Assessment of Factors Affecting Establishment of Biological Control Agents of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid on Eastern Hemlock in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Eastern hemlock in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM) is threatened by hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), Adelges tsugae Annand (Hemiptera: Adelgidae). To manage this invasive pest in GRSM, ca. 550,000 Sasajiscymnus tsugae (Sasaji and McClure) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and 7,857 Laricobius nigrinus Fender (Coleoptera: Derodontidae) have been released. Limited information is available on their establishment in GRSM. To fill this gap, a study was initiated to assess establishment of these predators and their impact on hemlock health. To determine factors affecting establishment of these predators, 65 release sites were sampled from 2008 to 2012. Several factors were evaluated for their association with establishment and recovery of S. tsugae. Predatory beetle release information, topographic features, and temperature data were obtained from GRSM personnel. These factors were evaluated using stepwise logistic regression and Pearson correlation. High resolution digital imagery was used in conjunction with field-conducted tree-health surveys to test association between S. tsugae and tree health. S. tsugae were recovered from 13 of 65 sites (20%); recovery was significantly associated with older release sites which indicates that S. tsugae may require more time to reach readily detectable levels. Regression analysis indicated that establishment was positively associated with the average maximum temperature seven days following release and elevation. Several significant correlations were found between presence of S. tsugae, and year of release, season of release, and temperature variables. These results indicate that S. tsugae should be monitored for establishment for at least five years following releases to enhance knowledge of establishment. Coexistence of three predatory beetles, S. tsugae, L. nigrinus and L. rubidus, was observed on the same hemlock trees. Significant differences between normalized difference vegetation index values and S. tsugae presence was observed. For understory and overstory hemlock, percent crown transparency, percent live crown, and percent branch dieback was also significant with presence of S. tsugae. Coexistence of S. tsugae and L. nigrinus on eastern hemlock may provide prolonged feeding on HWA. Predictive models would assist land managers in selecting appropriate times and sites for future releases. Application of digital imagery could be used to evaluate other natural enemies in forest landscapes

New approaches to disease causation research based on the sufficient-component cause model

Up to date, the sufficient-component cause model seems to be a theoretical framework for disease causation in epidemiology, and its implications in epidemiological research methods is currently still limited. Recently, pitfalls in current epidemiological research methods were addressed based on the sufficient-component cause model; hence, new research approaches are needed as alternatives. Therefore, this paper aims to review and suggest new epidemiological methods used to assess disease causation. A new approach was discussed to identify potential mechanisms of disease occurrence which may be useful for risk prediction and disease prevention. In addition, a novel “exposed case-control” design was introduced to identify potential component causes. Furthermore, this paper suggested a new approach of conducting a systematic review/meta-analysis related to causation studies

The Application of Google Drive Instructional Media in Language Learning

The current research examined the e-learning process conducted in five senior high schools at Al-Hawiyah District, Ta’if. It aims at examining the application of Google Drive instructional media in language learning. This research takes advantage of fast technological developments and information, namely the internet system in the field of e-learning based education. There are many teaching strategies or methods to improve the quality of learning and teaching better. The Google Drive instructional media is one of the e-learning based education media that can be used to make teaching-learning process better. This researcher involved 25 students randomly chosen from those five different schools as the sample. The researcher interviewed five of them to investigate the use of the Google Doc, a Google application related to text editing similar to MS Word. From the result of the data analysis, that learning media is effectively used to achieve the e-learning based education

Classical causation research practices and sufficient-component cause model – Appraisal and pitfalls

The sufficient-component cause model is one of the most discussed recent theories in disease causation. Despite some limitations, it seems one of the best theories to explain real world phenomena. It seems that this model has many implications on the current classical research methods related to disease causation. However, these implications have not been sufficiently explored. Therefore, based on the sufficient-component cause model, this paper aims to review, identify and rectify pitfalls in the classical causation research practices, especially those related to cohort study design

