Evaluation of Potential Translocation Sites for an Imperiled Cyprinid, the Hornyhead Chub

Translocation of isolated species into suitable habitats may help to secure vulnerable, geographically limited species. Due to the decline of Wyoming Hornyhead Chub Nocomis biguttatus, conservation actions, such as the translocation of populations within the plausible historical range, are being considered to improve population redundancy and resiliency to disturbance events. Translocation of Wyoming Hornyhead Chub must be rigorously evaluated because a hatchery stock does not exist, so all fish used in translocations will come from the wild population. We present an approach to identify the best available translocation sites prior to translocation efforts taking place. We evaluated fish community composition and habitat conditions at 54 potential translocation sites for Hornyhead Chub within 12 streams of the North Platte River basin of Wyoming. We used two analyses to identify translocation sites that were most similar to currently occupied Hornyhead Chub sites on the Laramie River: hurdle models to predict hypothetical abundance of Hornyhead Chub at translocation sites and nonmetric multidimensional scaling with fish community and habitat conditions. Presence and abundance of Hornyhead Chub were positively related to a lack of nonnative predators and to habitat features characteristic of backwater and velocity refuge habitats (e.g., minimum water velocity and width-to-depth ratio). We used a rank scoring system to weight the outcomes of each analysis, and the highest-ranking translocation sites occurred at a historically occupied locality, the Sweetwater River. Our approach may be appropriate for other at-risk species with isolated distributions and little historical data

A view at desktop clouds

Cloud has emerged as a new computing paradigm that promises to move into computing-as-utility era. Desktop Cloud is a new type of Cloud computing. It merges two computing models: Cloud computing and volunteer computing. The aim of Desktop Cloud is to provide Cloud services out of infrastructure that is not made for this purpose in order to reduce running and maintenance costs. This paper discusses this new type of Cloud by comparing it with current Cloud and Desktop Grid models. It, also, presents several research challenges in Desktop Cloud that require further attention

Performance evaluation of multi-core multi-cluster architecture

A multi-core cluster is a cluster composed of numbers of nodes where each node has a number of processors, each with more than one core within each single chip. Cluster nodes are connected via an interconnection network. Multi-cored processors are able to achieve higher performance without driving up power consumption and heat, which is the main concern in a single-core processor. A general problem in the network arises from the fact that multiple messages can be in transit at the same time on the same network links. This paper considers the communication latencies of a multi-core multi-cluster architecture will be investigated using simulation experiments and measurements under various working conditions

Workers\u27 Compensation - Occupational Diseases - Statute of Limitations

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that the statute of limitations begins to run on claims for total disability due to occupational diseases under the Pennsylvania Workers\u27 Compensation Act when the claimant knew or should have known that he or she suffered from total disability due to occupational disease. Price v. Workmen\u27s Compensation Appeal Board, 626 A.2d 114 (Pa. 1993)

An Investigation of the Sanctions operative in moral actions and attitudes in adolescents with special reference to the interaction of religious factors

This study examines some social morality issues among adolescents in the North East of England. These moral situations are posed in the form of questionnaire in Kohlburg's moral dilemma forms where possible; responses are open ended in some cases and rank order or single responses in other cases. The tests were administered to 180 adolescents, in schools and church groups in the area by, teachers and student teachers. The secondary variables of sex, age and social class were obtained for each respondent. The principal variables were religious denomination, church attendance, religious social group and type of religious education in school. Analysis of the results obtained consisted of the type of sanctions operating in the differing moral situation tests. These tended to be confined to the prudential, authoritarian, ego ideal and reciprocal areas. However, guilt in various forms was obvious, particularly in the stealing situations and these were categorised on the basis of a scale of guilt dimensions as used by Kohlburg. The primary and principal variables were compared by a process of cross tabulation, using Chi Squared and Kendall's Tau, with the sanctions operating in the differing moral situations. Developmental factors supporting Piaget and Bull’s work were operative throughout in the type of sanctions used. However, there was some difference according to the social setting of the test, whether in school, at home or 'out in society’. The overriding null hypothesis was that there was no/ relationship between the religious factors and the type of sanction operating. It could cautiously be said that this null hypothesis was not proven with these results. Although the numbers were small, there was some relationship shown between the religious groups and the moral sanctions operative, particularly with the religious social group, which could point to further study

