, and that our lack of knowledge regarding loss rates from SOC and microbial biomass pools, specific respiration rate and maximum substrate uptake rate severely constrains our ability to confidently parameterize microbial SOC modules in Earth System Models. Both steady-state SOC and microbial biomass C pools, as well as transient responses to perturbations, can differ substantially depending on how microbial efficiency is derived. In particular, the discrepancy between SOC stocks for different formulations of efficiency varies from negligible to more than two orders of magnitude, depending on the relative values of respiratory versus non-respiratory losses from microbial biomass. Mass-specific respiration and proportional loss rates from soil microbes emerge as key determinants of the consequences of different formulations of efficiency for C flux in soils.

Tobacco and Alcohol in Relation to Male Breast Cancer: An Analysis of the Male Breast Cancer Pooling Project Consortium

PubMed Central

Cook, Michael B.; Guénel, Pascal; Gapstur, Susan M.; van den Brandt, Piet A.; Michels, Karin B.; Casagrande, John T.; Cooke, Rosie; Van Den Eeden, Stephen K.; Ewertz, Marianne; Falk, Roni T.; Gaudet, Mia M.; Gkiokas, George; Habel, Laurel A.; Hsing, Ann W.; Johnson, Kenneth; Kolonel, Laurence N.; La Vecchia, Carlo; Lynge, Elsebeth; Lubin, Jay H.; McCormack, Valerie A.; Negri, Eva; Olsson, Håkan; Parisi, Dominick; Petridou, Eleni Th.; Riboli, Elio; Sesso, Howard D.; Swerdlow, Anthony; Thomas, David B.; Willett, Walter C.; Brinton, Louise A.

2015-01-01

Background The etiology of male breast cancer is poorly understood, partly due to its relative rarity. Although tobacco and alcohol exposures are known carcinogens, their association with male breast cancer risk remains ill-defined. Methods The Male Breast Cancer Pooling Project consortium provided 2,378 cases and 51,959 controls for analysis from 10 case-control and 10 cohort studies. Individual participant data were harmonized and pooled. Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate study design-specific (case-control/cohort) odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), which were then combined using fixed effects meta-analysis. Results Cigarette smoking status, smoking pack-years, duration, intensity, and age at initiation were not associated with male breast cancer risk. Relations with cigar and pipe smoking, tobacco chewing, and snuff use were also null. Recent alcohol consumption and average grams of alcohol consumed per day were also not associated with risk; only one sub-analysis of very high recent alcohol consumption (>60 grams/day) was tentatively associated with male breast cancer (ORunexposed referent=1.29, 95%CI:0.97–1.71; OR>0–<7 g/day referent=1.36, 95%CI:1.04–1.77). Specific alcoholic beverage types were not associated with male breast cancer. Relations were not altered when stratified by age or body mass index. Conclusions In this analysis of the Male Breast Cancer Pooling Project we found little evidence that tobacco and alcohol exposures were associated with risk of male breast cancer. Impact Tobacco and alcohol do not appear to be carcinogenic for male breast cancer. Future studies should aim to assess these exposures in relation to subtypes of male breast cancer. PMID:25515550

Tobacco and alcohol in relation to male breast cancer: an analysis of the male breast cancer pooling project consortium.

PubMed

Cook, Michael B; Guénel, Pascal; Gapstur, Susan M; van den Brandt, Piet A; Michels, Karin B; Casagrande, John T; Cooke, Rosie; Van Den Eeden, Stephen K; Ewertz, Marianne; Falk, Roni T; Gaudet, Mia M; Gkiokas, George; Habel, Laurel A; Hsing, Ann W; Johnson, Kenneth; Kolonel, Laurence N; La Vecchia, Carlo; Lynge, Elsebeth; Lubin, Jay H; McCormack, Valerie A; Negri, Eva; Olsson, Håkan; Parisi, Dominick; Petridou, Eleni Th; Riboli, Elio; Sesso, Howard D; Swerdlow, Anthony; Thomas, David B; Willett, Walter C; Brinton, Louise A

2015-03-01

The etiology of male breast cancer is poorly understood, partly due to its relative rarity. Although tobacco and alcohol exposures are known carcinogens, their association with male breast cancer risk remains ill-defined. The Male Breast Cancer Pooling Project consortium provided 2,378 cases and 51,959 controls for analysis from 10 case-control and 10 cohort studies. Individual participant data were harmonized and pooled. Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate study design-specific (case-control/cohort) ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CI), which were then combined using fixed-effects meta-analysis. Cigarette smoking status, smoking pack-years, duration, intensity, and age at initiation were not associated with male breast cancer risk. Relations with cigar and pipe smoking, tobacco chewing, and snuff use were also null. Recent alcohol consumption and average grams of alcohol consumed per day were also not associated with risk; only one subanalysis of very high recent alcohol consumption (>60 g/day) was tentatively associated with male breast cancer (ORunexposed referent = 1.29; 95% CI, 0.97-1.71; OR>0-<7 g/day referent = 1.36; 95% CI, 1.04-1.77). Specific alcoholic beverage types were not associated with male breast cancer. Relations were not altered when stratified by age or body mass index. In this analysis of the Male Breast Cancer Pooling Project, we found little evidence that tobacco and alcohol exposures were associated with risk of male breast cancer. Tobacco and alcohol do not appear to be carcinogenic for male breast cancer. Future studies should aim to assess these exposures in relation to subtypes of male breast cancer. ©2014 American Association for Cancer Research.

Impacts of raindrop evaporative cooling on tropical cyclone secondary eyewall formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ge, Xuyang; Guan, Liang; Yan, Ziyu

2018-06-01

The impacts of raindrop evaporative cooling on secondary eyewall formation (SEF) of simulated tropical cyclones are investigated using idealized numerical experiments. The results suggest that the raindrop evaporative cooling effect is beneficial to the development of secondary eyewall through the planetary boundary layer (PBL) cold pool process. The evaporative cooling-driven downdrafts bring about the surface cold pool beneath a precipitation cloud. This cold pool dynamics act as a lifting mechanism to trigger the outer convection. The radially outward propagation of spiral rainbands broadens the TC size, by which modifies the surface heat fluxes and thus outer convection. Furthermore, the unbalanced PBL process contributes to the SEF. The radially outward surface outflows forces convection at outer region and thus favors a larger TC size. A larger TC implies an enhanced inertial stability at the outer region, which favors a higher conversion efficiency of diabatic heating to kinetic energy.

Sustainable institutionalized punishment requires elimination of second-order free-riders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perc, Matjaž

2012-03-01

Although empirical and theoretical studies affirm that punishment can elevate collaborative efforts, its emergence and stability remain elusive. By peer-punishment the sanctioning is something an individual elects to do depending on the strategies in its neighborhood. The consequences of unsustainable efforts are therefore local. By pool-punishment, on the other hand, where resources for sanctioning are committed in advance and at large, the notion of sustainability has greater significance. In a population with free-riders, punishers must be strong in numbers to keep the ``punishment pool'' from emptying. Failure to do so renders the concept of institutionalized sanctioning futile. We show that pool-punishment in structured populations is sustainable, but only if second-order free-riders are sanctioned as well, and to a such degree that they cannot prevail. A discontinuous phase transition leads to an outbreak of sustainability when punishers subvert second-order free-riders in the competition against defectors.

75 FR 78988 - Post-2014 Resource Pool-Loveland Area Projects, Allocation Procedures and Call for Applications

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-17

... Administration (Western), a Federal power marketing agency of the Department of Energy (DOE), is publishing this... allocation of Federal electric power. Subpart C of the Energy Planning and Management Program (Program... for applications, in conjunction with the Loveland Area Projects (LAP) Final Post-1989 Marketing Plan...

Evaluation of the USDA Northeast Area-wide Tick Control Project by Meta-analysis

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

As part of the Northeast Area-wide Tick Control Project (NEATCP), meta-analyses were performed using pooled data on the extent of tick-vector control achieved through seven concurrent studies, conducted within five states, using USDA ‘4-Poster’ devices to deliver targeted-acaricide to white-tailed d...

Metal Preferences and Metallation*

PubMed Central

Foster, Andrew W.; Osman, Deenah; Robinson, Nigel J.

2014-01-01

The metal binding preferences of most metalloproteins do not match their metal requirements. Thus, metallation of an estimated 30% of metalloenzymes is aided by metal delivery systems, with ∼25% acquiring preassembled metal cofactors. The remaining ∼70% are presumed to compete for metals from buffered metal pools. Metallation is further aided by maintaining the relative concentrations of these pools as an inverse function of the stabilities of the respective metal complexes. For example, magnesium enzymes always prefer to bind zinc, and these metals dominate the metalloenzymes without metal delivery systems. Therefore, the buffered concentration of zinc is held at least a million-fold below magnesium inside most cells. PMID:25160626

A PILOT STUDY TO DETERMINE THE WATER VOLUME INJESTED BY RECREATIONAL SWIMMERS

EPA Science Inventory

The volume of water ingested by recreational swimmers is unknown. Previous estimates by a number of investigators range from 10mL to 100mL. These estimates, however, are unsupported by empirical data. Many outdoor swimming pools are disinfected using cyanuric acid stabilized c...

Nutrient and pollutant metals within earthworm residues are immobilized in soil during decomposition

PubMed Central

Richardson, J.B; Renock, D.J; Görres, J.H; Jackson, B.P; Webb, S.M; Friedland, A.J

2016-01-01

Earthworms are known to bioaccumulate metals, making them a potential vector for metal transport in soils. However, the fate of metals within soil upon death of earthworms has not been characterized. We compared the fate of nutrient (Ca, Mg, Mn) and potentially toxic (Cu, Zn, Pb) metals during decomposition of Amynthas agrestis and Lumbricus rubellus in soil columns. Cumulative leachate pools, exchangeable pools (0.1 M KCl + 0.01 M acetic acid extracted), and stable pools (16 M HNO3 + 12 M HCl extracted) were quantified in the soil columns after 7, 21, and 60 days of decomposition. Soil columns containing A. agrestis and L. rubellus had significantly higher cumulative leachate pools of Ca, Mn, Cu, and Pb than Control soil columns. Exchangeable and stable pools of Cu, Pb, and Zn were greater for A. agrestis and L. rubellus soil columns than Control soil columns. However, we estimated that > 98 % of metals from earthworm residues were immobilized in the soil in an exchangeable or stable form over the 60 days using a mass balance approach. Micro-XRF images of longitudinal thin sections of soil columns after 60 days containing A. agrestis confirm metals immobilization in earthworm residues. Our research demonstrates that nutrient and toxic metals are stabilized in soil within earthworm residues. PMID:28163331

Long term stability of cannabinoids in oral fluid after controlled cannabis administration

PubMed Central

Swortwood, Madeleine J; Sempio, Cristina; Huestis, Marilyn A.

2016-01-01

Cannabinoid stability in oral fluid (OF) is important for assuring accurate results since OF has become a valid alternative matrix of choice for drug testing. We previously published OF cannabinoid stability studies using Quantisal™, Oral-Eze®, and StatSure™ devices stored at room temperature for 1 week, 4°C for up to 4 weeks and in −20°C up to 24 weeks. Extending refrigerated stability up to 3 months would be helpful for clinical and forensic testing, for reanalysis of OF samples and for batching research analyses. Individual authentic OF pools were prepared after controlled smoking of a 6.9% Δ9-tetrahydracannabinol cannabis cigarette; the Quantisal™ device was utilized for OF collection. Fifteen healthy volunteers participated in the Institutional Review Board approved study. Stability for THC, 11-nor-9-carboxy-THC (THCCOOH), Δ9-tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabigerol (CBG) were determined after storage at 4°C for 1, 2 and 3 months. Results within ±20% of baseline concentrations were considered stable. All analytes were stable for up to 2 months at 4°C for all participants with positive baseline concentrations. Baseline concentrations were highly variable. In total, THC, THCCOOH, THCV, CBD and CBG were stable for 3 months at 4°C for pooled positive specimens from 14 of 15, 8 of 9, 7 of 8, 8 of 9 and 9 of 10 participants, respectively. In conclusion, Quantisal™ collected OF specimens should be stored at 4°C for no more than 2 months to assure accurate THC, THCCOOH, THCV, CBD and CBG quantitative results; only one participant's OF was unstable at 3 months. PMID:27539096

Carbon storage, soil carbon dioxide efflux and water quality in three widths of piedmont streamside management zones

Treesearch

Erica F. Wadl; William Lakel; Michael Aust; John Seiler

2010-01-01

Streamside management zones (SMZs) are used to protect water quality. Monitoring carbon pools and fluxes in SMZs may a good indicator of the SMZ’s overall function and health. In this project we evaluated some of these pools and fluxes from three different SMZ widths (30.5, 15.3, and 7.6 m) in the Piedmont of Virginia. We quantified carbon storage in the soil (upper 10...

Clarks Hill Lake Water Quality Study.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-06-01

multipurpose project designed to reduce flooding on the Savannah River, generate electric power and increase the depth of the Savannah River for... power plant at the dam has seven generators, each with a capacity of 40,000 kilowatts. The average annual energy output of Clarks Hill Power Plant is 700...feet) from the top of power pool elevation of 100.6 meters (330 feet msl) to a minimum pool elevation of 95.1 meters (312 feet msl). Because of below

Metal transfer and V-I transients in GMAW of aluminium

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

Pandey, S.; Rao, U.R.K.; Aghakhani, M.

1996-12-31

The mode of metal transfer in arc welding significantly affects the positional weldability; particularly the overhead welding, the chemical composition and properties of weld metal, metallurgy of weld metal, weld pool stability, arc stability, spatter losses, and weld bead geometry. The mode of metal transfer is affected mainly by the type of the arc, welding current, electrode polarity, arc voltage, contact tube to plate distance (CTPD)/Stand-off, type and flow rate of the shielding gas, torch angle and alloying elements in GMAW of aluminium and its alloys.

Laser-TIG Welding of Titanium Alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turichin, G.; Tsibulsky, I.; Somonov, V.; Kuznetsov, M.; Akhmetov, A.

2016-08-01

The article presents the results of investigation the technological opportunity of laser-TIG welding of titanium alloys. The experimental stand for implementation of process with the capability to feed a filler wire was made. The research of the nature of transfer the filler wire into the welding pool has been demonstrated. The influence of distance between the electrode and the surface of the welded plates on the stability of the arc was shown. The relationship between welding velocity, the position of focal plane of the laser beam and the stability of penetration of plates was determined.

Wind River Watershed Restoration: 1999 Annual Report.

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

Connolly, Patrick J.

This document represents work conducted as part of the Wind River Watershed Restoration Project during its first year of funding through the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). The project is a comprehensive effort involving public and private entities seeking to restore water quality and fishery resources in the basin through cooperative actions. Project elements include coordination, watershed assessment, restoration, monitoring, and education. Entities involved with implementing project components are the Underwood Conservation District (UCD), USDA Forest Service (USFS), U.S. Geological Survey--Columbia River Research Lab (USGS-CRRL), and WA Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW). Following categories given in the FY1999 Statement ofmore » Work, the broad categories, the related objectives, and the entities associated with each objective (lead entity in boldface) were as follows: Coordination--Objective 1: Coordinate the Wind River watershed Action Committee (AC) and Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) to develop a prioritized list of watershed enhancement projects. Monitoring--Objective 2: Monitor natural production of juvenile, smolt, and adult steelhead in the Wind River subbasin. Objective 3: Evaluate physical habitat conditions in the Wind River subbasin. Assessment--Objective 4: Assess watershed health using an ecosystem-based diagnostic model that will provide the technical basis to prioritize out-year restoration projects. Restoration--Objective 5: Reduce road related sediment sources by reducing road densities to less than 2 miles per square mile. Objective 6: Rehabilitate riparian corridors, flood plains, and channel morphology to reduce maximum water temperatures to less than 61 F, to increase bank stability to greater than 90%, to reduce bankfull width to depth ratios to less than 30, and to provide natural levels of pools and cover for fish. Objective 7: Maintain and evaluate passage for adult and juvenile steelhead at artificial barriers. Education--Objective 8: Promote watershed stewardship among students, the community, private landowners, and local governments. Progress towards six of eight of these objectives is described within nine separate reports included in a four-volume document.« less

Seasonal Influenza Forecasting in Real Time Using the Incidence Decay With Exponential Adjustment Model

PubMed Central

Nasserie, Tahmina; Tuite, Ashleigh R; Whitmore, Lindsay; Hatchette, Todd; Drews, Steven J; Peci, Adriana; Kwong, Jeffrey C; Friedman, Dara; Garber, Gary; Gubbay, Jonathan

2017-01-01

Abstract Background Seasonal influenza epidemics occur frequently. Rapid characterization of seasonal dynamics and forecasting of epidemic peaks and final sizes could help support real-time decision-making related to vaccination and other control measures. Real-time forecasting remains challenging. Methods We used the previously described “incidence decay with exponential adjustment” (IDEA) model, a 2-parameter phenomenological model, to evaluate the characteristics of the 2015–2016 influenza season in 4 Canadian jurisdictions: the Provinces of Alberta, Nova Scotia and Ontario, and the City of Ottawa. Model fits were updated weekly with receipt of incident virologically confirmed case counts. Best-fit models were used to project seasonal influenza peaks and epidemic final sizes. Results The 2015–2016 influenza season was mild and late-peaking. Parameter estimates generated through fitting were consistent in the 2 largest jurisdictions (Ontario and Alberta) and with pooled data including Nova Scotia counts (R0 approximately 1.4 for all fits). Lower R0 estimates were generated in Nova Scotia and Ottawa. Final size projections that made use of complete time series were accurate to within 6% of true final sizes, but final size was using pre-peak data. Projections of epidemic peaks stabilized before the true epidemic peak, but these were persistently early (~2 weeks) relative to the true peak. Conclusions A simple, 2-parameter influenza model provided reasonably accurate real-time projections of influenza seasonal dynamics in an atypically late, mild influenza season. Challenges are similar to those seen with more complex forecasting methodologies. Future work includes identification of seasonal characteristics associated with variability in model performance. PMID:29497629

Interfacial heat transfer in multiphase molten pools with gas injection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bilbao Y Leon, Rosa Marina

1998-12-01

In the very unlikely event of a severe reactor accident involving core meltdown and pressure vessel failure, it is vital to identify the circumstances that would allow the molten core material to cool down and resolidify, bringing core debris to a safe and stable state. In this type of accident, the molten material which escapes from the reactor pressure vessel will accumulate as a molten pool in the reactor cavity below. To achieve coolability of the corium in this configuration it has been proposed to flood the cavity with water from above forming a layered structure where upward heat loss from the molten pool to the water will cause the core material to quench and solidify. The effectiveness of this procedure depends largely on the rate of upward heat loss as well as on the formation and stability of an upper crust. In this situation the molten pool becomes a three phase mixture: the solid and liquid slurry formed by the molten pool cooled to a temperature below the temperature of liquidus, agitated by the gases formed in the concrete ablation process. The present work quantifies the partition of the heat losses upward and downward considering the influence of the solid fraction in the pool and the viscosity effects, and the rate of heat loss through a solid layer. To complete this task a intermediate scale experimental test section has been designed and built at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, in which simulant materials are used to model the process of heat and mass transfer which involves the molten pool, the solid layer atop and the coolant layer above. The design includes volumetric heating, gas injection from the bottom and solids within the pool. New experimental results showing the heat transfer behavior for pools with different viscosities and various solid fractions are presented. The current results indicate a power split which favors heat transfer upward to the coolant simulant above by a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio. In addition, the power split is unaffected by the viscosity of the pool, the solid fractions in the pool and the superficial velocity.

Strengthening the Scientific Capacity Available to Serve the Nation

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-01

motivating and engaging ways. In 2005, the JASON Project traveled to the Panamanian rainforest and Mr. Phillips introduced his class to the project by reading...The Great Kapok Tree.22 Mr. Phillips had his students compare the rainforest in Panama with their local forest in Plymouth and discussions and debate...filled cover about the project.25 Mr. Phillips’ students then constructed a web page and populated it with rainforest and Plymouth vernal pool

Research Project for Increasing the Pool of Minority Engineers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gott, Susan F. (Technical Monitor); Rogers, Decatur B.

2003-01-01

The NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) funded the 2001-2002 Tennessee State University (TSU) Research Project for increasing the pool of minority engineers. The NASA GRC/TSU Research Project is designed to develop a cadre of SMET professionals who have academic and research expertise in technical areas of interest to NASA, in addition to having some familiarity with the mission of the NASA Glenn Research Center. The goal of increasing minority participation in SMET disciplines was accomplished by: (1) introducing and exposing 96 minority youth to Science, Math, Engineering, and Technology (SMET) careers and to the required high school preparation necessary to make high school graduation, college attendance and engineering careers a reality through the campus based pre-college SMET program: Minority Introduction to Engineering (MITE); (2) by providing financial support through scholarships for four (4) TSU engineering students to NASA; (3) familiarization with the SMET profession and with NASA through summer internships at NASA GRC for two TSU NASA Glenn Research Scholars; and experiences through research internships at NASA GRC.

Tennessee State University (TSU) Research Project For Increasing The Pool of Minority Engineers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogers, Decatur B.; Merritt, Sylvia (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

The NASA Glenn Research Center funded the 1998-1999 Tennessee State University (TSU) Research Project for Increasing the Pool of Minority Engineers. The NASA/GRC-TSU Research Project developed a cadre of engineers who have academic and research expertise in technical areas of interest to NASA, in addition to having some familiarity with the mission of the NASA/Glenn Research Center. Increased minority participation in engineering was accomplished by: (1) introducing and exposing minority youth to engineering careers and to the required high school preparation necessary to access engineering through two campus based precollege programs: Minority Introduction to Engineering (MITE), and Engineering and Technology Previews; (2) providing financial support through the Research Scholars Program for minority youth majoring in engineering disciplines of interest to NASA; (3) familiarization with the engineering profession and with NASA through field trips and summer internships at the Space and Rocket Center, and (4) with practical research exposure and experiences through research internships at NASA/GRC and at TSU.

The representation of non-equilibrium soil types in earth system models and its impact on carbon cycle projections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hugelius, G.; Ahlström, A.; Canadell, J.; Koven, C. D.; Jackson, R. B.; Luo, Y.

2016-12-01

Soils hold the largest reactive pool of carbon (C) on earth. Global soil organic C stocks (0-200 cm depth plus full peatland depth) are estimated to 2200 Pg C (adapted from Hugelius et al., 2014, Köchy et al., 2015 and Batjes, 2016). Soil C stocks in Earth system models (ESMs) can be generated by running the model over a longer time period until soil C pools are in or near steady-state. Inherent in this concept is the idea that soil C stocks are in (quasi)equilibrium as determined by the balance of net ecosystem input to soil organic matter and its turnover. The rate of turnover is sometimes subdivided into several pools and the rates are affected by various environmental factors. Here we break down the empirically based estimates of global soil C pools into equilibrium-type soils which current (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, phase 5; CMIP5) generation ESMs are set-up to represent and non-equilibrium type soils which are generally not represented in current ESMs. We define equilibrium soils as those where pedogenesis (and associated soil C formation) is not significantly limited by the environmental factors perennial soil freezing, waterlogging/anoxia or limited unconsolidated soil substrate. This is essentially all permafrost-free mineral soils that are not in a wetland or alpine setting. On the other hand, non-equlibrium soils are defined as permafrost soils, peatlands and alpine soils with a limited fine-soil matrix. Based on geospatial analyses of state-of-the-art datasets on soil C stocks, we estimate that the global soil C pool is divided roughly equally between equilibrium and non-equlibrium type soils. We discuss the ways in which this result affects C cycling in ESMs and projections of soil C sensitivity under a changing climate. ReferencesBatjes N.H. (2016) Geoderma, 269, 61-68, doi: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2016.01.034 Hugelius G. et al. (2014) Biogeosciences, 11, 6573-6593, doi:10.5194/bg-11-6573-2014 Köchy M. et al. (2015) Soil 1, 351-365. DOI: doi:10.5194/soil-1-351-2015

76 FR 75542 - Porcupine Dam Hydropower Project; Notice of Preliminary Permit Application Accepted for Filing...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-02

.... The proposed project would consist of the existing Porcupine reservoir, powerhouse with three turbines..., earth-filled embankment, has a total storage capacity of 13,000 acre-feet and a water surface area of 190 acres at full pool elevation of 5,383 feet above mean sea level. The turbines total 560 kilowatts...

Using operational and defined fractions to assess soil organic matter stabilization and structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horwath, W. R.

2015-12-01

Studies on soil organic matter (SOM) began with alkaline solvents revealing a dark colored substance that could be isolated under low pH. Further studies revealed fulvic and humic acids and humin fractions leading to theories on functional groups and metal-clay bridging mechanisms. The fate of isotopes in these fractions revealed soil carbon pools with varying turnover rates with half the soil carbon (C) in humin and acid hydrolyzed fractions over 1000 years old. These results are the basis of the three pool conceptual framework used in many biogeochemical models. Theories on the role of functional groups and compound classes further elaborated concepts on physical (aggregates) and chemical mechanisms of C stabilization. With the advance of analytical instrumentation, the operational fractions were further defined to the compound and molecular levels. These studies confirmed the majority of soil C is microbially derived. Our observation that all microbial groups contributed nonselectively to soil C maintenance independent of mineralogy suggests that compound characteristics within integrated structures are more important than the source of individual compounds for stabilizing soil C. In dissolved organic C floccing studies using Near Edge X-ray Fine Structure analysis, we found that aromatic compounds interacted first with Fe, however, the majority of direct bonds to Fe were polysaccharides, reinforcing that an integrative chemical structure rather than direct bonds imparted stability in organo-metal interactions. Using a novel differential scanning calorimeter coupled to an isotope ratio mass spectrometer setup, we confirmed that the presence of clays (independent of clay type) increased the microbial utilization of calcium stabilized high versus low temperature compounds, asserting that higher temperature compounds (i.e., phenolics) are likely less tightly bound by clay minerals. The integration of operational and defined fractions of SOM remains a legitimate approach to examine SOM structure and stabilization across scales of soil development and management.

Characterizing phosphorus speciation of Chesapeake Bay sediments using chemical extraction, 31P NMR, and X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy.

PubMed

Li, Wei; Joshi, Sunendra R; Hou, Guangjin; Burdige, David J; Sparks, Donald L; Jaisi, Deb P

2015-01-06

Nutrient contamination has been one of the lingering issues in the Chesapeake Bay because the bay restoration is complicated by temporally and seasonally variable nutrient sources and complex interaction between imported and regenerated nutrients. Differential reactivity of sedimentary phosphorus (P) pools in response to imposed biogeochemical conditions can record past sediment history and therefore a detailed sediment P speciation may provide information on P cycling particularly the stability of a P pool and the formation of one pool at the expense of another. This study examined sediment P speciation from three sites in the Chesapeake Bay: (i) a North site in the upstream bay, (ii) a middle site in the central bay dominated by seasonally hypoxic bottom water, and (iii) a South site at the bay-ocean boundary using a combination of sequential P extraction (SEDEX) and spectroscopic techniques, including (31)P NMR, P X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy (XANES), and Fe extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). Results from sequential P extraction reveal that sediment P is composed predominantly of ferric Fe-bound P and authigenic P, which was further confirmed by solid-state (31)P NMR, XANES, and EXAFS analyses. Additionally, solution (31)P NMR results show that the sediments from the middle site contain high amounts of organic P such as monoesters and diesters, compared to the other two sites, but that these compounds rapidly decrease with sediment depth indicating remineralized P could have precipitated as authigenic P. Fe EXAFS enabled to identify the changes in Fe mineral composition and P sinks in response to imposed redox condition in the middle site sediments. The presence of lepidocrocite, vermiculite, and Fe smectite in the middle site sediments indicates that some ferric Fe minerals can still be present along with pyrite and vivianite, and that ferric Fe-bound P pool can be a major P sink in anoxic sediments. These results provide improved insights into sediment P dynamics, particularly the rapid remineralization of organic P and the stability of Fe minerals and the ferric Fe-bound P pool in anoxic sediments in the Chesapeake Bay.

Transportation pooled fund project: energy sector developments.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-08-01

The purpose of this research is to provide a mechanism for partner states to share information and experiences concerning responses to energy sector developments, and identify : areas for needed research.

1987 Annual Report of the Reservoir Control Center, Southwestern Division, Army Corps of Engineers

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-01-01

sediment ranges along the MClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation Project. Due to the funding priorities assigned to reservoir sedimentation resurveys, it’ s...winter with the majority being released in February and March 1988. Numerous small deviations, which ranged from channel work to bridge construction...1987. This was still within the range of the conservation pool. The maximum pool elevation was 6,222.54 (61,668 ac-ft) on 20 June. Pueblo Reservoir is a

Microbial models with data-driven parameters predict stronger soil carbon responses to climate change.

PubMed

Hararuk, Oleksandra; Smith, Matthew J; Luo, Yiqi

2015-06-01

Long-term carbon (C) cycle feedbacks to climate depend on the future dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC). Current models show low predictive accuracy at simulating contemporary SOC pools, which can be improved through parameter estimation. However, major uncertainty remains in global soil responses to climate change, particularly uncertainty in how the activity of soil microbial communities will respond. To date, the role of microbes in SOC dynamics has been implicitly described by decay rate constants in most conventional global carbon cycle models. Explicitly including microbial biomass dynamics into C cycle model formulations has shown potential to improve model predictive performance when assessed against global SOC databases. This study aimed to data-constrained parameters of two soil microbial models, evaluate the improvements in performance of those calibrated models in predicting contemporary carbon stocks, and compare the SOC responses to climate change and their uncertainties between microbial and conventional models. Microbial models with calibrated parameters explained 51% of variability in the observed total SOC, whereas a calibrated conventional model explained 41%. The microbial models, when forced with climate and soil carbon input predictions from the 5th Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5), produced stronger soil C responses to 95 years of climate change than any of the 11 CMIP5 models. The calibrated microbial models predicted between 8% (2-pool model) and 11% (4-pool model) soil C losses compared with CMIP5 model projections which ranged from a 7% loss to a 22.6% gain. Lastly, we observed unrealistic oscillatory SOC dynamics in the 2-pool microbial model. The 4-pool model also produced oscillations, but they were less prominent and could be avoided, depending on the parameter values. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Laser Beam Melting of Alumina: Effect of Absorber Additions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moniz, Liliana; Colin, Christophe; Bartout, Jean-Dominique; Terki, Karim; Berger, Marie-Hélène

2018-03-01

Ceramic laser beam melting offers new manufacturing possibilities for complex refractory structures. Poor absorptivity in near infra-red wavelengths of oxide ceramics is overcome with absorber addition to ceramic powders. Absorbers affect powder bed densities and geometrical stability of melted tracks. Optimum absorber content is defined for Al2O3 by minimizing powder bed porosity, maximizing melting pool geometrical stability and limiting shrinkage. Widest stability fields are obtained with addition of 0.1 wt.% C and 0.5 wt.% β-SiC. Absorption coefficient values of Beer-Lambert law follow stability trends: they increase with C additions, whereas with β-SiC, a maximum is reached for 0.5 wt.%. Powder particle ejections are also identified. Compared to metallic materials, this ejection phenomenon can no longer be neglected when establishing a three-dimensional manufacturing strategy.

2011 Summary: Coastal wetland restoration research

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kowalski, Kurt P.; Wiley, Michael J.; Wilcox, Douglas A.; Carlson Mazur, Martha L.; Czayka, Alex; Dominguez, Andrea; Doty, Susan; Eggleston, Mike; Green, Sean; Sweetman, Amanda

2014-01-01

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) projects currently taking place in Great Lakes coastal wetlands provide a unique opportunity to study ecosystem response to management actions as practitioners strive to improve wetland function and increase ecosystem services. Through a partnership between the U.S. Geological Survey – Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and Ducks Unlimited, a GLRI-funded project has reestablished the hydrologic connection between an intensively managed impounded wetland (Pool 2B) and Crane Creek, a small Lake Erie tributary, by building a water-control structure that was opened in the spring of 2011. The study site is located within the USFWS Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge (ONWR) and lies within the boundaries of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-designated Maumee River Area of Concern. The broad objective of the project is to evaluate how hydrologically reconnecting a previously diked wetland impacts fish, mollusks, and other biota and affects nutrient transport, nutrient cycling, water quality, flood storage, and many other abiotic conditions. The results from this project suggest large system-wide benefits from sustainable reestablishment of lake-driven hydrology in this and other similar systems. We comprehensively sampled water chemistry, fish, birds, plants, and invertebrates in Crane Creek coastal wetlands, Pool 2A (a reference diked wetland), and Pool 2B (the reconnected wetland) in 2010 and 2011 to: 1) Characterize spatial and seasonal patterns for these parameters. 2) Examine ecosystem response to the opening of a water-control structure that allows fish passage Our sampling efforts have yielded data that reveal striking changes in water quality, hydrology, and fish assemblages in our experimental unit (2B). Prior to the reconnection, the water chemistry in pools 2A and 2B were very similar. Afterwards, we found that the water chemistry in reconnected Pool 2B was more similar to Crane Creek (e.g., greater turbidity, higher concentration of nitrogen). Sites closest to the structure showed the most creek influence with that influence decreasing with distance from the structure, suggesting that input water from Crane Creek is not mixing fully with the pool water. We also found that water level fluctuations were much greater in the reconnected wetland due to the influence of seiches in Lake Erie. We measured the nutrient concentrations of water flowing into and out of Pool 2B during seiche events and found that the phosphorous and nitrogen concentrations generally were drastically reduced after pulsing through the reconnected wetland. Fish response to the reconnection was equally striking. High-resolution sonar revealed extensive bidirectional movement of fish through the structure on a daily and seasonal basis. There also were significant increases in both the catch per unit effort (CPUE) and the species richness of all sites in Pool 2B from 2010 to 2011. Reconnecting the diked pool to the larger Crane Creek wetland complex, and therefore Lake Erie, has opened up rich new habitat for many fish species. Thirteen species of fish not previously found in the pool entered through the structure and actively used the reconnected wetland. We also found that the wetland functions as a productive spawning ground and nursery area with notable shifts in the predominant age-class of several species of fish, especially northern pike. We observed no negative effects of reconnection on the avian or vegetative communities. All sites within the connected pool had increases in diversity and abundance in the avian community and decreases in the species richness and Floristic Quality Assessment Index values for vegetative communities. After one year of study, data suggest that maintaining a hydrologic connection between diked and coastal wetlands in Lake Erie allows fishes to use vegetated habitats regularly, reduces the concentration of nutrients in coastal waters, and maintains productive habitats for birds and other biota.  It will be important to continue to monitor the status of the reconnected wetland to determine the effect of long-term connection to Crane Creek and Lake Erie.  If conditions degrade, periodic management actions involving hydrologic isolation of the rehabilitated coastal wetland could be used to mimic intermediate levels of disturbance and maintain wetland vegetation.

3 CFR 13502 - Executive Order 13502 of February 6, 2009. Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... developing by providing structure and stability to large-scale construction projects, thereby promoting the... procurement, producing labor-management stability, and ensuring compliance with laws and regulations governing... construction projects receiving Federal financial assistance, would help to promote the economical, efficient...

Software requirements specification for the GIS-T/ISTEA pooled fund study phase C linear referencing engine

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

Amai, W.; Espinoza, J. Jr.; Fletcher, D.R.

1997-06-01

This Software Requirements Specification (SRS) describes the features to be provided by the software for the GIS-T/ISTEA Pooled Fund Study Phase C Linear Referencing Engine project. This document conforms to the recommendations of IEEE Standard 830-1984, IEEE Guide to Software Requirements Specification (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., 1984). The software specified in this SRS is a proof-of-concept implementation of the Linear Referencing Engine as described in the GIS-T/ISTEA pooled Fund Study Phase B Summary, specifically Sheet 13 of the Phase B object model. The software allows an operator to convert between two linear referencing methods and a datummore » network.« less

Summation by parts, projections, and stability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Olsson, Pelle

1993-01-01

We have derived stability results for high-order finite difference approximations of mixed hyperbolic-parabolic initial-boundary value problems (IBVP). The results are obtained using summation by parts and a new way of representing general linear boundary conditions as an orthogonal projection. By slightly rearranging the analytic equations, we can prove strict stability for hyperbolic-parabolic IBVP. Furthermore, we generalize our technique so as to yield strict stability on curvilinear non-smooth domains in two space dimensions. Finally, we show how to incorporate inhomogeneous boundary data while retaining strict stability. Using the same procedure one can prove strict stability in higher dimensions as well.

Mass spectrometric screening of ligands with lower off-rate from a clicked-based pooled library.

PubMed

Arai, Satoshi; Hirosawa, Shota; Oguchi, Yusuke; Suzuki, Madoka; Murata, Atsushi; Ishiwata, Shin'ichi; Takeoka, Shinji

2012-08-13

This paper describes a convenient screening method using ion trap electrospray ionization mass spectrometry to classify ligands to a target molecule in terms of kinetic parameters. We demonstrate this method in the screening of ligands to a hexahistidine tag from a pooled library synthesized by click chemistry. The ion trap mass spectrometry analysis revealed that higher stabilities of ligand-target complexes in the gas phase were related to lower dissociation rate constants, i.e., off-rates in solution. Finally, we prepared a fluorescent probe utilizing the ligand with lowest off-rate and succeeded in performing single molecule observations of hexahistidine-tagged myosin V walking on actin filaments.

