An experimental evaluation of cattail (Typha spp.) cutting depths on subsequent regrowth

Citation: Moorberg, C. & Ahlers, A. (2020). An experimental evaluation of cattail (Typha spp.) cutting depths on subsequent regrowth.Cattail (Typha spp.) expansions can negatively affect both native wetland flora and fauna diversity, and active management is often needed to maintain wetland habitat quality. Cattail removal is often non-permanent, requiring repeated treatments to retard reestablishment. Mechanically cutting cattails is a common management technique, but it is unclear what cutting depths are optimal. We conducted an experiment at Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area (Kansas, USA) during 2017-2019 to address this question. We established a randomized complete block design experiment with four blocks and three cutting treatments in July 2017, including cattail cut above water, cut below water, and an uncut control. We hypothesized that cattails cut below water would have reduced gas-exchange capabilities due to flooded aerenchyma. We quantified emergent stem densities in each plot in September 2017 to assess the effectiveness of simulated management actions. The above water treatment had significantly fewer total stems than both the control (p = 0.0003) and the below water treatments (p = 0.0203). The above water treatment also had significantly fewer stems than the control treatment (p = 0.0032). Our results suggest that management efforts focused on cutting cattails below water slow cattail reestablishment

Mitigating Environmental Externalities through Voluntary and Involuntary Water Reallocation: Nevada's Truckee-Carson River Basin

A transition from the era of building water projects and developing new supplies to an era of water reallocation is well underway in most of the West. Two decades ago, experts were debating the ability of western water institutions, originally conceived to serve the earliest non-native water diverters-irrigators and mines -- to adapt to the growing demands of cities. By acquiring water formerly used to grow crops, through voluntary market transactions, western cities have demonstrated that water law and policy prove flexible when the economic and political stakes are high enough.Initially fueled by urban growth, water reallocation is now being stimulated by a new array of forces. Throughout the West, water reallocation is beginning to reflect environmental benefits alongside the traditional uses for water in irrigation, cities, and industry. Some reallocations have involved market transfers of water arranged through voluntary negotiations; others have involved involuntary reallocations prompted by court rulings. This article argues that both types of reallocation will continue to be important in managing western water resources, but that each has quite different implications for the distribution of benefits and costs from reallocation

Lessons Learned and Next Steps in Energy Efficiency Measurement and Attribution: Energy Savings, Net to Gross, Non-Energy Benefits, and Persistence of Energy Efficiency Behavior

This white paper examines four topics addressing evaluation, measurement, and attribution of direct and indirect effects to energy efficiency and behavioral programs: Estimates of program savings (gross); Net savings derivation through free ridership / net to gross analyses; Indirect non-energy benefits / impacts (e.g., comfort, convenience, emissions, jobs); and, Persistence of savings

Amorphous interface layer in thin graphite films grown on the carbon face of SiC

Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is used to characterize an amorphous layer observed at the interface in graphite and graphene films grown via thermal decomposition of C-face 4H-SiC. The amorphous layer does not to cover the entire interface, but uniform contiguous regions span microns of cross-sectional interface. Annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (ADF-STEM) images and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) demonstrate that the amorphous layer is a carbon-rich composition of Si/C. The amorphous layer is clearly observed in samples grown at 1600{\deg}C for a range of growth pressures in argon, but not at 1500{\deg}C, suggesting a temperature-dependent formation mechanism

A case report of vanishing bile duct syndrome after exposure to pexidartinib (PLX3397) and paclitaxel.

Pexidartinib (PLX3397) is a small molecule tyrosine kinase and colony-stimulating factor-1 inhibitor with FDA breakthrough therapy designation for tenosynovial giant-cell tumor, and currently under study in several other tumor types, including breast cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and glioblastoma. Here, we report a case of severe drug-induced liver injury requiring liver transplantation due to vanishing bile duct syndrome (VBDS) after exposure to pexidartinib in the I-SPY 2 Trial, a phase 2 multicenter randomized neoadjuvant chemotherapy trial in patients with Stage II-III breast cancer. We also review the current literature on this rare, idiosyncratic, and potentially life-threatening entity

Modal Noise Mitigation through Fiber Agitation for Fiber-fed Radial Velocity Spectrographs

Optical fiber modal noise is a limiting factor for high precision spectroscopy signal-to-noise in the near-infrared and visible. Unabated, especially when using highly coherent light sources for wavelength calibration, modal noise can induce radial velocity (RV) errors that hinder the discovery of low-mass (and potentially Earth-like) planets. Previous research in this field has found sufficient modal noise mitigation through the use of an integrating sphere, but this requires extremely bright light sources, a luxury not necessarily afforded by the next generation of high-resolution optical spectrographs. Otherwise, mechanical agitation, which "mixes" the fiber's modal patterns and allows the noise to be averaged over minutes-long exposures, provides some noise reduction but the exact mechanism behind improvement in signal-to-noise and RV drift has not been fully explored or optimized by the community. Therefore, we have filled out the parameter space of modal noise agitation techniques in order to better understand agitation's contribution to mitigating modal noise and to discover a better method for agitating fibers. We find that modal noise is best suppressed by the quasi-chaotic motion of two high-amplitude agitators oscillating with varying phase for fibers with large core diameters and low azimuthal symmetry. This work has subsequently influenced the design of a fiber agitator, to be installed with the EXtreme PREcision Spectrograph, that we estimate will reduce modal-noise-induced RV error to less than 3.2 cm/s.Comment: Accepted by The Astrophysical Journa

Hemodynamic and Cerebrovascular Responses to an Acute Bout of Blood Flow Restriction Resistance Exercise

Blood flow restriction (BFR) training is a novel exercise modality characterized by restricting blood flow to active muscles by the use of an occlusive device. A hallmark of this training is the use of lighter resistance loads, making it a potentially valuable tool for the elderly as well as patients exercising in a rehabilitative setting. Despite the growing interest in this novel mode of exercise, no investigation has comprehensively assessed the combined arterial pressure and cerebrovascular responses (flow and oxygenation) to BFR training, factors which may limit its application for cardiac and stroke rehabilitation. One concern about these applications is the potential for an amplification of the exercise pressor reflex, which could cause an unsafe rise in arterial blood pressure. The aim of this investigation was to compare the hemodynamic and cerebrovascular responses between BFR resistance exercise and traditional resistance exercise (TE). We hypothesized that the exercise-induced elevation in arterial pressure and cerebral blood flow would be attenuated with BFR, due to the use of lower workloads. Five healthy human volunteers (3 males, 2 females; age, 25.4±1.1 years) performed 3 sets of 10 repetitions of bilateral leg press with (BFR) or without (TE) bilateral blood flow restriction (220 mmHg cuff pressure), separated by 1-min rest periods (randomized, cross-over design). BFR was performed at 20% of 1 repetition maximum (1RM) while TE was performed at 65% of 1RM. Heart rate (HR) and arterial pressures were collected via ECG and finger photoplethysmography. Middle cerebral artery blood velocity (MCAv) was measured via transcranial Doppler ultrasound, and oxygen saturation of the frontal cortex (ScO2) was measured via near-infrared spectroscopy. Rate pressure product (RPP) was calculated as systolic arterial pressure multiplied by HR, and used as an index of myocardial oxygen demand. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and RPP were both higher during TE compared with BFR during sets 2 and 3 (MAP: TE, 116±10 mmHg vs. BFR, 104±6 mmHg for BFR, P=0.05 (Set 3); RPP: TE, 16229±2387 mmHg*bpm vs. BFR, 11889±978 mmHg*bpm, P≤0.02 (Set 3)). While MCAv and ScO2 increased with exercise (