Protocols for soil functionality assessment in vineyards

The purpose of this guideline is to describe the methods used during ReSolVe project for soil functionality assessment, so they can be implemented in similar studies. A brief introduction first underlines what are the main functions of soil and why maintaining an optimal soil functionality is particularly of major interest in viticulture. Then the different protocols selected for ReSolVe project and this guideline are presented according to the following classification: - Part I: assessment of soil physical and chemical features; - Part II: assessment of soil biological features (ecosystem service provision and providers); - Part III: assessment of rhizosphere biological features; - Part IV: assessment of grapevine quantitative and qualitative indicators reflecting soil functionality. In each part, global objectives of the monitoring are explained (what is it used for, in which cases…) and the parameters to evaluate are listed with their corresponding methodological sheet. In these sheets, instructions and information are given about: - Materials needed to perform the sampling and the measurement - Sampling procedure - Analysis procedure - Possible interpretations and conclusions that can be drawn (value and meaning of the results, indication of reference values when existing, potential limit of the protocol) - Bibliographic references related to the method described - Additional helpful information where appropriate (ex: template of sampling sheet

Advanced Quantitative Echocardiography: Guiding Therapy for Heart Failure

The aim of this thesis was to investigate the potential application of echocardiography for an efficient management of heart failure (HF) patients. The thesis is presented in four parts as follows: part I (introduction), part II (assessment of global left ventricular systolic function), part III (assessment of cardiac resynchronization therapy), and part IV (summary and conclusion). The general introduction (Chapter 1) of this thesis provides an overview of HF management using cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). HF constitutes an increasing and prevalent health burden worldwide. Echocardiography is a versatile non-invasive imaging modality that can be used for an efficient management of HF by proper diagnosis and guiding therapeutic interventions. Accurate assessment of left ventricular (LV) volumes and ejection fraction (LV-EF) would have important prognostic implications. CRT is a technique in which atrio-biventricular pacing is used to improve clinical and echocardiographic outcome for selected HF patients. The rationale behind CRT is the restoration of atrio-ventricular, inter-ventricular and intra-ventricular synchrony by stimulation of the delayed ventricular sites. It results in effective LV filling and emptying, reducing ventricular size improving ventricular geometry and most importantly improves survival. However, these impressive results of CRT are not seen in ~30% of patients. There are several unresolved and potentially other undetected reasons behind the high percentage of CRT failure. The echocardiography may improve the efficacy of CRT by reducing the non –response rate. The potential fields of echocardiography are: proper selection of candidates; optimization of atrio- and inter-ventricular pacing; guiding lead placement and proper detection of the response to CRT by accurate assessment of atrial and ventricular structure and function. These fields are mostly the topics of this thesis

Nigeria since May 1999: Understanding the Paradox of Civil Rule and Human Rights Violations under President Olusegun Obasanjo

This Article seeks to understand why much of the hope for improved human rights has remained unrealized. It has four parts, in addition to this introduction and a conclusion. Part II provides a definition of human rights, the history of these rights in Nigeria, and the machinery that has evolved over the years, all the way up to the Obasanjo presidency, for the enforcement of these rights. Part III describes the practice of human rights in Nigeria before 1999. The section integrates General Obasanjo\u27s role and it points to the legacy of British colonialism in Nigeria as a major factor responsible for the country\u27s poor human rights record. Part IV is an assessment, using various objective benchmarks, of General Obasanjo\u27s human rights record since May 1999. Part V provides four explanations for the paradox symbolized in the coexistence of civil rule and unabated human rights violations in Nigeria since 1999

Exegesis of Sect. III.B from “Fundamentals of the Mechanics of Continua” by E. Hellinger

This is our third and last exegetic essay on the fundamental review article DIE ALLGEMEINEN ANSÄTZE DER MECHANIK DER KONTINUA in the Encyklopädie der mathematischen Wissenschaften mit Einschluss ihrer Anwendungen, Bd. IV-4, Hft. 5 (1913) by Ernst Hellinger which contains the translation and the commentary of the remaining text starting from p. 663. The six subsections, No. 9–15, deal with the applications of the previously developed conceptual tools to formulate: an effective theory of elasticity, the dynamics of ideal fluids, models for internal friction and elastic hysteresis, a theory of capillarity, optics, the fundamental equations of electrodynamics, an introduction of the thermodynamical foundations and the relationship between the theory of continua and the theory of relativity. Hellinger refers to relevant literature while consolidating in an effective way the contemporary knowledge in 1913. Considering notational differences as being irrelevant for the characterization of the presented scientific content, Hellinger's article shows that an effective compendium of a large part of the insights given in Truesdell and Toupin and Truesdell and Noll has already been available in 1913. We include in this paper an assessment of the different roles played by pioneers, who are innovating their scientific discipline, and by erudite scholars whose role consists in re-ordering existent knowledge and advertising to a wider audience the most important technical results already obtained in a given discipline