Response of local vascular volumes to lower body negative pressure stress

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wolthuis, R. A.; Leblanc, A.; Carpentier, W. A.; Bergman, S. A., Jr.

1975-01-01

The present study involved an intravenous injection of radioactive iodinated serum albumin, equilibration of this isotope within the vascular space, and the continuous measurement of isotope activity over selected anatomical areas before, during and following multiple human LBNP tests. Both rate and magnitude of vascular pooling were distinctly different within each of five selected lower body anatomical areas. In the upper body, all areas except the abdomen showed depletions from their resting vascular volumes during LBNP. The presence of uniquely different pooling patterns in the lower body, the apparent stability of abdominal vascular volumes, and a possible decrease in cerebral blood volume during LBNP represent the major findings of this study.

Effects of a floodwater-retarding structure on the hydrology and ecology of Trout Creek in southwestern Wisconsin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wentz, Dennis A.; Graczyk, David J.

1982-01-01

From 1960 to 1979, winter floods seem to have had the greatest adverse effect on the survival of brown trout eggs and sac fry. Although construction of the FRS has eliminated some spawning gravels in the flood pool owing to sedimentation, the wild trout have adapted by using spawning grounds above the flood pool more extensively and intensively. The FRS has not blocked the upstream migration of spawning trout, but it has eliminated similar migrations of fish that compete with and prey on the trout. Controlled streamflows downstream from the FRS have had a stabilizing influence on the limited trout reproduction in this region.

Temperature responses of individual soil organic matter components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Xiaojuan; Simpson, Myrna J.

2008-09-01

Temperature responses of soil organic matter (SOM) remain unclear partly due to its chemical and compositional heterogeneity. In this study, the decomposition of SOM from two grassland soils was investigated in a 1-year laboratory incubation at six different temperatures. SOM was separated into solvent extractable compounds, suberin- and cutin-derived compounds, and lignin-derived monomers by solvent extraction, base hydrolysis, and CuO oxidation, respectively. These SOM components have distinct chemical structures and stabilities and their decomposition patterns over the course of the experiment were fitted with a two-pool exponential decay model. The stability of SOM components was also assessed using geochemical parameters and kinetic parameters derived from model fitting. Compared with the solvent extractable compounds, a low percentage of lignin monomers partitioned into the labile SOM pool. Suberin- and cutin-derived compounds were poorly fitted by the decay model, and their recalcitrance was shown by the geochemical degradation parameter (ω - C16/∑C16), which was observed to stabilize during the incubation. The temperature sensitivity of decomposition, expressed as Q10, was derived from the relationship between temperature and SOM decay rates. SOM components exhibited varying temperature responses and the decomposition of lignin monomers exhibited higher Q10 values than the decomposition of solvent extractable compounds. Our study shows that Q10 values derived from soil respiration measurements may not be reliable indicators of temperature responses of individual SOM components.

A general framework for the regression analysis of pooled biomarker assessments.

PubMed

Liu, Yan; McMahan, Christopher; Gallagher, Colin

2017-07-10

As a cost-efficient data collection mechanism, the process of assaying pooled biospecimens is becoming increasingly common in epidemiological research; for example, pooling has been proposed for the purpose of evaluating the diagnostic efficacy of biological markers (biomarkers). To this end, several authors have proposed techniques that allow for the analysis of continuous pooled biomarker assessments. Regretfully, most of these techniques proceed under restrictive assumptions, are unable to account for the effects of measurement error, and fail to control for confounding variables. These limitations are understandably attributable to the complex structure that is inherent to measurements taken on pooled specimens. Consequently, in order to provide practitioners with the tools necessary to accurately and efficiently analyze pooled biomarker assessments, herein, a general Monte Carlo maximum likelihood-based procedure is presented. The proposed approach allows for the regression analysis of pooled data under practically all parametric models and can be used to directly account for the effects of measurement error. Through simulation, it is shown that the proposed approach can accurately and efficiently estimate all unknown parameters and is more computational efficient than existing techniques. This new methodology is further illustrated using monocyte chemotactic protein-1 data collected by the Collaborative Perinatal Project in an effort to assess the relationship between this chemokine and the risk of miscarriage. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Soil CO2 emissions from Northern Andean páramo ecosystems: effects of fallow agriculture.

PubMed

Cabaneiro, Ana; Fernandez, Irene; Pérez-Ventura, Luis; Carballas, Tarsy

2008-03-01

The effects of fallow agriculture on soil organic matter (SOM) dynamics and CO2 emissions were assessed in the tropical Andean páramo ecosystem. Possible changes during the cultivation-fallow cycle were monitored in four areas of the Quebrada Piñuelas valley (Venezuela). Uncultivated soils and plots at different stages of a complete cultivation--fallow cycle were incubated, and SOM mineralization kinetics was determined. Soils exhibited a low SOM mineralization activity, total CO2 evolved never reaching 3% of soil carbon, pointing to a stabilized SOM. Potential soil CO2 effluxes differed significantly according to their plot aspect: northeast (NE)-aspect soils presented higher CO2 effluxes than southwest (SW)-aspect soils. Soil CO2 emissions decreased after ploughing as compared to virgin páramo; low CO2 effluxes were still observed during cropping periods, increasing progressively to reach the highest values after 4-5 y of fallow. In all cases, experimental C mineralization data was fitted to a double exponential kinetic model. High soil labile C pool variability was observed, and two different trends were identified: NE-oriented soils showed more labile C and a wider range of values than SW-facing soils. Labile C positively correlated with CO2 effluxes and negatively with its instantaneous mineralization rate. The instantaneous mineralization rate of the recalcitrant C pool positively correlated with %C evolved as CO2 and negatively with soil C and Al2O3 contents, suggesting the importance of aluminum on SOM stability. The CO2 effluxes from these ecosystems, as well as the proportion of soil C released to the atmosphere, seem to depend not only on the size of the labile C pool but also on the accessibility of the more stabilized SOM. Therefore, fallow agriculture produces moderate changes in SOM quality and temporarily alters the CO2 emission capacity of these soils.

Blood-pool contrast agent for pre-clinical computed tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cruje, Charmainne; Tse, Justin J.; Holdsworth, David W.; Gillies, Elizabeth R.; Drangova, Maria

2017-03-01

Advances in nanotechnology have led to the development of blood-pool contrast agents for micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). Although long-circulating nanoparticle-based agents exist for micro-CT, they are predominantly based on iodine, which has a low atomic number. Micro-CT contrast increases when using elements with higher atomic numbers (i.e. lanthanides), particularly at higher energies. The purpose of our work was to develop and evaluate a lanthanide-based blood-pool contrast agent that is suitable for in vivo micro-CT. We synthesized a contrast agent in the form of polymer-encapsulated Gd nanoparticles and evaluated its stability in vitro. The synthesized nanoparticles were shown to have an average diameter of 127 +/- 6 nm, with good size dispersity. Particle size distribution - evaluated by dynamic light scattering over the period of two days - demonstrated no change in size of the contrast agent in water and saline. Additionally, our contrast agent was stable in a mouse serum mimic for up to 30 minutes. CT images of the synthesized contrast agent (containing 27 mg/mL of Gd) demonstrated an attenuation of over 1000 Hounsfield Units. This approach to synthesizing a Gd-based blood-pool contrast agent promises to enhance the capabilities of micro-CT imaging.

Rock-Eval analysis of French forest soils: the influence of depth, soil and vegetation types on SOC thermal stability and bulk chemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soucemarianadin, Laure; Cécillon, Lauric; Baudin, François; Cecchini, Sébastien; Chenu, Claire; Mériguet, Jacques; Nicolas, Manuel; Savignac, Florence; Barré, Pierre

2017-04-01

Soil organic matter (SOM) is the largest terrestrial carbon pool and SOM degradation has multiple consequences on key ecosystem properties like nutrients cycling, soil emissions of greenhouse gases or carbon sequestration potential. With the strong feedbacks between SOM and climate change, it becomes particularly urgent to develop reliable routine methodologies capable of indicating the turnover time of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. Thermal analyses have been used to characterize SOM and among them, Rock-Eval 6 (RE6) analysis of soil has shown promising results in the determination of in-situ SOC biogeochemical stability. This technique combines a phase of pyrolysis followed by a phase of oxidation to provide information on both the SOC bulk chemistry and thermal stability. We analyzed with RE6 a set of 495 soils samples from 102 permanent forest sites of the French national network for the long-term monitoring of forest ecosystems (''RENECOFOR'' network). Along with covering pedoclimatic variability at a national level, these samples include a range of 5 depths up to 1 meter (0-10 cm, 10-20 cm, 20-40 cm, 40-80 cm and 80-100 cm). Using RE6 parameters that were previously shown to be correlated to short-term (hydrogen index, HI; T50 CH pyrolysis) or long-term (T50 CO2 oxidation and HI) SOC persistence, and that characterize SOM bulk chemical composition (oxygen index, OI and HI), we tested the influence of depth (n = 5), soil class (n = 6) and vegetation type (n = 3; deciduous, coniferous-fir, coniferous-pine) on SOM thermal stability and bulk chemistry. Results showed that depth was the dominant discriminating factor, affecting significantly all RE6 parameters. With depth, we observed a decrease of the thermally labile SOC pool and an increase of the thermally stable SOC pool, along with an oxidation and a depletion of hydrogen-rich moieties of the SOC. Soil class and vegetation type had contrasted effects on the RE6 parameters but both affected significantly T50 CO2 oxidation with, for instance, entic Podzols and dystric Cambisols containing relatively more thermally stable SOC in the deepest layer than hypereutric/calcaric Cambisols. Moreover, soils in deciduous plots contained a higher proportion of thermally stable SOC than soils in coniferous plots. This study shows that RE6 analysis constitutes a fast and cost effective way to qualitatively estimate SOM turnover and to discuss its ecosystem drivers. It offers promising prospects towards a quantitative estimation of SOC turnover and the development of RE6-based indicators related to the size of the different SOC kinetic pools.

Improving Student Learning via Mobile Phone Video Content: Evidence from the BridgeIT India Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wennersten, Matthew; Quraishy, Zubeeda Banu; Velamuri, Malathi

2015-01-01

Past efforts invested in computer-based education technology interventions have generated little evidence of affordable success at scale. This paper presents the results of a mobile phone-based intervention conducted in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in 2012-13. The BridgeIT project provided a pool of audio-visual learning…

The Hunters Point-Bayview SEED Project: A Diagnostic Review of Reading Achievement in the First Three Grades.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Counelis, James Steve

A diagnostic review of reading achievement in the first three grades of the South East Education Development (SEED) project is presented. Comparisons are made with the 1969-1970 SEED data, which is considered baseline. The findings indicated that: (1) no significant difference existed in the pooled attendance for each grade between two successive…

Impact of oral fluid collection device on cannabinoid stability following smoked cannabis.

PubMed

Anizan, Sébastien; Bergamaschi, Mateus M; Barnes, Allan J; Milman, Garry; Desrosiers, Nathalie; Lee, Dayong; Gorelick, David A; Huestis, Marilyn A

2015-02-01

Evaluation of cannabinoid stability in authentic oral fluid (OF) is critical, as most OF stability studies employed fortified or synthetic OF. Participants (n = 16) smoked a 6.8% delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) cigarette, and baseline concentrations of THC, 11-nor-9-carboxy-THC (THCCOOH), cannabidiol (CBD), and cannabinol (CBN) were determined within 24 h in 16 separate pooled samples (collected 1 h before to 10.5 or 13 h after smoking). OF was collected with the StatSure Saliva Sampler™ and Oral-Eze® devices. Oral-Eze samples were re-analyzed after room temperature (RT) storage for 1 week, and for both devices after 4 °C for 1 and 4 weeks, and -20 °C for 4 and 24 weeks. Concentrations ±20% from initial concentrations were considered stable. With the StatSure device, all cannabinoids were within 80-120% median %baseline for all storage conditions. Individual THC, CBD, CBN and THCCOOH pool concentrations were stable in 100%, 100%, 80-94% and >85%, respectively, across storage conditions. With the Oral-Eze device, at RT or refrigerated storage (for 1 and 4 weeks), THC, CBD and THCCOOH were stable in 94-100%, 78-89%, and 93-100% of samples, respectively, while CBN concentrations were 53-79% stable. However, after 24 weeks at -20 °C, stability decreased, especially for CBD, with a median of 56% stability. Overall, the collection devices' elution/stabilizing buffers provided good stability for OF cannabinoids, with the exception of the more labile CBN. To ensure OF cannabinoid concentration accuracy, these data suggest analysis within 4 weeks at 4 °C storage for Oral-Eze collection and within 4 weeks at 4 °C or 24 weeks at -20 °C for StatSure collection. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus neurons: a multivariate taxonomy.

PubMed

Jarvinen, M K; Powley, T L

1999-01-18

The dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMNX) contains neurons with different projections and discrete functions, but little success has been achieved in distinguishing the cells cytoarchitectonically. The present experiment employed multivariate analytical techniques to evaluate DMNX neuronal morphology. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 77) were perfused, and the brainstems were stained en bloc with a Golgi-Cox protocol. DMNX neurons in each of three planes (coronal, sagittal, and horizontal; total sample = 607) were digitized. Three-dimensional features quantified included dendritic length, number of segments, spine density, number of primary dendrites, dendritic orientation, and soma form factor. Cluster analyses of six independent samples of 100+ neurons and of three composite replicate pools of 200+ neurons consistently identified similar sets of four distinct neuronal profiles. One profile (spinous, limited dendrites, small somata) appears to correspond to the interneuron population of the DMNX. In contrast, the other three distinctive profiles (e.g., one is multipolar, with large dendritic fields and large somata) are different types of preganglionic neurons. Each of the four types of neurons is found throughout the DMNX, suggesting that the individual columnar subnuclei and other postulated vagal motorneuron pools are composed of all types of neurons. Within individual motor pools, ensembles of the different neuronal types must cooperatively organize different functions and project to different effectors within a target organ. By extension, specializations of the preganglionic motor pools are more likely to result from their afferent inputs, peripheral target tissues, neurochemistry, or physiological features rather than from any unique morphological profiles.

A Review Of Innovative International Financing Mechanisms To Address Noncommunicable Diseases.

PubMed

Meghani, Ankita; Basu, Sanjay

2015-09-01

Noncommunicable diseases have become prevalent in low- and middle-income countries. A key question that remains unresolved is how to support the development of systems to prevent and treat noncommunicable disease through international financing mechanisms. We conducted a review of articles and grey literature published from 2000 through 2014 on innovative financing models proposed or used for other disease control efforts. We found that the greatest available evidence supported pooled funding models, where funding from multiple groups is combined for a specific investment, with such models previously deployed in vaccine and infectious disease funding areas. Robust evidence also supported the viability of international transactions taxes or levies placed on specific transactions to fund investments in drug procurement and supply, and of the front-loading of development aid through bond sales, particularly to stabilize funding and subsidize drug procurement. Far less compelling evidence was available to support diaspora bonds or debt reduction programs as mechanisms to aid low- and middle-income countries' health systems in financing noncommunicable disease prevention and care services. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Drivers of soil organic matter vulnerability to climate change, Part II: RothC modelling of carbon dynamics including radiocarbon data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Studer, Mirjam S.; Abiven, Samuel; González Domínguez, Beatriz R.; Hagedorn, Frank; Reisser, Moritz; Walthert, Lorenz; Zimmermann, Stephan; Niklaus, Pascal A.

2016-04-01

It is still largely unknown what drives the vulnerability of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks to climate change, i.e. the likelihood of a soil to loose its SOC along with the change in environmental conditions. Our objective is to assess the SOC vulnerability of Swiss forest soils and identify its potential drivers: climate (temperature, soil moisture), soil (clay content, pH) and landscape (slope, aspect) properties. Fifty-four sites were selected for balanced spatial and driver magnitudes distribution. We measured the SOC characteristics (content and radiocarbon) and studied the C decomposition by laboratory soil incubations (details in Part I, abstract by B. González Domínguez). In order to assess the current SOC pool distribution and its radiocarbon signatures, we extended the Rothamsted Carbon (RothC) model with radiocarbon (14C) isotope modelling (RothCiso). The RothC model distinguishes four active SOC pools, decomposable and resistant plant material, microbial biomass and humified organic matter, and an inert SOC pool (Jenkinson 1990). The active pools are decomposed and mineralized to CO2 by first order kinetics. The RothCiso assigns all pools a 14C signature, based on the atmospheric 14C concentrations of the past century (plant C inputs) and their turnover. Currently we constrain the model with 14C signatures measured on the 54 fresh and their corresponding archived bulk soil samples, taken 12-24 years before. We were able to reproduce the measured radiocarbon concentrations of the SOC with the RothCiso and first results indicate, that the assumption of an inert SOC pool, that is radiocarbon dead, is not appropriate. In a second step we will compare the SOC mean residence time assessed by the two methodological approaches - incubation (C efflux based) and modelling (C stock based) - and relate it to the environmental drivers mentioned above. With the combination of the two methodological approaches and 14C analysis we hope to gain more insights into the source of the C lost along with climate change - is it "young" C from active pools with high turnover (e.g. plant material) or is it rather "old" C that was stabilized in pools with slow turnover (e.g. "humified" or stabilized organic matter)? This will enable us to judge if the C losses observed in the incubation experiments are relevant for longer time scales (decades) and could not be easily compensated for by increased C inputs. Thus, the SOC vulnerability to climate change will be rated based on the amount and source of C lost and compared with climate, soil and landscape properties to gain insights on the drivers of the SOC vulnerability on a regional scale. References Jenkinson, D. S. (1990). The turnover of organic carbon and nitrogen in soil. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B, 329, 361-368.

Mineral-associated organic matter: are we now on the right path to accurately measuring and modelling it?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cotrufo, M. F.

2017-12-01

Mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) is the largest and most persistent pool of carbon in soil. Understanding and correctly modeling its dynamic is key to suggest management practices that can augment soil carbon storage for climate change mitigation, as well as increase soil organic matter (SOM) stocks to support soil health on the long-term. In the Microbial Efficiency Mineral Stabilization (MEMS) framework we proposed that, contrary to what originally thought, this form of persistent SOM is derived from the labile components of plant inputs, through their efficient microbial processing. I will present results from several experiments using dual isotope labeling of plant inputs that largely confirm this opinion, and point to the key role of dissolved organic matter in MAOM formation, and to the dynamic nature of the outer layer of MAOM. I will also show how we are incorporating this understanding in a new SOM model, which uses physically defined measurable pools rather than turnover-defined pools to forecast C cycling in soil.

Soil organic carbon stabilization by iron in permafrost regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mu, C. C.; Zhang, T. J.; Zhao, Q.; Guo, H.; Zhong, W.; Su, H.; Wu, Q. B.

2016-10-01

A close relationship exists between soil organic carbon (SOC) and reactive iron; however, little is known about the role of iron in SOC preservation in permafrost regions. We determined the amount of SOC associated with reactive iron phases (OC-Fe) in the permafrost regions of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). The results showed that the percentage of OC-Fe ranged between 0.9% and 59.5% in the upper 30 cm of soil and that the OC-Fe represented 19.5 ± 12.3% of the total SOC pool. No clear vertical distribution pattern in OC-Fe was present in the upper 1 m of soil. Throughout the year, the OC-Fe accounted for relatively stable proportions of the total SOC pool. This study suggests that approximately 20% of SOC is a potential rusty OC pool in the permafrost regions of the QTP. Biogeochemical processes related to the reaction of iron may play important roles in soil carbon cycles in permafrost regions.

Biophysical Interactions within Step-Pool Mountain Streams Following Wildfire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parker, A.; Chin, A.; O'Dowd, A. P.

2014-12-01

Recovery of riverine ecosystems following disturbance is driven by a variety of interacting processes. Wildfires pose increasing disturbances to riverine landscapes, with rising frequencies and magnitudes owing to warming climates and increased fuel loads. The effects of wildfire include loss of vegetation, elevated runoff and flash floods, erosion and deposition, and changing biological habitats and communities. Understanding process interactions in post-fire landscapes is increasingly urgent for successful management and restoration of affected ecosystems. In steep channels, steps and pools provide prominent habitats for organisms and structural integrity in high energy environments. Step-pools are typically stable, responding to extreme events with recurrence intervals often exceeding 50 years. Once wildfire occurs, however, intensification of post-fire flood events can potentially overpower the inherent stability of these systems, with significant consequences for aquatic life and human well-being downstream. This study examined the short-term response of step-pool streams following the 2012 Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado. We explored interacting feedbacks among geomorphology, hydrology, and ecology in the post-fire environment. At selected sites with varying burn severity, we established baseline conditions immediately after the fire with channel surveys, biological assessment using benthic macroinvertebrates, sediment analysis including pebble counts, and precipitation gauging. Repeat measurements after major storm events over several years enabled analysis of the interacting feedbacks among post-fire processes. We found that channels able to retain the step-pool structure changed less and facilitated recovery more readily. Step habitats maintained higher percentages of sensitive macroinvertebrate taxa compared to pools through post-fire floods. Sites burned with high severity experienced greater reduction in the percentage of sensitive taxa. The decimation of macroinvertebrates closely coincides with the physical destruction of the step-pool morphology. The role that step-pools play in enhancing the ecological quality of fluvial systems, therefore, provides a key focus for effective management and restoration of aquatic resources following wildfires.

Drivers of spatial heterogeneity in nitrogen processing among three alpine plant communities in the Rocky Mountains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Churchill, A. C.; Beers, A.; Grinath, J.; Bowman, W. D.

2017-12-01

Nitrogen cycling across the globe has been fundamentally altered due to regional elevated N deposition and there is a cascade of ecosystem consequences including shifts in species composition, eutrophication, and soil acidification. Making predictions that encompass the factors that drive these ecosystem changes has frequently been limited to single ecosystem types, or areas with fairly homogenous abiotic conditions. The alpine is an ecosystem type that exhibits changes under relatively low levels of N depositions due to short growing seasons and shallow soils limiting N storage. While recent work provided estimates for the magnitude of N associated with ecosystem changes, less is known about the within-site factors that may interact to stabilize or amplify the differential response of N pools under future conditions of resource deposition. To examine numerous potential within-site and regional factors (both biotic and abiotic) affecting ecosystem N pools we examined the relationship between those factors and a suite of ecosystem pools of N followed by model selection procedures and structural equation modelling. Measurements were conducted at Niwot Ridge Long Term Ecological Research site and in Rocky Mountain National Park in three distinct alpine meadow ecosystems (dry, moist, and wet meadows). These meadows span a moisture gradient as well as plant community composition, thereby providing high variability of potential biotic and abiotic drivers across small spatial scales in the alpine. In general, regional scale abiotic factors such as site levels of annual average N deposition or precipitation were poor predictors of seasonal pools of N, while spring soil water pools of N were negatively correlated with elevation. Models containing multiple abiotic and biotic drivers, however, were best at predicting soil and plant pools of N across the two sites. Future analysis will include highlight interactions among with-site factors affecting N pools in the alpine using structural equation modelling to statistically examine the bidirectional relationship between plant communities and soil pools of N.

Premature Mobility of Boulders in Constructed Step-pool River Structures in the Carmel River, CA: The Role of Fish-centric Design Constraints, and Flow on Structural Stability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, D. P.; Chow, K.; Luna, L.

2017-12-01

The 32 m tall San Clemente Dam (Carmel River, CA) was removed in 2015 to eliminate seismic risk and to improve fish passage for all life stages of steelhead (O. mykiss). Reservoir sediment was sequestered in place, rather than released, and a new 1000 m long channel/floodplain system was constructed to circumvent the stored sediment. The channel comprised a 250 m long, meandering low-gradient reach and a 750 m reach with alternating step-pool sections, plane beds, and resting pools. The floodprone surfaces were compacted, wrapped in geotechnical fabric and vegetated. This study analyzes the geomorphic evolution of the new channel system during its first two years of service based upon detailed field inspection, SfM photogrammetry, orthophoto analysis, and 2d hydraulic modeling. A significant proportion of the step-pool structures experienced premature mobility and several reaches of engineered stream banks were eroded in the first year. Individual, six-tonne boulders were mobilized despite experiencing less than the 3 yr flow. The channel and floodplain were fully repaired following the first year. Strong flows (two 10-yr floods and a 30-yr flood) during the second year catastrophically altered the constructed channel and floodplain. While the low-gradient reach remained intact, each of the original step-pool structures was either completely mobilized and destroyed, buried by gravel, or bypassed by the subsequent channel. Despite the overall structural failure of the constructed channel, the new channel does not block steelhead migration, and can be serendipitously considered an ecological success. Step-pool design was constrained by a fish-centric requirement that steps be 1 ft tall or less. Some constructed "resting pools" filled rather than transport sediment. Using fish-centric constraints in the design, rather than strictly fluvial geomorphic principles may have contributed to early failure of the step-pool structures and other parts of the system.

76 FR 71127 - Reporting by Investment Advisers to Private Funds and Certain Commodity Pool Operators and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-16

... Form PF is designed, among other things, to assist the Financial Stability Oversight Council in its... several changes from the proposal that are designed to respond to commenter concerns. Consistent with the... members of FSOC. The design of Form PF is not intended to reflect a determination as to where systemic...

18 CFR 1304.208 - Shoreline stabilization on TVA-owned residential access shoreland.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... planting of vegetation. (2) Tightly bound bundles of coconut fiber, logs, or other natural materials may be... stone, natural stone, or other material approved by TVA. (2) Rubber tires, concrete rubble, or other... full summer pool water. Riprap shall be placed at least two feet in depth along the footer of the...

18 CFR 1304.208 - Shoreline stabilization on TVA-owned residential access shoreland.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... planting of vegetation. (2) Tightly bound bundles of coconut fiber, logs, or other natural materials may be... stone, natural stone, or other material approved by TVA. (2) Rubber tires, concrete rubble, or other... full summer pool water. Riprap shall be placed at least two feet in depth along the footer of the...

SIMPLE SAMPLE CLEAN UP PROCEDURE AND HIGH PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHIC METHOD FOR THE ANALYSIS OF CYANURIC ACID IN HUMAN URINE

EPA Science Inventory

Cyanuric acide (CA) is widely used as a chlorine stabilizer in outdoor pools. No simple method exists for CA measurement in the urine of exposed swimmers. The high hydrophilicity of CA makes usage of solid phase sorbents to extract it from urine nearly impossible because of samp...

San Francisquito Creek Stabilization at Bonde Weir Project

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Information about the SFBWQP San Francisquito Creek Stabilization at Bonde Weir Project, part of an EPA competitive grant program to improve SF Bay water quality focused on restoring impaired waters and enhancing aquatic resources.

Trends in future health financing and coverage: future health spending and universal health coverage in 188 countries, 2016-40.

PubMed

2018-05-05

Achieving universal health coverage (UHC) requires health financing systems that provide prepaid pooled resources for key health services without placing undue financial stress on households. Understanding current and future trajectories of health financing is vital for progress towards UHC. We used historical health financing data for 188 countries from 1995 to 2015 to estimate future scenarios of health spending and pooled health spending through to 2040. We extracted historical data on gross domestic product (GDP) and health spending for 188 countries from 1995 to 2015, and projected annual GDP, development assistance for health, and government, out-of-pocket, and prepaid private health spending from 2015 through to 2040 as a reference scenario. These estimates were generated using an ensemble of models that varied key demographic and socioeconomic determinants. We generated better and worse alternative future scenarios based on the global distribution of historic health spending growth rates. Last, we used stochastic frontier analysis to investigate the association between pooled health resources and UHC index, a measure of a country's UHC service coverage. Finally, we estimated future UHC performance and the number of people covered under the three future scenarios. In the reference scenario, global health spending was projected to increase from US$10 trillion (95% uncertainty interval 10 trillion to 10 trillion) in 2015 to $20 trillion (18 trillion to 22 trillion) in 2040. Per capita health spending was projected to increase fastest in upper-middle-income countries, at 4·2% (3·4-5·1) per year, followed by lower-middle-income countries (4·0%, 3·6-4·5) and low-income countries (2·2%, 1·7-2·8). Despite global growth, per capita health spending was projected to range from only $40 (24-65) to $413 (263-668) in 2040 in low-income countries, and from $140 (90-200) to $1699 (711-3423) in lower-middle-income countries. Globally, the share of health spending covered by pooled resources would range widely, from 19·8% (10·3-38·6) in Nigeria to 97·9% (96·4-98·5) in Seychelles. Historical performance on the UHC index was significantly associated with pooled resources per capita. Across the alternative scenarios, we estimate UHC reaching between 5·1 billion (4·9 billion to 5·3 billion) and 5·6 billion (5·3 billion to 5·8 billion) lives in 2030. We chart future scenarios for health spending and its relationship with UHC. Ensuring that all countries have sustainable pooled health resources is crucial to the achievement of UHC. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Supplemental Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Vernal Pool Restoration Project in Wing Infrastructure Development Outlook (WINDO) Implementation Plan EA, Volume 2 Beale Air Force Base, California

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-01

Mineral resources include metals, industrial minerals (e.g., aggregate, sand and gravel), oil and gas, and geothermal resources that would be of value...the elderberry shrub ( Sambucus sp.), is not present within the project action area. The proposed project is not likely to adversely affect the bald...impairing essential behavioral patterns, including breeding, feeding, or sheltering. Harass is defined by the Service as an action that creates the

Dixie Valley, Nevada playa bathymetry constructed from Landsat TM data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Groeneveld, David P.; Barz, David D.

2014-05-01

A bathymetry model was developed from a series of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images to assist discrimination of hydrologic processes on a low-relief, stable saline playa in Dixie Valley, Nevada, USA. The slope of the playa surface, established by field survey on a reference transect, enabled calculation of relative elevation of the edges of pooled brine mapped from Landsat TM5 band 5 reflectance (TMB5) in the 1.55-1.75 μm shortwave infrared region (SWIR) of the spectrum. A 0.02 TMB5 reflectance threshold accurately differentiated the shallow (1-2 mm depth) edges of pools. Isocontours of equal elevations of pool margins were mapped with the TMB5 threshold, forming concentric rings that were assigned relative elevations according to the position that the pool edges intersected the reference transect. These data were used to fit a digital elevation model and a curve for estimating pooled volume given the distance from the playa edge to the intersection of the pool edge with the reference transect. To project pooled volume using the bathymetric model for any TM snapshot, within a geographic information system, the 0.02 TMB5 threshold is first used to define the edge of the exposed brine. The distance of this edge from the playa edge along the reference transect is then measured and input to the bathymetric equation to yield pooled volume. Other satellite platforms with appropriate SWIR bands require calibration to Landsat TMB5. The method has applicability for filling reservoirs, bodies of water that fluctuate and especially bodies of water inaccessible to acoustic or sounding methods.

Connecting Restricted, High-Availability, or Low-Latency Resources to a Seamless Global Pool for CMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balcas, J.; Bockelman, B.; Hufnagel, D.; Hurtado Anampa, K.; Jayatilaka, B.; Khan, F.; Larson, K.; Letts, J.; Mascheroni, M.; Mohapatra, A.; Marra Da Silva, J.; Mason, D.; Perez-Calero Yzquierdo, A.; Piperov, S.; Tiradani, A.; Verguilov, V.; CMS Collaboration

2017-10-01

The connection of diverse and sometimes non-Grid enabled resource types to the CMS Global Pool, which is based on HTCondor and glideinWMS, has been a major goal of CMS. These resources range in type from a high-availability, low latency facility at CERN for urgent calibration studies, called the CAF, to a local user facility at the Fermilab LPC, allocation-based computing resources at NERSC and SDSC, opportunistic resources provided through the Open Science Grid, commercial clouds, and others, as well as access to opportunistic cycles on the CMS High Level Trigger farm. In addition, we have provided the capability to give priority to local users of beyond WLCG pledged resources at CMS sites. Many of the solutions employed to bring these diverse resource types into the Global Pool have common elements, while some are very specific to a particular project. This paper details some of the strategies and solutions used to access these resources through the Global Pool in a seamless manner.

Carbon dynamics and aggregation in a Vicia faba crop: influence of management practice and cultivar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sánchez-Navarro, Virginia; Zornoza, Raúl; Faz, Ángel; Fernández, Juan

2016-04-01

In this study, we assessed the influence of a legume crop (Vicia faba) on the soil properties related to the carbon (C) cycle and soil aggregation, taking into account two cultivars (Muchamiel and Palenca) and two different management practices (conventional and organic). The study was randomly designed in blocks with four replications, in plots of 10 m2. Faba bean crop spanned from 24 November 2014 to 2 March 2015. We took a soil sampling (0-30 cm) from each plot at the end of the cycle to measure soil organic C, recalcitrant C, labile C fractions, microbial biomass C (MBC), aggregate stability and the enzyme activities β-glucosidase, β-glucosaminidase, dehydrogenase, cellulose and arylesterase. Results showed that the cultivar and the management practice had no significant effect on any of the analyzed properties. Significant positive correlations were only observed between soil organic C and arylesterase activity, recalcitrant C and labile C fractions, and recalcitrant C with arylesterase and cellulase activities. So, it seems that the selected cultivars and management practices had similar effects on C dynamics and aggregation. Both management practices maintain the same levels of soil organic C, the different organic C pools, and aggregate stability. In addition, soil microorganisms are responding to the recalcitrant fraction of the organic carbon by release of cellulases and arylesterases. Acknowledgements: This research was financed by the FP7 European Project Eurolegume (FP7-KBBE- 613781).

Project report : Alaska travel information system

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-11-01

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) initiated the Alaska Travel Information System by joining the Condition Acquisition and Reporting System/511 (CARS/511) Pooled Fund in October 2002. CARS was jointly developed by...

Reserve pool neuron transmitter respecification: Novel neuroplasticity.

PubMed

Dulcis, Davide; Spitzer, Nicholas C

2012-04-01

The identity of the neurotransmitters expressed by neurons has been thought to be fixed and immutable, but recent studies demonstrate that changes in electrical activity can rapidly and reversibly reconfigure the transmitters and corresponding transmitter receptors that neurons express. Induction of transmitter expression can be achieved by selective activation of afferents recruited by a physiological range of sensory input. Strikingly, neurons acquiring an additional transmitter project to appropriate targets prior to transmitter respecification in some cases, indicating the presence of reserve pools of neurons that can boost circuit function. We discuss the evidence for such reserve pools, their likely locations and ways to test for their existence, and the potential clinical value of such circuit-specific neurotransmitter respecification for treatments of neurological disorders. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Development of an Identification Procedure for a Large Urban School Corporation: "Identifying Culturally Diverse and Academically Gifted Elementary Students"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pierce, Rebecca L.; Adams, Cheryll M.; Neumeister, Kristie L. Speirs; Cassady, Jerrell C.; Dixon, Felicia A.; Cross, Tracy L.

2006-01-01

This paper describes the identification process of a Priority One Jacob K. Javits grant, Clustering Learners Unlocks Equity (Project CLUE), a university-school partnership. Project CLUE uses a "sift-down model" to cast the net widely as the talent pool of gifted second-grade students is formed. The model is based on standardized test scores, a…

Process Stability of Ultrasonic-Wave-Assisted Gas Metal Arc Welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Chenglei; Xie, Weifeng; Yang, Chunli; Lin, Sanbao; Fan, Yangyang

2017-10-01

As a newly developed arc welding method, ultrasonic-wave-assisted arc welding successfully introduced power ultrasound into the arc and weld pool, during which the ultrasonic acts on the top of the arc in the coaxial alignment direction. The advanced process for molten metals can be realized by using an additional ultrasonic field. Compared with the conventional gas metal arc welding (GMAW), the welding arc is compressed, the droplet size is decreased, and the droplet transfer frequency is increased significantly in ultrasonic-wave-assisted GMAW (U-GMAW). However, the stability of the metal transfer has deep influence on the welding quality equally, and the ultrasonic wave effect on the stability of the metal transfer is a phenomenon that is not completely understood. In this article, the stabilities of the short-circuiting transfer process and globular transfer process are studied systematically, and the effect of ultrasonic wave on the metal transfer is analyzed further. The transfer frequency and process stability of the U-GMAW process are much higher than those of the conventional GMAW. Analytical results show that the additional ultrasonic wave is helpful for improving welding stability.

Infectivity of Theileria parva sporozoites following cryopreservation in four suspension media and multiple refreezing: evaluation by in vitro titration.

PubMed

Mbao, V; Berkvens, D; Dolan, T; Speybroeck, N; Brandt, J; Dorny, P; Van den Bossche, P; Marcotty, T

2006-09-01

Theileria parva sporozoite stabilates are used for immunizing cattle against East Coast fever and in in vitro sporozoite neutralization assays. In this study, we attempted to identify a cheaper freezing medium and quantified the infectivity loss of sporozoites due to refreezing of stabilates, using an in vitro technique. Pools of stabilates prepared using Minimum Essential Medium (MEM), Roswell Park Memorial Institute (RPMI 1640), foetal calf serum (FCS) and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) were compared. All were supplemented with bovine serum albumin except the FCS. RPMI 1640 was as effective as MEM in maintaining sporozoite infectivity while the infectivity in PBS and FCS reached only 59% and 67%, respectively. In a second experiment, a stabiiate based on MEM was subjected to several freeze-thaw cycles including various holding times on ice between thawing and refreezing. Refrozen stabilate gave an average sporozoite infectivity loss of 35% per cycle. The results indicate that RPMI can be used as a cheaper freezing medium for T. parva stabilates and that refrozen stabilate doses need to be adjusted for the 35% loss of infectivity.

