Fly Ash as a Soil Amendment in the Northern Red River Valley

Combustion of coal occurs worldwide to produce energy for numerous residential and industrial processes. During coal combustion, byproducts including fly ash, bottom ash and slag are formed (Lafarge, 2004). By standard regulations, power plants in the United States and many other countries must effectively capture and dispose of these byproducts. Over 118 million tons of combustion byproducts are produced and captured each year in the United States alone. Disposal of this extraordinary amount of waste is difficult and costly. Finding ways to turn this waste into a resource has been necessary, and at times, profitable. The past fifty years has witnessed great advancement in the understanding of coal byproducts and their potential for use in a variety of settings. One common application incorporates fly ash into the construction of road surfaces. Fly ash can be used in combination with, or in place of, other aggregates to strengthen road-base soils (Parsons and Kneebone, 2004). The proportional amount of fly ash that should be used in such an application depends on many factors including, but not limited to, climate, soil properties, groundwater conditions, and construction strength requirements. Based on a pilot study completed as a senior design project, the objective of this report is to design a testing methodology and schedule to determine optimal parameters for fly ash addition to strengthen road-base soils in the Northern Red River Valley. The project has been designed with the assistance of Lafarge, International. The expected outcome will be a procedure and set of testing results that can be used by others to determine optimum fly ash proportions for specific soil types. Also included are the results of the pilot study for one typical soil collected from Casselton, North Dakota. The development of the procedure is expected to provide the basis of a thesis for a graduate student pursuing a Master\u27s of Science degree in Geological Engineering

Cigarettes and Alcohol: Substitutes or Complements?

Taxation of cigarettes and alcohol can raise revenue and reduce consumption of goods with negative external effects. Despite medical and psychological evidence linking their consumption, little previous work has investigated the significance of cross-price effects in cigarette and alcohol consumption. We use individual-level data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to investigate cigarette and alcohol consumption in the US, estimating both own and cross-price elasticities. Results suggest significant cross-price effects. Specifically, we find that higher alcohol prices decrease both alcohol consumption and smoking participation (suggesting a complementarity in consumption), while higher cigarette prices tend to decrease smoking participation but increase drinking. The significance of these findings suggests that further work is warranted to better understand the social and economic relationship between cigarette and alcohol consumption.

Street Outreach Workers: Best Practices and Lessons Learned

Street outreach workers are an important part of the Senator Charles E. Shannon Jr. Community Safety Initiative (CSI) comprehensive gang and youth violence reduction strategy in Massachusetts1. Street outreach involves the use of individuals to “work the streets,” making contact with youth in neighborhoods with high levels of gang activity. These individuals are generally not employed by the criminal justice system agencies but rather are based in community service organizations or other non- governmental agencies. Street outreach workers provide an important bridge between the community, gang-involved youth, and the agencies (whether social service or law enforcement) that respond to the problems of delinquency and gangs. This guide offers information, guidance, and lessons learned from street outreach programs nationally and within the Massachusetts Shannon CSI communities to help guide existing street outreach programs and support communities considering developing new street outreach programs

Physiological Demands of Common Occupational Tasks among Australian Police Offcers: A Descriptive Analysis

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the physiological demands placed on Australian police officers carrying out common operational tasks. METHODS: Forty participants (n = 40) from an Australian police force (mean age = 33.58 ± 7.78 years, mean height = 177.70 ± 7.28 cm, mean weight = 85.68 ± 14.52 kg, mean years of service: 6.74 ± 6.29 years) were recruited through preidentified local area commands. Spanning nine police stations from the same Australian state, volunteers wore monitoring devices to collect physiological measures (heart rate, respiratory rate, and skin temperature) throughout the course of four consecutive shifts (two day shifts and two night shifts). Descriptive data were recorded and analyzed by task and changes in physiological measures. RESULTS: Of the 345 duty calls attended by participants, the four most commonly reported tasks were as follows: ‘check bona fides’ (n = 76; 22%), ‘driving urgently’ (n = 45; 13%), ‘attending a domestic incident’ (n = 37; 10%), and ‘attending a concern for welfare’ (n = 30; 8%). Mean percentages of maximum heart rates (%HR(max)) were considered of very light exercise intensity and ranged from 47.11 (± 7.18) to 50.15 (± 9.35) % for checking bona fides through to driving urgently respectively. Fifteen percent of tasks attended had officers exceed 100 %HR(max) (near maximal to maximal exercise intensity). Mean skin temperatures varied little (36.02–36.27°C) between tasks, while mean respiratory rates were lowest when attending a domestic incident and highest when driving urgently (22.56 ± 3.83 and 24.72 ± 6.12 breaths/min, respectively). CONCLUSION: Police officers experienced numerous physiological challenges ranging from an intensity of very light exercise through to near maximal and maximal exercise throughout their working day with occasions where their heart rates exceeded 100 %HR(max). These findings highlight the physiological stress associated with common occupational policing tasks, highlighting the importance of cardiovascular health in police officers and the need for cardiovascular monitoring and conditioning

Southeastern Colorado survey of critical biological resources, 2007

Prepared for: Colorado Cattleman's Agricultural Land Trust, Great Outdoors Colorado, Colorado Dept. of Natural Resources.May 2008.Includes bibliographical references

Noxious weed monitoring at the U.S. Air Force Academy: year 5 results

Prepared for: U.S. Air Force Academy, Dept. of Natural Resources.March, 2010.Includes bibliographical references