An Economic Analysis of Mountain Pine Beetle Impacts in a Global Context

The economic effects of the mountain pine beetle outbreak in British Columbia are simulated using a multi-region spatial price equilibrium model coupled with a stochastic dynamic updating procedure. The simulation captures expected changes in the B.C. timber supply, growth of plantation forests in the southern hemisphere and an escalating Russian log export tax. The results indicate lumber and log prices will rise in B.C., offsetting some of the economic loss to timber producers. However, on net producers in the B.C. forest industry will experience a decrease in economic surplus.Mountain pine beetle; spatial price equilibirum; trade modeling

Nest-Site Characteristics of Northern Bobwhites Translocated Into Weeping Lovegrass CRP

Habitat loss and fragmentation have been considered major causes for the decline of northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus). There are . 400,000 ha of weeping lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) fields in the Southern High Plains of Texas some of which could be modified to provide usable habitat for northern bobwhites. Timely colonization of improved CRP habitat by northern bobwhite is unlikely without transplantation, because of distance from existing populations. We radio-marked and transplanted 94 northern bobwhite into weeping lovegrass CRP and monitored nest success. We recorded high nest success in 2002 (70%) and 2003 (71%) for northern bobwhite nesting in weeping lovegrass CRP in the area studied. The composition of weeping lovegrass CRP fields available in our study area appears to be suitable nesting cover for northern bobwhite

Sustained sleep restriction reduces resistance exercise quality and quantity in females

Introduction: Female athletes sleep less and report more sleep problems than males. Inadequate sleep reduces maximal strength in males; however, little is known about the impact of sleep restriction on the quantity and quality of resistance exercise performed by females. This study investigated the effect of nine nights of moderate sleep restriction on repeated resistance exercise performance, hormonal responses and perceived fatigue in females. Methods: Ten healthy, resistance-trained, eumenorrheic females aged 18-35 years underwent nine nights of sleep restriction (SR; 5-h time in bed) and normal sleep (NS; ³7 h time in bed), in a randomised, cross-over fashion with a minimum 6-week washout. Participants completed four resistance exercise sessions per trial, with blood samples collected pre- and post-exercise. Exercise performance was assessed using volume-load, reactive strength index and mean concentric velocity with rating of perceived exertion recorded post-exercise. Participants completed awakening saliva sampling and the multi-component training distress scale daily. Results: Volume-load decreased trivially (<1%, p<0.05) with SR. Mean concentric velocity per set was slower during SR for lower body (up to 15%, p<0.05), but not upper body, compound lifts. Intra-set velocity loss was up to 7% greater during SR for back squats (p<0.05). SR increased salivary cortisol area under the curve (by 42%), total training distress (by 84%) and session perceived exertion (by 11%). Conclusion: Sustained SR reduces markers of resistance exercise quality (bar velocity) more than quantity (volume-load), and increases perceived effort at the same relative intensity in resistance-trained females. Markers of exercise quality and internal load may be more sensitive than volume-load, to alert coaches of the negative effects of SR on resistance exercise

Fostering Physics Content and Pedagogy Learning by Future Physics Teachers via Student Authored YouTube Video Projects

We describe a curricular innovation for STEM teacher preparation -- the use of video projects in undergraduate and graduate physics courses for future physics teachers at SUNY Buffalo State. US courses were adapted under the guidance of our colleagues’ similar work at Universität zu Köln [1]. Our students prepared end of course short “proof of concept” rough video vignettes of 5-10min addressing both physics content and physics pedagogical topics. YouTube [2] example videos are provided, and insights are shared

Pilot In-service Performance Evaluation of Guardrail Terminals in Washington State

A pilot routine in-service performance evaluation (ISPE) was undertaken for guardrail terminals following the process outlined in NCHRP 22-33. Controlled stop, rollover, vehicle mix, and secondary impacts on the roadside and roadway were evaluated as performance measures using data sourced from the Crash Location & Analysis System (CLAS) database and the WSDOT Engineering Crash Data Mart for years 2016 through 2020. Four Performance Assessment Levels, ranging from no exclusions of crash data to exclusions of crash data limited to vehicle type and speed limit were assessed. For all five performance measures, the study found no measurable differences between the performance of the major types of guardrail terminal in use on state highways within WSDOT jurisdiction

Pilot In-service Performance Evaluation of Impact Attenuators in Washington State

A pilot routine in-service performance evaluation (ISPE) was undertaken for impact attenuatorsfollowing the process outlined in NCHP 22-33. Controlled stop, rollover, vehicle mix, and secondary impacts on the roadside and roadway were evaluated as performance measures using data sourced from the Crash Location & Analysis System (CLAS) database and the WSDOT Engineering Crash Data Mart for years 2016 through 2020. Four Performance Assessment Levels, ranging from no exclusions of crash data to exclusions of crash data limited to vehicle type and speed limit were assessed. For all five performance measures, the study found no measurable differences between the performance of the major types of impact attenuators in use on state highways within WSDOT jurisdiction

Pilot In-service Performance Evaluation of Cable Barrier in Washington State

A pilot routine in-service performance evaluation (ISPE) was undertaken for cable barrier following the process outlined in NCHRP 22-33. Barrier breach, rollover, vehicle mix, and secondary impacts on the roadside and roadway were evaluated as performance measures using data sourced from the Crash Location & Analysis System (CLAS) database and the WSDOT Engineering Crash Data Mart for years 2016 through 2020. Four Performance Assessment Levels, ranging from no exclusions of crash data to exclusions of crash data limited to vehicle type and speed limit were assessed. For all five performance measures, the study found no measurable difference between the performance of the four major types of cable barrier in use on state highways within WSDOT jurisdiction, including three-strand versus four-strand

Search for heavy lepton resonances decaying to a ZZ boson and a lepton in pppp collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for heavy leptons decaying to a $Z$ boson and an electron or a muon is presented. The search is based on $pp$ collision data taken at $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb$^{-1}$, Three high-transverse-momentum electrons or muons are selected, with two of them required to be consistent with originating from a $Z$ boson decay. No significant excess above Standard Model background predictions is observed, and 95% confidence level limits on the production cross section of high-mass trilepton resonances are derived. The results are interpreted in the context of vector-like lepton and type-III seesaw models. For the vector-like lepton model, most heavy lepton mass values in the range 114-176 GeV are excluded. For the type-III seesaw model, most mass values in the range 100-468 GeV are excluded