Climate Change Impact on Snowmelt Runoff Modelling for Alaknanda River Basin

Variable Infiltration Capacity hydrology model is a physically based, Semi-distributed macroscale hydrological model that represents surface and subsurface hydrologic processes on spatially distributed grid cell. In mountainous watersheds Snow melt can have a significant impact on the water balance and at certain times of the year it could be the most important contribution to runoff.In this study the Variable Infiltration Capacity Hydrology model has been successfully applied for Alaknanda River Basin. As input to the model long-term(1999-2008) daily meteorological dataset such as temperature, precipitation, wind speed and geospatial dataset such as land cover data,  Elevation data , soil data were provided from multiple sources (NRSC,NBSS&LUP,NOAA and IMD). In addition, the spatial distribution of runoff, snow cover and snow depth were analyzed and compared with the monthly stream flow data obtained from rudraprayag (lat-30.285, lon-78.98), MODIS 8 day snow cover product (MOD10A2) and AMSRE snow depth product. The model runs resulted in an increase in Snowmelt Runoff for the period of record (2001–2006), as a result of decrease in Snow Cover and Snow Depth for the monsoon period. In this study Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency is 0.92 which indicate a good fit between observed and simulated runoff. Keywords: VIC, Snow, Snow depth, Snow cover, GEFS, IMD, AMSRE, MOD10A2, Discharg

A MULTI-DIMENSIONAL APPROACH IN DEVELOPING A FRAMEWORK FOR INTERNAL QUALITY ASSURANCE OF SECOND CYCLE ENGINEERING PROGRAMMES

The rapid growth of engineering education requires the propermaintenance of academic quality in educational institutions in order towithstand competition in the global market. External accreditation andinternal quality assurance are two very important processes that are carriedout in order to maintain the quality of engineering education. Accreditation isa process designed to determine whether or not an educational programmehas met or exceeded the published standards of the accreditation agency,whereas the purpose of internal quality assurance is to develop a qualityculture within an institution, and to implement a strategy for the continuousenhancement of quality. Although several quality assurance standards andguidelines have been established and implemented worldwide throughvarious international, regional and national agencies; relevant literaturesearches show that there is no common agreement or criterion that can beused in the quality assurance of engineering education. In this article, theauthors elaborate on several important issues regarding the accreditation andquality assurance of engineering education. The authors define internalquality assurance of an engineering programme as: enabled by certain qualityenablers, a structured process of quality analysis (benchmarking,monitoring, evaluating, assessing, guaranteeing and improving the quality)of the design, resources, delivery and outcomes of the programme; resultingin defect avoidance, strategic alignment, continuous improvement, andstakeholder trust. A brief outline of a multi-dimensional framework forinternal quality assurance of engineering programmes is provided in thisarticle

Climate Change Impact on Snowmelt Runoff Modelling for Alaknanda River Basin

Variable Infiltration Capacity hydrology model is a physically based, Semi-distributed macroscale hydrological model that represents surface and subsurface hydrologic processes on spatially distributed grid cell. In mountainous watersheds Snow melt can have a significant impact on the water balance and at certain times of the year it could be the most important contribution to runoff. In this study the Variable Infiltration Capacity Hydrology model has been successfully applied for Alaknanda River Basin. As input to the model long-term(1999-2008) daily meteorological dataset such as temperature, precipitation, wind speed and geospatial dataset such as land cover data,  Elevation data , soil data were provided from multiple sources (NRSC,NBSS&LUP,NOAA and IMD). In addition, the spatial distribution of runoff, snow cover and snow depth were analyzed and compared with the monthly stream flow data obtained from rudraprayag (lat-30.285, lon-78.98), MODIS 8 day snow cover product (MOD10A2) and AMSRE snow depth product. The model runs resulted in an increase in Snowmelt Runoff for the period of record (2001–2006), as a result of decrease in Snow Cover and Snow Depth for the monsoon period. In this study Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency is 0.92 which indicate a good fit between observed and simulated runoff. Keywords: VIC, Snow, Snow depth, Snow cover, GEFS, IMD, AMSRE, MOD10A2, Discharg