The ICF Core Sets for hearing loss--researcher perspective. Part I: Systematic review of outcome measures identified in audiological research.

PubMed

Granberg, Sarah; Dahlström, Jennie; Möller, Claes; Kähäri, Kim; Danermark, Berth

2014-02-01

To review the literature in order to identify outcome measures used in research on adults with hearing loss (HL) as part of the ICF Core Sets development project, and to describe study and population characteristics of the reviewed studies. A systematic review methodology was applied using multiple databases. A comprehensive search was conducted and two search pools were created, pool I and pool II. The study population included adults (≥ 18 years of age) with HL and oral language as the primary mode of communication. 122 studies were included. Outcome measures were distinguished by 'instrument type', and 10 types were identified. In total, 246 (pool I) and 122 (pool II) different measures were identified, and only approximately 20% were extracted twice or more. Most measures were related to speech recognition. Fifty-one different questionnaires were identified. Many studies used small sample sizes, and the sex of participants was not revealed in several studies. The low prevalence of identified measures reflects a lack of consensus regarding the optimal outcome measures to use in audiology. Reflections and discussions are made in relation to small sample sizes and the lack of sex differentiation/descriptions within the included articles.

78 FR 14323 - Notice of Submission of Proposed Information Collection to OMB; Neighborhood Stabilization...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-05

... Stabilization Program 2 (NSP2). The data required includes program level, project level and beneficiary level... program level, project level and beneficiary level information collected and reported on by NSP2 grantees...

Performance evaluation of JRCP with stabilized open-graded drainage course.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-08-01

From 1990 to 1995 the department used recycled concrete pavement as open-graded drainage course (OGDC) base : aggregate for thirteen concrete reconstruction projects. Overall, the JRCP projects with coated/stabilized OGDC have : performed very well i...

The geomorphic and ecological effectiveness of habitat rehabilitation works: Continuous measurement of scour and fill around large logs in sand-bed streams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borg, Dan; Rutherfurd, Ian; Stewardson, Mike

2007-09-01

Geomorphologists, ecologists and engineers have all contributed to stream rehabilitation projects by predicting the physical effect of habitat restoration structures. In this study we report the results of a stream rehabilitation project on the Snowy River, SE Australia; that aims to improve fish habitat and facilitate migration associated with scour holes around large wood in the streambed. Whilst engineering models allow us to predict maximum scour, the key management issue here was not the maximum scour depth but whether the holes persisted at a range of flows, and if they were present when fish actually required them. This led to the development of a new method to continuously monitor scour in a sand-bed, using a buried pressure transducer. In this study we monitored fluctuations in the bed level below three large logs (1 m diameter) on the Snowy River. Each log had a different scour mechanism: a plunge pool, a horseshoe vortex (analogous to a bridge pier), and a submerged jet beneath the log. The continuous monitoring demonstrated a complex relationship between discharge and pool scour. The horseshoe vortex pool maintained a constant level, whilst, contrary to expectations, both the plunge pool and the submerged jet pool gradually filled over the 12 months. Filling was associated with the average rise in flows in winter, and occurred despite several freshes and discharge spikes. The plunge pool showed the most variation, with bed levels fluctuating by over 1 m. A key factor in pool scour here may not be the local water depth at the log, but the position of the log in relation to larger scale movements of sand-waves in the stream. These results question assumptions on the relative importance of small floods or channel-maintenance flows that lead to beneficial scour around large wood in sand-bed streams. Further, the continuous measurement of scour and fill around the logs suggested the presence of pool scour holes would have met critical requirements for Australian bass ( Macquaria novemaculeata) during the migration period, whereas less-frequent monitoring typical of rehabilitation trials would have suggested the contrary. The results of this study have demonstrated that geomorphic effectiveness is not always synonymous with biological effectiveness. Whilst physical models emphasise extreme changes, such as maximum scour, the key biological issue is whether scour occurs at the critical time of the life cycle. Continuous measurement of sand levels is an example of a geomorphic technique that will help to develop models that predict biologically meaningful processes, not just extremes.

Pharmacovigilance in Space: Stability Payload Compliance Procedures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Daniels, Vernie R.; Putcha, Lakshmi

2007-01-01

Pharmacovigilance is the science of, and activities relating to the detection, assessment, understanding, and prevention of drug-related problems. Over the lase decade, pharmacovigilance activities have contributed to the development of numerous technological and conventional advances focused on medication safety and regulatory intervention. The topics discussed include: 1) Proactive Pharmacovigilance; 2) A New Frontier; 3) Research Activities; 4) Project Purpose; 5) Methods; 6) Flight Stability Kit Components; 7) Experimental Conditions; 8) Research Project Logistics; 9) Research Plan; 10) Pharmaceutical Stability Research Project Pharmacovigilance Aspects; 11) Security / Control; 12) Packaging/Containment Actions; 13) Shelf-Life Assessments; 14) Stability Assessment Parameters; 15) Chemical Content Analysis; 16) Preliminary Results; 17) Temperature/Humidity; 18) Changes in PHysical and Chemical Assessment Parameters; 19) Observations; and 20) Conclusions.

Topography Battles Surface Texture: An Experimental Study of Pool-riffle Formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chartrand, S. M.; Hassan, M. A.; Jellinek, M.

2016-12-01

Pool-riffles are perhaps the most common streambed shape found in streams and rivers, and not surprisingly, they are essential to salmon ecology, and are a central focus of many restoration actions. Yet, when an applied earth scientist or engineer is faced with developing a pool-riffle design, there is a lack of clear and rigorously developed design guidelines. Given the volumes of money spent annually within the restoration industry, this is a real problem. Recognition of this problem is growing, however, and an increasing level of attention has been directed to questions of pool-riffle formation in the past decade. At this point and given certain landscape characteristics, it is well established that streamwise gradients in channel width are associated with pool-riffles. Specifically, pools are associated with negative gradients in width, and riffles with positive gradients. Importantly, these associations have now been documented from field-derived data, as well as via experimental and numerical investigations. There is much to build from the present knowledge base, and central to this are questions related to (a) how pool-riffles evolve during the formative process, (b) what are the basic set of ingredients necessary for pool-riffle formation within systems characterized by relatively non-erodible channel margins, and (c) do pool-riffles persist, once formed, under a broad range of forcing conditions? We have completed four physical experiments examining the process and evolution of pool-riffle formation under a large range of upstream boundary, as well as physical channel conditions. We will report on two of the completed experiments. Our work will highlight two new non-dimensional channel evolution numbers, derived to help describe and characterize bedform development, as well as response to perturbations from near-equilibrium conditions. The channel evolution numbers lay the foundation for development of a new regime diagram, which quantifies the basic ingredients needed to drive pool-riffle formation, as well as formation of other types of gravel bedforms. We believe our work holds promise for application in identifying suitable conditions for pool-riffle construction, and natural maintenance over typical restoration project time frames.

2014 National Asset Management Conference and Training on Implementation Strategies.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-07-01

This report documents the major research activities conducted as part of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) : Transportation Pooled Fund (TPF) Program project, TPF-5(275) 2014 National Asset Management Conference and Training on : Implementati...

2014 National Asset Management Conference and training on implementation strategies.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-07-01

This report documents the major research activities conducted as part of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) : Transportation Pooled Fund (TPF) Program project, TPF-5(275) 2014 National Asset Management Conference and Training on : Implementati...

Instrumentation to Aid in Steel Bridge Fabrication : Bridge Virtual Assembly System

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2018-05-01

This pool funded project developed a BRIDGE VIRTUAL ASSEMBLY SYSTEM (BRIDGE VAS) that improves manufacturing processes and enhances quality control for steel bridge fabrication. The system replaces conventional match-drilling with virtual assembly me...

Highway maintenance concept vehicle final report : phase four.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-06-01

This report documents Phase IV of the Highway Maintenance Concept Vehicle (HMCV) project, : a pooled fund study sponsored by the Departments of Transportation of Iowa, Pennsylvania, and : Wisconsin. This report provides the background, including a br...

Characterising the short-term sensitivity of Californian intertidal community calcification to ocean acidification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwiatkowski, Lester; Caldeira, Ken

2015-04-01

Anthropogenic emissions of CO2 and invasion of part of this CO2 into the oceans results in a decrease in seawater pH and a lowering of the calcium carbonate saturation state. The historic and projected decrease of the calcium carbonate saturation state of seawater has the potential to compromise the ability of many marine calcifying organisms to form their calcium carbonate shells or skeletons and is likely to have significant ocean ecosystem impacts over the 21st Century. In laboratory manipulations temperate calcifying organisms have been shown to exhibit reduced calcification as a result of CO2 addition. However, very few experiments have observed how calcification in temperate systems responds to natural variations in seawater carbonate chemistry. We assess the community level sensitivity of Californian tidal pool calcification rates to variability in the calcium carbonate saturation state. Our tidal pool study sites at Bodega Bay in Northern California experience extreme variation in low tide carbonate saturation state due to photosynthetic activity and the time at which the pools are isolated from the open ocean. During our study period, we observed aragonite saturation levels ranging from 0.5 to 9. Photosynthetic activity is largely dependent on temperature and photosynthetic active radiation which vary on a diurnal timescale whereas the time at which pools are isolated from open seawater, and thus the amount by which tide pool carbonate chemistry differs from that of open ocean waters, is largely a consequence of tidal period which varies on a lunar cycle. Because there are substantial uncorrelated components of light, temperature, and seawater carbonate chemistry in our data, one can separate the influence of carbonate saturation state on calcification from the influence of temperature and PAR. This provides an opportunity to characterise the short-timescale sensitivity of tidal pool calcification rates to changes in carbonate saturation state. We show that on such timescales community level rates of daytime calcification are not strongly influenced by variability in carbonate saturation state. This suggests that these intertidal communities may be more resilient to projected ocean acidification than previously thought, although extending this work to consider longer timescales would be required to more firmly support this hypothesis.

25 CFR 1000.17 - What documents must a Tribe/Consortium submit to OSG to apply for admission to the applicant pool?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... following: (a) Successful completion of a planning phase and a planning report. The requirements for both of these are described in § 1000.19 and § 1000.20. A Consortium's planning activities satisfy this... financial stability and financial management capability for the previous 3 fiscal years. This will be done...

76 FR 8067 - Reporting by Investment Advisers to Private Funds and Certain Commodity Pool Operators and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-11

... other things, to assist the Financial Stability Oversight Council in its assessment of systemic risk in... for the assessment of systemic risk by FSOC.\\12\\ The records and reports must include a description of... section 204(b)(1) could be read in isolation to imply that the SEC requiring private fund systemic risk...

Regulation of PRPP and nucleoside tri and tetraphosphate pools in Escherichia coli under conditions of nitrogen starvation.

PubMed Central

Villadsen, I S; Michelsen, O

1977-01-01

The ribonucleoside triphosphate, deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate, 3' -diphosphate guanosine 5' -diphosphate (ppGpp), and 5-phosphoribosyl 1-pyrophosphate (PRPP) pools in Escherichia coli B were determined by thin-layer chromatography during changing conditions to ammonium starvation. The intracellular concentrations of all nucleotides were found to change in a well-defined order several minutes before andy observed change in the optical density of the culture. The levels of purine nucleoside triphosphates (adenosine 5' -triphosphate [CTP], dCTP) and uridine nucleotides (uridine 5' -triphosphate, deoxythymidine 5'-triphosphate). The deoxyribonucleotides thus behaved as the ribonucleotides. The levels of ppGpp increased 11-fold after the decrease in uridine nucleotides, when the accumulation of stable ribonucleic acid (RNA) stopped. The level of the nucleotide pool did not stabilize until 30 min after the change in optical density. The pool of dGTP dropped concomitantly with the pool of CTP. The nucleotide precursor PRPP exhibited a transient increase, wtih maximum value of four times the exponential levels at the onset of starvation. Apparently the cell adjusts early to starvation by reducing either the phosphorylating activity or the nucleotide biosynthetic activity. As in other downshift systems, the accumulation of stable RNA stopped before the break in optical density and before the stop in protein accumulation. Cell divisions were quite insensitive to the control mechanisms operating on RNA and protein accumulation under ammonium starvation, since the cells continued to divide for 21 min without any net accumulation of RNA. Images PMID:323222

Antioxidant pool in beer and kinetics of EPR spin-trapping.

PubMed

Kocherginsky, Nikolai M; Kostetski, Yuri Yu; Smirnov, Alex I

2005-08-24

The kinetics of spin-trap adduct formation in beer oxidation exhibits an induction period if the reaction is carried out at elevated temperatures and in the presence of air. This lag period lasts until the endogenous antioxidants are almost completely depleted, and its duration is used as an indicator of the flavor stability and shelf life of beer. This paper demonstrates that the total kinetics of the process can be characterized by three parameters-the lag period, the rate of spin-trap adduct formation, and, finally, the steady-state spin-adduct concentration. A steady-state chain reaction mechanism is described, and quantitative estimates of the main kinetic parameters such as the initiation rate, antioxidant pool, effective content of organic molecules participating in the chain reactions, and the rate constant of the 1-hydroxyethyl radical EtOH(*) spin-adduct disappearance are given. An additional new dimensionless parameter is suggested to characterize the antioxidant pool-the product of the lag time and the rate of spin-trap radical formation immediately after the lag time, normalized by the steady-state concentration of the adducts. The results of spin-tapping EPR experiments are compared with the nitroxide reduction kinetics measured in the same beer samples. It is shown that although the kinetics of nitroxide reduction in beer can be used to evaluate the reducing power of beer, the latter parameter does not correlate with the antioxidant pool. The relationship of free radical processes, antioxidant pool, reducing power, and beer staling is discussed.

Quenching behavior of molten pool with different strategies – A review

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

Shrikant,, E-mail: 2014rmt9018@mnit.ac.in; Pandel, U.; Duchaniya, R. K.

After the major severe accident in nuclear reactor, there has been lot of concerns regarding long term core melt stabilization following a severe accident in nuclear reactors. Numerous strategies have been though for quenching and stabilization of core melt like top flooding, bottom flooding, indirect cooling, etc. However, the effectiveness of these schemes is yet to be determined properly, for which, lot of experiments are needed. Several experiments have been performed for coolability of melt pool under bottom flooding as well as for indirect cooling. Besides these tests are very scattered because they involve different simulants material initial temperatures andmore » masses of melt, which makes it very complex to judge the effectiveness of a particular technique and advantage over the other. In this review paper, a study has been carried on different cooling techniques of simulant materials with same mass. Three techniques have been compared here and the results are discussed. Under top flooding technique it took several hours to cool the melt under without decay heat condition. In bottom flooding technique was found to be the best technique among in indirect cooling technique, top flooded technique, and bottom flooded technique.« less

A neutral polydisulfide containing Gd(III) DOTA monoamide as a redox-sensitive biodegradable macromolecular MRI contrast agent.

PubMed

Ye, Zhen; Zhou, Zhuxian; Ayat, Nadia; Wu, Xueming; Jin, Erlei; Shi, Xiaoyue; Lu, Zheng-Rong

2016-01-01

This work aims to develop safe and effective gadolinium (III)-based biodegradable macromolecular MRI contrast agents for blood pool and cancer imaging. A neutral polydisulfide containing macrocyclic Gd-DOTA monoamide (GOLS) was synthesized and characterized. In addition to studying the in vitro degradation of GOLS, its kinetic stability was also investigated in an in vivo model. The efficacy of GOLS for contrast-enhanced MRI was examined with female BALB/c mice bearing 4T1 breast cancer xenografts. The pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, and metabolism of GOLS were also determined in mice. GOLS has an apparent molecular weight of 23.0 kDa with T1 relaxivities of 7.20 mM(-1) s(-1) per Gd at 1.5 T, and 6.62 mM(-1) s(-1) at 7.0 T. GOLS had high kinetic inertness against transmetallation with Zn(2+) ions, and its polymer backbone was readily cleaved by L-cysteine. The agent showed improved efficacy for blood pool and tumor MR imaging. The structural effect on biodistribution and in vivo chelation stability was assessed by comparing GOLS with Gd(HP-DO3A), a negatively charged polydisulfide containing Gd-DOTA monoamide GODC, and a polydisulfide containing Gd-DTPA-bisamide (GDCC). GOLS showed high in vivo chelation stability and minimal tissue deposition of gadolinium. The biodegradable macromolecular contrast agent GOLS is a promising polymeric contrast agent for clinical MR cardiovascular imaging and cancer imaging. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Remission and recovery from first-episode psychosis in adults: systematic review and meta-analysis of long-term outcome studies.

PubMed

Lally, John; Ajnakina, Olesya; Stubbs, Brendon; Cullinane, Michael; Murphy, Kieran C; Gaughran, Fiona; Murray, Robin M

2017-12-01

Background Remission and recovery rates for people with first-episode psychosis (FEP) remain uncertain. Aims To assess pooled prevalence rates of remission and recovery in FEP and to investigate potential moderators. Method We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess pooled prevalence rates of remission and recovery in FEP in longitudinal studies with more than 1 year of follow-up data, and conducted meta-regression analyses to investigate potential moderators. Results Seventy-nine studies were included representing 19072 patients with FEP. The pooled rate of remission among 12301 individuals with FEP was 58% (60 studies, mean follow-up 5.5 years). Higher remission rates were moderated by studies from more recent years. The pooled prevalence of recovery among 9642 individuals with FEP was 38% (35 studies, mean follow-up 7.2 years). Recovery rates were higher in North America than in other regions. Conclusions Remission and recovery rates in FEP may be more favourable than previously thought. We observed stability of recovery rates after the first 2 years, suggesting that a progressive deteriorating course of illness is not typical. Although remission rates have improved over time recovery rates have not, raising questions about the effectiveness of services in achieving improved recovery. © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2017.

Parallel tagged next-generation sequencing on pooled samples - a new approach for population genetics in ecology and conservation.

PubMed

Zavodna, Monika; Grueber, Catherine E; Gemmell, Neil J

2013-01-01

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) on pooled samples has already been broadly applied in human medical diagnostics and plant and animal breeding. However, thus far it has been only sparingly employed in ecology and conservation, where it may serve as a useful diagnostic tool for rapid assessment of species genetic diversity and structure at the population level. Here we undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the accuracy, practicality and limitations of parallel tagged amplicon NGS on pooled population samples for estimating species population diversity and structure. We obtained 16S and Cyt b data from 20 populations of Leiopelma hochstetteri, a frog species of conservation concern in New Zealand, using two approaches - parallel tagged NGS on pooled population samples and individual Sanger sequenced samples. Data from each approach were then used to estimate two standard population genetic parameters, nucleotide diversity (π) and population differentiation (FST), that enable population genetic inference in a species conservation context. We found a positive correlation between our two approaches for population genetic estimates, showing that the pooled population NGS approach is a reliable, rapid and appropriate method for population genetic inference in an ecological and conservation context. Our experimental design also allowed us to identify both the strengths and weaknesses of the pooled population NGS approach and outline some guidelines and suggestions that might be considered when planning future projects.

The Global Incidence of Appendicitis: A Systematic Review of Population-based Studies.

PubMed

Ferris, Mollie; Quan, Samuel; Kaplan, Belle S; Molodecky, Natalie; Ball, Chad G; Chernoff, Greg W; Bhala, Nij; Ghosh, Subrata; Dixon, Elijah; Ng, Siew; Kaplan, Gilaad G

2017-08-01

We compared the incidence of appendicitis or appendectomy across the world and evaluated temporal trends. Population-based studies reported the incidence of appendicitis. We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE databases for population-based studies reporting the incidence of appendicitis or appendectomy. Time trends were explored using Poisson regression and reported as annual percent change (APC) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). APC were stratified by time periods and pooled using random effects models. Incidence since 2000 was pooled for regions in the Western world. The search retrieved 10,247 citations with 120 studies reporting on the incidence of appendicitis or appendectomy. During the 21st century the pooled incidence of appendicitis or appendectomy (in per 100,000 person-years) was 100 (95% CI: 91, 110) in Northern America, and the estimated number of cases in 2015 was 378,614. The pooled incidence ranged from 105 in Eastern Europe to 151 in Western Europe. In Western countries, the incidence of appendectomy steadily decreased since 1990 (APC after 1989=-1.54; 95% CI: -2.22, -0.86), whereas the incidence of appendicitis stabilized (APC=-0.36; 95% CI: -0.97, 0.26) for both perforated (APC=0.95; 95% CI: -0.25, 2.17) and nonperforated appendicitis (APC=0.44; 95% CI: -0.84, 1.73). In the 21st century, the incidence of appendicitis or appendectomy is high in newly industrialized countries in Asia (South Korea pooled: 206), the Middle East (Turkey pooled: 160), and Southern America (Chile: 202). Appendicitis is a global disease. The incidence of appendicitis is stable in most Western countries. Data from newly industrialized countries is sparse, but suggests that appendicitis is rising rapidly.

Integrated Application of Active Controls (IAAC) technology to an advanced subsonic transport project: Test act system description

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

The engineering and fabrication of the test ACT system, produced in the third program element of the IAAC Project is documented. The system incorporates pitch-augmented stability and wing-load alleviation, plus full authority fly-by-wire control of the elevators. The pitch-augmented stability is designed to have reliability sufficient to allow flight with neutral or negative inherent longitudinal stability.

75 FR 33769 - Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Availability of Funds for Projects To Develop and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-15

... to the long-term economic stability of the region. Please see the NIST MEP Web site, http://www.nist... region, and contribute to the long-term economic stability of the region. Competitive projects will use...

Accelerated pavement testing of low-volume paved roads with geocell reinforcement.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-03-01

The Midwest States Accelerated Pavement Testing Pooled-Fund Program, financed by the highway : departments of Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, and New York, has supported an accelerated pavement testing (APT) project : to study the rehabilitation of low-volum...

Rapid qualification of CSP assemblies by increase of ramp rates and cycling temperature ranges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghaffarian, R.; Kim, N.; Rose, D.; Hunter, B.; Devitt, K.; Long, T.

2001-01-01

Team members representing government agencies and private companies have joined together to pool in-kind resources for developing the quality and reliability of chip scale packages (CSPs) for a variety of projects.

78. VIEW OF UNCOMPLETED RESERVOIR, SHOWING FOREBAY AND FLUME; ALSO ...

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

78. VIEW OF UNCOMPLETED RESERVOIR, SHOWING FOREBAY AND FLUME; ALSO SHOWING POOL ARRANGEMENT FOR TEMPORARILY UTILIZING WATER WITHOUT FILLING THE RESERVOIR, Print No. 232, April 1904 - Electron Hydroelectric Project, Along Puyallup River, Electron, Pierce County, WA

Construction of crack-free bridge decks.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-04-01

This serves as the final report on Transportation Pooled-Fund Program Project No. TPF-5(174), Construction : of Crack-Free Bridge Decks. The goal of the study was to implement the most cost-effective techniques for : improving bridge deck life ...

Recruiting the future public health workforce: an analysis of prospect communication among accredited Schools of Public Health.

PubMed

Purcell, Jennifer M

2009-06-01

Schools of Public Health cannot sustain the national momentum for public health justice and human rights without recruiting and training a skilled public health workforce. With growing demand for public health workers, schools must work to increase their applicant pools. This project examined prospect communication materials from accredited Schools of Public Health and found that the vast majority of schools did not capitalize on opportunities to move prospects to applicants. Whereas most responded within a reasonable time, several schools made no communication efforts at all. Recruitment materials varied widely from institution to institution and between epidemiology and health education programs. Strategic, personalized communication strategies-the 3 Cs-are recommended to increase the pools of qualified applicants nationwide and can be utilized to increase prospect pools in a wide range of health sciences.

Implementation of buffy-coat-derived pooled platelet concentrates for internal quality control of light transmission aggregometry: a proof of concept study.

PubMed

Prüller, F; Rosskopf, K; Mangge, H; Mahla, E; von Lewinski, D; Weiss, E C; Riegler, A; Enko, D

2017-12-01

Essentials In platelet function testing, standardized internal controls (IQC) are not commercially provided. Platelet function testing was performed daily on aliquoted pooled platelet concentrates. Pooled platelet concentrates showed stability for control purposes from Monday to Friday. Pooled platelet concentrates provide the necessary steadiness to serve as IQC material. Background Standardized commercially available control material for internal quality control (IQC) of light transmission aggregometry (LTA) is still lacking. Moreover, the availability of normal blood donors to provide fresh platelets is difficult in small laboratories, where 'volunteers' may be in short supply. Objectives To evaluate the implementation of buffy-coat-derived pooled platelet concentrates (PCs) for IQC material for LTA. Methods We used buffy-coat-derived pooled PCs from the blood bank as IQC material for LTA. On each weekend one PC was prepared (> 200 mL) and aliquoted from the original storage bag on a daily basis in four baby bags (40-50 mL), which were delivered from Monday to Friday to our laboratory. The IQC measurements of at least 85 work-weeks (from Monday to Friday) were evaluated with this new IQC material. LTA was performed on a four-channel Chronolog 700 Aggregometer (Chronolog Corporation, Havertown, PA, USA) (agonists: collagen, adenosine diphosphate [ADP], arachidonic acid [AA] and thrombin receptor activator peptide-6 [TRAP-6]). Results The medians of platelet aggregation from IQC measurements with collagen, ADP and AA from Monday to Friday were 68.0-59.5, 3.0-2.0 and 51.0-50.0%, respectively, and the mean of platelet aggregation with TRAP-6 was 71.2-66.4%. Conclusions Buffy-coat-derived pooled PCs serve as a reliable and robust IQC material for LTA measurements and would be beneficial for the whole laboratory procedure and employees' safety. © 2017 International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis.

A modular robust control framework for control of movement elicited by multi-electrode intraspinal microstimulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roshani, Amir; Erfanian, Abbas

2016-08-01

Objective. An important issue in restoring motor function through intraspinal microstimulation (ISMS) is the motor control. To provide a physiologically plausible motor control using ISMS, it should be able to control the individual motor unit which is the lowest functional unit of motor control. By focal stimulation only a small group of motor neurons (MNs) within a motor pool can be activated. Different groups of MNs within a motor pool can potentially be activated without involving adjacent motor pools by local stimulation of different parts of a motor pool via microelectrode array implanted into a motor pool. However, since the system has multiple inputs with single output during multi-electrode ISMS, it poses a challenge to movement control. In this paper, we proposed a modular robust control strategy for movement control, whereas multi-electrode array is implanted into each motor activation pool of a muscle. Approach. The controller was based on the combination of proportional-integral-derivative and adaptive fuzzy sliding mode control. The global stability of the controller was guaranteed. Main results. The results of the experiments on rat models showed that the multi-electrode control can provide a more robust control and accurate tracking performance than a single-electrode control. The control output can be pulse amplitude (pulse amplitude modulation, PAM) or pulse width (pulse width modulation, PWM) of the stimulation signal. The results demonstrated that the controller with PAM provided faster convergence rate and better tracking performance than the controller with PWM. Significance. This work represents a promising control approach to the restoring motor functions using ISMS. The proposed controller requires no prior knowledge about the dynamics of the system to be controlled and no offline learning phase. The proposed control design is modular in the sense that each motor pool has an independent controller and each controller is able to control ISMS through an array of microelectrodes.

Subgrade stabilization alternatives to lime and cement.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-04-15

This project involved four distinct research activities, (1) the influence of temperature on lime-stabilized soils, (2) the influence of temperature on cement-stabilized soils (3) temperature modeling of stabilized subgrade and (4) use of calcium chl...

Pool spacing, channel morphology, and the restoration of tidal forested wetlands of the Columbia River, U.S.A.

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

Diefenderfer, Heida L.; Montgomery, David R.

2008-10-09

Tidal forested wetlands have sustained substantial areal losses, and restoration practitioners lack a description of many ecosystem structures associated with these late-successional systems in which surface water is a significant controlling factor on the flora and fauna. The roles of large woody debris in terrestrial and riverine ecosystems have been well described compared to functions in tidal areas. This study documents the role of large wood in forcing channel morphology in Picea-sitchensis (Sitka spruce) dominated freshwater tidal wetlands in the floodplain of the Columbia River, U.S.A. near the Pacific coast. The average pool spacing documented in channel surveys of threemore » freshwater tidal forested wetlands near Grays Bay were 2.2 ± 1.3, 2.3 ± 1.2, and 2.5 ± 1.5. There were significantly greater numbers of pools on tidal forested wetland channels than on a nearby restoration site. On the basis of pool spacing and the observed sequences of log jams and pools, the tidal forested wetland channels were classified consistent with a forced step-pool class. Tidal systems, with bidirectional flow, have not previously been classified in this way. The classification provides a useful basis for restoration project design and planning in historically forested tidal freshwater areas, particularly in regard to the use of large wood in restoration actions and the development of pool habitats for aquatic species. Significant modifications by beaver on these sites warrant further investigation to explore the interactions between these animals and restoration actions affecting hydraulics and channel structure in tidal areas.« less

Upper Mississippi River System - Environmental Management Program Definite Project Report (R-4) with Integrated Environmental Assessment. Andalusia Refuge Rehabilitation and Enhancement. Pool 16, Upper Mississippi River, Rock Island County, Illinois. Technical Appendices

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-11-01

surface about 5 feet. A-2 * SEDIMENT CONDITIONS Historical records of past sedimentation rates are essentially nonexistent. A paper by J. Roger McHenry...dated March 1981 entitled "Recent Sedimentation Rates in Two Backwater Channel Lakes, Pool 14, Mississippi River" indicates widely varying deposition... rates , with an average of about 0.1 foot per year. Diversion of the upland drainage from the refuge area and the proposed levee with 2-year flood

Accelerated pavement testing of low-volume paved roads with geocell reinforcement : [technical summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-03-01

The Midwest States Accelerated Pavement Testing Pooled-Fund Program, financed : by the highway departments of Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, and New York, has : supported an accelerated pavement testing (APT) project to study the rehabilitation : of low-vol...

Continued development of a non-proprietary, high-tension, cable end terminal system.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-04-29

A non-proprietary, cable guardrail system is currently under development for the Midwest States Pooled Fund Program. : A cable guardrail end terminal was necessary to accompany the cable guardrail system. The objective of this research : project was ...

Demonstration and purchase of PG binder testing equipment phase 1 and 2 : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-04-01

A pooled fund project was undertaken to purchase new asphalt binder testing equipment for state : transportation agencies. The seven states that agreed to participate included: Connecticut, : Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Islan...

Shades of Summer.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenman, Geri

2001-01-01

Describes an art project in which noodles, the tubular colorful foam floating devices used in swimming pools, were the subject matter. Explains that the students drew their compositions, stretched the paper, and then used watercolor to paint their compositions. Discusses the process in detail. (CMK)

STC Synthesis of Best Practices for Determining Value of Research Results : Research Project Capsule

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-09-01

The RAC Region II has initiated a collaborative research program consortium : through the Transportation Pooled Fund (TPF) Program. The research program : is called the Southeast Transportation Consortium (STC) and is intended to : encourage coordina...

STC synthesis of research results for water quality management at construction sites : research project capsule.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-07-01

The RAC Region II has initiated a collaborative research program consortium through the : Transportation Pooled Fund (TPF) Program. The research program is called the Southeast : Transportation Consortium (STC) and is intended to encourage coordinati...

Verification of mechanistic-empirical design models for flexible pavements through accelerated pavement testing : technical summary.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-08-01

Midwest States Accelerated Pavement Testing Pooled-Fund Program, financed by the : highway departments of Kansas, Iowa, and Missouri, has supported an accelerated : pavement testing (APT) project to validate several models incorporated in the NCHRP :...

Parallel barrier effectiveness : Dulles noise barrier project

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1990-05-01

In an effort to minimize the cost and maximize the effectiveness of highway noise barriers, the Federal Highway Administration and a National Pooled Fund Panel (made up of 14 States) funded a field study program on an experimental highway noise barri...

Verification of mechanistic-empirical design models for flexible pavements through accelerated pavement testing.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-08-01

The Midwest States Accelerated Pavement Testing Pooled Fund Program, financed by the highway : departments of Kansas, Iowa, and Missouri, has supported an accelerated pavement testing (APT) project to : validate several models incorporated in the NCH...

Assessing fire impacts on the carbon stability of fire-tolerant forests.

PubMed

Bennett, Lauren T; Bruce, Matthew J; Machunter, Josephine; Kohout, Michele; Krishnaraj, Saravanan Jangammanaidu; Aponte, Cristina

2017-12-01

The carbon stability of fire-tolerant forests is often assumed but less frequently assessed, limiting the potential to anticipate threats to forest carbon posed by predicted increases in forest fire activity. Assessing the carbon stability of fire-tolerant forests requires multi-indicator approaches that recognize the myriad ways that fires influence the carbon balance, including combustion, deposition of pyrogenic material, and tree death, post-fire decomposition, recruitment, and growth. Five years after a large-scale wildfire in southeastern Australia, we assessed the impacts of low- and high-severity wildfire, with and without prescribed fire (≤10 yr before), on carbon stocks in multiple pools, and on carbon stability indicators (carbon stock percentages in live trees and in small trees, and carbon stocks in char and fuels) in fire-tolerant eucalypt forests. Relative to unburned forest, high-severity wildfire decreased short-term (five-year) carbon stability by significantly decreasing live tree carbon stocks and percentage stocks in live standing trees (reflecting elevated tree mortality), by increasing the percentage of live tree carbon in small trees (those vulnerable to the next fire), and by potentially increasing the probability of another fire through increased elevated fine fuel loads. In contrast, low-severity wildfire enhanced carbon stability by having negligible effects on aboveground stocks and indicators, and by significantly increasing carbon stocks in char and, in particular, soils, indicating pyrogenic carbon accumulation. Overall, recent preceding prescribed fire did not markedly influence wildfire effects on short-term carbon stability at stand scales. Despite wide confidence intervals around mean stock differences, indicating uncertainty about the magnitude of fire effects in these natural forests, our assessment highlights the need for active management of carbon assets in fire-tolerant eucalypt forests under contemporary fire regimes. Decreased live tree carbon and increased reliance on younger cohorts for carbon recovery after high-severity wildfire could increase vulnerabilities to imminent fires, leading to decisions about interventions to maintain the productivity of some stands. Our multi-indicator assessment also highlights the importance of considering all carbon pools, particularly pyrogenic reservoirs like soils, when evaluating the potential for prescribed fire regimes to mitigate the carbon costs of wildfires in fire-prone landscapes. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

Effects of simulated drought on the carbon balance of Everglades short-hydroperiod marsh

Treesearch

Sparkle L Malone; Gregory Starr; Christina L. Staudhammer; Michael G. Ryan

2013-01-01

Hydrology drives the carbon balance of wetlands by controlling the uptake and release of CO2 and CH4. Longer dry periods in between heavier precipitation events predicted for the Everglades region, may alter the stability of large carbon pools in this wetland's ecosystems. To determine the effects of drought on CO2 fluxes and CH4 emissions, we simulated changes in...

Soil Organic Matter Stability and Soil Carbon Storage with Changes in Land Use Intensity in Uganda

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tiemann, L. K.; Grandy, S.; Hartter, J.

2014-12-01

As the foundation of soil fertility, soil organic matter (SOM) formation and break-down is a critical factor of agroecosystem sustainability. In tropical systems where soils are quickly weathered, the link between SOM and soil fertility is particularly strong; however, the mechanisms controlling the stabilization and destabilization of SOM are not well characterized in tropical soils. In western Uganda, we collected soil samples under different levels of land use intensity including maize fields, banana plantations and inside an un-cultivated native tropical forest, Kibale National Park (KNP). To better understand the link between land use intensity and SOM stability we measured total soil C and N, and respiration rates during a 369 d soil incubation. In addition, we separated soils into particle size fractions, and mineral adsorbed SOM in the silt (2-50 μm ) and clay (< 2 μm) fractions was dissociated, purified and chemically characterized via pyrolysis-GC/MS. Cultivated soil C and N have declined by 22 and 48%, respectively, in comparison to uncultivated KNP soils. Incubation data indicate that over the last decade, relatively accessible and labile soil organic carbon (SOC) pools have been depleted by 55-59% in cultivated soils. As a result of this depletion, the chemical composition of SOM has been altered such that clay and silt associated SOM differed significantly between agricultural fields and KNP. In particular, nitrogen containing compounds were in lower abundance in agricultural compared to KNP soils. This suggests that N depletion due to agriculture has advanced to pools of mineral associated organic N that are typically protected from break-down. In areas where land use intensity is relatively greater, increases in polysaccharides and lipids in maize fields compared to KNP indicate increases in microbial residues and decomposition by-products as microbes mine SOM for organic N. Chemical characterization of post-incubation SOM will help us better understand how microbes preferentially break-down SOM. Agricultural intensification over the past decade in western Uganda has depleted SOC, on average, by 1427 g m-2. In addition, depletion of organic nitrogen reserves in stable SOM pools corresponds with reported declines in crop yields and productivity in this region.