A assessment of an audio-visual French reading course for use in the primary school

Prior to the work carried out in 1968 by the author of this thesis, a French reading course for use in the primary school had been designed in the Department of Education at Durham University and given a small-scale trial. This thesis describes the work carried out in assessing the use of the course in a larger number of primary classes under as near as possible normal conditions. Part I of the thesis describes the background to the experiment: the rapid growth of primary French teaching in the sixties, the basic need for oral competence, and the problems expected in introducing reading. In Part II of the thesis the designing and initial trial of the reading course is described. After it had been established that the introduction of French reading did cause problems, an audio-visual reading course was designed which used a partly look-and-say, partly phonetic method. At the same time tests were designed which were to indicate how successful the course was. The course was taught to two primary classes in 1967 by a research student and the results, compared to a grammar school control group, were promising. Part III of the thesis describes the preparations made for a larger-scale assessment of the material using firstly a group of eight primary school classes taught by their usual teachers, and then in the following year a smaller group of five similar classes. The make-up of the sample and the running of the assessment programme are described. In Part IV the results of the experiment are given, and reasons suggested for the lower level of success achieved. The results of the five-class group are examined separately. Part IV concludes with a consideration of some of the linguistic problems brought to light

Planning for the Sun to Come Up: How Nevada and California Explain the Future of Net Metering

This Article explores the growth of rooftop solar and the future of net metering through the debates and policies of Nevada and California. Part II details the recent, rapid growth and projected future growth of solar power in the United States. Part II also describes how Nevada and Californiaare leading the nation in utilization of solar power and are already addressing issues that are likely to emerge in other areas of the country. Part III begins with a brief introduction to net metering and the national scope of net metering program reviews. Part III concludes with a summary of the most recent changes to each states net metering laws. Part IV contains a comparative analysis of five key legislative and regulatory factors influencing how net metering will develop in the future. The elements are the interaction between renewable portfolio standards and net metering programs, solar photovoltaic (PV) incentive programs, time-of-use rates, electricity sector decoupling, and comprehensive electric grid planning. Part V summarizes key findings from our research and provides lessons learned for other states considering evolving their net metering programs. Part VI concludes this article with a forward-looking assessment of the challenges facing net metering

Natural Resource management in Agriculture: Methods for Assessing Economic and Environmental Impacts.

This book examines methodological difficulties and presents practical methods that can be used in the assessment of the economic and environmental impacts of natural resource management (NRM) in agriculture. Following an introduction, part II (chapters 2-5) examines the valuation of ecosystem services and the measurement of biophysical indicators of NRM impacts. Part III (chapters 6-8) introduces advances in methods used to evaluate the economic and environmental impacts of NRM technology and policy interventions. Part IV (chapters 9-13) deals with NRM impact assessment in practice. Five case studies illustrate the methodological advances discussed in part III. Finally, part V (chapters 14-16) highlights some of the existing controversies and outlines best practices, research issues, and recommendations for NRM impact assessment into the future. The book has a subject index

Building Resilience in Foster Children: The Role of the Child\u27s Advocate

This Article provides an introduction to, and brief overview of trauma, its impact upon foster children, and steps children\u27s advocates can take to lessen or ameliorate the impact of trauma upon their clients. This Article begins in Part 11 by defining relevant terms. Part III addresses the prevalence of trauma among children entering the child welfare system. Part IV considers the neurodevelopmental (i.e., the developing brain) impact of trauma on children and will explore how that trauma may manifest emotionally and behaviorally. With this foundation in place, Part V discusses the need for a comprehensive trauma assessment including a thorough review of the child\u27s history of potentially traumatic experiences and the impact those experiences have had and are continuing to have on the child. This Article argues that a more complete understanding of the number and severity of potentially traumatic events a child has experienced, as well as knowledge of the various traumatic impacts on the child\u27s developing brain are essential to begin addressing the needs of children in the child welfare system. Next, in Part VI, this Article explores ways in which a child\u27s resilience can be enhanced, specifically the importance of connectedness/relatedness, mastery, and affect regulation. Finally, Part VII discusses implications of this information for children\u27s advocates

Pest risk assessment of Monilinia fruticola for the EU territory and identification and evaluation of risk management options

