Tribute to Judge Duffy | Judicial Profile of Judge Duffy From \u3ci\u3eThe Federal Lawyer\u3c/i\u3e

The following “judicial profile” was published in the March 2016 issue of The Federal Lawyer, about six months before Judge Duffy retired. Writing it was both a labor of love and a project that I somewhat blindly committed to, without realizing the enormity of it. At that time, Judge Duffy had been a U.S. District Judge for more than forty-three years, and I had known him for more than twenty years. He was my mentor and beloved friend. The difficult part of writing the article was deciding what to omit. His contributions in service to our nation were too numerous to catalog. My goal, therefore, was to give the reader at least a glimpse at his extraordinary public service, and more importantly, a sense of his character. It is a eulogy. I’m grateful that I was able to share it with him while he was on the bench

Electro-kinetic technology as a low-cost method for dewatering food by-product

Increasing volumes of food waste, intense environmental awareness, and stringent legislation have imposed increased demands upon conventional food waste management. Food byproducts that were once considered to be without value are now being utilized as reusable materials, fuels, and energy in order to reduce waste. One major barrier to the valorization of food by-products is their high moisture content. This has brought about the necessity of dewatering food waste for any potential re-use for certain disposal options. A laboratory system for experimentally characterizing electro-kinetic dewatering of food by-products was evaluated. The bench scale system, which is an augmented filter press, was used to investigate the dewatering at constant voltage. Five food by-products (brewer’s spent grain, cauliflower trimmings, mango peel, orange peel, and melon peel) were studied. The results indicated that electro-kinetic dewatering combined with mechanical dewatering can reduce the percentage of moisture from 78% to 71% for brewer’s spent grain, from 77% to 68% for orange peel, from 80% to 73% for mango peel, from 91% to 74% for melon peel, and from 92% to 80% for cauliflower trimmings. The total moisture reduction showed a correlation with electrical conductivity (R2¼0.89). The energy consumption of every sample was evaluated and was found to be up to 60 times more economical compared to thermal processing

Representational decisions when learning population dynamics with an instructional simulation

DEMIST is a multi-representational simulation environment that supports understanding of the representations and concepts of population dynamics. We report on a study with 18 subjects with little prior knowledge that explored if DEMIST could support their learning and asked what decisions learners would make about how to use the many representations that DEMIST provides. Analysis revealed that using DEMIST for one hour significantly improved learners' understanding of population dynamics though their knowledge of the relation between representations remained weak. It showed that learners used many of DEMIST's features. For example, they investigated the majority of the representational space, used dynalinking to explore the relation between representations and had preferences for representations with different computational properties. It also revealed that decisions made by designers impacted upon what is intended to be a free discovery environment

Riparian Management in Intensive Grazing Systems for Improved Biodiversity and Environmental Quality: Productive Grazing, Healthy Rivers

Within high rainfall intensive grazing systems of southern Victoria, riparian zones are often degraded due to vegetation clearing, stock access and inappropriate farm management. Streams in these landscapes often have poor water quality and reduced biodiversity due to degraded terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Improved management of riparian zones depends on developing tools and practices for integration into productive grazing systems. This paper describes the approaches used and the tools developed in the ‘Productive Grazing, Healthy Rivers: Improving riparian and in-stream biodiversity’ project

One-dimensional collision carts computer model and its design ideas for productive experiential learning

We develop an Easy Java Simulation (EJS) model for students to experience the physics of idealized one-dimensional collision carts. The physics model is described and simulated by both continuous dynamics and discrete transition during collision. In the field of designing computer simulations, we discuss briefly three pedagogical considerations such as 1) consistent simulation world view with pen paper representation, 2) data table, scientific graphs and symbolic mathematical representations for ease of data collection and multiple representational visualizations and 3) game for simple concept testing that can further support learning. We also suggest using physical world setup to be augmented complimentary with simulation while highlighting three advantages of real collision carts equipment like tacit 3D experience, random errors in measurement and conceptual significance of conservation of momentum applied to just before and after collision. General feedback from the students has been relatively positive, and we hope teachers will find the simulation useful in their own classes. 2015 Resources added: http://iwant2study.org/ospsg/index.php/interactive-resources/physics/02-newtonian-mechanics/02-dynamics/46-one-dimension-collision-js-model http://iwant2study.org/ospsg/index.php/interactive-resources/physics/02-newtonian-mechanics/02-dynamics/195-elastic-collisionComment: 6 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, 1 L. K. Wee, Physics Education 47 (3), 301 (2012); ISSN 0031-912