Increased Carbon Throughput But No Net Soil Carbon Loss in Field Warming Experiments: Combining Data Assimilation and Meta-Analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Gestel, N.; Shi, Z.; van Groenigen, K. J.; Osenberg, C. W.; Andresen, L. C.; Dukes, J. S.; Hovenden, M. J.; Michelsen, A.; Pendall, E.; Reich, P.; Schuur, E.; Hungate, B. A.

2017-12-01

Minor changes in soil C dynamics in response to warming can strongly modulate climate change. Approaches to estimate long-term changes in soil carbon stocks from shorter-term warming experiments should consider temporal trends in soil carbon dynamics. Here we used data assimilation to take into account the soil carbon time series data collected from the upper soil layer (<15 cm) in 70 field warming experiments located worldwide. We used a soil carbon model with two pools, representing fast- and slow-decaying materials. We show that on average experimental warming enhanced fluxes of incoming and outgoing carbon with no change in predicted equilibrium stocks of carbon. Experimental warming increased the decomposition rates of the fast soil carbon pools by 10.7% on average, but also increased soil carbon input by 8.1%. When projecting the carbon pools to equilibrium stocks we found that warming decreased the size of the fast pool (-3.7%), but did not affect the slow or total carbon pools. We demonstrate that warming increases carbon throughput without an overall effect on total equilibrium carbon stocks. Hence, our findings do not support a generalizable soil carbon-climate feedback for soil carbon in the upper soil layer.

Temperature Responses of Soil Organic Matter Components With Varying Recalcitrance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simpson, M. J.; Feng, X.

2007-12-01

The response of soil organic matter (SOM) to global warming remains unclear partly due to the chemical heterogeneity of SOM composition. In this study, the decomposition of SOM from two grassland soils was investigated in a one-year laboratory incubation at six different temperatures. SOM was separated into solvent- extractable compounds, suberin- and cutin-derived compounds, and lignin monomers by solvent extraction, base hydrolysis, and CuO oxidation, respectively. These SOM components had distinct chemical structures and recalcitrance, and their decomposition was fitted by a two-pool exponential decay model. The stability of SOM components was assessed using geochemical parameters and kinetic parameters derived from model fitting. Lignin monomers exhibited much lower decay rates than solvent-extractable compounds and a relatively low percentage of lignin monomers partitioned into the labile SOM pool, which confirmed the generally accepted recalcitrance of lignin compounds. Suberin- and cutin-derived compounds had a poor fitting for the exponential decay model, and their recalcitrance was shown by the geochemical degradation parameter which stabilized during the incubation. The aliphatic components of suberin degraded faster than cutin-derived compounds, suggesting that cutin-derived compounds in the soil may be at a higher stage of degradation than suberin- derived compounds. The temperature sensitivity of decomposition, expressed as Q10, was derived from the relationship between temperature and SOM decay rates. SOM components exhibited varying temperature responses and the decomposition of the recalcitrant lignin monomers had much higher Q10 values than soil respiration or the solvent-extractable compounds decomposition. Our study shows that the decomposition of recalcitrant SOM is highly sensitive to temperature, more so than bulk soil mineralization. This observation suggests a potential acceleration in the degradation of the recalcitrant SOM pool with global warming.

Chemical, Thermal and Spectroscopic Methods to Assess Biodegradation of Winery-Distillery Wastes during Composting.

PubMed

Torres-Climent, A; Gomis, P; Martín-Mata, J; Bustamante, M A; Marhuenda-Egea, F C; Pérez-Murcia, M D; Pérez-Espinosa, A; Paredes, C; Moral, R

2015-01-01

The objective of this work was to study the co-composting process of wastes from the winery and distillery industry with animal manures, using the classical chemical methods traditionally used in composting studies together with advanced instrumental methods (thermal analysis, FT-IR and CPMAS 13C NMR techniques), to evaluate the development of the process and the quality of the end-products obtained. For this, three piles were elaborated by the turning composting system, using as raw materials winery-distillery wastes (grape marc and exhausted grape marc) and animal manures (cattle manure and poultry manure). The classical analytical methods showed a suitable development of the process in all the piles, but these techniques were ineffective to study the humification process during the composting of this type of materials. However, their combination with the advanced instrumental techniques clearly provided more information regarding the turnover of the organic matter pools during the composting process of these materials. Thermal analysis allowed to estimate the degradability of the remaining material and to assess qualitatively the rate of OM stabilization and recalcitrant C in the compost samples, based on the energy required to achieve the same mass losses. FT-IR spectra mainly showed variations between piles and time of sampling in the bands associated to complex organic compounds (mainly at 1420 and 1540 cm-1) and to nitrate and inorganic components (at 875 and 1384 cm-1, respectively), indicating composted material stability and maturity; while CPMAS 13C NMR provided semi-quantitatively partition of C compounds and structures during the process, being especially interesting their variation to evaluate the biotransformation of each C pool, especially in the comparison of recalcitrant C vs labile C pools, such as Alkyl /O-Alkyl ratio.

Chemical, Thermal and Spectroscopic Methods to Assess Biodegradation of Winery-Distillery Wastes during Composting

PubMed Central

Torres-Climent, A.; Gomis, P.; Martín-Mata, J.; Bustamante, M. A.; Marhuenda-Egea, F. C.; Pérez-Murcia, M. D.; Pérez-Espinosa, A.; Paredes, C.; Moral, R.

2015-01-01

The objective of this work was to study the co-composting process of wastes from the winery and distillery industry with animal manures, using the classical chemical methods traditionally used in composting studies together with advanced instrumental methods (thermal analysis, FT-IR and CPMAS 13C NMR techniques), to evaluate the development of the process and the quality of the end-products obtained. For this, three piles were elaborated by the turning composting system, using as raw materials winery-distillery wastes (grape marc and exhausted grape marc) and animal manures (cattle manure and poultry manure). The classical analytical methods showed a suitable development of the process in all the piles, but these techniques were ineffective to study the humification process during the composting of this type of materials. However, their combination with the advanced instrumental techniques clearly provided more information regarding the turnover of the organic matter pools during the composting process of these materials. Thermal analysis allowed to estimate the degradability of the remaining material and to assess qualitatively the rate of OM stabilization and recalcitrant C in the compost samples, based on the energy required to achieve the same mass losses. FT-IR spectra mainly showed variations between piles and time of sampling in the bands associated to complex organic compounds (mainly at 1420 and 1540 cm-1) and to nitrate and inorganic components (at 875 and 1384 cm-1, respectively), indicating composted material stability and maturity; while CPMAS 13C NMR provided semi-quantitatively partition of C compounds and structures during the process, being especially interesting their variation to evaluate the biotransformation of each C pool, especially in the comparison of recalcitrant C vs labile C pools, such as Alkyl /O-Alkyl ratio. PMID:26418458

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

NONE

White Oak Dam is located in the White Oak Creek watershed which provides the primary surface drainage for Oak Ridge National Laboratory. A stability analysis was made on the dam by Syed Ahmed in January 1994 which included an evaluation of the liquefaction potential of the embankment and foundation. This report evaluates the stability of the dam and includes comments on the report prepared by Ahmed. Slope stability analyses were performed on the dam and included cases for sudden drawdown, steady seepage, partial pool and earthquake. Results of the stability analyses indicate that the dam is stable and failure ofmore » the structure would not occur for the cases considered. The report prepared by Ahmed leads to the same conclusions as stated above. Review of the report finds that it is complete, well documented and conservative in its selection of soil parameters. The evaluation of the liquefaction potential is also complete and this report is in agreement with the findings that the dam and foundation are not susceptible to liquefaction.« less

Improving Keyhole Stability by External Magnetic Field in Full Penetration Laser Welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Min; Xu, Jiajun; Huang, Yu; Rong, Youmin

2018-05-01

An external magnetic field was used to improve the keyhole stability in full penetration laser welding 316L steel. The increase of magnetic field strength gave rise to a shorter flying time of the spatter, a weaker size and brightness of the spatter, and a larger spreading area of vapor plume. This suggested that the dynamic behavior of the keyhole was stabilized by the external magnetic field. In addition, a stronger magnetic field could result in a more homogeneous distribution of laser energy, which increased the width of the weld zone, and the height of the bottom weld zone from 381 μm (0 mT) to 605 μm (50 mT). Dendrite and cellular crystal near the weld center disappeared, and grain size was refined. The external magnetic field was beneficial to the keyhole stability and improved the joint quality, because the weld pool was stirred by a Lorentz force resulting from the coupling effect of the magnetic field and inner thermocurrent.

49 CFR Appendix A to Part 611 - Description of Measures Used for Project Evaluation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

...) Livable Communities initiatives and local economic activities; (5) Consideration of alternative land use... to fixed guideway systems and extensions may not be limited to a single project). (b) The stability and reliability of the proposed capital financing plan, according to: (i) The stability, reliability...

The VULCAN Project: Toward a better understanding of the vulnerability of soil organic matter to climate change in permafrost ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plaza, C.; Schuur, E.; Maestre, F. T.

2015-12-01

Despite much recent research, high uncertainty persists concerning the extent to which global warming influences the rate of permafrost soil organic matter loss and how this affects the functioning of permafrost ecosystems and the net transfer of C to the atmosphere. This uncertainty continues, at least in part, because the processes that protect soil organic matter from decomposition and stabilize fresh plant-derived organic materials entering the soil are largely unknown. The objective of the VULCAN (VULnerability of soil organic CArboN to climate change in permafrost and dryland ecosystems) project is to gain a deeper insight into these processes, especially at the molecular level, and to explore potential implications in terms of permafrost ecosystem functioning and feedback to climate change. We will capitalize on a globally unique ecosystem warming experiment in Alaska, the C in Permafrost Experimental Heating Research (CiPEHR) project, which is monitoring soil temperature and moisture, thaw depth, water table depth, plant productivity, phenology, and nutrient status, and soil CO2 and CH4 fluxes. Soil samples have been collected from the CiPEHR experiment from strategic depths, depending on thaw depth, and allow us to examine effects related to freeze/thaw, waterlogging, and organic matter relocation along the soil profile. We will use physical fractionation methods to separate soil organic matter pools characterized by different preservation mechanisms of aggregation and mineral interaction. We will determine organic C and total N content, transformation rates, turnovers, ages, and structural composition of soil organic matter fractions by elemental analysis, stable and radioactive isotope techniques, and nuclear magnetic resonance tools. Acknowledgements: This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 654132. Web site: http://vulcan.comule.com

USAID Spent Almost $400 Million on an Afghan Stabilization Project despite Uncertain Results, but Has Taken Steps to Better Assess Similar Efforts

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-04-25

totaling $151 million for a program called Stabilization in Key Areas ( SIKA ). This report assesses (1) the cost and outcomes of the LGCD project and...services to be provided, SIGAR recommends that the Mission Director, USAID/Afghanistan, direct contracting officers to ensure that the SIKA contracts...Provincial Reconstruction Team RFTOP Request for Task Order Proposal SIGAR Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction SIKA Stabilization

Innovative strategies to expand cadaveric donor pool for liver transplantation (SITF project): a network between Italian transplantation centers supported by the Ministry of Health.

PubMed

Santori, G; Andorno, E; Valente, R; Ghirelli, R; Pensalfini, F; Castiglione, A G; Valente, U

2005-01-01

In 2002, the Italian Ministry of Health (IMH) launched a formal call for health research programs within the Research and Development (R&D) Policy. In this context, the research program "Innovative Strategies to Expand Cadaveric Donor Pool for Liver Transplantation" (SITF Project) has been proposed. The SITF Project has been formally approved by IMH as a 2-year research program included in the R&D Policy. The main goals of the SITF Project are to improve matching criteria for split liver transplantation (SLT) in both pediatric and adult recipients, to promote an increase of the SLT/full- size liver transplantation ratio at the national level, and, especially, to establish shared criteria for SLT in 2 adult recipients. The original executive plan of the SITF Project prefigured the participation of both the Italian transplantation centers with more advanced experience in the field of SLT, and institutional partnership, such as Nord Italia Transplant (NITp) and Italian National Transplant Center. A first Web public area concerning the SITF Project has been activated, as well as a reserved Web area with the aim to share cadaveric donors and patients in the waiting lists between Operative Units involved in the research program. For this objective, the first version Oracle-based database able to perform an automatic matching between a single cadaveric donor and 2 potential adult recipients has been released at the beginning of 2005. The SITF Project represents a new approach in the management of SLT for 2 adult recipients in Italy and a model for a functional network between Italian transplantation centers.

Environmental qualification testing of the prototype pool boiling experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sexton, J. Andrew

1992-01-01

The prototype Pool Boiling Experiment (PBE) flew on the STS-47 mission in September 1992. This report describes the purpose of the experiment and the environmental qualification testing program that was used to prove the integrity of the prototype hardware. Component and box level vibration and thermal cycling tests were performed to give an early level of confidence in the hardware designs. At the system level, vibration, thermal extreme soaks, and thermal vacuum cycling tests were performed to qualify the complete design for the expected shuttle environment. The system level vibration testing included three axis sine sweeps and random inputs. The system level hot and cold soak tests demonstrated the hardware's capability to operate over a wide range of temperatures and gave the project team a wider latitude in determining which shuttle thermal altitudes were compatible with the experiment. The system level thermal vacuum cycling tests demonstrated the hardware's capability to operate in a convection free environment. A unique environmental chamber was designed and fabricated by the PBE team and allowed most of the environmental testing to be performed within the project's laboratory. The completion of the test program gave the project team high confidence in the hardware's ability to function as designed during flight.

[The phylogenetic theory of pathology. The arterial hypertension--a test of metabolic disorder. The biological basis of damage of target organs (a lecture)].

PubMed

Titov, V N

2013-05-01

The increase of blood tension is a diagnostic test of disorders of homeostasis, trophology, endoecology and adaptation in paracrine regulated coenosis of cells. This conditions results in disorder of microcirculation in the distal section of arterial race and in compensatory increase of blood tension in its proximal section. The increase of blood tension disturbs the function of paracrine coenosis of cells which have one's own system of hemo- and hydrodynamics such as brain with system of spinal liquor and kidneys with local pool of primary urine. They counteract the rise of blood tension and activate local, humoral system of renin-angiotensin-II increasing peripheral resistance to blood flow. At that, the compensatory blood tension becomes even higher. The aldosterone and natriuretic peptides are functional synergists. So, they preserve and excrete ions of Na+ and support the stability of unified pool of intercellular medium ("Inner Ocean" of organism) where all cells live. The parameters of this pool are limited most strictly in vivo. If at the level of nephron the conditions are formed that can alter the parameters of unified pool of intercellular medium the vasomotor center rises blood tension from the level of organism "forcing" nephrons to re-establish the parameters of this pool and normalize the biological functions and biological reactions. The blood pressure increase under pathology of kidneys is caused because of pathological compensation at the level of organism mediated by vegetal nervous system and dictated by necessity to preserve the parameters of inner medium of organism.

Metaprop: a Stata command to perform meta-analysis of binomial data.

PubMed

Nyaga, Victoria N; Arbyn, Marc; Aerts, Marc

2014-01-01

Meta-analyses have become an essential tool in synthesizing evidence on clinical and epidemiological questions derived from a multitude of similar studies assessing the particular issue. Appropriate and accessible statistical software is needed to produce the summary statistic of interest. Metaprop is a statistical program implemented to perform meta-analyses of proportions in Stata. It builds further on the existing Stata procedure metan which is typically used to pool effects (risk ratios, odds ratios, differences of risks or means) but which is also used to pool proportions. Metaprop implements procedures which are specific to binomial data and allows computation of exact binomial and score test-based confidence intervals. It provides appropriate methods for dealing with proportions close to or at the margins where the normal approximation procedures often break down, by use of the binomial distribution to model the within-study variability or by allowing Freeman-Tukey double arcsine transformation to stabilize the variances. Metaprop was applied on two published meta-analyses: 1) prevalence of HPV-infection in women with a Pap smear showing ASC-US; 2) cure rate after treatment for cervical precancer using cold coagulation. The first meta-analysis showed a pooled HPV-prevalence of 43% (95% CI: 38%-48%). In the second meta-analysis, the pooled percentage of cured women was 94% (95% CI: 86%-97%). By using metaprop, no studies with 0% or 100% proportions were excluded from the meta-analysis. Furthermore, study specific and pooled confidence intervals always were within admissible values, contrary to the original publication, where metan was used.

Comparison of Two Methods Used to Model Shape Parameters of Pareto Distributions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Liu, C.; Charpentier, R.R.; Su, J.

2011-01-01

Two methods are compared for estimating the shape parameters of Pareto field-size (or pool-size) distributions for petroleum resource assessment. Both methods assume mature exploration in which most of the larger fields have been discovered. Both methods use the sizes of larger discovered fields to estimate the numbers and sizes of smaller fields: (1) the tail-truncated method uses a plot of field size versus size rank, and (2) the log-geometric method uses data binned in field-size classes and the ratios of adjacent bin counts. Simulation experiments were conducted using discovered oil and gas pool-size distributions from four petroleum systems in Alberta, Canada and using Pareto distributions generated by Monte Carlo simulation. The estimates of the shape parameters of the Pareto distributions, calculated by both the tail-truncated and log-geometric methods, generally stabilize where discovered pool numbers are greater than 100. However, with fewer than 100 discoveries, these estimates can vary greatly with each new discovery. The estimated shape parameters of the tail-truncated method are more stable and larger than those of the log-geometric method where the number of discovered pools is more than 100. Both methods, however, tend to underestimate the shape parameter. Monte Carlo simulation was also used to create sequences of discovered pool sizes by sampling from a Pareto distribution with a discovery process model using a defined exploration efficiency (in order to show how biased the sampling was in favor of larger fields being discovered first). A higher (more biased) exploration efficiency gives better estimates of the Pareto shape parameters. ?? 2011 International Association for Mathematical Geosciences.

Limited protection of macro-aggregate-occluded organic carbon in Siberian steppe soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bischoff, Norbert; Mikutta, Robert; Shibistova, Olga; Puzanov, Alexander; Silanteva, Marina; Grebennikova, Anna; Fuß, Roland; Guggenberger, Georg

2017-05-01

Macro-aggregates especially in agricultural steppe soils are supposed to play a vital role for soil organic carbon (OC) stabilization at a decadal timescale. While most research on soil OC stabilization in steppes focused on North American prairie soils of the Great Plains with information mainly provided by short-term incubation experiments, little is known about the agricultural steppes in southwestern Siberia, though they belong to the greatest conversion areas in the world and occupy an area larger than that in the Great Plains. To quantify the proportion of macro-aggregate-protected OC under different land use as function of land use intensity and time since land use change (LUC) from pasture to arable land in Siberian steppe soils, we determined OC mineralization rates of intact (250-2000 µm) and crushed (< 250 µm) macro-aggregates in long-term incubations over 401 days (20 °C; 60 % water holding capacity) along two agricultural chronosequences in the Siberian Kulunda steppe. Additionally, we incubated bulk soil (< 2000 µm) to determine the effect of LUC and subsequent agricultural use on a fast and a slow soil OC pool (labile vs. more stable OC), as derived from fitting exponential-decay models to incubation data. We hypothesized that (i) macro-aggregate crushing leads to increased OC mineralization due to an increasing microbial accessibility of a previously occluded labile macro-aggregate OC fraction, and (ii) bulk soil OC mineralization rates and the size of the fast OC pool are higher in pasture than in arable soils with decreasing bulk soil OC mineralization rates and size of the fast OC pool as land use intensity and time since LUC increase. Against our hypothesis, OC mineralization rates of crushed macro-aggregates were similar to those of intact macro-aggregates under all land use regimes. Macro-aggregate-protected OC was almost absent and accounted for < 1 % of the total macro-aggregate OC content and to a maximum of 8 ± 4 % of mineralized OC. In accordance to our second hypothesis, highest bulk soil OC mineralization rates and sizes of the fast OC pool were determined under pasture, but mineralization rates and pool sizes were unaffected by land use intensity and time since LUC. However, at one chronosequence mean residence times of the fast and slow OC pool tended to decrease with increasing time since establishment of arable use. We conclude that the tillage-induced breakdown of macro-aggregates has not reduced the OC contents in the soils under study. The decline of OC after LUC is probably attributed to the faster soil OC turnover under arable land as compared to pasture at a reduced plant residue input.

High-performance data processing using distributed computing on the SOLIS project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wampler, Stephen

2002-12-01

The SOLIS solar telescope collects data at a high rate, resulting in 500 GB of raw data each day. The SOLIS Data Handling System (DHS) has been designed to quickly process this data down to 156 GB of reduced data. The DHS design uses pools of distributed reduction processes that are allocated to different observations as needed. A farm of 10 dual-cpu Linux boxes contains the pools of reduction processes. Control is through CORBA and data is stored on a fibre channel storage area network (SAN). Three other Linux boxes are responsible for pulling data from the instruments using SAN-based ringbuffers. Control applications are Java-based while the reduction processes are written in C++. This paper presents the overall design of the SOLIS DHS and provides details on the approach used to control the pooled reduction processes. The various strategies used to manage the high data rates are also covered.

Thermal cycling test results of CSP and RF assemblies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghaffarian, R.; Nelson, G.; Cooper, M.; Lam, D.; Strudler, S.; Umdekar, A.; Selk, K.; Bjorndahl, B.; Duprey, R.

2000-01-01

A JPL-led chip scale package (CSP) Consortium of enterprises, composed of representing agencies and private companies, recently joined together to pool in-kind resources for developing the quality and reliability of chip scale packages (CSPs) for a variety of projects.

Verification, refinement, and applicability of long-term pavement performance vehicle classification rules.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-11-01

The Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) project has developed and deployed a set of rules for converting axle spacing and weight data into estimates of a vehicles classification. These rules are being used at Transportation Pooled Fund Study (TP...

Strategies toward Cooperation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Donald A.

1979-01-01

The Quad-Cities Graduate Study Center in Rock Island, Illinois, a voluntary, publicly funded, academic consortium, is described. It was incorporated as an experimental project to determine if pooling institutional resources were academically, financially, and administratively possible. It is now a model of inter-institutional cooperation providing…

Hydrologic and Soil Science in a Mediterranean Critical Zone Observatory: Koiliaris River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikolaidis, Nikolaos; Stamati, Fotini; Schnoor, Jerald; Moraetis, Daniel; Kotronakis, Manolis

2010-05-01

The Koiliaris River watershed is situated 25km east from the city of Chania, Crete, Greece. The total watershed area is 145km2 and the main supply of water originates in the White Mountains. At high elevations (altitude 2014 m), the maximum slope is 43% while at the lower elevations the slope measures 1-2%. Land use includes heterogeneous agricultural areas (25.4%), olive and orange groves (15.6%), and scrub and/or herbaceous vegetation associations (57.6%). The geology of the Basin consists of 23.8% Plattenkalk (dolomites, marbles, limestone and re-crystallized limestone with cherts); 31% of Trypali units (re-crystallized calcaric breccias); 9.4% limestones with marls in Neogene formations; 13% marls in Neogene formations; 12.8% schists, and 10% quaternary alluvial deposits. Intensive hydrologic and geochemical monitoring has been conducted since 2004 while the site has historical data since the ‘60s. In addition, a telemetric high-frequency hydrologic and water quality monitoring station has been deployed to obtain data for the characterization of the hydrologic and biogeochemical processes with varying process response-times. Hydrologic and geochemical modeling confirms the estimation of characteristic times of these processes. The main type of soil degradation in the basin as well as in other arid and semi-arid regions is water erosion, which is due to the clearing of forests and natural vegetation for cropping and livestock grazing. De-vegetation and inappropriate cultivation practices induces soil organic matter (SOM) losses making soils susceptible to erosion and desertification with global consequences for food security, climate change, biodiversity, water quality, and agricultural economy. Cropland plowing breaks-up water stable aggregates making the bio-available pool bio-accessible; which could be microbially attacked and oxidized resulting in SOM decline. Chronosequence data analysis suggested first-order kinetic rate of decline of the bio-available carbon and nitrogen pools, where as much as half of the total OM loss could take place during the first year after the conversion of grassland to cropland. We have shown by physical fractionation and spectroscopic techniques in croplands and set-aside fields that most of the SOM decline in croplands has been attributed to the breakup of macroaggregates and the oxidation of particulate organic matter despite the climatic or textural conditions. However, lower decomposition rates and higher silt-clay content of Greek soil create more stable aggregates and facilitate OM stabilization. Studies on Koiliaris River highland de-vegetated grazing lands suggested decline of soil biochemical quality compared to native vegetated lands. The size of soluble mineral nitrogen and organic carbon pools have also decreased. The composition of the soluble OM pool had significantly lower DOC aromaticity and was nitrogen enriched compared with the naturally vegetated lands. The DON Aromaticity Index was shown to be a promising sensitive indicator of de-vegetation effect on the soluble pool of OM. The partitioning coefficients of the potential soluble organic nitrogen increased with increasing DON aromaticity for the de-vegetated lands, indicating that the lower the aromaticity, the more prone soils are to leaching DON and potentially affect water quality. The land-use load apportionment analysis revealed that the river export load of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) is linearly correlated with the normalized, livestock derived, DON load input from pasture suggesting that increasing livestock grazing in a watershed would result in higher DON export in river. DON aromaticity could serve as a simple indicator of soil biochemical quality and aggregate disturbance in soils and therefore SOM stability. We have conducted a stratified soil sampling intending to validate the utility of the examined indices for the quantification of the effects of agricultural pressures to soil quality and the detection of potential effects on water quality. The watershed is one of the Critical Zone Observatories in the FP7 funded project SoilTrEC.

Temperature Trends in the Tropical Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere: Connections with Sea Surface Temperatures and Implications for Water Vapor and Ozone

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garfinkel, C. I.; Waugh, D. W.; Oman, L. D.; Wang, L.; Hurwitz, M. M.

2013-01-01

Satellite observations and chemistry-climate model experiments are used to understand the zonal structure of tropical lower stratospheric temperature, water vapor, and ozone trends. The warming in the tropical upper troposphere over the past 30 years is strongest near the Indo-Pacific warm pool, while the warming trend in the western and central Pacific is much weaker. In the lower stratosphere, these trends are reversed: the historical cooling trend is strongest over the Indo-Pacific warm pool and is weakest in the western and central Pacific. These zonal variations are stronger than the zonal-mean response in boreal winter. Targeted experiments with a chemistry-climate model are used to demonstrate that sea surface temperature (hereafter SST) trends are driving the zonal asymmetry in upper tropospheric and lower stratospheric tropical temperature trends. Warming SSTs in the Indian Ocean and in the warm pool region have led to enhanced moist heating in the upper troposphere, and in turn to a Gill-like response that extends into the lower stratosphere. The anomalous circulation has led to zonal structure in the ozone and water vapor trends near the tropopause, and subsequently to less water vapor entering the stratosphere. The radiative impact of these changes in trace gases is smaller than the direct impact of the moist heating. Projected future SSTs appear to drive a temperature and water vapor response whose zonal structure is similar to the historical response. In the lower stratosphere, the changes in water vapor and temperature due to projected future SSTs are of similar strength to, though slightly weaker than, that due directly to projected future CO2, ozone, and methane.

Quality, quantity and harmony: the DataSHaPER approach to integrating data across bioclinical studies

PubMed Central

Fortier, Isabel; Burton, Paul R; Robson, Paula J; Ferretti, Vincent; Little, Julian; L’Heureux, Francois; Deschênes, Mylène; Knoppers, Bartha M; Doiron, Dany; Keers, Joost C; Linksted, Pamela; Harris, Jennifer R; Lachance, Geneviève; Boileau, Catherine; Pedersen, Nancy L; Hamilton, Carol M; Hveem, Kristian; Borugian, Marilyn J; Gallagher, Richard P; McLaughlin, John; Parker, Louise; Potter, John D; Gallacher, John; Kaaks, Rudolf; Liu, Bette; Sprosen, Tim; Vilain, Anne; Atkinson, Susan A; Rengifo, Andrea; Morton, Robin; Metspalu, Andres; Wichmann, H Erich; Tremblay, Mark; Chisholm, Rex L; Garcia-Montero, Andrés; Hillege, Hans; Litton, Jan-Eric; Palmer, Lyle J; Perola, Markus; Wolffenbuttel, Bruce HR; Peltonen, Leena; Hudson, Thomas J

2010-01-01

Background Vast sample sizes are often essential in the quest to disentangle the complex interplay of the genetic, lifestyle, environmental and social factors that determine the aetiology and progression of chronic diseases. The pooling of information between studies is therefore of central importance to contemporary bioscience. However, there are many technical, ethico-legal and scientific challenges to be overcome if an effective, valid, pooled analysis is to be achieved. Perhaps most critically, any data that are to be analysed in this way must be adequately ‘harmonized’. This implies that the collection and recording of information and data must be done in a manner that is sufficiently similar in the different studies to allow valid synthesis to take place. Methods This conceptual article describes the origins, purpose and scientific foundations of the DataSHaPER (DataSchema and Harmonization Platform for Epidemiological Research; http://www.datashaper.org), which has been created by a multidisciplinary consortium of experts that was pulled together and coordinated by three international organizations: P3G (Public Population Project in Genomics), PHOEBE (Promoting Harmonization of Epidemiological Biobanks in Europe) and CPT (Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow Project). Results The DataSHaPER provides a flexible, structured approach to the harmonization and pooling of information between studies. Its two primary components, the ‘DataSchema’ and ‘Harmonization Platforms’, together support the preparation of effective data-collection protocols and provide a central reference to facilitate harmonization. The DataSHaPER supports both ‘prospective’ and ‘retrospective’ harmonization. Conclusion It is hoped that this article will encourage readers to investigate the project further: the more the research groups and studies are actively involved, the more effective the DataSHaPER programme will ultimately be. PMID:20813861

Selection of Suitable Internal Control Genes for Accurate Normalization of Real-Time Quantitative PCR Data of Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) Blastocysts Produced by SCNT and IVF.

PubMed

Sood, Tanushri Jerath; Lagah, Swati Viviyan; Sharma, Ankita; Singla, Suresh Kumar; Mukesh, Manishi; Chauhan, Manmohan Singh; Manik, Radheysham; Palta, Prabhat

2017-10-01

We evaluated the suitability of 10 candidate internal control genes (ICGs), belonging to different functional classes, namely ACTB, EEF1A1, GAPDH, HPRT1, HMBS, RPS15, RPS18, RPS23, SDHA, and UBC for normalizing the real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) data of blastocyst-stage buffalo embryos produced by hand-made cloning and in vitro fertilization (IVF). Total RNA was isolated from three pools, each of cloned and IVF blastocysts (n = 50/pool) for cDNA synthesis. Two different statistical algorithms geNorm and NormFinder were used for evaluating the stability of these genes. Based on gene stability measure (M value) and pairwise variation (V value), calculated by geNorm analysis, the most stable ICGs were RPS15, HPRT1, and ACTB for cloned blastocysts, HMBS, UBC, and HPRT1 for IVF blastocysts and RPS15, GAPDH, and HPRT1 for both the embryo types analyzed together. RPS18 was the least stable gene for both cloned and IVF blastocysts. Following NormFinder analysis, the order of stability was RPS15 = HPRT1>GAPDH for cloned blastocysts, HMBS = UBC>RPS23 for IVF blastocysts, and HPRT1>GAPDH>RPS15 for cloned and IVF blastocysts together. These results suggest that despite overlapping of the three most stable ICGs between cloned and IVF blastocysts, the panel of ICGs selected for normalization of qPCR data of cloned and IVF blastocyst-stage embryos should be different.

Stability of soil organic carbon changes in successive rotations of Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook) plantations.

PubMed

Zhang, Jian; Wang, Silong; Feng, Zongwei; Wang, Qingkui

2009-01-01

The importance of soil organic carbon (SOC) under forests in the global carbon cycle depends on the stability of the soil carbon and its availability to soil microbial biomass. We investigated the effects of successive rotations of Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook) plantations on the stability of SOC and its availability to microbes by adopting the two-step hydrolysis with H2SO4 and density fractionation. The results showed that successive rotations of Chinese fir decreased the quantity of total SOC, recalcitrant fraction, and carbohydrates in Labile Pool I (LP I), and microbial properties evidently, especially at 0-10 cm horizon. However, cellulose included in Labile Pool II (LP II) and the cellulose/total carbohydrates ratio increased in successive rotations of Chinese fir. The non-cellulose of carbohydrates included in LP I maybe highly available to soil microbial biomass. Hence the availability of SOC to microbial biomass declined over the successive rotations. Although there was no significant change in recalcitrance of SOC over the successive rotations of Chinese fir, the percentage of heavy fraction to total SOC increased, suggesting that the degree of physical protection for SOC increased and SOC became more stable over the successive rotations. The degradation of SOC quality in successive rotation soils may be attributed to worse environmental conditions resulted from disturbance that related to "slash and burn" site preparation. Being highly correlated with soil microbial properties, the cellulose/total carbohydrates ratio as an effective indicator of changes in availability of SOC to microbial biomass brought by management practices in forest soils.

regSNPs-splicing: a tool for prioritizing synonymous single-nucleotide substitution.

PubMed

Zhang, Xinjun; Li, Meng; Lin, Hai; Rao, Xi; Feng, Weixing; Yang, Yuedong; Mort, Matthew; Cooper, David N; Wang, Yue; Wang, Yadong; Wells, Clark; Zhou, Yaoqi; Liu, Yunlong

2017-09-01

While synonymous single-nucleotide variants (sSNVs) have largely been unstudied, since they do not alter protein sequence, mounting evidence suggests that they may affect RNA conformation, splicing, and the stability of nascent-mRNAs to promote various diseases. Accurately prioritizing deleterious sSNVs from a pool of neutral ones can significantly improve our ability of selecting functional genetic variants identified from various genome-sequencing projects, and, therefore, advance our understanding of disease etiology. In this study, we develop a computational algorithm to prioritize sSNVs based on their impact on mRNA splicing and protein function. In addition to genomic features that potentially affect splicing regulation, our proposed algorithm also includes dozens structural features that characterize the functions of alternatively spliced exons on protein function. Our systematical evaluation on thousands of sSNVs suggests that several structural features, including intrinsic disorder protein scores, solvent accessible surface areas, protein secondary structures, and known and predicted protein family domains, show significant differences between disease-causing and neutral sSNVs. Our result suggests that the protein structure features offer an added dimension of information while distinguishing disease-causing and neutral synonymous variants. The inclusion of structural features increases the predictive accuracy for functional sSNV prioritization.

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

Pinkston, David

Four slides present a historical perspective on the evolution of nuclear safety, a description of systemic misalignment (available resources do not match expectations, demographic cliff developing, promulgation of increased expectations and new requirements proceeds unabated), and needs facing nuclear safety (financial stability, operational stability, and succession planning). The following conclusions are stated under the heading "Nuclear Safety - 'The System'": the current universe of requirements is too large for the resource pool available; the current universe of requirements has too many different sources of interpretation; there are so many indicators that it’s hard to know what is leading (or important);more » and the net result can come to defy integrated comprehension at the worker level.« less

Stockpiling hydrated lime-soil mixtures.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-06-01

The concept and feasibility of stockpiling and reusing hydrated lime-soil mixtures to stabilize particular areas on stabilization projects after the mixing contractor has departed were examined. In chemical stabilization of subgrades, situations ofte...

Gd complexes of macrocyclic diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) biphenyl-2,2'-bisamides as strong blood-pool magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents.

PubMed

Jung, Ki-Hye; Kim, Hee-Kyung; Lee, Gang Ho; Kang, Duk-Sik; Park, Ji-Ae; Kim, Kyeong Min; Chang, Yongmin; Kim, Tae-Jeong

2011-08-11

We report the synthesis of macrocyclic DTPA conjugates of 2,2'-diaminobiphenyl and their Gd complexes of the type [Gd(L)(H(2)O)]·xH(2)O (2a,b; L = 1a,b) for use as new MRI blood-pool contrast agents (MRI BPCAs). Pharmacokinetic inertness of 2 compares well with those of analogous Gd-DTPA MRI CAs currently in use. The present system also shows very high stability in human serum. The R(1) relaxivity reaches 10.9 mM(-1) s(-1), which is approximately 3 times as high as that of structurally related Gd-DOTA (R(1) = 3.7 mM(-1) s(-1)). The R(1) relaxivity in HSA goes up to 37.2 mM(-1) s(-1), which is almost twice as high as that of MS-325, a leading BPCA, demonstrating a strong blood pool effect. The in vivo MR images of mice obtained with 2b are coherent, showing strong signal enhancement in heart, abdominal aorta, and small vessels. Even the brain tumor is vividly enhanced for an extended period of time. The structural uniqueness of 2 is that it is neutral in charge and thus makes no resort to electrostatic interaction, supposedly one of the essential factors for the blood-pool effect.

Reverse micelle-based water-soluble nanoparticles for simultaneous bioimaging and drug delivery.