Submillimeter Spectrum of Formic Acid

We have measured new submillimeter-wave data around 600 GHz and around 1.1 THz for the 13C isotopologue of formic acid and for the two deuterium isotopomers; in each case for both the trans and cis rotamer. For cis-DCOOH and cis-HCOOD in particular only data up to 50 GHz was previously available. For all species the quality and quantity of molecular parameters has been increased providing new measured frequencies and more precise and reliable frequencies in the range of existing and near-future submillimeter and far-infrared astronomical spectroscopy instruments such as Herschel, SOFIA and ALMA

Forest Decline and Tree Mortality in a Southeastern Ohio Oak-Hickory Forest

Author Institution: Department of Environmental and Plant Biology, Ohio UniversityMany forests throughout the central Appalachians have been suspected, or observed, to be in declining health. Few studies have examined the vitality of southeastern Ohio's forests. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the health of a representative southeastern Ohio oak-hickory forest. Thirty-two 0.1 ha plots were sampled in August 1995 on the 550 ha Waterloo Wildlife Experiment Station (ODNR) in Athens County, OH. Data were collected for all living and dead stems with a DBH >10 cm (1,891 stems sampled). For living trees, a decline index (DI) was determined to evaluate the percentage of branch dieback, undersized leaves, and chlorosis. Dead trees were identified and categorized by mortality class (log vs. snag). Quercus spp. and Carya spp. accounted for 68% of all stems sampled (83% living). Among the live trees, only three species (Juglans nigra, Sassafras albidum, and Cornus florida) exhibited nonhealthy DI values. All other species were observed to be healthy or exhibiting only trace symptoms of decline. In contrast to decline, high mortality was observed for S. albidum (29.1%), Liriodendron tulipifera (21.7%), and Prunus serotina (21.6%). Quercus spp. (17.0%), and Carya spp. (16.2%) exhibited moderate mortality. Acer spp. had the highest vitality among the dominant species. Most of the observed patterns can be explained by successional dynamics and known pathogenic processes. Various incongruities emphasize the need for long-term studies of forest dynamics and forest health monitoring

HUBS AND CENTERS AS TRANSITIONAL CHANGE STRATEGY FOR LIBRARY COLLABORATION

Libraries of science and technology universities worldwide are adapting to a changing environment where cyberinfrastructure, eResearch, and new technology-intensive approaches to teaching and learning are transforming the very nature of universities. While many have adopted new technologies and the resources and expertise to manage them, this is only an initial step. Libraries are experimenting with organizational models that will transform their work capacity and expertise. The goal of these libraries is being an entity that feeds and produces collaborative synergies between faculty, students, information professionals, and technologists. Virginia Tech, among the top research universities in the United States, and its constituent libraries are adopting a unique organizational change strategy that implements eScience and cyberlearning roles. This two-part strategy begins with establishing ‘hubs’. The hubs are collaborative, cross-departmental groups in which library employees of varying backgrounds and skills come together on common themes of strategic importance. The hubs act in one sense as a ‘research & development lab’ to explore, imagine, and brainstorm new library initiatives as well as engender deeper understandings of the university’s core academic enterprise. They also are a ‘strike force’ that implements, supports, and assesses emerging library roles in relation to the institution’s academic mission. In these ways, hubs also create learning and scholarship opportunities for their participants beyond the individual task-oriented projects. The second part of this strategy involves the establishment of research and service centers. At Virginia Tech, these are the Center for Innovation in Learning (CIL) and the Center for Digital Research and Scholarship (CDRS). These centers are designed to incubate and sustain new collaborative synergies between libraries, researchers, instructors, and learners by providing expertise, resources, and new infrastructures to address specific academic research-based needs. The centers become focal points for library action, focused on learning and research activities within other university entities. Benefits to library employees come in the form of scholarship and research with potential for collaboration and new initiatives as relationships grow among project participants. The authors will discuss transformational aspects of the change management model, with lessons from their early experiences. They also will discuss how the model can be adapted by other libraries of science and technology-centered universities