A re-examination of the Pliensbachian and Toarcian Ostracoda of Zambujal, west-central Portugal

Pliensbachian and Toarcian Ostracoda first described by Exton (Geological Paper, Carleton University, Ottawa, 79: 1–104 1979) from the Lusitanian Basin, west-central Portugal have been re-examined. As a result, a greater diversity in the Ostracoda (80 species) is now recognized. Two species are newly described (Eucytherura zambujalensis sp. nov., Ektyphocythere mediodepressa sp. nov.) from the marls and calcareous shales of the Maria Pares Hill section near the village of Zambujal. Poor preservation precludes a complete taxonomic review of the present material. Five ostracod zones are proposed; Gammacythere ubiquita–Ogmoconchella gruendeli Zone, Poly cope cerasia–Polycope cincinnata Zone, Liasina lanceolata–Ogmoconcha convexa Zone, Bairdiacypris rectangularis–Kinkelinella sermoisensis Zone, and Cytherella toarcensis-Kinkelinella costata Zone. Although the ostracod assemblages possess strong similarities to those described from Northwest Europe, some of the Zambujal assemblages are dominated by the genus Polycope. A marked faunal turnover, in association with the extinction of the Metacopina occurs in the lower Subzone of the tenuicostatum Zone of Lower Toarcian age. These faunal events are discussed in relation to changing environmental conditions

Interactive effects of elevated CO2, warming, and drought on photosynthesis of Deschampsia flexuosa in a temperate heath ecosystem

Global change factors affect plant carbon uptake in concert. In order to investigate the response directions and potential interactive effects, and to understand the underlying mechanisms, multifactor experiments are needed. The focus of this study was on the photosynthetic response to elevated CO2 [CO2; free air CO2 enrichment (FACE)], drought (D; water-excluding curtains), and night-time warming (T; infrared-reflective curtains) in a temperate heath. A/Ci curves were measured, allowing analysis of light-saturated net photosynthesis (Pn), light- and CO2-saturated net photosynthesis (Pmax), stomatal conductance (gs), the maximal rate of Rubisco carboxylation (Vcmax), and the maximal rate of ribulose bisphosphate (RuBP) regeneration (Jmax) along with leaf δ13C, and carbon and nitrogen concentration on a monthly basis in the grass Deschampsia flexuosa. Seasonal drought reduced Pn via gs, but severe (experimental) drought decreased Pn via a reduction in photosynthetic capacity (Pmax, Jmax, and Vcmax). The effects were completely reversed by rewetting and stimulated Pn via photosynthetic capacity stimulation. Warming increased early and late season Pn via higher Pmax and Jmax. Elevated CO2 did not decrease gs, but stimulated Pn via increased Ci. The T×CO2 synergistically increased plant carbon uptake via photosynthetic capacity up-regulation in early season and by better access to water after rewetting. The effects of the combination of drought and elevated CO2 depended on soil water availability, with additive effects when the soil water content was low and D×CO2 synergistic stimulation of Pn after rewetting. The photosynthetic responses appeared to be highly influenced by growth pattern. The grass has opportunistic water consumption, and a biphasic growth pattern allowing for leaf dieback at low soil water availability followed by rapid re-growth of active leaves when rewetted and possibly a large resource allocation capability mediated by the rhizome. This growth characteristic allowed for the photosynthetic capacity up-regulations that mediated the T×CO2 and D×CO2 synergistic effects on photosynthesis. These are clearly advantageous characteristics when exposed to climate changes. In conclusion, after 1 year of experimentation, the limitations by low soil water availability and stimulation in early and late season by warming clearly structure and interact with the photosynthetic response to elevated CO2 in this grassland species