PubMed

Chen, Ying; Liu, Yong; Yao, Yongchao; Zhang, Shiyong; Gu, Zhongwei

2017-04-11

With special confined water pools, reverse micelles (RMs) have shown potential for a wide range of applications. However, the inherent water-insolubility of RMs hinders their further application prospects, especially for applications related to biology. We recently reported the first successful transfer of RMs from organic media to an aqueous phase without changing the smart water pools by the hydrolysis of an arm-cleavable interfacial cross-linked reverse micelles. Herein, we employed another elaborate amphiphile 1 to construct new acrylamide-based cross-linked water-soluble nanoparticles (ACW-NPs) under much gentler conditions. The special property of the water pools of the ACW-NPs was confirmed by both the Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between 5-((2-aminoethyl)amino)naphthalene-1-sulfonic acid (1,5-EDANS) and benzoic acid, 4-[2-[4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]diazenyl] (DABCYL) and satisfactory colloidal stability in 10% fetal bovine serum. Importantly, featured by the gentle synthetic strategy, confined water pool, and carboxylic acid-functionalized surface, the new ACW-NPs are well suitable for biological applications. As an example, the fluorescent reagent 8-hydroxy-1,3,6-pyrenetrisulfonic acid trisodium salt (HPTS) was encapsulated in the core and simultaneously, the anticancer drug gemcitabine (Gem) was covalently conjugated onto the surface exterior. As expected, the resulting multifunctional ACW-NPs@HPTS@Gem exhibits a high imaging effect and anticancer activity for non-small lung cancer cells.

Tritium systems test assembly stabilization

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

Jasen, W. G.; Michelotti, R. A.; Anast, K. R.

The Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA) was a facility dedicated to tritium technology Research and Development (R&D) primarily for future fusion power reactors. The facility was conceived in mid 1970's, operations commenced in early 1980's, stabilization and deactivation began in 2000 and were completed in 2003. The facility will remain in a Surveillance and Maintenance (S&M) mode until the Department of Energy (DOE) funds demolition of the facility, tentatively in 2009. A safe and stable end state was achieved by the TSTA Facility Stabilization Project (TFSP) in anticipation of long term S&M. At the start of the stabilization project, withmore » an inventory of approximately 140 grams of tritium, the facility was designated a Hazard Category (HC) 2 Non-Reactor Nuclear facility as defined by US Department of Energy standard DOE-STD-1027-92 (1997). The TSTA facility comprises a laboratory area, supporting rooms, offices and associated laboratory space that included more than 20 major tritium handling systems. The project's focus was to reduce the tritium inventory by removing bulk tritium, tritiated water wastes, and tritium-contaminated high-inventory components. Any equipment that remained in the facility was stabilized in place. All of the gloveboxes and piping were rendered inoperative and vented to atmosphere. All equipment, and inventoried tritium contamination, remaining in the facility was left in a safe-and-stable state. The project used the End Points process as defined by the DOE Office of Environmental Management (web page http://www.em.doe.- gov/deact/epman.htmtlo) document and define the end state required for the stabilization of TSTA Facility. The End Points process added structure that was beneficial through virtually all phases of the project. At completion of the facility stabilization project the residual tritium inventory was approximately 3,000 curies, considerably less than the 1.6-gram threshold for a HC 3 facility. TSTA is now designated as a Radiological Facility. Innovative approaches were employed for characterization and removal of legacy wastes and high inventory components. Major accomplishments included: (1) Reduction of tritium inventory, elimination of chemical hazards, and identification and posting of remaining hazards. (2) Removal of legacy wastes. (3) Transferred equipment for reuse in other DOE projects, including some at other DOE facilities. (4) Transferred facility in a safe and stable condition to the S&M organization. The project successfully completed all project goals and the TSTA facility was transferred into S&M on August 1,2003. This project demonstrates the benefit of radiological inventory reduction and the removal of legacy wastes to achieve a safe and stable end state that protects workers and the environment pending eventual demolition of the facility.« less

Planning, implementation, and history of the first 5 years of operation of the Craig, Alaska, pool and school biomass heating system—a case study

Treesearch

Allen M. Brackley; K. Petersen

2016-01-01

A wood-based energy project in Craig, Alaska, to heat the community's aquatic center and two of its schools was the first such installation in Alaska to convert from fossil fuels to a renewable energy source. Initial interest in the project started in 2004. The system came online in April 2008. This report provides an overview of the new heating system's...

Explaining technological change of wind power in China and the United States: Roles of energy policies, technological learning, and collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Tian

The following dissertation explains how technological change of wind power, in terms of cost reduction and performance improvement, is achieved in China and the US through energy policies, technological learning, and collaboration. The objective of this dissertation is to understand how energy policies affect key actors in the power sector to promote renewable energy and achieve cost reductions for climate change mitigation in different institutional arrangements. The dissertation consists of three essays. The first essay examines the learning processes and technological change of wind power in China. I integrate collaboration and technological learning theories to model how wind technologies are acquired and diffused among various wind project participants in China through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)--an international carbon trade program, and empirically test whether different learning channels lead to cost reduction of wind power. Using pooled cross-sectional data of Chinese CDM wind projects and spatial econometric models, I find that a wind project developer's previous experience (learning-by-doing) and industrywide wind project experience (spillover effect) significantly reduce the costs of wind power. The spillover effect provides justification for subsidizing users of wind technologies so as to offset wind farm investors' incentive to free-ride on knowledge spillovers from other wind energy investors. The CDM has played such a role in China. Most importantly, this essay provides the first empirical evidence of "learning-by-interacting": CDM also drives wind power cost reduction and performance improvement by facilitating technology transfer through collaboration between foreign turbine manufacturers and local wind farm developers. The second essay extends this learning framework to the US wind power sector, where I examine how state energy policies, restructuring of the electricity market, and learning among actors in wind industry lead to performance improvement of wind farms. Unlike China, the restructuring of the US electricity market created heterogeneity in transmission network governance across regions. Thus, I add transmission network governance to my learning framework to test the impacts of different transmission network governance models. Using panel data of existing utility-scale wind farms in US during 2001-2012 and spatial models, I find that the performance of a wind project is improved through more collaboration among project participants (learning-by-interacting), and this improvement is even greater if the wind project is interconnected to a regional transmission network coordinated by an independent system operator or a regional transmission organization (ISO/RTO). In the third essay, I further explore how different transmission network governance models affect wind power integration through a comparative case study. I compare two regional transmission networks, which represent two major transmission network governance models in the US: the ISO/RTO-governance model and the non-RTO model. Using archival data and interviews with key network participants, I find that a centralized transmission network coordinated through an ISO/RTO is more effective in integrating wind power because it allows resource pooling and optimal allocating of the resources by the central network administrative agency (NAO). The case study also suggests an alternative path to improved network effectiveness for a less cohesive network, which is through more frequent resource exchange among subgroups within a large network. On top of that, this essay contributes to the network governance literature by providing empirical evidence on the coexistence of hierarchy, market, and collaboration in complex service delivery networks. These coordinating mechanisms complement each other to provide system flexibility and stability, particularly when the network operates in a turbulent environment with changes and uncertainties.

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

Trentadue, R.; Clemencic, M.; Dykstra, D.

The LCG Persistency Framework consists of three software packages (CORAL, COOL and POOL) that address the data access requirements of the LHC experiments in several different areas. The project is the result of the collaboration between the CERN IT Department and the three experiments (ATLAS, CMS and LHCb) that are using some or all of the Persistency Framework components to access their data. POOL is a hybrid technology store for C++ objects, using a mixture of streaming and relational technologies to implement both object persistency and object metadata catalogs and collections. CORAL is an abstraction layer with an SQL-free APImore » for accessing data stored using relational database technologies. COOL provides specific software components and tools for the handling of the time variation and versioning of the experiment conditions data. This presentation reports on the status and outlook in each of the three sub-projects at the time of the CHEP2012 conference, reviewing the usage of each package in the three LHC experiments.« less

Large uncertainty in permafrost carbon stocks due to hillslope soil deposits

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

Shelef, Eitan; Rowland, Joel C.; Wilson, Cathy J.

Here, northern circumpolar permafrost soils contain more than a third of the global Soil Organic Carbon pool (SOC). The sensitivity of this carbon pool to a changing climate is a primary source of uncertainty in simulationbased climate projections. These projections, however, do not account for the accumulation of soil deposits at the base of hillslopes (hill-toes), and the influence of this accumulation on the distribution, sequestration, and decomposition of SOC in landscapes affected by permafrost. Here we combine topographic models with soil-profile data and topographic analysis to evaluate the quantity and uncertainty of SOC mass stored in perennially frozen hill-toemore » soil deposits. We show that in Alaska this SOC mass introduces an uncertainty that is > 200% than state-wide estimates of SOC stocks (77 PgC), and that a similarly large uncertainty may also pertain at a circumpolar scale. Soil sampling and geophysical-imaging efforts that target hill-toe deposits can help constrain this large uncertainty.« less

Large uncertainty in permafrost carbon stocks due to hillslope soil deposits

DOE PAGES

Shelef, Eitan; Rowland, Joel C.; Wilson, Cathy J.; ...

2017-05-31

Here, northern circumpolar permafrost soils contain more than a third of the global Soil Organic Carbon pool (SOC). The sensitivity of this carbon pool to a changing climate is a primary source of uncertainty in simulationbased climate projections. These projections, however, do not account for the accumulation of soil deposits at the base of hillslopes (hill-toes), and the influence of this accumulation on the distribution, sequestration, and decomposition of SOC in landscapes affected by permafrost. Here we combine topographic models with soil-profile data and topographic analysis to evaluate the quantity and uncertainty of SOC mass stored in perennially frozen hill-toemore » soil deposits. We show that in Alaska this SOC mass introduces an uncertainty that is > 200% than state-wide estimates of SOC stocks (77 PgC), and that a similarly large uncertainty may also pertain at a circumpolar scale. Soil sampling and geophysical-imaging efforts that target hill-toe deposits can help constrain this large uncertainty.« less

High current superconductors for tokamak toroidal field coils

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

Fietz, W.A.

1976-01-01

Conductors rated at 10,000 A for 8 T and 4.2 K are being purchased for the first large coil segment tests at ORNL. Requirements for these conductors, in addition to the high current rating, are low pulse losses, cryostatic stability, and acceptable mechanical properties. The conductors are required to have losses less than 0.4 W/m under pulsed fields of 0.5 T with a rise time of 1 sec in an ambient 8-T field. Methods of calculating these losses and techniques for verifying the performance by direct measurement are discussed. Conductors stabilized by two different cooling methods, pool boiling and forcedmore » helium flow, have been proposed. Analysis of these conductors is presented and a proposed definition and test of stability is discussed. Mechanical property requirements, tensile and compressive, are defined and test methods are discussed.« less

CTUIR Grande Ronde River Basin Watershed Restoration Program McCoy Creek/McIntyre Creek Road Crossing, 1996-1998 Progress Report.

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

Childs, Allen B.

1999-07-01

This Annual Report provides a detailed overview of watershed restoration accomplishments achieved by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) and project partners in the Upper Grande Ronde River Basin under contract with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) during the period July 1, 1997 through June 30, 1998. The Contract Agreement entitled McCoy Meadows Watershed Restoration Project (Project No.96-83-01) includes habitat restoration planning, design, and implementation in two project areas--the McCoy Meadows Ranch located in the Meadow, McCoy, and McIntyre Creek subbasins on private land and the Mainstem Grande Ronde River Habitat Enhancement Project located on private andmore » National Forest System lands near Bird Tract Springs along the Grande Ronde River. During the contract period, the CTUIR and partners (Mark and Lorna Tipperman, landowners), Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), and Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) initiated phase 1 construction of the McCoy Meadows Restoration Project. Phase 1 involved reintroduction of a segment of McCoy Creek from its existing channelized configuration into a historic meander channel. Project efforts included bioengineering and tree/shrub planting and protection, transporting salvaged cottonwood tree boles and limbs from offsite source to the project area for utilization by resident beaver populations for forage and dam construction materials, relocation of existing BPA/ODFW riparian corridor fencing to outer edges of meadow floodplain, establishment of pre-project photo points, and coordination of other monitoring and evaluation efforts being led by other project partners including groundwater monitoring wells, channel cross sections, water quality monitoring stations, juvenile population sampling index sites, redd surveys, and habitat surveys. Project activities also included coordination with the U.S. Forest Service, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, LaGrande Ranger District (USFS) on the Forest Road 2137 (McIntyre Road) Relocation and Obliteration Project and the McCoy Creek crossing. The USFS completed engineering designs under the cooperative effort for the McCoy Creek crossing. Project activities accomplished on the Upper Mainstem Large Wood Addition Project included placement of approximately 120 whole trees to enhance instream structural diversity, pool habitat quality, streambank stability, and improved floodplain morphology. Project activities accomplished on the Mainstem Grande Ronde Habitat Enhancement Project included coordination with landowners (Shauna Musgrove of Cuhna Ranches, Dean Stone, and the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, LaGrande Ranger District) to develop a habitat enhancement/restoration project opportunity along a 3 mile section of the mainstem Grande Ronde River and major tributaries including the lower reaches of Bear Creek and Jordan Creek. Upon securing an agreement with the landowners, project partners including the CTUIR, ODFW, NRCS, and USFS initiated development of project objectives and site-specific designs. By June 1998, project designs were completed and preparations nearly complete to initiate onsite project construction.« less

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

Sierra Thermal /Fluid Team

The SIERRA Low Mach Module: Fuego along with the SIERRA Participating Media Radiation Module: Syrinx, henceforth referred to as Fuego and Syrinx, respectively, are the key elements of the ASCI fire environment simulation project. The fire environment simulation project is directed at characterizing both open large-scale pool fires and building enclosure fires. Fuego represents the turbulent, buoyantly-driven incompressible flow, heat transfer, mass transfer, combustion, soot, and absorption coefficient model portion of the simulation software. Syrinx represents the participating-media thermal radiation mechanics. This project is an integral part of the SIERRA multi-mechanics software development project. Fuego depends heavily upon the coremore » architecture developments provided by SIERRA for massively parallel computing, solution adaptivity, and mechanics coupling on unstructured grids.« less

Influence of Laser Glazing on the Characterization of Plasma-Sprayed YSZ Coatings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yan; Liu, Jiangwei; Liao, Hanlin; Darut, Geoffrey; Stella, Jorge; Poirier, Thierry; Planche, Marie-Pierre

2017-01-01

In this study, 8 wt.% yttria-stabilized zirconia powder was deposited on the substrates by atmospheric plasma spray. The coatings were post-treated by laser glazing under different parameters in order to densify them. The characterization of the laser molten pools under different laser treatment conditions was studied. Preheating processes were also employed. Scanning electron microscopy observations of the surface and cross section of as-sprayed and laser-glazed coatings were carried out to investigate the influence of laser glazing on the microstructure on laser-glazed coatings. The results show that preheating processes improve the coating in terms of deepening the laser-glazed layer, reducing the number of vertical cracks and surface density of cracks and widening the molten pool. Finally, the influences of linear energy density on the characterization of the glazed layer are discussed.

Relative operational performance of geosynthetics used as subgrade stabilization : [project summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-06-01

State departments of : transportation (DOTs) : routinely use geogrids and : geotextiles for subgrade : stabilization applications. : This construction practice : involves placing a : geosynthetic on top of a weak : subgrade to help stabilize the : gr...

EMSO ERIC - Ocean Consortium Facility for Europe and the World

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Best, Mairi

2017-04-01

EMSO is forging ahead through the next challenge in Earth-Ocean Science: How to co-ordinate ocean data acquisition, analysis and response across provincial, national, regional, and global scales. EMSO provides power, communications, sensors, and data infrastructure for continuous, high resolution, real-time, interactive ocean observations across a truly multi- and interdisciplinary range of research areas including biology, geology, chemistry, physics, engineering, and computer science; from polar to tropical environments, through the water column down to the abyss. 11 deep sea and 4 shallow nodes span from Arctic through the Atlantic and Mediterranean, to the Black Sea. The EMSO Preparatory Phase (FP7) project led to the Interim phase (involving 13 countries) of forming the legal entity: the EMSO European Research Infrastructure Consortium (EMSO-ERIC)-officially created by the EC in 2016. The open user community, originally developed through ESONET (European Seafloor Observatory NETwork), follows on scientific community planning contributions of the ESONET-NoE (FP6) project. Further progress made through the FixO3 project (FP7) also contributes to this shared infrastructure. Coordination among nodes is being strengthened through the EMSOdev project (H2020) which is producing the EMSO Generic Instrument Module (EGIM) - standardised observations of temperature, pressure, salinity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, chlorophyll fluorescence, currents, passive acoustics, pH, pCO2, and nutrients. Early installations are now being upgraded; in October 2015 EMSO-France deployed a second cable and junction box serving the Ligurian Sea Node in order to monitor slope stability offshore Nice; in 2016 the EMSO Azores Node receives a major upgrade that will double its observing capacity; for EMSO-Italia the Capo Passero site is being installed and the Catania site is being upgraded. EMSOLINK will continue the expansion work. EMSO is a key player in international coordination projects such as CoopEUS/Coop+, ENVRI/ENVRIplus, GOOS/EOOS - as such EMSO not only brings together countries and disciplines, but allows the pooling of resources and coordination to assemble harmonised data into a comprehensive regional ocean picture which it will then make available to researchers and stakeholders worldwide on an open and interoperable access basis.

Pooled human platelet lysate versus fetal bovine serum-investigating the proliferation rate, chromosome stability and angiogenic potential of human adipose tissue-derived stem cells intended for clinical use.

PubMed

Trojahn Kølle, Stig-Frederik; Oliveri, Roberto S; Glovinski, Peter V; Kirchhoff, Maria; Mathiasen, Anders Bruun; Elberg, Jens Jørgen; Andersen, Peter Stemann; Drzewiecki, Krzysztof Tadeusz; Fischer-Nielsen, Anne

2013-09-01

Because of an increasing focus on the use of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) in clinical trials, the culture conditions for these cells are being optimized. We compared the proliferation rates and chromosomal stability of ASCs that had been cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's Medium (DMEM) supplemented with either pooled human platelet lysate (pHPL) or clinical-grade fetal bovine serum (FBS) (DMEM(pHPL) versus DMEM(FBS)). ASCs from four healthy donors were cultured in either DMEM(pHPL) or DMEM(FBS), and the population doubling time (PDT) was calculated. ASCs from two of the donors were expanded in DMEM(pHPL) or DMEM(FBS) and cultured for the final week before harvesting with or without the addition of vascular endothelial growth factor. We assessed the chromosomal stability (through the use of array comparative genomic hybridization), the expression of ASC and endothelial surface markers and the differentiation and angiogenic potential of these cells. The ASCs that were cultured in pHPL exhibited a significantly shorter PDT of 29.6 h (95% confidence interval, 22.3-41.9 h) compared with those cultured in FBS, for which the PDT was 123.9 h (95% confidence interval, 95.6-176.2 h). Comparative genomic hybridization analyses revealed no chromosomal aberrations. Cell differentiation, capillary structure formation and cell-surface marker expression were generally unaffected by the type of medium supplement that was used or by the addition of vascular endothelial growth factor. We observed that the use of pHPL as a growth supplement for ASCs facilitated a significantly higher proliferation rate compared with FBS without compromising genomic stability or differentiation capacity. Copyright © 2013 International Society for Cellular Therapy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Stability of echogenic liposomes as a blood pool ultrasound contrast agent in a physiologic flow phantom

PubMed Central

Radhakrishnan, Kirthi; Haworth, Kevin J.; Huang, Shao-Ling; Klegerman, Melvin E.; McPherson, David D.; Holland, Christy K.

2016-01-01

Echogenic liposomes (ELIP) are multifunctional ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) with a lipid shell encapsulating both air and an aqueous core. ELIP are being developed for molecular imaging and image-guided therapeutic delivery. Stability of the echogenicity of ELIP in physiologic conditions is crucial to their successful translation to clinical use. In this study we determined the effects of the surrounding media’s dissolved air concentration, temperature transition and hydrodynamic pressure on the echogenicity of a chemically modified formulation of ELIP to promote stability and echogenicity. ELIP samples were diluted in porcine plasma or whole blood and pumped through a pulsatile flow system with adjustable hydrodynamic pressures and temperature. B-mode images were acquired using a clinical diagnostic scanner every 5 s for a total duration of 75 s. Echogenicity in porcine plasma was assessed as a function of total dissolved gas saturation. ELIP were added to plasma at room temperature (22 °C) or body temperature (37 °C) and pumped through a system maintained at 22 °C or 37 °C to study the effect of temperature transitions on ELIP echogenicity. Echogenicity at normotensive (120/80 mmHg) and hypertensive pressures (145/90 mmHg) was measured. ELIP were echogenic in plasma and whole blood at body temperature under normotensive to hypertensive pressures. Warming of samples from room temperature to body temperature did not alter echogenicity. However, in plasma cooled rapidly from body temperature to room temperature or in degassed plasma, ELIP lost echogenicity within 20 s at 120/80 mmHg. The stability of echogenicity of a modified ELIP formulation was determined in vitro at body temperature, physiologic gas concentration and throughout the physiologic pressure range. However, proper care should be taken to ensure that ELIP are not cooled rapidly from body temperature to room temperature as they will lose their acoustic properties. Further in vivo investigations will be needed to evaluate the optimal usage of ELIP as blood pool contrast agents. PMID:22929652

Changes in Carbon Chemistry and Stability Along Deep Tropical Soil Profiles at the Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stone, M.; Hockaday, W. C.; Plante, A. F.

2014-12-01

Tropical forests are the largest terrestrial carbon (C) sink, and tropical forest soils contribute disproportionately to the poorly-characterized deep soil C pool. The goal of this study was to evaluate how carbon chemistry and stability change with depth in tropical forest soils formed on two contrasting parent materials. We used soils from pits excavated to 140 cm depth that were stratified across two soil types (Oxisols and Inceptisols) at the Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory in northeast Puerto Rico. We used 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to characterize soil C chemistry and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) coupled with evolved gas analysis (CO2-EGA) to evaluate the thermal stability of soil C during ramped combustion. Thirty-four samples with an initial C concentration ≥1% were chosen from discrete depth intervals (0, 30, 60, 90 & 140 cm) for 13C NMR analysis, while DSC was performed on 122 samples that included the NMR sample set and additional samples at 20, 50, 80 and 110 cm depth. Preliminary 13C NMR results indicate higher alkyl : O-alkyl ratios and an enrichment of aliphatic and proteinaceous C with depth, compared with greater aromatic and carbohydrate signals in surface soils. The energy density of soil C (J mg-1 C) also declined significantly with depth. In Oxisols, most CO2 evolution from combustion occurred around 300ºC, while most CO2 evolution occurred at higher temperatures (400-500ºC) in Inceptisols. Our findings suggest soil C is derived primarily of plant biomolecules in surface soils and becomes increasingly microbial with depth. Soil matrix-mediated differences in C transport and preservation may result in differences in C chemistry between the two soil types and a more thermally labile C pool in the Oxisols. We suggest that energy-poor substrates, combined with potentially stronger organo-mineral interactions in subsoils, may explain the long-term stability of deep C in highly weathered tropical soils.

Iron Redox Dynamics in Humid Tropical Forest Soils: Carbon Stabilization vs. Degradation?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hall, S. J.; Silver, W. L.; Hammel, K.

2015-12-01

Most terrestrial soils exhibit a patchwork of oxygen (O2) availability that varies over spatial scales of microsites to catenas to landscapes, and over temporal scales of minutes to seasons. Oxygen fluctuations often drive microbial iron (Fe) reduction and abiotic/biotic Fe oxidation at the microsite scale, contributing to anaerobic carbon (C) mineralization and changes in soil physical and chemical characteristics, especially the dissolution and precipitation of short-range ordered Fe phases thought to stabilize C. Thus, O2 fluctuations and Fe redox cycling may have multiple nuanced and opposing impacts on different soil C pools, illustrated by recent findings from Fe-rich Oxisols and Ultisols in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. Spatial patterns in surface soil C stocks at the landscape scale correlated strongly (R2 = 0.98) with concentrations of reduced Fe (Fe(II)), reflecting constitutive differences in reducing conditions within and among sites that promote C accumulation in mineral soil horizons. Similarly, turnover times of a decadal-cycling pool of mineral-associated organic matter increased with Fe(II) across a catena, possibly reflecting the role of anaerobic microsites in long-term C stabilization. However, two different indices of short-range order Fe showed highly significant opposing relationships (positive and negative) with spatial variation in soil C concentrations, possibly reflecting a dual role of Fe in driving C stabilization via co-precipitation, and C solubilization and loss following dissimilatory Fe reduction. Consistent with the field data, laboratory incubations demonstrated that redox fluctuations can increase the contribution of biochemically recalcitrant C (lignin) to soil respiration, whereas addition of short-range order Fe dramatically suppressed lignin mineralization but had no impact on bulk soil respiration. Thus, understanding spatial and temporal patterns of Fe redox cycling may provide insight into explaining the relatively rapid turnover of biochemically recalcitrant and mineral-associated C in soils.

ASSESSING ENDOCRINE-DISRUPTING CHEMICAL EXPOSURE IN INDIGENOUS AQUATIC POPULATIONS IN THE OHIO RIVER

EPA Science Inventory

The NERL has launched a collaborative study with the ORSANCO to determine the degree of ecologically relevant endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) exposure in the New Cumberland Pool of the Ohio River under the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program - Great Rivers Project...

FACTORS MAINTAINING HIGH ANURAN DIVERSITY IN TEMPORARY POOLS OF THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES. (R825795)

EPA Science Inventory

The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Concl...

Use of a Knowledge Management System in Waste Management Projects

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

Gruendler, D.; Boetsch, W.U.; Holzhauer, U.

2006-07-01

In Germany the knowledge management system 'WasteInfo' about waste management and disposal issues has been developed and implemented. Beneficiaries of 'WasteInfo' are official decision makers having access to a large information pool. The information pool is fed by experts, so called authors This means compiling of information, evaluation and assigning of appropriate properties (metadata) to this information. The knowledge management system 'WasteInfo' has been introduced at the WM04, the operation of 'WasteInfo' at the WM05. The recent contribution describes the additional advantage of the KMS being used as a tool for the dealing with waste management projects. This specific aspectmore » will be demonstrated using a project concerning a comparative analysis of the implementation of repositories in six countries using nuclear power as examples: The information of 'WasteInfo' is assigned to categories and structured according to its origin and type of publication. To use 'WasteInfo' as a tool for the processing the projects, a suitable set of categories has to be developed for each project. Apart from technical and scientific aspects, the selected project deals with repository strategies and policies in various countries, with the roles of applicants and authorities in licensing procedures, with safety philosophy and with socio-economic concerns. This new point of view has to be modelled in the categories. Similar to this, new sources of information such as local and regional dailies or particular web-sites have to be taken into consideration. In this way 'WasteInfo' represents an open document which reflects the current status of the respective repository policy in several countries. Information with particular meaning for the German repository planning is marked and by this may influence the German strategy. (authors)« less

Slope Stabilization Using Recycled Plastic Pins, Phase III.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-01-01

A new technique for stabilizing surficial slope failures using recycled plastic reinforcing members has been developed. The : objective of the project described in this report has been to develop, evaluate, and document a technique for stabilization ...

Incorporating Cold-Air Pooling into Downscaled Climate Models Increases Potential Refugia for Snow-Dependent Species within the Sierra Nevada Ecoregion, CA

PubMed Central

Curtis, Jennifer A.; Flint, Lorraine E.; Flint, Alan L.; Lundquist, Jessica D.; Hudgens, Brian; Boydston, Erin E.; Young, Julie K.

2014-01-01

We present a unique water-balance approach for modeling snowpack under historic, current and future climates throughout the Sierra Nevada Ecoregion. Our methodology uses a finer scale (270 m) than previous regional studies and incorporates cold-air pooling, an atmospheric process that sustains cooler temperatures in topographic depressions thereby mitigating snowmelt. Our results are intended to support management and conservation of snow-dependent species, which requires characterization of suitable habitat under current and future climates. We use the wolverine (Gulo gulo) as an example species and investigate potential habitat based on the depth and extent of spring snowpack within four National Park units with proposed wolverine reintroduction programs. Our estimates of change in spring snowpack conditions under current and future climates are consistent with recent studies that generally predict declining snowpack. However, model development at a finer scale and incorporation of cold-air pooling increased the persistence of April 1st snowpack. More specifically, incorporation of cold-air pooling into future climate projections increased April 1st snowpack by 6.5% when spatially averaged over the study region and the trajectory of declining April 1st snowpack reverses at mid-elevations where snow pack losses are mitigated by topographic shading and cold-air pooling. Under future climates with sustained or increased precipitation, our results indicate a high likelihood for the persistence of late spring snowpack at elevations above approximately 2,800 m and identify potential climate refugia sites for snow-dependent species at mid-elevations, where significant topographic shading and cold-air pooling potential exist. PMID:25188379

Incorporating cold-air pooling into downscaled climate models increases potential refugia for snow-dependent species within the Sierra Nevada Ecoregion, CA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Curtis, Jennifer A.; Flint, Lorraine E.; Flint, Alan L.; Lundquist, Jessica D.; Hudgens, Brian; Boydston, Erin E.; Young, Julie K.

2014-01-01

We present a unique water-balance approach for modeling snowpack under historic, current and future climates throughout the Sierra Nevada Ecoregion. Our methodology uses a finer scale (270 m) than previous regional studies and incorporates cold-air pooling, an atmospheric process that sustains cooler temperatures in topographic depressions thereby mitigating snowmelt. Our results are intended to support management and conservation of snow-dependent species, which requires characterization of suitable habitat under current and future climates. We use the wolverine (Gulo gulo) as an example species and investigate potential habitat based on the depth and extent of spring snowpack within four National Park units with proposed wolverine reintroduction programs. Our estimates of change in spring snowpack conditions under current and future climates are consistent with recent studies that generally predict declining snowpack. However, model development at a finer scale and incorporation of cold-air pooling increased the persistence of April 1st snowpack. More specifically, incorporation of cold-air pooling into future climate projections increased April 1st snowpack by 6.5% when spatially averaged over the study region and the trajectory of declining April 1st snowpack reverses at mid-elevations where snow pack losses are mitigated by topographic shading and cold-air pooling. Under future climates with sustained or increased precipitation, our results indicate a high likelihood for the persistence of late spring snowpack at elevations above approximately 2,800 m and identify potential climate refugia sites for snow-dependent species at mid-elevations, where significant topographic shading and cold-air pooling potential exist.

Transformations in soil organic matter and aggregate stability after conversion of Mediterranean forest to agriculture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Recio Vázquez, Lorena; Almendros, Gonzalo; Carral, Pilar; Knicker, Heike; González Pérez, José Antonio; González Vila, Francisco Javier

2013-04-01

Conversion of forest ecosystems into croplands often leads to severe decrease of the soil organic matter (SOM) levels with the concomitant deterioration of soil structure. The present research focuses on the effects of cultivation on the stability of soil macroaggregates, as well as on the total quantity and quality of SOM. Three representative soils from central Spain (i.e., Petric Calcisol, Cutanic Luvisol and Calcic Vertisol) were sampled. Each site had natural vegetation (NV) dominated either by characteristic Mediterranean forest (dehesa) or cereal crops (CC) under conventional tillage. For each site, three spatial replicates of the NV and CC were sampled. Soil aggregate stability was measured by the wet sieving method. The structural stability index was then calculated as the mass of aggregated soil (>250 μm) remaining after wet sieving, as a percent of total aggregate weight. The analytical characterization of the SOM was carried out after chemical fractionation for quantifying the different organic pools: free organic matter (FOM), humic acids (HA), fulvic acids (FA) and humin (H). Furthermore, whole soil samples pretreated with 10 % HF solution were analyzed by CP-MAS 13C NMR and the purified HA fraction was characterized by elementary analysis, visible and infrared spectroscopies and Py-GC/MS. A marked reduction in the proportion of stable aggregates when the natural ecosystem was converted to agriculture was observed. Values of the structural stability index (%) changed over from 96.2 to 38.1, 95.1 to 83.7 and 98.5 to 60.6 for the Calcisol, Luvisol and Vertisol respectively. Comparatively higher contents of SOM were found in the soils under NV (11.69 to 0.93, 3.29 to 2.72 and 9.51 to 0.79 g C100 g-1soil) even though a quantitative rearrangement of the SOM pools was noticed. In all sites, the relative contribution of the labile C (FOM) to the total SOM content decreased when the forest soils were converted into croplands, whereas the proportion of both HA and FA increased in the cultivated soils. Considering the differences in molecular characteristics of the HAs, cultivation increased aromaticity and humification degree, reflected in the reduction of the H/C atomic ratio and the increase of the E465 nm optical density of the HAs. The 13C NMR spectra of the whole soils showed increased signal intensity in the alkyl and O-alkyl regions in NV sites compared to agricultural systems. Infrared spectroscopy displayed a less conspicuous pattern in HAs from CC sites. Moreover, the major aromatic pyrolytic products in CC soils were alkylphenols, naphthalenes, benzenes, pyrenes and N-compounds (pyrroles, indoles...), with lower abundance of methoxyphenols regarding NV sites. Cultivation reduced SOM concentration and macroaggregate stability in the studied soils. The loss of organic C mainly affected labile pools of SOM, which could be partly explained as the organic debris (fungal hyphae, fine roots, polysaccharides) are the main binding agents, so the breakdown of macroaggregates with the tillage exposes the fresh organic materials to microbial degradation. The final consequence is an enrichment on recalcitrant C fractions in the cultivated soils.

NaK pool-boiler bench-scale receiver durability test: Test results and materials analysis

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

Andraka, C.E.; Goods, S.H.; Bradshaw, R.W.

1994-06-01

Pool-boiler reflux receivers have been considered as an alternative to heat pipes for the input of concentrated solar energy to Stirling-cycle engines in dish-Stirling electric generation systems. Pool boilers offer simplicity in design and fabrication. The operation of a full-scale pool-boiler receiver has been demonstrated for short periods of time. However, to generate cost-effective electricity, the receiver must operate Without significant maintenance for the entire system life, as much as 20 to 30 years. Long-term liquid-metal boiling stability and materials compatibility with refluxing NaK-78 is not known and must be determined for the pool boiler receiver. No boiling system hasmore » been demonstrated for a significant duration with the current porous boiling enhancement surface and materials. Therefore, it is necessary to simulate the full-scale pool boiler design as much as possible, including flux levels, materials, and operating cycles. On-sun testing is impractical because of the limited test time available. A test vessel was constructed with a porous boiling enhancement surface. The boiling surface consisted of a brazed stainless steel powder with about 50% porosity. The vessel was heated with a quartz lamp array providing about go W/CM2 peak incident thermal flux. The vessel was charged with NaK-78. This allows the elimination of costly electric preheating, both on this test and on fullscale receivers. The vessel was fabricated from Haynes 230 alloy. The vessel operated at 750{degrees}C around the clock, with a 1/2-hour shutdown cycle to ambient every 8 hours. The test completed 7500 hours of lamp-on operation time, and over 1000 startups from ambient. The test was terminated when a small leak in an Inconel 600 thermowell was detected. The test design and data are presented here. Metallurgical analysis of virgin and tested materials has begun, and initial results are also presented.« less

Experiments on Pool-riffle Sequences with Multi-fractional Sediment Bed During Floods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodriguez, J. F.; Vahidi, E.; Bayat, E.; de Almeida, G. A. M.; Saco, P. M.

2017-12-01

The morphodynamics of pools and riffles has been the subject of research for over a century and has more recently attracted intense attention for their central role in providing habitat diversity conditions, both in terms of flow and substrate. Initial efforts to explain the long-term stability of the pool-riffle (PR) sequences (often referred to as self-maintenance) focused almost exclusively on cross sectional flow characteristics (either average or near bed velocity or shear stress), using episodic shifts in higher shear stress or velocities from riffles to pools during floods (i.e. reversal conditions) as an indication of the long-term self-maintenance of the structures.. However, less attention has been paid to the interactions of flow unsteadiness, sediment supply and sedimentological contrasts as the drivers for maintaining PR sequences. Here we investigate these effects through laboratory experiments on a scaled-down PR sequence of an existing gravel bed river. Froude similitude and equality of Shields' number were applied to scale one- to four-year recurrence flood events and sediment size distributions, respectively. We conducted experiments with different hydrographs and different sedimentological conditions. In each experiment we continuously measured velocities and shear stresses (using acoustic velocity profilers) bed levels (using a bed profiler) and bed grain size distribution (using an automatic digital technique on the painted bed sediments) during the hydrographs. Our results show that the most important factors for self-maintenance were the sediment bed composition, the level of infilling of the pool and the sediment supply grainsize distribution. These results highlight the need to consider the time varying sedimentological characteristics of a PR sequence to assess its capacity for self-maintenance.

ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION FOR UTILIZATION OF ASH IN SOIL STABILIZATION

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

David J. Hassett; Loreal V. Heebink

2001-08-01

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) approved the use of coal ash in soil stabilization, indicating that environmental data needed to be generated. The overall project goal is to evaluate the potential for release of constituents into the environment from ash used in soil stabilization projects. Supporting objectives are: (1) To ensure sample integrity through implementation of a sample collection, preservation, and storage protocol to avoid analyte concentration or loss. (2) To evaluate the potential of each component (ash, soil, water) of the stabilized soil to contribute to environmental release of analytes of interest. (3) To use laboratory leaching methodsmore » to evaluate the potential for release of constituents to the environment. (4) To facilitate collection of and to evaluate samples from a field runoff demonstration effort. The results of this study indicated limited mobility of the coal combustion fly ash constituents in laboratory tests and the field runoff samples. The results presented support previous work showing little to negligible impact on water quality. This and past work indicates that soil stabilization is an environmentally beneficial CCB utilization application as encouraged by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This project addressed the regulatory-driven environmental aspect of fly ash use for soil stabilization, but the demonstrated engineering performance and economic advantages also indicate that the use of CCBs in soil stabilization can and should become an accepted engineering option.« less

Statistical evaluation of potential damage to the Al(OH)3 layer on nTiO2 particles in the presence of swimming pool and seawater

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Virkutyte, Jurate; Al-Abed, Souhail R.