The EFSA Panel on Plant Health has delivered a pest risk assessment on the risk posed by Monilinia fructicola to the EU territory and has identified risk management options and evaluated their effectiveness in reducing the risk to plant health posed by this organism. The Panel has also analysed the effectiveness of the special requirements presently listed in Annex IV, Part A, Section I of Council Directive 2000/29/EC, in reducing the risk of introduction of this pest into the EU territory. The Panel concluded that the main pathways for entry into the EU territory are plant material for propagation purposes and fruit of host genera and that, with the exception of dried fruit, the probability of entry is very likely. The probability of establishment is also very likely due to the suitable environmental conditions and to the widespread presence of host species, susceptible for most of the year, on most of the risk assessment area. Cultural practices and control measures currently applied and competition with other Monilinia species cannot prevent the establishment of M. fructicola. The probability of spread is very likely because of the multiple ways of dispersal of the pest. The overall impact in the endangered area is estimated to be moderate. Neither additional cultural measures nor increased fungicide treatments would be needed to control of brown rot in the orchard after the introduction of M. fructicola

Development of a GIS and model-based method for optimizing the selection of locations for drinking water extraction by means of riverbank filtration

The lack of safe drinking water worldwide has drawn the attention of decision makers to riverbank filtration (RBF) for its many advantages in purifying surface water. This study provides an overview of the hydrogeologic, fluvial, and environmental influences on the performance of RBF systems and aims to develop a model for RBF site selection. Using multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT), this study structured the RBF siting problem and assessed a multiplicative utility function for the decision maker. In a case study, geostatistical methods were used to acquire the necessary data and geographic information systems (GIS) were used to screen sites suitable for RBF implementation. Those suitable sites were then evaluated and ranked using the multi-attribute utility model. The result showed that sites can be identified as most preferred among the selected suitable sites based on their expected utility values. This study definitively answers the question regarding the capability of MAUT in RBF site selection. Further studies are needed to verify the influences of the attributes on the performance of RBF systems.:Abstract iii Zusammenfassung iv Acknowledgments v Table of Contents vi List of Tables viii List of Figures x Definition of terms xiii 1. Abbreviations xiii 2. Symbols xiii Part I Introduction 1 1. Introduction 2 2. Statement of purpose 2 3. Research questions 3 4. Overview of methodology 3 5. Organization of the dissertation 3 Part II Fundamentals and Literature Review 5 1. The definition of bank filtration 6 2. The Significance of RBF 7 2.1 RBF in drinking water supply 7 2.2 Benefits of RBF for China 14 3. RBF Site Selection 19 3.1 RBF site selection model 20 3.2 Definition of successful RBF sites 24 4. Factors Affecting RBF Site Selection 26 4.1 River hydrology/hydraulics 27 4.2 Geology 28 4.3 Land cover 36 4.4 Well field location 36 4.5 Water quality 37 4.6 Aquifer properties 38 4.7 Distance to river 41 4.8 Riverbed characteristics 43 5. Effect of Clogging on Yield 46 6. Summary 51 Part III Developing a Multi-attribute Utility Model for RBF Site Selection 53 1. Introduction 54 2. Objectives and Attributes 54 3. Assessment of the Utility Function 57 3.1 Investigation of the qualitative preference structure 58 3.2 Assessment of component utility function 62 3.3 Assessment of the scaling constants 63 4. Results 67 5. Discussion 69 6. Summary 74 Part IV Case Study 75 1. Introduction 76 2. Materials and Methods 78 2.1 GIS data collection 78 2.1.1 Geologic data 79 2.1.2 Land cover data 79 2.1.3 Groundwater quality data 80 2.1.4 Aquifer properties data 80 2.1.5 Surface water area data 80 2.1.6 Surface water quality data 81 2.1.7 Streambed material data 81 2.2 Kriging the saturated thickness 91 2.3 Aggregation of all constraint maps 103 3. Results 105 3.1 Kriging 105 3.2 Suitable sites 105 4. Discussion 109 4.1 A discussion of the kriging results 109 4.2 A discussion of the multi-attribute utility model results 117 5. Summary 122 Part V Conclusions and Recommendations 123 1. Conclusion and Recommendation 124 Appendix 1 Environmental quality standards for surface water (GB 3838-2002) 125 Appendix 2 Quality standard for groundwater (GB14848-93) 127 Appendix 3 Explanation to Germany’s RBF site location data 130 Appendix 4 Layer information of drillings 133 Appendix 5 Streambed materials used by Schälchli (1993) 141 Appendix 6 Interview and questionnaires 143 Appendix 7 Surface water area of Jilin City 150 Bibliography 15