2012-03-01

Nanosized TiO2 particles (nTiO2) are usually coated with an Al(OH)3 layer when used in sunscreen to shield against the harmful effects of free radicals that are generated when these particles are exposed to UV radiation. Therefore, it is vital to insure the structural stability of these particles in the environment where the protective layer may be damaged and adverse health and environmental effects can occur. This study utilized X-ray analysis (SEM-EDS) to provide a qualitative and semi-quantitative assessment of the chemical and physical characteristics of Al(OH)3-coated original and damaged nTiO2 particles (used in sunscreen lotion formulations) in the presence of both swimming pool and seawater. Also, by utilizing statistical tools, a distribution of Al/Ti (%) on the particle surface was determined and evaluated. It was found that 45 min of treatment with swimming pool and seawater significantly induced the redistribution of Al/Ti (%), which changed the surface characteristics of particles and, therefore, may have induced undesired photo-activity and the consequent formation of free radicals.

Biochemical Characteristics of Organic Matter in a Guano Concretion of Late Miocene or Pliocene Age from Manchester Parish in Jamaica

PubMed Central

Spence, Adrian; Hanson, Richard E.; Johnson, Toni; Robinson, Claion; Annells, Richard N.

2013-01-01

The biogeochemical fate of organic matter (OM) entering soils is an important issue that must be examined to better understand its roles in nitrogen cycling and as a natural modulator of soil-atmospheric carbon fluxes. Despite these critical roles, there are uncertainties in estimating the contribution of this feedback mechanism due in part to a lack of molecular-level information regarding the origin and labile and refractory inventories of OM in soils. In this study, we used a multi-analytical approach to determine molecular-level information for the occurrence and stabilization of OM in a bird guano concretion of the Late Miocene or Pliocene age in Jamaica. We determined the specific organic structures persisting in the concretion and the possible contribution of fossil organic matter to the OM pool in modern environments. Our results indicate that aliphatic species, presumably of a highly polymethylenic nature [(CH2)n], may significantly contribute to the stable soil-C pool. Although not as significant, proteins and carbohydrates were also enriched in the sample, further suggesting that fossil organic matter may contribute to carbon and nitrogen pools in present day soil organic matter. PMID:23843688

Biochemical characteristics of organic matter in a guano concretion of late miocene or pliocene age from manchester parish in Jamaica.

PubMed

Spence, Adrian; Hanson, Richard E; Johnson, Toni; Robinson, Claion; Annells, Richard N

2013-01-01

The biogeochemical fate of organic matter (OM) entering soils is an important issue that must be examined to better understand its roles in nitrogen cycling and as a natural modulator of soil-atmospheric carbon fluxes. Despite these critical roles, there are uncertainties in estimating the contribution of this feedback mechanism due in part to a lack of molecular-level information regarding the origin and labile and refractory inventories of OM in soils. In this study, we used a multi-analytical approach to determine molecular-level information for the occurrence and stabilization of OM in a bird guano concretion of the Late Miocene or Pliocene age in Jamaica. We determined the specific organic structures persisting in the concretion and the possible contribution of fossil organic matter to the OM pool in modern environments. Our results indicate that aliphatic species, presumably of a highly polymethylenic nature [(CH2)n], may significantly contribute to the stable soil-C pool. Although not as significant, proteins and carbohydrates were also enriched in the sample, further suggesting that fossil organic matter may contribute to carbon and nitrogen pools in present day soil organic matter.

Are stream stabilization projects reducing suspended sediment concentrations and turbidity in the New York City Water Supply Watershed?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McHale, M. R.; Siemion, J.; Davis, W. D.

2015-12-01

Turbidity and suspended sediment concentrations (SSCs) are primary water quality concerns in the upper Esopus Creek watershed, the main tributary to the Ashokan reservoir. The Ashokan reservoir is one of 6 surface water reservoirs that constitute about 90% of New York City's drinking water supply. This study quantified turbidity levels and SSCs at 10 locations throughout the upper Esopus Creek watershed for 3 years prior to the implementation of 2 stream stabilization projects and for 18 months after the projects were completed. More than 93 percent of the total-suspended sediment load occurred on days with flows greater than or equal to the 90th percentile of flows observed during the study period. Discharge, SSC, and turbidity were strongly related at the outlet of the upper Esopus Creek, but not at every monitoring site. In general, relations between discharge and SSC and turbidity were strongest at sites with high SSCs, with the exception of Stony Clove Creek, the largest tributary. Stony Clove Creek, consistently produced higher SSCs and turbidity than any of the other Esopus Creek tributaries. Nonetheless, there was not a strong relation between either turbidity or SSC and discharge because there was a series of eroding banks in contact with fine grained glacio-lacustrine deposits and associated hill slope failures within the Stony Clove Creek watershed that delivered elevated turbidity and SSCs to the stream during all flow conditions. Stream bank stabilization projects were completed at two of the largest bank failures. After the projects were completed there was decrease in stream SSC and turbidity however, flows during the 18 months following the projects were lower than before the projects. Nevertheless, a shift in the SSC and turbidity discharge rating curves suggests that the stream stabilization projects resulted in lower turbidity levels and SSCs for similar discharge conditions as compared to before the projects thereby reducing sediment yields within the watershed as a result of those projects.

Projective-anticipating, projective, and projective-lag synchronization of time-delayed chaotic systems on random networks.

PubMed

Feng, Cun-Fang; Xu, Xin-Jian; Wang, Sheng-Jun; Wang, Ying-Hai

2008-06-01

We study projective-anticipating, projective, and projective-lag synchronization of time-delayed chaotic systems on random networks. We relax some limitations of previous work, where projective-anticipating and projective-lag synchronization can be achieved only on two coupled chaotic systems. In this paper, we realize projective-anticipating and projective-lag synchronization on complex dynamical networks composed of a large number of interconnected components. At the same time, although previous work studied projective synchronization on complex dynamical networks, the dynamics of the nodes are coupled partially linear chaotic systems. In this paper, the dynamics of the nodes of the complex networks are time-delayed chaotic systems without the limitation of the partial linearity. Based on the Lyapunov stability theory, we suggest a generic method to achieve the projective-anticipating, projective, and projective-lag synchronization of time-delayed chaotic systems on random dynamical networks, and we find both its existence and sufficient stability conditions. The validity of the proposed method is demonstrated and verified by examining specific examples using Ikeda and Mackey-Glass systems on Erdos-Renyi networks.

Train the Trainer. Final Report. Fiscal Year 1997-1998.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

TIU Adult Education and Job Training Center, Lewistown, PA.

A project designed an operational system and develop a skilled pool of trainers, in conjunction with Pennsylvania's Regional Professional Development Centers (PDCs), to deliver high-quality, uniform training modules in needed content areas to adult basic and literacy education (ABLE) staff throughout Pennsylvania. Procedures for identifying,…

77 FR 65681 - Boulder Canyon Project-Post-2017 Resource Pool

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-30

... marketing criteria must submit written comments to Western's Desert Southwest Customer Service Regional... defined as ``Schedule D'' to be allocated to new allottees. In accordance with the HPAA, Western allocated... allottee may purchase power only upon the execution of an electric service contract and satisfaction of all...

Assembly reliability of CSPs with various chiip sizes by accelerated thermal and mechanical cycling test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghaffarian, R.

2000-01-01

A JPL-led chip scale package (CSP) Consortium, composed of team members representing government agencies and private companies, recently joined together to pool in-kind resources for developing the quality and reliability of chip scale packages (CSPs) for a variety of projects.

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid biomarkers and coronary heart disease: Pooling project of 19 cohort studies

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The role of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids for primary prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD) remains controversial. Most prior longitudinal studies evaluated self-reported consumption rather than biomarkers. This study sought to evaluate biomarkers of seafood-derived eicosapentaenoic acid ...

Research Personnel: An Essay on Policy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Commission on Research, Washington, DC.

The national need for an ample pool of research scientists is considered. Research in universities and in the federally funded research facilities is described, and the importance of the research these institutions do and the interweaving of research and instruction in universities are noted. Some manpower projections are included and questions…

Buoying Design Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bliss, Angela; Bell, Elizabeth; Spence, Lundie

2013-01-01

Oranges, flying disks, pool noodles, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe may seem like items discarded after a Rube Goldberg experiment, but in fact, these objects were used in teaching science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). This article describes a project in which The Center of Ocean Sciences Education Excellence SouthEast (COSEE SE)…

Acid Rain: The Scientific Challenge.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Godfrey, Paul J.

1991-01-01

Documents the workings and findings of the Massachusetts Acid Rain Monitoring Project, which has pooled the volunteer efforts of more than 1,000 amateur and professional scientists since 1983. Reports on the origins of air pollution, the prediction of acid rain, and its effects on both water life and land resources. (JJK)

76 FR 64085 - Post-2014 Resource Pool-Loveland Area Projects, Final Power Allocation

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-17

... power allocation. SUMMARY: The Western Area Power Administration (Western), a Federal power marketing..., Final Power Allocation developed under the requirements of subpart C-Power Marketing Initiative of the Energy Planning and Management Program (Program) Final Rule, 10 CFR part 905. These final power...

ECOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF ANURAN SPECIES RICHNESS IN TEMPORARY POOLS: A FIELD STUDY IN SOUTH CAROLINA, USA. (R825795)

EPA Science Inventory

The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Concl...

Trench fast reactor design using the microcomputer

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

Rohach, A.F.; Sankoorikal, J.T.; Schmidt, R.R.

1987-01-01

This project is a study of alternative liquid-metal-cooled fast power reactor system concepts. Specifically, an unconventional primary system is being conceptually designed and evaluated. The project design is based primarily on microcomputer analysis through the use of computational modules. The reactor system concept is a long, narrow pool with a long, narrow reactor called a trench-type pool reactor in it. The reactor consists of five core-blanket modules in a line. Specific power is to be modest, permitting long fuel residence time. Two fuel cycles are currently being considered. The reactor design philosophy is that of the inherently safe concept. Thismore » requires transient analysis dependent on reactivity coefficients: prompt fuel, including Doppler and expansion, fuel expansion, sodium temperature and void, and core expansion. Conceptual reactor design is done on a microcomputer. A part of the trench reactor project is to develop a microcomputer-based system that can be used by the user for scoping studies and design. Current development includes the neutronics and fuel management aspects of the design. Thermal-hydraulic analysis and economics are currently being incorporated into the microcomputer system. The system is menu-driven including preparation of program input data and of output data for displays in graphics form.« less

Lower Red River Meadow Restoration Project : Biennial Report 1996-97.

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

LRK Communications; Wildlife Habitat Institute; Pocket Water, Inc.

2003-07-01

The Red River has been straightened and the riparian vegetation corridor eliminated in several reaches within the watershed. The river responded by incision resulting in over-steepened banks, increased sedimentation, elevated water temperatures, depressed groundwater levels, reduced floodplain function, and degraded fish habitat. The Lower Red River Meadow Restoration Project is a multi-phase ecosystem enhancement effort that restores natural physical and biological processes and functions to stabilize the stream channel and establish high quality habitats for fish and wildlife. A natural channel restoration philosophy guides the design and on the ground activities, allowing the channel to evolve into a state ofmore » dynamic equilibrium. Two years of planning, two years of restoration in Phases I and II, and one year post-restoration monitoring are complete. By excavating new bends and reconnecting historic meanders, Phase I and II channel realignment increased channel length by 3,060 feet, decreased channel gradient by 25 percent, and increased sinuosity from 1.7 to 2.3. Cross-sectional shapes and point bars were modified to maintain deep pool habitat at low flow and to reconnect the meadow floodplain. Improved soil moisture conditions will help sustain the 31,500 native riparian plantings reestablished within these two phases. Overall, short-term restoration performance was successful. Analyses of long-term parameters document either post-restoration baseline conditions or early stages of evolution toward desired conditions. An adaptive management strategy has helped to improve restoration designs, methods, and monitoring. Lessons learned are being transferred to a variety of audiences to advance the knowledge of ecological restoration and wise management of watersheds.« less

Final Report. Solar Assist for Administration Building and Community Gym/Pool

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

Synder, Randy; Bresette, Joseph

2015-06-23

Tonto Apache Tribe applied to the Department of Energy’s “Tribal Energy Program” for the “Community Scale Clean Energy Projects” in Indian Country in 2013 to implement a solar project to reduce energy use in two tribal buildings. Total estimated project cost was $804,140, with the Department and Tribe each providing 50% of the project costs. Photovoltaic systems totaling 75 kW on the Administration Building and 192 kW on the Gymnasium were installed. We used roof tops and installed canopies in adjacent parking areas for mounting the systems. The installed systems were designed to offset 65% of the facilities electric load.

AGU Climate Scientists Offer Question-and-Answer Service for Media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jackson, Stacy

2010-03-01

In fall 2009, AGU launched a member-driven pilot project to improve the accuracy of climate science coverage in the media and to improve public understanding of climate science. The project's goal was to increase the accessibility of climate science experts to journalists across the full spectrum of media outlets. As a supplement to the traditional one-to-one journalist-expert relationship model, the project tested the novel approach of providing a question-and-answer (Q&A) service with a pool of expert scientists and a Web-based interface with journalists. Questions were explicitly limited to climate science to maintain a nonadvocacy, nonpartisan perspective.

Screening for illicit drugs in pooled human urine and urinated soil samples and studies on the stability of urinary excretion products of cocaine, MDMA, and MDEA in wastewater by hyphenated mass spectrometry techniques.

PubMed

Mardal, Marie; Kinyua, Juliet; Ramin, Pedram; Miserez, Bram; Van Nuijs, Alexander L N; Covaci, Adrian; Meyer, Markus R

2017-01-01

Monitoring population drug use through wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a useful method to quantitatively follow trends and estimate total drug consumption in communities. Concentrations of drug biomarkers might be low in wastewater due to dilution; and therefore analysis of pooled urine (PU) is useful to detect consumed drugs and identify targets of illicit drugs use. The aims of the study were (1) to screen PU and urinated soil (US) samples collected at festivals for illicit drug excretion products using hyphenated techniques; (2) to develop and validate a hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry / mass spectrometry (HILIC-MS/MS) method of quantifying urinary targets of identified drugs in wastewater; and (3) to conduct a 24 h stability study, using PU and US to better reflect the chemical environment for targets in wastewater. Cocaine (COC) and ecstasy-like compounds were the most frequently detected illicit drugs; an analytical method was developed to quantify their excretion products. Hydroxymethoxymethamphetamine (HMMA), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), HMMA sulfate (HMMA-S), benzoylecgonine (BE), and cocaethylene (CE) had 85-102% of initial concentration after 8 h of incubation, whereas COC and ecgonine methyl ester (EME) had 74 and 67% after 8 h, respectively. HMMA showed a net increase during 24 h of incubation (107% ± 27, n = 8), possibly due to the cleavage of HMMA conjugates, and biotransformation of MDMA. The results suggest HMMA as analytical target for MDMA consumption in WBE, due to its stability in wastewater and its excretion as the main phase I metabolite of MDMA. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In search for an optimal methodology to calculate the valence electron affinities of temporary anions.

PubMed

Puiatti, Marcelo; Vera, D Mariano A; Pierini, Adriana B

2009-10-28

Recently, we have proposed an approach for finding the valence anion ground state, based on the stabilization exerted by a polar solvent; the methodology used standard DFT methods and relatively inexpensive basis sets and yielded correct electron affinity (EA) values by gradually decreasing the dielectric constant of the medium. In order to address the overall performance of the new methodology, to find the best conditions for stabilizing the valence state and to evaluate its scope and limitations, we gathered a pool of 60 molecules, 25 of them bearing the conventional valence state as the ground anion and 35 for which the lowest anion state found holds the extra electron in a diffuse orbital around the molecule (non valence state). The results obtained by testing this representative set suggest a very good performance for most species having an experimental EA less negative than -3.0 eV; the correlation at the B3LYP/6-311+G(2df,p) level being y = 1.01x + 0.06, with a correlation index of 0.985. As an alternative, the time dependent DFT (TD-DFT) approach was also tested with both B3LYP and PBE0 functionals. The methodology we proposed shows a comparable or better accuracy with respect to TD-DFT, although the TD-DFT approach with the PBE0 functional is suggested as a suitable estimate for species with the most negative EAs (ca.-2.5 to -3.5 eV), for which stabilization strategies can hardly reach the valence state. As an application, a pool of 8 compounds of key biological interest with EAs which remain unknown or unclear were predicted using the new methodology.

Quality of the log-geometric distribution extrapolation for smaller undiscovered oil and gas pool size

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chenglin, L.; Charpentier, R.R.

2010-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey procedure for the estimation of the general form of the parent distribution requires that the parameters of the log-geometric distribution be calculated and analyzed for the sensitivity of these parameters to different conditions. In this study, we derive the shape factor of a log-geometric distribution from the ratio of frequencies between adjacent bins. The shape factor has a log straight-line relationship with the ratio of frequencies. Additionally, the calculation equations of a ratio of the mean size to the lower size-class boundary are deduced. For a specific log-geometric distribution, we find that the ratio of the mean size to the lower size-class boundary is the same. We apply our analysis to simulations based on oil and gas pool distributions from four petroleum systems of Alberta, Canada and four generated distributions. Each petroleum system in Alberta has a different shape factor. Generally, the shape factors in the four petroleum systems stabilize with the increase of discovered pool numbers. For a log-geometric distribution, the shape factor becomes stable when discovered pool numbers exceed 50 and the shape factor is influenced by the exploration efficiency when the exploration efficiency is less than 1. The simulation results show that calculated shape factors increase with those of the parent distributions, and undiscovered oil and gas resources estimated through the log-geometric distribution extrapolation are smaller than the actual values. ?? 2010 International Association for Mathematical Geology.

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

Schwantes, Jon M.

Kelly Fitzgerald Kelly Fitzgerald assisted with laboratory testing for an ongoing R&D project known as Electrochemically Modulated Separation (EMS) for on-line rapid preseparations of actinides prior to mass spectrometry analysis. Ryne Burgess Ryne Burgess used SCALE 5.1 ORIGEN-ARP to predict isotope libraries for the Units 1, 2 and 3 reactors and Unit 4 spent fuel pool for comparing against measurements of environmental sampled collected at the site in order to identify the source terms of the accident. Comparison of the cesium 134/137 and cesium 136/137 ratios observed in environmental samples and ORIGEN-ARP predictions indicated that the Unit 4 Spent Fuelmore » Pool did not significantly contribute to radionuclide release during the Fukushima Daiichi accident.« less

Role of Western Hemisphere Warm Pool in Rapid Climate Changes over the Western North Pacific

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kug, Jong-Seong; Park, Jae-Heung; An, Soon-Il

2017-04-01

Oceanic states over the western North Pacific (WNP), which is surrounded by heavily populated countries, are closely tied to the lives of the people in East Asia in regards to both climate and socioeconomics. As global warming continues, remarkable increases in sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface height (SSH) have been observed in the WNP in recent decades. Here, we show that the SST increase in the western hemisphere warm pool (WHWP), which is the second largest warm pool on the globe, has contributed considerably to the rapid surface warming and sea level rise in the WNP via its remote teleconnection along the Pacific Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). State-of-the-art climate models strongly support the role of the WHWP not only on interannual time sales but also in long-term climate projections. We expect that understanding the processes initiated by the WHWP-SST could permit better forecasts of western North Pacific climate and the further development of the socioeconomics of East Asia.

The Need for Integrating the Back End of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle in the United States of America

DOE PAGES

Bonano, Evaristo J.; Kalinina, Elena A.; Swift, Peter N.

2018-02-26

Current practice for commercial spent nuclear fuel management in the United States of America (US) includes storage of spent fuel in both pools and dry storage cask systems at nuclear power plants. Most storage pools are filled to their operational capacity, and management of the approximately 2,200 metric tons of spent fuel newly discharged each year requires transferring older and cooler fuel from pools into dry storage. In the absence of a repository that can accept spent fuel for permanent disposal, projections indicate that the US will have approximately 134,000 metric tons of spent fuel in dry storage by mid-centurymore » when the last plants in the current reactor fleet are decommissioned. Current designs for storage systems rely on large dual-purpose (storage and transportation) canisters that are not optimized for disposal. Various options exist in the US for improving integration of management practices across the entire back end of the nuclear fuel cycle.« less

The Need for Integrating the Back End of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle in the United States of America

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

Bonano, Evaristo J.; Kalinina, Elena A.; Swift, Peter N.

Current practice for commercial spent nuclear fuel management in the United States of America (US) includes storage of spent fuel in both pools and dry storage cask systems at nuclear power plants. Most storage pools are filled to their operational capacity, and management of the approximately 2,200 metric tons of spent fuel newly discharged each year requires transferring older and cooler fuel from pools into dry storage. In the absence of a repository that can accept spent fuel for permanent disposal, projections indicate that the US will have approximately 134,000 metric tons of spent fuel in dry storage by mid-centurymore » when the last plants in the current reactor fleet are decommissioned. Current designs for storage systems rely on large dual-purpose (storage and transportation) canisters that are not optimized for disposal. Various options exist in the US for improving integration of management practices across the entire back end of the nuclear fuel cycle.« less

Terrestrial Carbon Fluxes from Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado Regions Predicted from MODIS Satellite Data and Ecosystem Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klooster, S.; Potter, C.; Genovese, V.

2008-12-01

The NASA-CASA (Carnegie Ames Stanford Approach) simulation model based on satellite observations of monthly vegetation cover from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) was used to estimate tropical forest and savanna (Cerrado) carbon pools for the Brazilian Amazon region over the period 2000-2004. Adjustments for mean age of forest stands were carried out across the region, resulting in a new mapping of aboveground biomass pools based on MODIS satellite data. Yearly maps of newly deforested lands from the Brazilian PRODES (Programa de calculo do desflorestamento da Amazonia ) project were combined with these NASA-CASA biomass predictions to generate seasonal budgets of potential carbon and nitrogen trace gas losses from biomass burning events. Simulations of plant residue and soil carbon decomposition were conducted in the NASA-CASA model during and following deforestation events to track the fate of aboveground biomass pools that were cut and burned each year across the region.

Psychometric Properties of the International Personality Item Pool Big-Five Personality Questionnaire for the Greek population.

PubMed

Ypofanti, Maria; Zisi, Vasiliki; Zourbanos, Nikolaos; Mouchtouri, Barbara; Tzanne, Pothiti; Theodorakis, Yannis; Lyrakos, Georgios

2015-09-30

Goldberg's International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) big-five personality factor markers currently lack validating evidence. The structure of the 50-item IPIP was examined in two different adult samples (total N=811), in each case justifying a 5-factor solution, with only minor discrepancies. Age differences were comparable to previous findings using other inventories. One sample (N=193) also completed additionally another personality measure (the TIPI Short Form). Conscientiousness, extraversion and emotional stability/neuroticism scales of the IPIP were highly correlated with those of the TIPI (r=0.62 to 0.65, P=0.01). Agreeableness and Intellect/Openness scales correlated less strongly (r=0.54 and 0.58 respectively, P=0.01). The IPIP scales have good internal consistency (a=0.88) and relate strongly to major dimensions of personality assessed by the two questionnaires.

Benefits of tree mixes in carbon plantings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hulvey, Kristin B.; Hobbs, Richard J.; Standish, Rachel J.; Lindenmayer, David B.; Lach, Lori; Perring, Michael P.

2013-10-01

Increasingly governments and the private sector are using planted forests to offset carbon emissions. Few studies, however, examine how tree diversity -- defined here as species richness and/or stand composition -- affects carbon storage in these plantings. Using aboveground tree biomass as a proxy for carbon storage, we used meta-analysis to compare carbon storage in tree mixtures with monoculture plantings. Tree mixes stored at least as much carbon as monocultures consisting of the mixture's most productive species and at times outperformed monoculture plantings. In mixed-species stands, individual species, and in particular nitrogen-fixing trees, increased stand biomass. Further motivations for incorporating tree richness into planted forests include the contribution of diversity to total forest carbon-pool development, carbon-pool stability and the provision of extra ecosystem services. Our findings suggest a two-pronged strategy for designing carbon plantings including: (1) increased tree species richness; and (2) the addition of species that contribute to carbon storage and other target functions.

Projecting the release of carbon from permafrost soils using a perturbed physics ensemble

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

MacDougall, A. H.; Knutti, R.

2015-12-01

The soils of the Northern Hemisphere permafrost region are estimated to contain 1100 to 1500 Pg of carbon (Pg C). A substantial fraction of this carbon has been frozen and therefore protected from microbial decay for millennia. As anthropogenic climate warming progresses much of this permafrost is expected to thaw. Here we conduct perturbed physics experiments on a climate model of intermediate complexity, with an improved permafrost carbon module, to estimate with formal uncertainty bounds the release of carbon from permafrost soils by year 2100 and 2300. We estimate that by 2100 the permafrost region may release between 56 (13 to 118) Pg C under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 2.6 and 102 (27 to 199) Pg C under RCP 8.5, with substantially more to be released under each scenario by year 2300. A subset of 25 model variants were projected 8000 years into the future under continued RCP 4.5 and 8.5 forcing. Under the high forcing scenario the permafrost carbon pool decays away over several thousand years. Under the moderate scenario forcing a remnant near-surface permafrost region persists in the high Arctic which develops a large permafrost carbon pool, leading to global recovery of the pool beginning in mid third millennium of the common era (CE). Overall our simulations suggest that the permafrost carbon cycle feedback to climate change will make a significant but not cataclysmic contribution to climate change over the next centuries and millennia.

Projecting the release of carbon from permafrost soils using a perturbed physics ensemble modelling approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

MacDougall, Andrew; Knutti, Reto

2016-04-01

The soils of the northern hemisphere permafrost region are estimated to contain 1100 to 1500 Pg of carbon. A substantial fraction of this carbon has been frozen and therefore protected from microbial decay for millennia. As anthropogenic climate warming progresses permafrost soils are expected to thaw. Here we conduct perturbed physics experiments on a climate model of intermediate complexity, with an improved permafrost carbon module, to estimate with formal uncertainty bounds the release of carbon from permafrost soils by year 2100 and 2300. We estimate that by year 2100 the permafrost region may release between 56 (13 to 118)Pg C under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 2.6 and 102 (27 to 199) Pg C under RCP 8.5, with substantially more to be released under each scenario by 2300. A subset of 25 model variants is projected 8000 years into the future under continued RCP 4.5 and 8.5 forcing. Under the high forcing scenario the permafrost carbon pool decays away over several thousand years. Under the moderate forcing scenario a remnant near-surface permafrost region persists in the High-Arctic, which develops a large permafrost carbon pool, leading to a global recovery of the pool beginning in mid third millennium of the common era. Overall our simulations suggest that the permafrost carbon cycle feedback to climate change will make a significant but not cataclysmic contribution to climate change over the next centuries and millennia.

Circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D and risk of pancreatic cancer: Cohort Consortium Vitamin D Pooling Project of Rarer Cancers.

PubMed

Stolzenberg-Solomon, Rachael Z; Jacobs, Eric J; Arslan, Alan A; Qi, Dai; Patel, Alpa V; Helzlsouer, Kathy J; Weinstein, Stephanie J; McCullough, Marjorie L; Purdue, Mark P; Shu, Xiao-Ou; Snyder, Kirk; Virtamo, Jarmo; Wilkins, Lynn R; Yu, Kai; Zeleniuch-Jacquotte, Anne; Zheng, Wei; Albanes, Demetrius; Cai, Qiuyin; Harvey, Chinonye; Hayes, Richard; Clipp, Sandra; Horst, Ronald L; Irish, Lonn; Koenig, Karen; Le Marchand, Loic; Kolonel, Laurence N

2010-07-01

Results from epidemiologic studies examining pancreatic cancer risk and vitamin D intake or 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations (the best indicator of vitamin D derived from diet and sun) have been inconsistent. Therefore, the authors conducted a pooled nested case-control study of participants from 8 cohorts within the Cohort Consortium Vitamin D Pooling Project of Rarer Cancers (VDPP) (1974-2006) to evaluate whether prediagnostic circulating 25(OH)D concentrations were associated with the development of pancreatic cancer. In total, 952 incident pancreatic adenocarcinoma cases occurred among participants (median follow-up, 6.5 years). Controls (n = 1,333) were matched to each case by cohort, age, sex, race/ethnicity, date of blood draw, and follow-up time. Conditional logistic regression analysis was used to calculate smoking-, body mass index-, and diabetes-adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for pancreatic cancer. Clinically relevant 25(OH)D cutpoints were compared with a referent category of 50-<75 nmol/L. No significant associations were observed for participants with lower 25(OH)D status. However, a high 25(OH)D concentration (> or =100 nmol/L) was associated with a statistically significant 2-fold increase in pancreatic cancer risk overall (odds ratio = 2.12, 95% confidence interval: 1.23, 3.64). Given this result, recommendations to increase vitamin D concentrations in healthy persons for the prevention of cancer should be carefully considered.

Metal fires and their implications for advanced reactors.

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

Nowlen, Steven Patrick; Figueroa, Victor G.; Olivier, Tara Jean

This report details the primary results of the Laboratory Directed Research and Development project (LDRD 08-0857) Metal Fires and Their Implications for Advance Reactors. Advanced reactors may employ liquid metal coolants, typically sodium, because of their many desirable qualities. This project addressed some of the significant challenges associated with the use of liquid metal coolants, primary among these being the extremely rapid oxidation (combustion) that occurs at the high operating temperatures in reactors. The project has identified a number of areas for which gaps existed in knowledge pertinent to reactor safety analyses. Experimental and analysis capabilities were developed in thesemore » areas to varying degrees. In conjunction with team participation in a DOE gap analysis panel, focus was on the oxidation of spilled sodium on thermally massive surfaces. These are spills onto surfaces that substantially cool the sodium during the oxidation process, and they are relevant because standard risk mitigation procedures seek to move spill environments into this regime through rapid draining of spilled sodium. While the spilled sodium is not quenched, the burning mode is different in that there is a transition to a smoldering mode that has not been comprehensively described previously. Prior work has described spilled sodium as a pool fire, but there is a crucial, experimentally-observed transition to a smoldering mode of oxidation. A series of experimental measurements have comprehensively described the thermal evolution of this type of sodium fire for the first time. A new physics-based model has been developed that also predicts the thermal evolution of this type of sodium fire for the first time. The model introduces smoldering oxidation through porous oxide layers to go beyond traditional pool fire analyses that have been carried out previously in order to predict experimentally observed trends. Combined, these developments add significantly to the safety analysis capabilities of the advanced-reactor community for directly relevant scenarios. Beyond the focus on the thermally-interacting and smoldering sodium pool fires, experimental and analysis capabilities for sodium spray fires have also been developed in this project.« less

QA program plan plutonium stabilization and handling project W-460

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

SCHULTZ, J.W.

This Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) identifies Project Quality Assurance (QA) program requirements for all parties participating in the design, procurement, demolition, construction, installation, inspection and testing for Project W-460.

Project NOAH: Regulating modern sea-level rise. Phase II: Jerusalem Underground

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newman, Walter S.; Fairbridge, Rhodes W.

This proposal builds a high-speed inter-urban express between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, generates 1500 megawatts of hydroelectric energy, curtails littoral erosion, builds a port along the Israeli Mediterranean coast and demands peaceful cooperation on both sides of the Jordan River. Phase II represents a pilot project demonstrating the feasibility of continuing to regulate world sea-level by a new series of water regulation schemes. Phase I previously described all those projects already completed or underway which have inadvertently and/or unintentionally served the purpose of sea-level regulation. These forms of Phase I sea-level regulation include large and small reservoirs, irrigation projects, water infiltration schemes, farm ponds, and swimming and reflecting pools. All these water storage projects have already exercised a very appreciable brake on 20th century sea-level rise. Phase II outlines a high-visibility proposal which will serve to illustrate the viability of “Project NOAH”.

Long-Term Stability of Inorganic, Methyl and Ethyl Mercury in Whole Blood: Effects of Storage Temperature and Time

PubMed Central

Sommer, Yuliya L.; Ward, Cynthia D.; Pan, Yi; Caldwell, Kathleen L.; Jones, Robert L.

2016-01-01

In this study, we evaluated the effect of temperature on the long-term stability of three mercury species in bovine blood. We used inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis to determine the concentrations of inorganic (iHg), methyl (MeHg) and ethyl (EtHg) mercury species in two blood pools stored at temperatures of −70, −20, 4, 23°C (room temperature) and 37°C. Over the course of a year, we analyzed aliquots of pooled specimens at time intervals of 1, 2, 4 and 6 weeks and 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months. We applied a fixed-effects linear model, step-down pairwise comparison and coefficient of variation statistical analysis to examine the temperature and time effects on changes in mercury species concentrations. We observed several instances of statistically significant differences in mercury species concentrations between different temperatures and time points; however, with considerations of experimental factors (such as instrumental drift and sample preparation procedures), not all differences were scientifically important. We concluded that iHg, MeHg and EtHg species in bovine whole blood were stable at −70, −20, 4 and 23°C for 1 year, but blood samples stored at 37°C were stable for no more than 2 weeks. PMID:26912563

Cooperative institutions for sustainable common pool resource management: Application to groundwater

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madani, Kaveh; Dinar, Ariel

2012-09-01

Beneficiaries of common pool resources (CPRs) may select available noncooperative and regulatory exogenous institutions for managing the resource, as well as cooperative management institutions. All these institutions may increase the long-term gains, prolong the life of the resource, and help to escape the tragedy of the commons trap. Cooperative game theory approaches can serve as the backbone of cooperative CPR management institutions. This paper formulates and applies several commonly used cooperative game theoretic solution concepts, namely, the core, Nash-Harsanyi, Shapley, and nucleolus. Through a numerical groundwater example, we show how CPR users can share the gains obtained from cooperation in a fair and efficient manner based on these cooperative solution concepts (management institutions). Although, based on their fairness rationales, various cooperative management institutions may suggest different allocations that are potentially acceptable to the users, these allocation solutions may not be stable as some users may find them unfair. This paper discusses how different methods, such as application of the plurality rule and power index, stability index, and propensity to disrupt concepts, can help identify the most stable and likely solutions for enforcing cooperation among the CPR beneficiaries. Furthermore, how the noncooperative managerial characteristics of the CPR users can affect the stability and acceptability of the different cooperative CPR management institutions is discussed, providing valuable policy insights for cooperative CPR management at community levels.

Development of a Self-Report Physical Function Instrument for Disability Assessment: Item Pool Construction and Factor Analysis

PubMed Central

McDonough, Christine M.; Jette, Alan M.; Ni, Pengsheng; Bogusz, Kara; Marfeo, Elizabeth E; Brandt, Diane E; Chan, Leighton; Meterko, Mark; Haley, Stephen M.; Rasch, Elizabeth K.

2014-01-01

Objectives To build a comprehensive item pool representing work-relevant physical functioning and to test the factor structure of the item pool. These developmental steps represent initial outcomes of a broader project to develop instruments for the assessment of function within the context of Social Security Administration (SSA) disability programs. Design Comprehensive literature review; gap analysis; item generation with expert panel input; stakeholder interviews; cognitive interviews; cross-sectional survey administration; and exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to assess item pool structure. Setting In-person and semi-structured interviews; internet and telephone surveys. Participants A sample of 1,017 SSA claimants, and a normative sample of 999 adults from the US general population. Interventions Not Applicable. Main Outcome Measure Model fit statistics Results The final item pool consisted of 139 items. Within the claimant sample 58.7% were white; 31.8% were black; 46.6% were female; and the mean age was 49.7 years. Initial factor analyses revealed a 4-factor solution which included more items and allowed separate characterization of: 1) Changing and Maintaining Body Position, 2) Whole Body Mobility, 3) Upper Body Function and 4) Upper Extremity Fine Motor. The final 4-factor model included 91 items. Confirmatory factor analyses for the 4-factor models for the claimant and the normative samples demonstrated very good fit. Fit statistics for claimant and normative samples respectively were: Comparative Fit Index = 0.93 and 0.98; Tucker-Lewis Index = 0.92 and 0.98; Root Mean Square Error Approximation = 0.05 and 0.04. Conclusions The factor structure of the Physical Function item pool closely resembled the hypothesized content model. The four scales relevant to work activities offer promise for providing reliable information about claimant physical functioning relevant to work disability. PMID:23542402

Development of a self-report physical function instrument for disability assessment: item pool construction and factor analysis.

PubMed

McDonough, Christine M; Jette, Alan M; Ni, Pengsheng; Bogusz, Kara; Marfeo, Elizabeth E; Brandt, Diane E; Chan, Leighton; Meterko, Mark; Haley, Stephen M; Rasch, Elizabeth K

2013-09-01

To build a comprehensive item pool representing work-relevant physical functioning and to test the factor structure of the item pool. These developmental steps represent initial outcomes of a broader project to develop instruments for the assessment of function within the context of Social Security Administration (SSA) disability programs. Comprehensive literature review; gap analysis; item generation with expert panel input; stakeholder interviews; cognitive interviews; cross-sectional survey administration; and exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to assess item pool structure. In-person and semistructured interviews and Internet and telephone surveys. Sample of SSA claimants (n=1017) and a normative sample of adults from the U.S. general population (n=999). Not applicable. Model fit statistics. The final item pool consisted of 139 items. Within the claimant sample, 58.7% were white; 31.8% were black; 46.6% were women; and the mean age was 49.7 years. Initial factor analyses revealed a 4-factor solution, which included more items and allowed separate characterization of: (1) changing and maintaining body position, (2) whole body mobility, (3) upper body function, and (4) upper extremity fine motor. The final 4-factor model included 91 items. Confirmatory factor analyses for the 4-factor models for the claimant and the normative samples demonstrated very good fit. Fit statistics for claimant and normative samples, respectively, were: Comparative Fit Index=.93 and .98; Tucker-Lewis Index=.92 and .98; and root mean square error approximation=.05 and .04. The factor structure of the physical function item pool closely resembled the hypothesized content model. The 4 scales relevant to work activities offer promise for providing reliable information about claimant physical functioning relevant to work disability. Copyright © 2013 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Towards the Rational Design of Nanoparticle Catalysts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dash, Priyabrat

This research is focused on development of routes towards the rational design of nanoparticle catalysts. Primarily, it is focused on two main projects; (1) the use of imidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) as greener media for the design of quasi-homogeneous nanoparticle catalysts and (2) the rational design of heterogeneous-supported nanoparticle catalysts from structured nanoparticle precursors. Each project has different studies associated with the main objective of the design of nanoparticle catalysts. In the first project, imidazolium-based ionic liquids have been used for the synthesis of nanoparticle catalysts. In particular, studies on recyclability, reuse, mode-of-stability, and long-term stability of these ionic-liquid supported nanoparticle catalysts have been done; all of which are important factors in determining the overall "greenness" of such synthetic routes. Three papers have been published/submitted for this project. In the first publication, highly stable polymer-stabilized Au, Pd and bimetallic Au-Pd nanoparticle catalysts have been synthesized in imidazolium-based 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM]PF6) ionic liquid (Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical, 2008, 286, 114). The resulting nanoparticles were found to be effective and selective quasi-homogeneous catalysts towards a wide-range of hydrogenation reactions and the catalyst solution was reused for further catalytic reactions with minimal loss in activity. The synthesis of very pure and clean ILs has allowed a platform to study the effects of impurities in the imidazolium ILs on nanoparticle stability. In a later study, a new mode of stabilization was postulated where the presence of low amounts of 1-methylimidazole has substantial effects on the resulting stability of Au and Pd-Au nanoparticles in these ILs (Chemical Communications, 2009, 812). In further continuation of this study, a comparative study involving four stabilization protocols for nanoparticle stabilization in BMIMPF6 IL is described, and have shown that nanoparticle stability and catalytic activity of nanoparticles is dependent on the overall stability of the nanoparticles towards aggregation (manuscript submitted). The second major project is focused on synthesizing structurally well-defined supported catalysts by incorporating the nanoparticle precursors (both alloy and core shell) into oxide frameworks (TiO2 and Al2O 3), and examining their structure-property relationships and catalytic activity. a full article has been published on this project (Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2009, 113, 12719) in which a route to rationally design supported catalysts from structured nanoparticle precursors with precise control over size, composition, and internal structure of the nanoparticles has been shown. In a continuation of this methodology for the synthesis of heterogeneous catalysts, efforts were carried out to apply the same methodology in imidazolium-based ILs as a one-pot media for the synthesis of supported-nanoparticle heterogeneous catalysts via the trapping of pre-synthesized nanoparticles into porous inorganic oxide materials. Nanoparticle catalysts in highly porous titania supports were synthesized using this methodology (manuscript to be submitted).

Representation of Dissolved Organic Carbon in the JULES Dynamic Global Vegetation Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakhavali, Mahdi; Friedlingstein, Pierre; Guenet, Bertrand; Ciais, Philip

2017-04-01

Current global models of the carbon cycle consider only vertical gas exchanges between terrestrial or oceanic reservoirs and the atmosphere, hence not considering lateral transport of carbon from the continent to the oceans. This also means that such models implicitly consider that all the CO2 which is not respired to the atmosphere is stored on land, hence overestimating the land sink of carbon. Moving toward a boundless carbon cycle that is integrating the whole continuum from land to ocean to atmosphere is needed in order to better understand Earth's carbon cycle and to make more reliable projection of its future. Here we present an original representation of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) processes in the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES). The standard version of JULES represent energy, water and carbon cycles and exchanges with the atmosphere, but only account for water run-off, not including export of carbon from terrestrial ecosystems to the aquatic environments. The aim of the project is to include in JULES a representation of DOC production in terrestrial soils, due to incomplete decomposition of organic matter, its decomposition to the atmosphere, and its export to the river network by leaching. In new developed version of JULES (JULES-DOCM), DOC pools, based on their decomposition rate, are classified into labile and recalcitrant within 3 meters of soil. Based on turnover rate, DOC coming from plant material pools and microbial biomass is directed to labile pool, while DOC from humus is directed to recalcitrant pool. Both of these pools have free (dissolved) and locked (adsorbed) form where just the free pool is subjected to decomposition and leaching. DOC production and decomposition are controlled by rate modifiers (moisture, temperature, vegetation fraction and decomposition rate) at each soil layer. Decomposed DOC is released to the atmosphere following a fixed carbon use efficiency. Leaching accounts for both surface (runoff) and subsurface (groundwater) components and is parameterized as Top soil leaching (from top 20cm) and Bottom soil leaching (down to 3 meters) depending on DOC concentration and runoff leaving that layer. The model parameters are calibrated against specific sites (Brasschaat, Hainich and Carlow) for which observations of DOC concentration and leaching are available. Tuning is performed optimizing parameters such as DOC labile and recalcitrant resident time, DOC vertical distribution and CUE. Once this calibration has been performed at the site level, the model is used for global simulations with the major historical forcing (climate, atmospheric CO2 and land-use changes) in order to estimate the changes of DOC export and their attribution to anthropogenic activities.

Key Educational Factors in the Education of Students with a Medical Condition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Capurso, Michele; Dennis, John L.

2017-01-01

The education of children with a medical condition represents a unique educational context. The key educational factors that can help these children continue their education despite the burdens associated with their illness were discussed and analysed by a pool of experts for an EU funded project. In this context, "relationships,"…

Evaluating Action-Learning and Professional Networking as a Framework for Educational Leadership Capacity Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gunn, Cathy; Lefoe, Geraldine

2013-01-01

This article describes the responsive evaluation component of an educational leadership capacity-building initiative developed at one Australian university and implemented by three others. The project aimed to develop, implement and disseminate an innovative framework to address the national strategic goal to increase the pool of qualified…

Teachers Reflect on Homophobia in the Cypriot Education System: A Qualitative Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shoshilou, Panayiota A.; Vasiliou, Elena

2016-01-01

A review of the academic and lay literature concerning Cyprus reveals that homophobia is prevalent throughout society. This research aimed to investigate homophobia through the narratives of educators. Twenty-three teachers were randomly selected out of the pool of volunteers in a training project. Aspects of homophobia previously reported in…

Qualitative Phenomenological Study of Data Management Information System Deployments: Financial Services Industry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kerns, Dannie J.

2014-01-01

The qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of financial services industry change managers to understand the genesis of low data management information system project adoption rates. The goal of the study was to find methods to improve data management information system adoption rates. The participant pool consisted of 19…

Demographic Trends and Projections Affecting Higher Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zuniga, Robin Etter

1997-01-01

A dramatic increase in the pool of college-age students in the next 20 years is inevitable, but this will not necessarily lead to dramatic increases in higher education enrollment. Enrollment forecasters must ask how economic growth, tuition increases, or an increase in standardized test requirements will affect demand and be clear about…

To Close Middle-Skills Gap, Improve Community College Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salomon-Fernandez, Yves

2014-01-01

For southern New England, the middle-skills gap is projected to become acute by 2020, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Historically and currently, the middle-skills labor pool in Massachusetts has been significantly below national rates and has been recently experiencing a decline. Closing the middle-skills gap depends on improving…

78 FR 8504 - Combined Notice of Filings #1

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-06

...; ER10-2488-006 Applicants: Avenal Park LLC, Sand Drag LLC, Sun City Project LLC, Eurus Combine Hills I... Power Pool, Inc. Description: Revisions to Attachment X, Article 3 and Appendix E to be effective 3/30... New England Inc. and The City of Holyoke Gas and Electric Department submit a Notice of Cancellation...

Vocational-Technical Physics Project. Instructor's Manual. Field Test Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forsyth Technical Inst., Winston-Salem, NC.

This instructor's manual in vocational physics consists of five modules: Jacks, Thermometers, The Alternator, The Pool Table, and The Radiator. It is an individualized approach, designed for use with accompanying student manuals on each of the individual modules. Each module in the instructor's manual consists of a general description plus an…

Significance of Input Correlations in Striatal Function

PubMed Central

Yim, Man Yi; Aertsen, Ad; Kumar, Arvind

2011-01-01

The striatum is the main input station of the basal ganglia and is strongly associated with motor and cognitive functions. Anatomical evidence suggests that individual striatal neurons are unlikely to share their inputs from the cortex. Using a biologically realistic large-scale network model of striatum and cortico-striatal projections, we provide a functional interpretation of the special anatomical structure of these projections. Specifically, we show that weak pairwise correlation within the pool of inputs to individual striatal neurons enhances the saliency of signal representation in the striatum. By contrast, correlations among the input pools of different striatal neurons render the signal representation less distinct from background activity. We suggest that for the network architecture of the striatum, there is a preferred cortico-striatal input configuration for optimal signal representation. It is further enhanced by the low-rate asynchronous background activity in striatum, supported by the balance between feedforward and feedback inhibitions in the striatal network. Thus, an appropriate combination of rates and correlations in the striatal input sets the stage for action selection presumably implemented in the basal ganglia. PMID:22125480

Disinfection by-products and microbial contamination in the treatment of pool water with granular activated carbon.

PubMed

Uhl, W; Hartmann, C

2005-01-01

For swimming pools, it is generally agreed that free chlorine levels have to be maintained to guarantee adequate disinfection. Recommended free chlorine levels can vary between 0.3 and 0.6 mg/L in Germany and up to 3 mg/L in other countries. Bathers introduce considerable amounts of organic matter, mainly in the form of such as urine and sweat, into the pool water. As a consequence, disinfection byproducts (DBPs) are formed. Regulations in Germany recommend levels of combined chlorine of less than 0.2 mg/L and levels of trihalomethanes (THMs) of less than 20 microg/L. Haloacetic acids (HAAs), haloacetonitriles (HANs), chloropicrin and chloral hydrate are also detected in considerable amounts. However, these compounds are not regulated yet. Swimming pool staff and swimmers, especially athletes, are primarily exposed to these byproducts by inhalation and/or dermal uptake. In Germany, new regulations for swimming pool water treatment generally require the use of activated carbon. In this project, three different types of granular activated carbon (GAC) (one standard GAC, two catalytic GACs) are compared for their long time behaviour in pool water treatment. In a pilot plant operated with real swimming pool water, production and removal of disinfection byproducts (THMs, HAAs, AOXs), of biodegradable substances (AOC), of bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Legionella, coliforms, HPC) as well as the removal of chlorine and chloramines are monitored as function of GAC bed depth. Combined chlorine penetrates deeper in the filter bed than free chlorine does. However, both, free and combined chlorine removal efficiencies decrease over the time of filter operation. The decreases of removal efficiencies are also observed for parameters such as dissolved organic carbon, spectral absorption coefficient, adsorbable organic carbon and most of the disinfection byproducts. However, THMs, especially chloroform are produced in the filter bed. The GAC beds were contaminated microbially, especially with P. aeruginosa. The contamination was not removable by backwashing with chlorine concentrations up to 2 mg/l free chlorine.

Imputing forest carbon stock estimates from inventory plots to a nationally continuous coverage

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

The U.S. has been providing national-scale estimates of forest carbon (C) stocks and stock change to meet United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reporting requirements for years. Although these currently are provided as national estimates by pool and year to meet greenhouse gas monitoring requirements, there is growing need to disaggregate these estimates to finer scales to enable strategic forest management and monitoring activities focused on various ecosystem services such as C storage enhancement. Through application of a nearest-neighbor imputation approach, spatially extant estimates of forest C density were developed for the conterminous U.S. using the U.S.’s annual forest inventory. Results suggest that an existing forest inventory plot imputation approach can be readily modified to provide raster maps of C density across a range of pools (e.g., live tree to soil organic carbon) and spatial scales (e.g., sub-county to biome). Comparisons among imputed maps indicate strong regional differences across C pools. The C density of pools closely related to detrital input (e.g., dead wood) is often highest in forests suffering from recent mortality events such as those in the northern Rocky Mountains (e.g., beetle infestations). In contrast, live tree carbon density is often highest on the highest quality forest sites such as those found in the Pacific Northwest. Validation results suggest strong agreement between the estimates produced from the forest inventory plots and those from the imputed maps, particularly when the C pool is closely associated with the imputation model (e.g., aboveground live biomass and live tree basal area), with weaker agreement for detrital pools (e.g., standing dead trees). Forest inventory imputed plot maps provide an efficient and flexible approach to monitoring diverse C pools at national (e.g., UNFCCC) and regional scales (e.g., Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation projects) while allowing timely incorporation of empirical data (e.g., annual forest inventory). PMID:23305341

Empowering patients through eHealth: a case report of a pan-European project.

PubMed

Lettieri, Emanuele; Fumagalli, Lia P; Radaelli, Giovanni; Bertele', Paolo; Vogt, Jess; Hammerschmidt, Reinhard; Lara, Juan L; Carriazo, Ana; Masella, Cristina

2015-08-05

This paper crystallises the experience developed by the pan-European PALANTE Consortium in dealing with the generation of relevant evidence from heterogeneous eHealth services for patient empowerment in nine European Regions. The European Commission (EC) recently funded a number of pan-European eHealth projects aimed at empowering European patients/citizens thus transforming the traditional patient/citizen role in the management of their health (e.g., PALANTE, SUSTAIN, CARRE, HeartCycle, Empower). However, the heterogeneity of the healthcare systems, of the implemented services and of the target patients, the use of ad-hoc definitions of the salient concepts and the development of small-size experiences have prevented the dissemination of "global" results and the development of cumulative knowledge. The main challenge has been the generation of large-scale evidence from heterogeneous small-size experiences. Three lessons have been collectively learnt during the development of the PALANTE project, which involves 9 sites that have implemented different eHealth services for empowering different typologies of patients. These lessons have been refined progressively through project meetings, reviews with the EC Project Officer and Reviewers. The paper illustrates the ten steps followed to develop the three lessons. The first lesson learnt is about how EC-funded projects should develop cumulative knowledge by avoiding self-crafted measures of outcome and by adopting literature-grounded definitions and scales. The second lesson learnt is about how EC-funded projects should identify ambitious, cross-pilot policy and research questions that allow pooling of data from across heterogeneous experiences even if a multi-centre study design was not agreed before. The third lesson learnt is about how EC-funded projects should open their collections of data and make them freely-accessible to the scientific community shortly after the conclusion of the project in order to guarantee the replicability of results and conclusions. The three lessons might provide original elements for fuelling the ongoing debate about the capability of the EC to develop evidence-based policies by pooling evidence from heterogeneous, local experiences.

Morphological instabilities of rapidly solidified binary alloys under weak flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kowal, Katarzyna; Davis, Stephen

2017-11-01

Additive manufacturing, or three-dimensional printing, offers promising advantages over existing manufacturing techniques. However, it is still subject to a range of undesirable effects. One of these involves the onset of flow resulting from sharp thermal gradients within the laser melt pool, affecting the morphological stability of the solidified alloys. We examine the linear stability of the interface of a rapidly solidifying binary alloy under weak boundary-layer flow by performing an asymptotic analysis for a singular perturbation problem that arises as a result of departures from the equilibrium phase diagram. Under no flow, the problem involves cellular and pulsatile instabilities, stabilised by surface tension and attachment kinetics. We find that travelling waves appear as a result of flow and we map out the effect of flow on two absolute stability boundaries as well as on the cells and solute bands that have been observed in experiments under no flow. This work is supported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology [Grant Number 70NANB14H012].

Changes in Landscape-level Carbon Balance of an Arctic Coastal Plain Tundra Ecosystem Between 1970-2100, in Response to Projected Climate Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lara, M. J.; McGuire, A. D.; Euskirchen, E. S.; Genet, H.; Sloan, V. L.; Iversen, C. M.; Norby, R. J.; Zhang, Y.; Yuan, F.

2014-12-01

Northern permafrost regions are estimated to cover 16% of the global soil area and account for approximately 50% of the global belowground organic carbon pool. However, there are considerable uncertainties regarding the fate of this soil carbon pool with projected climate warming over the next century. In northern Alaska, nearly 65% of the terrestrial surface is composed of polygonal tundra, where geomorphic land cover types such as high-, flat-, and low-center polygons influence local surface hydrology, plant community composition, nutrient and biogeochemical cycling, over small spatial scales. Due to the lack of representation of these fine-scale geomorphic types and ecosystem processes, in large-scale terrestrial ecosystem models, future uncertainties are large for this tundra region. In this study, we use a new version of the terrestrial ecosystem model (TEM), that couples a dynamic vegetation model (in which plant functional types compete for water, nitrogen, and light) with a dynamic soil organic model (in which temperature, moisture, and associated organic/inorganic carbon and nitrogen pools/fluxes vary together in vertically resolved layers) to simulate ecosystem carbon balance. We parameterized and calibrated this model using data specific to the local climate, vegetation, and soil associated with tundra geomorphic types. We extrapolate model results at a 1km2 resolution across the ~1800 km2 Barrow Peninsula using a tundra geomorphology map, describing ten dominant geomorphic tundra types (Lara et al. submitted), to estimate the likely change in landscape-level carbon balance between 1970 and 2100 in response to projected climate change. Preliminary model runs for this region indicated temporal variability in carbon and active layer dynamics, specific to tundra geomorphic type over time. Overall, results suggest that it is important to consider small-scale discrete polygonal tundra geomorphic types that control local structure and function in regional estimates of carbon balance in northern Alaska.

Anhydrobiotic insect Polypedilum vanderplanki: molecular mechanisms of DNA and protein protection against extreme environments.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gusev, Oleg; Nakahara, Yuichi; Kikawada, Takahiro; Levinskikh, Margarita; Sychev, Vladimir; Okuda, Takashi

Some organisms showing no sign of living due to complete desiccation are nevertheless able to resume active life after rehydration. This peculiar biological state is referred to as "anhydrobiosis". Larvae of the sleeping chironomid, P. vanderplanki living in temporary pools in semi-arid areas on the African continent become completely desiccated upon drought, but can revive after water becomes available upon the next rain. The dried larvae can stand other extreme conditions, such as exposure to 100˚C, -270˚C, 100We have adopted several methods to evaluated DNA damage in cells of P. vanderplanki and cloned and analyzed expression of the main agent of genetic stress response showing that the larvae possess highly developed anti-stress genetic system, involving anti-oxidative stress genes, hsp and DNA reparation enzymes acting together to provide stability of proteins and DNA in the absence of water. From 2005, dried larvae were included in a number of research programs, including exposition to space environments onboard ISS and long-term exposure to outer space environment outside of ISS ("Expose-R" and"Biorisk" projects) and now are being considered for including into the Phobos-Grunt mission as a testing organism to analyze capability of resting stages of multicellular organism to interplanetary flights.

SIERRA Low Mach Module: Fuego User Manual Version 4.46.

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

Sierra Thermal/Fluid Team

2017-09-01

The SIERRA Low Mach Module: Fuego along with the SIERRA Participating Media Radiation Module: Syrinx, henceforth referred to as Fuego and Syrinx, respectively, are the key elements of the ASCI fire environment simulation project. The fire environment simulation project is directed at characterizing both open large-scale pool fires and building enclosure fires. Fuego represents the turbulent, buoyantly-driven incompressible flow, heat transfer, mass transfer, combustion, soot, and absorption coefficient model portion of the simulation software. Syrinx represents the participating-media thermal radiation mechanics. This project is an integral part of the SIERRA multi-mechanics software development project. Fuego depends heavily upon the coremore » architecture developments provided by SIERRA for massively parallel computing, solution adaptivity, and mechanics coupling on unstructured grids.« less

SIERRA Low Mach Module: Fuego Theory Manual Version 4.44

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

Sierra Thermal /Fluid Team

2017-04-01

The SIERRA Low Mach Module: Fuego along with the SIERRA Participating Media Radiation Module: Syrinx, henceforth referred to as Fuego and Syrinx, respectively, are the key elements of the ASCI fire environment simulation project. The fire environment simulation project is directed at characterizing both open large-scale pool fires and building enclosure fires. Fuego represents the turbulent, buoyantly-driven incompressible flow, heat transfer, mass transfer, combustion, soot, and absorption coefficient model portion of the simulation software. Syrinx represents the participating-media thermal radiation mechanics. This project is an integral part of the SIERRA multi-mechanics software development project. Fuego depends heavily upon the coremore » architecture developments provided by SIERRA for massively parallel computing, solution adaptivity, and mechanics coupling on unstructured grids.« less

SIERRA Low Mach Module: Fuego Theory Manual Version 4.46.

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

Sierra Thermal/Fluid Team

The SIERRA Low Mach Module: Fuego along with the SIERRA Participating Media Radiation Module: Syrinx, henceforth referred to as Fuego and Syrinx, respectively, are the key elements of the ASCI fire environment simulation project. The fire environment simulation project is directed at characterizing both open large-scale pool fires and building enclosure fires. Fuego represents the turbulent, buoyantly-driven incompressible flow, heat transfer, mass transfer, combustion, soot, and absorption coefficient model portion of the simulation software. Syrinx represents the participating-media thermal radiation mechanics. This project is an integral part of the SIERRA multi-mechanics software development project. Fuego depends heavily upon the coremore » architecture developments provided by SIERRA for massively parallel computing, solution adaptivity, and mechanics coupling on unstructured grids.« less

Ice-free Arctic projections under the Paris Agreement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sigmond, Michael; Fyfe, John C.; Swart, Neil C.

2018-05-01

Under the Paris Agreement, emissions scenarios are pursued that would stabilize the global mean temperature at 1.5-2.0 °C above pre-industrial levels, but current emission reduction policies are expected to limit warming by 2100 to approximately 3.0 °C. Whether such emissions scenarios would prevent a summer sea-ice-free Arctic is unknown. Here we employ stabilized warming simulations with an Earth System Model to obtain sea-ice projections under stabilized global warming, and correct biases in mean sea-ice coverage by constraining with observations. Although there is some sensitivity to details in the constraining method, the observationally constrained projections suggest that the benefits of going from 2.0 °C to 1.5 °C stabilized warming are substantial; an eightfold decrease in the frequency of ice-free conditions is expected, from once in every five to once in every forty years. Under 3.0 °C global mean warming, however, permanent summer ice-free conditions are likely, which emphasizes the need for nations to increase their commitments to the Paris Agreement.

Direct evidence that density-dependent regulation underpins the temporal stability of abundant species in a diverse animal community

PubMed Central

Henderson, Peter A.; Magurran, Anne E.

2014-01-01

To understand how ecosystems are structured and stabilized, and to identify when communities are at risk of damage or collapse, we need to know how the abundances of the taxa in the entire assemblage vary over ecologically meaningful timescales. Here, we present an analysis of species temporal variability within a single large vertebrate community. Using an exceptionally complete 33-year monthly time series following the dynamics of 81 species of fishes, we show that the most abundant species are least variable in terms of temporal biomass, because they are under density-dependent (negative feedback) regulation. At the other extreme, a relatively large number of low abundance transient species exhibit the greatest population variability. The high stability of the consistently common high abundance species—a result of density-dependence—is reflected in the observation that they consistently represent over 98% of total fish biomass. This leads to steady ecosystem nutrient and energy flux irrespective of the changes in species number and abundance among the large number of low abundance transient species. While the density-dependence of the core species ensures stability under the existing environmental regime, the pool of transient species may support long-term stability by replacing core species should environmental conditions change. PMID:25100702

Solidification/Stabilization Use at Superfund Sites

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

To provide interested stakeholders such as project managers, technology service providers, consulting engineers, site owners, and the general public with the most recent information about solidification/stabilization applications at Superfund sites...

Holding multiple items in short term memory: a neural mechanism.

PubMed

Rolls, Edmund T; Dempere-Marco, Laura; Deco, Gustavo

2013-01-01

Human short term memory has a capacity of several items maintained simultaneously. We show how the number of short term memory representations that an attractor network modeling a cortical local network can simultaneously maintain active is increased by using synaptic facilitation of the type found in the prefrontal cortex. We have been able to maintain 9 short term memories active simultaneously in integrate-and-fire simulations where the proportion of neurons in each population, the sparseness, is 0.1, and have confirmed the stability of such a system with mean field analyses. Without synaptic facilitation the system can maintain many fewer memories active in the same network. The system operates because of the effectively increased synaptic strengths formed by the synaptic facilitation just for those pools to which the cue is applied, and then maintenance of this synaptic facilitation in just those pools when the cue is removed by the continuing neuronal firing in those pools. The findings have implications for understanding how several items can be maintained simultaneously in short term memory, how this may be relevant to the implementation of language in the brain, and suggest new approaches to understanding and treating the decline in short term memory that can occur with normal aging.

Assessment of metabolic phenotypic variability in children’s urine using 1H NMR spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maitre, Léa; Lau, Chung-Ho E.; Vizcaino, Esther; Robinson, Oliver; Casas, Maribel; Siskos, Alexandros P.; Want, Elizabeth J.; Athersuch, Toby; Slama, Remy; Vrijheid, Martine; Keun, Hector C.; Coen, Muireann

2017-04-01

The application of metabolic phenotyping in clinical and epidemiological studies is limited by a poor understanding of inter-individual, intra-individual and temporal variability in metabolic phenotypes. Using 1H NMR spectroscopy we characterised short-term variability in urinary metabolites measured from 20 children aged 8-9 years old. Daily spot morning, night-time and pooled (50:50 morning and night-time) urine samples across six days (18 samples per child) were analysed, and 44 metabolites quantified. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and mixed effect models were applied to assess the reproducibility and biological variance of metabolic phenotypes. Excellent analytical reproducibility and precision was demonstrated for the 1H NMR spectroscopic platform (median CV 7.2%). Pooled samples captured the best inter-individual variability with an ICC of 0.40 (median). Trimethylamine, N-acetyl neuraminic acid, 3-hydroxyisobutyrate, 3-hydroxybutyrate/3-aminoisobutyrate, tyrosine, valine and 3-hydroxyisovalerate exhibited the highest stability with over 50% of variance specific to the child. The pooled sample was shown to capture the most inter-individual variance in the metabolic phenotype, which is of importance for molecular epidemiology study design. A substantial proportion of the variation in the urinary metabolome of children is specific to the individual, underlining the potential of such data to inform clinical and exposome studies conducted early in life.

Holding Multiple Items in Short Term Memory: A Neural Mechanism

PubMed Central

Rolls, Edmund T.; Dempere-Marco, Laura; Deco, Gustavo

2013-01-01

Human short term memory has a capacity of several items maintained simultaneously. We show how the number of short term memory representations that an attractor network modeling a cortical local network can simultaneously maintain active is increased by using synaptic facilitation of the type found in the prefrontal cortex. We have been able to maintain 9 short term memories active simultaneously in integrate-and-fire simulations where the proportion of neurons in each population, the sparseness, is 0.1, and have confirmed the stability of such a system with mean field analyses. Without synaptic facilitation the system can maintain many fewer memories active in the same network. The system operates because of the effectively increased synaptic strengths formed by the synaptic facilitation just for those pools to which the cue is applied, and then maintenance of this synaptic facilitation in just those pools when the cue is removed by the continuing neuronal firing in those pools. The findings have implications for understanding how several items can be maintained simultaneously in short term memory, how this may be relevant to the implementation of language in the brain, and suggest new approaches to understanding and treating the decline in short term memory that can occur with normal aging. PMID:23613789

Biodiversity promotes primary productivity and growing season lengthening at the landscape scale

PubMed Central

Niklaus, Pascal A.

2017-01-01

Experiments have shown positive biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) relationships in small plots with model communities established from species pools typically comprising few dozen species. Whether patterns found can be extrapolated to complex, nonexperimental, real-world landscapes that provide ecosystem services to humans remains unclear. Here, we combine species inventories from a large-scale network of 447 1-km2 plots with remotely sensed indices of primary productivity (years 2000–2015). We show that landscape-scale productivity and its temporal stability increase with the diversity of plants and other taxa. Effects of biodiversity indicators on productivity were comparable in size to effects of other important drivers related to climate, topography, and land cover. These effects occurred in plots that integrated different ecosystem types (i.e., metaecosystems) and were consistent over vast environmental and altitudinal gradients. The BEF relations we report are as strong or even exceed the ones found in small-scale experiments, despite different community assembly processes and a species pool comprising nearly 2,000 vascular plant species. Growing season length increased progressively over the observation period, and this shift was accelerated in more diverse plots, suggesting that a large species pool is important for adaption to climate change. Our study further implies that abiotic global-change drivers may mediate ecosystem functioning through biodiversity changes. PMID:28874547

Status analysis of keyhole bottom in laser-MAG hybrid welding process.

PubMed

Wang, Lin; Gao, Xiangdong; Chen, Ziqin

2018-01-08

The keyhole status is a determining factor of weld quality in laser-metal active gas arc (MAG) hybrid welding process. For a better evaluation of the hybrid welding process, three different penetration welding experiments: partial penetration, normal penetration (or full penetration), and excessive penetration were conducted in this work. The instantaneous visual phenomena including metallic vapor, spatters and keyhole of bottom surface were used to evaluate the keyhole status by a double high-speed camera system. The Fourier transform was applied on the bottom weld pool image for removing the image noise around the keyhole, and then the bottom weld pool image was reconstructed through the inverse Fourier transform. Lastly, the keyhole bottom was extracted from the de-noised bottom weld pool image. By analyzing the visual features of the laser-MAG hybrid welding process, mechanism of the closed and opened keyhole bottom were revealed. The results show that the stable opened or closed status of keyhole bottom is directly affected by the MAG droplet transition in the normal penetration welding process, and the unstable opened or closed status of keyhole bottom would appear in excessive penetration welding and partial penetration welding. The analysis method proposed in this paper could be used to monitor the keyhole stability in laser-MAG hybrid welding process.

Ultrasensitive bioluminescent determinations of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) for investigating the energetics of host-grown microbes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hanks, J. H.; Dhople, A. M.

1975-01-01

Stability and optimal concentrations of reagents were studied in bioluminescence assay of ATP levels. Luciferase enzyme was prepared and purified using Sephadex G-100. Interdependencies between enzyme and luciferin concentrations in presence of optimal Mg are illustrated. Optimal ionic strength was confirmed to be 0.05 M for the four buffers tested. Adapted features of the R- and H-systems are summarized, as well as the percentages of ATP pools released from representative microbes by heat and chloroform.

Induced polarization for characterizing and monitoring soil stabilization processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saneiyan, S.; Ntarlagiannis, D.; Werkema, D. D., Jr.

2017-12-01

Soil stabilization is critical in addressing engineering problems related to building foundation support, road construction and soil erosion among others. To increase soil strength, the stiffness of the soil is enhanced through injection/precipitation of a chemical agents or minerals. Methods such as cement injection and microbial induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) are commonly applied. Verification of a successful soil stabilization project is often challenging as treatment areas are spatially extensive and invasive sampling is expensive, time consuming and limited to sporadic points at discrete times. The geophysical method, complex conductivity (CC), is sensitive to mineral surface properties, hence a promising method to monitor soil stabilization projects. Previous laboratory work has established the sensitivity of CC on MICP processes. We performed a MICP soil stabilization projects and collected CC data for the duration of the treatment (15 days). Subsurface images show small, but very clear changes, in the area of MICP treatment; the changes observed fully agree with the bio-geochemical monitoring, and previous laboratory experiments. Our results strongly suggest that CC is sensitive to field MICP treatments. Finally, our results show that good quality data alone are not adequate for the correct interpretation of field CC data, at least when the signals are low. Informed data processing routines and the inverse modeling parameters are required to produce optimal results.

VERSATILE, HIGH-RESOLUTION ANTEROGRADE LABELING OF VAGAL EFFERENT PROJECTIONS WITH DEXTRAN AMINES

PubMed Central

Walter, Gary C.; Phillips, Robert J.; Baronowsky, Elizabeth A.; Powley, Terry L.

2009-01-01

None of the anterograde tracers used to label and investigate vagal preganglionic neurons projecting to the viscera has proved optimal for routine and extensive labeling of autonomic terminal fields. To identify an alternative tracer protocol, the present experiment evaluated whether dextran conjugates, which have produced superior results in the CNS, might yield widespread and effective labeling of long, fine-caliber vagal efferents in the peripheral nervous system. The dextran conjugates that were evaluated proved reliable and versatile for labeling the motor neuron pool in its entirety, for single- and multiple-labeling protocols, for both conventional and confocal fluorescence microscopy, and for permanent labeling protocols for brightfield microscopy of the projections to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Using a standard ABC kit followed by visualization with DAB as the chromagen, Golgi-like labeling of the vagal efferent terminal fields in the GI wall was achieved with the biotinylated dextrans. The definition of individual terminal varicosities was so sharp and detailed that it was routinely practical to examine the relationship of putative vagal efferent contacts (by the criteria of high magnification light microscopy) with the dendritic and somatic architecture of counterstained neurons in the myenteric plexus. Overall, dextran conjugates provide high-definition labeling of an extensive vagal motor pool in the GI tract, and offer considerable versatility when multiple-staining protocols are needed to elucidate the complexities of the innervation of the gut. PMID:19056424

Stabilization Success in Afghanistan: The Challenges Within

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-12-01

areas ( SIKa ) program are examples of multiyear projects that had total estimated costs of more than a billion dollars, so at first glance one...2011, or 2012 regarding the CDP, afghanistan Stabilization Initiative, or SIKa projects would be incorrect if it stated that uSaID has little...Kunduz and 27 in Baghlan. the program in northern afghanistan will now begin its own transition to something new. uSaID will implement the SIKa

Prognostic value of angiopoietin-2 in non-small cell lung cancer patients: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Xuan, Zi-Xue; Zhang, Su; Yuan, Shou-Jun; Wang, Wei; Yu, Jia

2016-09-02

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most frequent cause of cancer deaths worldwide. The targeted therapy had made important progress in recent years, but few potential predictive biomarkers for prognosis of NSCLC patients were identified. Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), a cytokine upregulated in tumor endothelial cells and some tumor cells including NSCLC, is a partial agonist and antagonist of angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1). Ang-1 is another ligand for the tyrosine kinase receptor Tie2; it promotes recruitment of pericytes and smooth muscle cells, stabilizing vascular networks by binding to Tie2. Although many studies mainly considered that Ang-2 correlated with progression and prognosis of NSCLC significantly, there are much conflicting and controversial data. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to assess the relationship between Ang-2 and prognosis, a clinical outcome of NSCLC. The search was based on major databases from PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and CNKI, and 20 eligible publications (range from 2002 to 2015) are included in our meta-analysis with 2011 NSCLC patients in total. These studies illuminated the correlation between the expression of Ang-2 and NSCLC, based on either prognostic factors or clinicopathological features. Pooled calculations were carried out on the odds ratio (OR) and the corresponding 95 % confidence interval (CI) to perform this meta-analysis, and all statistical analyses were carried out by STATA 12.0 and Review Manager 5.3. According to our results, the expression of Ang-2 in NSCLC tissues was significantly higher than that in normal lung tissues, indicating that Ang-2 over-expression may be a predictive marker (pooled OR = 5.09, corresponding 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI) 3.10-8.36, p = 0.000). In addition, our pooled data showed that Ang-2 expression was positively correlated with tumor stages (pooled OR = 3.58, 95 % CI 2.40-5.35, p = 0.000), differentiation (pooled OR = 0.65, 95 % CI 0.45-0.94, p = 0.02), lymphatic invasion (pooled OR = 3.15, 95 % CI 1.97-5.03, p = 0.000), and poor survival (pooled OR = 1.93, 95 % CI 1.47-2.52, p = 0.000) of NSCLC, but seems to have no significant impact on tumor size (pooled OR = 1.09, 95 % CI 0.59-2.00, p = 0.78). These results demonstrate that Ang-2 expression significantly correlated with poor prognosis for patients with NSCLC.

Effect of reclamation on soil organic carbon pools in coastal areas of eastern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jianguo; Yang, Wenhui; Li, Qiang; Pu, Lijie; Xu, Yan; Zhang, Zhongqi; Liu, Lili

2018-04-01

The coastal wetlands of eastern China form one of the most important carbon sinks in the world. However, reclamation can significantly alter the soil carbon pool dynamics in these areas. In this study, a chronosequence was constructed for four reclamation zones in Rudong County, Jiangsu Province, eastern China (reclaimed in 1951, 1974, 1982, and 2007) and a reference salt marsh to identify both the process of soil organic carbon (SOC) evolution, as well as the effect of cropping and soil properties on SOC with time after reclamation. The results show that whereas soil nutrient elements and SOC increased after reclamation, the electrical conductivity of the saturated soil extract (ECe), pH, and bulk density decreased within 62 years following reclamation and agricultural amendment. In general, the soil's chemical properties remarkably improved and SOC increased significantly for approximately 30 years after reclamation. Reclamation for agriculture (rice and cotton) significantly increased the soil organic carbon density (SOCD) in the top 60 cm, especially in the top 0-30 cm. However, whereas the highest concentration of SOCD in rice-growing areas was in the top 0-20 cm of the soil profile, it was greater at a 20-60 cm depth in cottongrowing areas. Reclamation also significantly increased heavy fraction organic carbon (HFOC) levels in the 0-30 cm layer, thereby enhancing the stability of the soil carbon pool. SOC can thus increase significantly over a long time period after coastal reclamation, especially in areas of cultivation, where coastal SOC pools in eastern China tend to be more stable.

Effect of reclamation on soil organic carbon pools in coastal areas of eastern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jianguo; Yang, Wenhui; Li, Qiang; Pu, Lijie; Xu, Yan; Zhang, Zhongqi; Liu, Lili

2018-06-01

The coastal wetlands of eastern China form one of the most important carbon sinks in the world. However, reclamation can significantly alter the soil carbon pool dynamics in these areas. In this study, a chronosequence was constructed for four reclamation zones in Rudong County, Jiangsu Province, eastern China (reclaimed in 1951, 1974, 1982, and 2007) and a reference salt marsh to identify both the process of soil organic carbon (SOC) evolution, as well as the effect of cropping and soil properties on SOC with time after reclamation. The results show that whereas soil nutrient elements and SOC increased after reclamation, the electrical conductivity of the saturated soil extract (ECe), pH, and bulk density decreased within 62 years following reclamation and agricultural amendment. In general, the soil's chemical properties remarkably improved and SOC increased significantly for approximately 30 years after reclamation. Reclamation for agriculture (rice and cotton) significantly increased the soil organic carbon density (SOCD) in the top 60 cm, especially in the top 0-30 cm. However, whereas the highest concentration of SOCD in rice-growing areas was in the top 0-20 cm of the soil profile, it was greater at a 20-60 cm depth in cottongrowing areas. Reclamation also significantly increased heavy fraction organic carbon (HFOC) levels in the 0-30 cm layer, thereby enhancing the stability of the soil carbon pool. SOC can thus increase significantly over a long time period after coastal reclamation, especially in areas of cultivation, where coastal SOC pools in eastern China tend to be more stable.

Developing hand therapy skills in Bangladesh: experiences of Australian volunteers.

PubMed

O'Brien, Lisa; Hardman, Alison

2014-01-01

Bangladesh is a developing country whose health system is highly dependent on project funding from foreign countries. Interplast Australia & New Zealand have supported volunteer hand therapists to provide training to local staff in the management of hand injuries and burns since 2006. We aimed to explore and describe the volunteers' own experience and provide recommendations for future therapy capacity building projects in developing countries. This qualitative study involved nine volunteer therapists, who attended a focus group to discuss their experiences, including the key milestones, challenges, and progress achieved. The two authors analyzed transcripts independently and emergent themes were discussed and identified by consensus. Overall the experience was extremely positive and rewarding for volunteers. Key learnings and challenges encountered in this project were cultural differences in learning styles, the need to adapt our approach to 2 facilitate sustainable local solutions, attrition of skilled local staff, and concerns regarding volunteer health and safety. Recommendations for similar projects include allowing adequate time for in-country scoping and planning, coordination and pooling of resources, and the use of strategies that encourage the shift to confident local ownership of ongoing learning and skill development. Volunteering in a health capacity building program in developing countries can be a challenging but immensely rewarding experience. Programs designed to meet the health demands in developing countries should emphasize adequate training of professionals in the use of transferable, sustainable and cost effective techniques. Time spent in the scoping and planning phase is crucial, as is coordination of efforts and pooling of resources. 2C. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Untapped Resources, Untapped Labor Pool: Using Federal Highway Funds to Prepare Women for Careers in Construction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hegewisch, Ariane; Henrici, Jane; Shaw, Elyse; Hooper, Thomas

2014-01-01

Women are underrepresented in highway, street, and bridge construction where employment is projected to grow by more than 20 percent until 2022. Creating sustainable pathways into construction careers fills critical hiring needs for industry while improving economic security for women, as these jobs typically provide family-supporting wages with…

Creation of a Mental Health Treatment Fears and Obstacles Inventory for College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Park, Heather L.; Attenweiler, William J.; Rieck, Stacey M.

2012-01-01

This project concerned the creation of an inventory for college students of treatment fears and obstacles to seeking mental health services. Unlike previous research, undergraduate participants generated a pool of items to measure fears of and obstacles to seeking services. Subsequent rational and statistical refinement resulted in a 29-item scale…

Post-glacial evolution of Panicum virgatum: centers of diversity and gene pools revealed by SSR markers and cpDNA sequences

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is native to the tallgrass prairie and associated ecosystems of the central and eastern USA. It is highly valued as a component in tallgrass prairie and savanna restoration and conservation projects and a potential bioenergy feedstock. The purpose of this study was to ...

Multi-Jurisdictional Behaviorally-Based In-Service Program for Elementary School Teachers in Mathematics. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maryland Univ., College Park.

A project was designed to develop and validate a model for inservice education which could reach a large number of elementary school teachers. The thesis explored was whether this research, development, dissemination, and implementation could be effectively accomplished through the pooled competencies of a university-based staff, a state education…

Determinants and Options in the Development of Higher Education in Poland.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jozefowicz, Adam; Kluczynski, Jan

Trends affecting the future development of higher education in Poland are considered. It is projected that the demographic pool of higher education enrollment will in 1995-2000 return to a level roughly comparable with the peak pressures for college entry in the years 1971-75. It is suggested that demographic changes alone can explain but a…

76 FR 35208 - Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Nevada Irrigation District; Notice of Environmental Site Review

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-16

...; Project No. 2266-102--California] Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Nevada Irrigation District; Notice of... Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and Nevada Irrigation District (NID) (applicants) will conduct an... (recommend a 4-wheel drive vehicle), but car pooling to the extent possible is encouraged. We do not...

78 FR 76604 - Grand River Dam Authority; Notice of Application Tendered for Filing With the Commission and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-18

... reservoir for the Grand River Dam Authority's Markham Ferry Project No. 2183, for pumped storage operations.... Holway Reservoir (the upper reservoir), with a normal pool elevation between 850 feet and 865 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum; (2) three rim dikes around the upper reservoir; (3) an 1,800-foot-long...

Exploring Co-Teaching with a Social Justice Perspective: A Conceptual Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharma, Manu; Cobb, Cam

2018-01-01

This conceptual article emerges out of a research project--including a systematic literature review and autoethnographic study--on social justice-informed co-teaching. The authors collaborated on two Faculty of Education courses at a mid-sized Canadian University to analyze their own experiences as well as research patterns in a pool of studies…

Forecasting timber, biomass, and tree carbon pools with the output of state and transition models

Treesearch

Xiaoping Zhou; Miles A. Hemstrom

2012-01-01

The Integrated Landscape Assessment Project (ILAP) uses spatial vegetation data and state and transition models (STM) to forecast future vegetation conditions and the interacting effects of natural disturbances and management activities. Results from ILAP will help land managers, planners, and policymakers evaluate management strategies that reduce fire risk, improve...

VCCS Transfer Project: Transfer Rates, Transfer Performance, and Baccalaureate Completion.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McHewitt, Earl R.; Taylor, Garry

This document analyzes a study done by the Center for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC), which examined transfer rates in the VCCS. The document provides definitions for transfer rate, academic performance, and completion rate as they are used in the study. The study answers the following questions: (1) which pool of students were used in the…

Java across Different Curricula, Courses and Countries Using a Common Pool of Teaching Material

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ivanovic, Mirjana; Budimac, Zoran; Mishev, Anastas; Bothe, Klaus; Jurca, Ioan

2013-01-01

Under the auspices of a DAAD funded educational project, a subproject devoted to different aspects of teaching the Java programming language started several years ago. The initial intention of the subproject was to attract members of the subproject to prepare some teaching materials for teaching essentials of the Java programming language. During…

Reliability of abstracting performance measures: results of the cardiac rehabilitation referral and reliability (CR3) project.

PubMed

Thomas, Randal J; Chiu, Jensen S; Goff, David C; King, Marjorie; Lahr, Brian; Lichtman, Steven W; Lui, Karen; Pack, Quinn R; Shahriary, Melanie

2014-01-01

Assessment of the reliability of performance measure (PM) abstraction is an important step in PM validation. Reliability has not been previously assessed for abstracting PMs for the referral of patients to cardiac rehabilitation (CR) and secondary prevention (SP) programs. To help validate these PMs, we carried out a multicenter assessment of their reliability. Hospitals and clinical practices from around the United States were invited to participate in the Cardiac Rehabilitation Referral Reliability (CR3) Project. Twenty-nine hospitals and 23 outpatient centers expressed interest in participating. Seven hospitals and 6 outpatient centers met participation criteria and submitted completed data. Site coordinators identified 35 patients whose charts were reviewed by 2 site abstractors twice, 1 week apart. Percent agreement and the Cohen κ statistic were used to describe intra- and interabstractor reliability for patient eligibility for CR/SP, patient exceptions for CR/SP referral, and documented referral to CR/SP. Results were obtained from within-site data, as well as from pooled data of all inpatient and all outpatient sites. We found that intra-abstractor reliability reflected excellent repeatability (≥ 90% agreement; κ ≥ 0.75) for ratings of CR/SP eligibility, exceptions, and referral, both from pooled and site-specific analyses of inpatient and outpatient data. Similarly, the interabstractor agreement from pooled analysis ranged from good to excellent for the 3 items, although with slightly lower measures of reliability. Abstraction of PMs for CR/SP referral has high reliability, supporting the use of these PMs in quality improvement initiatives aimed at increasing CR/SP delivery to patients with cardiovascular disease.

Stability of echogenic liposomes as a blood pool ultrasound contrast agent in a physiologic flow phantom.

PubMed

Radhakrishnan, Kirthi; Haworth, Kevin J; Huang, Shao-Ling; Klegerman, Melvin E; McPherson, David D; Holland, Christy K

2012-11-01

Echogenic liposomes (ELIP) are multifunctional ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) with a lipid shell encapsulating both air and an aqueous core. ELIP are being developed for molecular imaging and image-guided therapeutic delivery. Stability of the echogenicity of ELIP in physiologic conditions is crucial to their successful translation to clinical use. In this study, we determined the effects of the surrounding media's dissolved air concentration, temperature transition and hydrodynamic pressure on the echogenicity of a chemically modified formulation of ELIP to promote stability and echogenicity. ELIP samples were diluted in porcine plasma or whole blood and pumped through a pulsatile flow system with adjustable hydrodynamic pressures and temperature. B-mode images were acquired using a clinical diagnostic scanner every 5 s for a total duration of 75 s. Echogenicity in porcine plasma was assessed as a function of total dissolved gas saturation. ELIP were added to plasma at room temperature (22 °C) or body temperature (37 °C) and pumped through a system maintained at 22 °C or 37 °C to study the effect of temperature transitions on ELIP echogenicity. Echogenicity at normotensive (120/80 mmHg) and hypertensive pressures (145/90 mmHg) was measured. ELIP were echogenic in plasma and whole blood at body temperature under normotensive to hypertensive pressures. Warming of samples from room temperature to body temperature did not alter echogenicity. However, in plasma cooled rapidly from body temperature to room temperature or in degassed plasma, ELIP lost echogenicity within 20 s at 120/80 mmHg. The stability of echogenicity of a modified ELIP formulation was determined in vitro at body temperature, physiologic gas concentration and throughout the physiologic pressure range. However, proper care should be taken to ensure that ELIP are not cooled rapidly from body temperature to room temperature as they will lose their echogenic properties. Further in vivo investigations will be needed to evaluate the optimal usage of ELIP as blood pool contrast agents. Copyright © 2012 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Liquid Fuels: Pyrolytic Degradation and Fire Spread Behavior as Influenced by Buoyancy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, Howard D. (Technical Monitor); Yeboah, Yaw D.

2003-01-01

This project was conducted by the Combustion and Emission Control Lab in the Engineering Department at Clark Atlanta University under NASA Grant No. NCC3-707. The work aimed at providing data to supplement the ongoing NASA research activities on flame spread across liquid pools by providing flow visualization and velocity measurements especially in the gas phase and gas-liquid interface. During this investigation, the detailed physics of flame spread across liquid pools was revealed using particle image velocimetry (PIV), 3-dimensional Laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) and high-speed video imaging system (HSVS). Flow fields (front and side views) of both the liquid and gas phases were visually investigated for the three subflash regimes of flame spread behavior. Some interesting findings obtained from the front and side views on flame spread across butanol pools are presented. PIV results showed the size of the transient vortex in the liquid phase near the flame front varied with the initial pool temperature. The transient vortex ahead of the flame front in the gas phase was, for the first time, clearly observed located just within 0-3 mm above the liquid surface and its size was dependent on the initial pool temperature. We calculated the flow velocity at 1 mm below the liquid surface near the flame front and inferred the generation mechanism of the vortex in the gas phase. Finally, after comparison of the flow velocity of the liquid surface and the flame spread rate, a reasonable explanation to the formation mechanism of the pulsating characteristic was proposed. This explanation is compatible with the previous numerical calculations and deductions.

Psychological Adjustment of Children with Sickle Cell Disease: Stability and Change over a 10-Month Period.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Robert J.; And Others

1994-01-01

Describes investigation utilizing sickle cell disease subjects from a stress and coping project. Found little stability in classification of individuals' adjustment, low congruence in behavior problem patterns and diagnoses, and less stability in adjustment by child report than mother report. Suggests children's coping strategies are intervention…

Identifying sources of dissolved organic carbon in agriculturally dominated rivers using radiocarbon age dating: Sacramento-San Joaquin River Basin, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sickman, James O.; DiGiorgio, Carol L.; Davisson, M. Lee; Lucero, Delores M.; Bergamaschi, Brian A.

2010-01-01

We used radiocarbon measurements of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to resolve sources of riverine carbon within agriculturally dominated landscapes in California. During 2003 and 2004, average Δ14C for DOC was −254‰ in agricultural drains in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, −218‰ in the San Joaquin River, −175‰ in the California State Water Project and −152‰ in the Sacramento River. The age of bulk DOC transiting the rivers of California’s Central Valley is the oldest reported for large rivers and suggests wide-spread loss of soil organic matter caused by agriculture and urbanization. Using DAX 8 adsorbent, we isolated and measured 14C concentrations in hydrophobic acid fractions (HPOA); river samples showed evidence of bomb-pulse carbon with average Δ14C of 91 and 76‰ for the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers, respectively, with older HPOA, −204‰, observed in agricultural drains. An operationally defined non-HPOA fraction of DOC was observed in the San Joaquin River with seasonally computed Δ14C values of between −275 and −687‰; the source of this aged material was hypothesized to be physically protected organic-matter in high clay-content soils and agrochemicals (i.e., radiocarbon-dead material) applied to farmlands. Mixing models suggest that the Sacramento River contributes about 50% of the DOC load in the California State Water Project, and agricultural drains contribute approximately one-third of the load. In contrast to studies showing stabilization of soil carbon pools within one or two decades following land conversion, sustained loss of soil organic matter, occurring many decades after the initial agricultural-land conversion, was observed in California’s Central Valley.

The Roadmap to Climate Stability Based on IPCC Fifth Assessment Climate Accounting Protocols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schultz, T.

2016-12-01

The Climate Stabilization Council recognizes the severe impact consequences of a rapidly warming climate and the challenging mitigation requirements of reaching the COP21 aspirational goal of +1.5°C. To address this challenge, we have used the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report which presents new methods for projecting increases in average global temperature and new metrics to update global climate accounting protocols. The updated protocols allow us to assess the full spectrum of climate mitigation projects available and identify the ability of specific projects to achieve various climate warming targets at different points in time. This assessment demonstrates the need to continue focusing on reducing and removing the major sources of overall excess heat linked to CO2, methane, black carbon, and tropospheric ozone. These findings also highlight the importance of solar radiation management (SRM) and earth radiation management (ERM) to achieve climate stabilization in the near-term. By integrating advanced life-cycle assessment (LCA) into the protocols, unintended environmental or human health impact trade-offs that may be associated with deployment of specific mitigation options can be identified. These protocols have also been introduced for standardization to the international ISO 14000 process. We conclude by describing the Climate Stabilization Council's role in establishing a platform for the scientific research, evaluation, and implementation of the identified climate mitigation projects.

Texas Labor Mobility, Experimental and Demonstration Project. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Texas Employment Commission, Austin.

The Texas Labor Mobility Project's purpose was to demonstrate the effectiveness of using financial assistance to create stability in migrant workers and to reduce unemployment. The program was designed as a research project to gather information about all phases of the Mobility Project. This was handled through the Texas Employment Commission. In…

REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION AT THE GILT EDGE MINE, SOUTH DAKOTA

EPA Science Inventory

This document reports the findings of the Mine Waste Technology Program's Activity III, Project 29,The Remediation Technology Evaluation Project at the Gilt Edge Mine, S.D. This project consisted of evaluating three emerging acidic waste rock stabilization technologies and compar...

Case study in health information management: strategic planning.

PubMed

Homan, C V

1992-08-01

The strategic planning process has proven to be invaluable to Riverside Hospital's success. Involvement of all levels of the organization and integration of plans solidifies organizational commitments and provides a framework that assures accomplishment of overall goals. With major developments in computerization of medical records and other systems that support patient care data analysis on the horizon, Riverside's integrated plans are defining crucial information system projects. As the pool of available resources for projects continues to shrink, the planning format described assures funding of information system needs that will secure a position for Riverside in the health care marketplace of the future.

Integrated track stability assessment and monitoring system (ITSAMS).

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-10-01

The overall objective of project is to continue the development of remote sensing : technologies that can be integrated and deployed in a mobile inspection vehicle i.e. Integrated : Track Stability Assessment and Monitoring System (ITSAMS).

The stability of M(max) and H (max) amplitude over time.

PubMed

McNulty, Penelope A; Shiner, Christine T; Thayaparan, Ganesha K; Burke, David

2012-05-01

The stability of the maximal muscle response (M(max)) is critical to H reflex methodology. It has previously been reported that the amplitude of M(max) declines over time. If reproducible, this finding would have implications for all experimental studies that normalise the output of the motoneurone pool against the M wave. We investigated the effect of time on changes in M(max) and the maximal H reflex (H(max)) evoked at 4-s intervals over 60 min. To identify an influence of homosynaptic depression, we extended the interstimulus interval to 10 s and the time to 100 min. Two recording montages over soleus were used to ensure that interelectrode distance was not a critical factor. The soleus M(max) and H reflex were evoked by stimulation of the tibial nerve in the popliteal fossa in 7 subjects who sat with the knee flexed to 30° and the ankle plantar flexed by ~30°. We found no change in the pooled data for M(max), H(max), a reflex 50% of maximal, or the current required to produce it. However, one subject had a statistically significant increase in M(max) and a concurrent decrease in H(max) regardless of the interstimulus interval. On average, there was no change in the H(max)/M(max) ratio over time. While both M(max) and H(max) may change in response to many factors, these results suggest that, typically, time is not one of them.

What can molecular dynamics simulations reveal about the stability of proteinaceous soil organic matter on mineral surfaces?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andersen, A.; Reardon, P. N.; Chacon, S. S.; Qafoku, N. P.; Washton, N.; Kleber, M.

2015-12-01

With the increased attention on climate change and the role of increasing atmospheric CO2 levels in global warming, the need for an accurate depiction of the carbon cycling processes involved in the Earth's three major carbon pools, i.e., atmosphere, terrestrial systems, and oceans has never been greater. Within the terrestrial system, soil organic matter (SOM) represents an important carbon sub-pool. Complexation of SOM with mineral interfaces and particles is believed to protect SOM from possible biotic and abiotic transformation and mineralization to carbon dioxide. However, obtaining a molecular scale picture of the interactions of the various types of SOM with a variety of soil minerals is a challenging endeavor, especially for experimental techniques. Molecular scale simulations techniques can be applied to study the atomistic, molecular, and nanoscale aspects of SOM-mineral associations, and, therefore, and aid in filling current knowledge gaps in the potential fate and stability of SOM in soil systems. Here, we will discuss our recent results from large-scale molecular dynamics simulation of protein, GB1, and its interaction with clay and oxide/hydroxide minerals (i.e., kaolinite, Na+-MMT, Ca2+-MMT, goethite, and birnessite) including a comparison of structural changes of the protein by, protein orientation with respect to, degree of protein binding to, and mobility on the mineral surfaces. Our molecular simulations indicate that these mineral surfaces, with the exception of birnessite, potentially preserve the physical properties of the GB1 protein.

Toxicokinetics of new psychoactive substances: plasma protein binding, metabolic stability, and human phase I metabolism of the synthetic cannabinoid WIN 55,212-2 studied using in vitro tools and LC-HR-MS/MS.

PubMed

Mardal, Marie; Gracia-Lor, Emma; Leibnitz, Svenja; Castiglioni, Sara; Meyer, Markus R

2016-10-01

The new psychoactive substance WIN 55,212-2 ((R)-(+)-[2,3-dihydro-5-methyl-3-(4-morpholinylmethyl)pyrrolo-[1,2,3-de]-1,4-benzoxazin-6-yl]-1-napthalenylmethanone) is a potent synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist. The metabolism of WIN 55,212-2 in man has never been reported. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the human in vitro metabolites of WIN 55,212-2 using pooled human liver microsomes and liquid chromatography-high resolution-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-HR-MS/MS) to provide targets for toxicological, doping, and environmental screening procedures. Moreover, a metabolic stability study in pooled human liver microsomes (pHLM) was carried out. In total, 19 metabolites were identified and the following partly overlapping metabolic steps were deduced: degradation of the morpholine ring via hydroxylation, N- and O-dealkylation, and oxidative deamination, hydroxylations on either the naphthalene or morpholine ring or the alkyl spacer with subsequent oxidation, epoxide formation with subsequent hydrolysis, or combinations. In conclusion, WIN 55,212-2 was extensively metabolized in human liver microsomes incubations and the calculated hepatic clearance was comparably high, indicating a fast and nearly complete metabolism in vivo. This is in line with previous findings on other synthetic cannabinoids. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The use of vitamin K supplementation to achieve INR stability: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Kramps, Melissa; Flanagan, Abigail; Smaldone, Arlene

2013-10-01

Systematically review and quantitatively synthesize evidence on use of oral vitamin K supplementation in reducing international normalized ratio (INR) variability. PubMed, The Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Turning Research Into Practice (TRIP), Web of Science were searched for studies meeting predetermined inclusion/exclusion criteria. Five studies meeting criteria (three randomized trials, one quasi-experimental pre-post study, one retrospective case series) were appraised for quality and data synthesized by two reviewers. Pooled effect size of time in INR therapeutic range (TTR) was estimated using random effects meta-analysis. Pooled effect size representing data from four studies (678 subjects) was 0.31, 95% confidence interval 0.03-0.59 (Cochran Q = 7.1; p = .07; I(2) = 57.8) and favored vitamin K supplementation. Given wide variability among individual studies, there is not enough evidence to advise for or against the routine use of vitamin K supplementation to achieve INR stability. However, evidence does suggest that it may be of some benefit for some patients with INR instability. There is insufficient evidence to support routine supplementation with vitamin K in patients on chronic anticoagulation therapy but select patients, particularly those with persistent INR instability despite known adherence to regimen and no dietary or drug-drug interactions, may benefit from the intervention. Future research is warranted. ©2013 The Author(s) ©2013 American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Personality traits in old age: measurement and rank-order stability and some mean-level change.

PubMed

Mõttus, René; Johnson, Wendy; Deary, Ian J

2012-03-01

Lothian Birth Cohorts, 1936 and 1921 were used to study the longitudinal comparability of Five-Factor Model (McCrae & John, 1992) personality traits from ages 69 to 72 years and from ages 81 to 87 years, and cross-cohort comparability between ages 69 and 81 years. Personality was measured using the 50-item International Personality Item Pool (Goldberg, 1999). Satisfactory measurement invariance was established across time and cohorts. High rank-order stability was observed in both cohorts. Almost no mean-level change was observed in the younger cohort, whereas Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Intellect declined significantly in the older cohort. The older cohort scored higher on Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. In these cohorts, individual differences in personality traits continued to be stable even in very old age, mean-level changes accelerated.

Long-term dynamics of winter and summer annual communities in the Chihuahuan Desert

USGS Publications Warehouse

Guo, Q.; Brown, J.H.; Valone, T.J.

2002-01-01

Using 15 years of census data from permanent quadrats, this paper compared the characteristics and temporal dynamics of these two distinct, spatially coexistent but temporally segregated communities. Although the total number of summer annual species recorded during our 15 years observation was higher than winter annuals, the average number of species observed each year was higher in the winter community. The winter community exhibited lower temporal variation in total plant abundance and populations of individual species, lower species turnover rate and higher evenness than the summer community. The higher seasonal species diversity (i.e., number of species observed in each season) in winters rather than the overall special pool (over 15 yrs) may be responsible for the greater community stability of winter annuals. The difference in long-term community dynamics between the two communities of annuals plants are likely due to the differences in total species pool, life history traits (e.g., seed size), and seasonal climatic regimes.

Innovations in cardiac transplantation.

PubMed

Hasan, Reema; Ela, Ashraf Abou El; Goldstein, Daniel

2017-03-16

As the number of people living with heart failure continues to grow, future treatments will focus on efficient donor organ donation and ensuring safe and durable outcomes. This review will focus on organ procurement, graft surveillance and emerging therapies. Preliminary studies into donation after cardiac death have indicated that this may be an effective means to increase the donor pool. Novel preservation techniques that include ex-vivo perfusion to improve donor metabolic stabilization prior to implantation may also expand the donor pool. Biomarkers, including circulating-free DNA, are emerging that could replace the endomyocardial biopsy for acute graft rejection, but we lack a risk predictive biomarker in heart transplantation. Novel immune suppressants are being investigated. Emerging therapeutics to reduce the development of chronic allograft vasculopathy are yet to be found. This review highlights the most recent studies and future possible therapies that will improve outcomes in cardiac transplantation. Larger clinical trials are currently taking place and will be needed in the future to develop and sustain current trends toward better survival rates with cardiac transplantation.

Diverse Soil Carbon Dynamics Expressed at the Molecular Level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Voort, T. S.; Zell, C. I.; Hagedorn, F.; Feng, X.; McIntyre, C. P.; Haghipour, N.; Graf Pannatier, E.; Eglinton, T. I.

2017-12-01

The stability and potential vulnerability of soil organic matter (SOM) to global change remain incompletely understood due to the complex processes involved in its formation and turnover. Here we combine compound-specific radiocarbon analysis with fraction-specific and bulk-level radiocarbon measurements in order to further elucidate controls on SOM dynamics in a temperate and subalpine forested ecosystem. Radiocarbon contents of individual organic compounds isolated from the same soil interval generally exhibit greater variation than those among corresponding operationally defined fractions. Notably, markedly older ages of long-chain plant leaf wax lipids (n-alkanoic acids) imply that they reflect a highly stable carbon pool. Furthermore, marked 14C variations among shorter- and longer-chain n-alkanoic acid homologues suggest that they track different SOM pools. Extremes in SOM dynamics thus manifest themselves within a single compound class. This exploratory study highlights the potential of compound-specific radiocarbon analysis for understanding SOM dynamics in ecosystems potentially vulnerable to global change.

Behavior and structure of metal vapor arc plasma between molten electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zanner, F. J.; Williamson, R. L.; Hareland, W. A.; Bertram, L. A.

A metal vapor arc is utilized in the industrially important vacuum arc remelting (VAR) process to produce materials by melting and resolidification which have improved structure and chemical homogeneity. Homogeneity is dependent on achieving quasi-steady conditions in the plasma because of its thermal and MHD coupling with the molten pool atop the ingot. Optimal operating conditions of low pressure (approx. = 0.01 torr) and short electrode gap (less than 15 mm) produce a diffuse arc and cathode spot behavior similar to that observed for the vacuum breaker arc. Under these conditions the arc provides a quasi-steady heat source that is considered to be the bench mark arc of the VAR process. Previous work has shown that deviation from the bench mark arc behavior can occur under production conditions, and is caused by electrode irregularities and liberation of gases such as CO from the molten pool. This study is an effort to characterize these behavioral deviations and discover operational conditions which stabilize the bench mark arc.

Possible ancestral structure in human populations.

PubMed

Plagnol, Vincent; Wall, Jeffrey D

2006-07-01

Determining the evolutionary relationships between fossil hominid groups such as Neanderthals and modern humans has been a question of enduring interest in human evolutionary genetics. Here we present a new method for addressing whether archaic human groups contributed to the modern gene pool (called ancient admixture), using the patterns of variation in contemporary human populations. Our method improves on previous work by explicitly accounting for recent population history before performing the analyses. Using sequence data from the Environmental Genome Project, we find strong evidence for ancient admixture in both a European and a West African population (p approximately 10(-7)), with contributions to the modern gene pool of at least 5%. While Neanderthals form an obvious archaic source population candidate in Europe, there is not yet a clear source population candidate in West Africa.

RAS mutation prevalence among patients with metastatic colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis of real-world data.

PubMed

Kafatos, George; Niepel, Daniela; Lowe, Kimberley; Jenkins-Anderson, Sophie; Westhead, Hal; Garawin, Tamer; Traugottová, Zuzana; Bilalis, Antonios; Molnar, Edit; Timar, Jozsef; Toth, Erika; Gouvas, Nikolaos; Papaxoinis, George; Murray, Samuel; Mokhtar, Nadia; Vosmikova, Hana; Fabian, Pavel; Skalova, Alena; Wójcik, Piotr; Tysarowski, Andrzej; Barugel, Mario; van Krieken, J Han; Trojan, Jörg

2017-07-27

A confirmed wild-type RAS tumor status is commonly required for prescribing anti-EGFR treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer. This noninterventional, observational research project estimated RAS mutation prevalence from real-world sources. Aggregate RAS mutation data were collected from 12 sources in three regions. Each source was analyzed separately; pooled prevalence estimates were then derived from meta-analyses. The pooled RAS mutation prevalence from 4431 tumor samples tested for RAS mutation status was estimated to be 43.6% (95% CI: 38.8-48.5%); ranging from 33.7% (95% CI: 28.4-39.3%) to 54.1% (95% CI: 51.7-56.5%) between sources. The RAS mutation prevalence estimates varied among sources. The reasons for this are not clear and highlight the need for further research.

48 CFR 9904.420-50 - Techniques for application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... shall be excluded from the IR&D and B&P cost pools to be allocated to other segments and the base data... final cost objectives and the particular final cost objective's base data shall be excluded from the... costs of all other IR&D and B&P projects shall be allocated among all segments by means of the same base...

The Prevalence of Gambling in College: A Review of Literature, Convenience Sample, and Recommendations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seifried, Chad; Krenzelok, Ann; Turner, Brian A.; Brett, Martin

2009-01-01

This project examined the level of gambling exhibited by a convenience sample of 155 college students at a large Midwestern university and compared it to previously completed work. The researchers found most college student gamblers engaged in the most popular form of gambling like casino games, card games, and betting pools for money. Gambling on…

Brevard County: Labor Pool Resource Study, 1981-1985. A Manufacturing Needs Assessment Coordinated by the Brevard Economic Development Council.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brevard Community Coll., Cocoa, FL.

In fall 1981, 74 of Brevard County's major manufacturing firms and related industries were asked to provide detailed figures reflecting their 1982 employment, annual job vacancies, and projections for 1985 employment by job category, division, and title. Survey findings, based on responses from firms representing 75% of the employment within the…

Application of Risk Management and Uncertainty Concepts and Methods for Ecosystem Restoration: Principles and Best Practice

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-08-01

habitats for specific species of trout . The report noted that these uncertainties — and the SMEs, who had past experience in such topic areas — were...reduce uncertainty in HREP projects is reflected in the completion of the Pool 11 Islands (UMRS RM 583-593) HREP in 2003. In 1989 the Browns Lake

Skills Conversion Project: Chapter 19, Profile of the Technological Manpower Pool. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Society of Professional Engineers, Washington, DC.

In the absence of any one central source of data covering the profile of the unemployed aerospace and defense technical professional, an extensive analysis of multiple data sources was conducted for the U.S. Department of Labor by the National Society for Professional Engineers. The survey and analysis included data covering approximately 63,000…

Development of carbon response trajectories using FIA plot data and FVS growth simulator: challenges of a large scale simulation project

Treesearch

James B. McCarter; Sean Healey

2015-01-01

The Forest Carbon Management Framework (ForCaMF) integrates Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plot inventory data, disturbance histories, and carbon response trajectories to develop estimates of disturbance and management effects on carbon pools for the National Forest System. All appropriate FIA inventory plots are simulated using the Forest Vegetation Simulator (...

76 FR 70434 - Shelbyville Hydro LLC; Notice of Application Tendered for Filing With the Commission and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-14

... agencies: Federal, state, local, and tribal agencies with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with... as flow regimens and pool levels are set forth by the Corps. The project would generate power using flows between 130 cfs (cubic feet per second) to 1,500 cfs. When flows are below 130 cfs, all flows...

A Multi-Faceted Approach for the Development of the Army's Functional Basic Skills Education Program (BSEP).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Begland, Robert R.

In reviewing the Army Continuing Education System in 1979, the Assistant Secretary of the Army found a basic skills program based on traditional academic level goals was inadequate to meet the Army's requirement to provide functional, job-related basic skill education. Combining the shrinking manpower pool and projected basic skill deficiencies of…

Rummler's Swim Lanes in a Dutch Swimming Pool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bloem, Michiel; Vermei, Arnoud

2009-01-01

The work of Geary A. Rummler changed the way we think and act as performance professionals. Over the past 15 years, we have applied his tools and models in performance improvement projects in a variety of industries. Similar to the pioneers of our field 40 years ago, we were driven by curiosity when we took Rummler's work to the unusual…

Global asymptotic stability of density dependent integral population projection models.

PubMed

Rebarber, Richard; Tenhumberg, Brigitte; Townley, Stuart

2012-02-01

Many stage-structured density dependent populations with a continuum of stages can be naturally modeled using nonlinear integral projection models. In this paper, we study a trichotomy of global stability result for a class of density dependent systems which include a Platte thistle model. Specifically, we identify those systems parameters for which zero is globally asymptotically stable, parameters for which there is a positive asymptotically stable equilibrium, and parameters for which there is no asymptotically stable equilibrium. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Local projection stabilization for linearized Brinkman-Forchheimer-Darcy equation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skrzypacz, Piotr

2017-09-01

The Local Projection Stabilization (LPS) is presented for the linearized Brinkman-Forchheimer-Darcy equation with high Reynolds numbers. The considered equation can be used to model porous medium flows in chemical reactors of packed bed type. The detailed finite element analysis is presented for the case of nonconstant porosity. The enriched variant of LPS is based on the equal order interpolation for the velocity and pressure. The optimal error bounds for the velocity and pressure errors are justified numerically.

Changes in tropical cyclones under stabilized 1.5 and 2.0°C global warming scenarios as simulated by the Community Atmospheric Model under the HAPPI protocols

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

Wehner, Michael F.; Reed, Kevin A.; Loring, Burlen

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) invited the scientific community to explore the impacts of a world in which anthropogenic global warming is stabilized at only 1.5°C above preindustrial average temperatures. In this paper, we present a projection of future tropical cyclone statistics for both 1.5 and 2.0°C stabilized warming scenarios with direct numerical simulation using a high-resolution global climate model. As in similar projections at higher warming levels, we find that even at these low warming levels the most intense tropical cyclones become more frequent and more intense, while simultaneously the frequency of weaker tropical stormsmore » is decreased. We also conclude that in the 1.5°C stabilization, the effect of aerosol forcing changes complicates the interpretation of greenhouse gas forcing changes.« less

Changes in tropical cyclones under stabilized 1.5 and 2.0 °C global warming scenarios as simulated by the Community Atmospheric Model under the HAPPI protocols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wehner, Michael F.; Reed, Kevin A.; Loring, Burlen; Stone, Dáithí; Krishnan, Harinarayan

2018-02-01

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) invited the scientific community to explore the impacts of a world in which anthropogenic global warming is stabilized at only 1.5 °C above preindustrial average temperatures. We present a projection of future tropical cyclone statistics for both 1.5 and 2.0 °C stabilized warming scenarios with direct numerical simulation using a high-resolution global climate model. As in similar projections at higher warming levels, we find that even at these low warming levels the most intense tropical cyclones become more frequent and more intense, while simultaneously the frequency of weaker tropical storms is decreased. We also conclude that in the 1.5 °C stabilization, the effect of aerosol forcing changes complicates the interpretation of greenhouse gas forcing changes.