1,340 research outputs found
Dissolution of Marriage—Jurisdiction over Nondomiciliary Service Members: Time to Adopt a New Jurisdictional Analysis—In re Marriage of Ways, 85 Wn. 2d 693, 538 P.2d 1225 (1975); Wash. Rev. Code § 26.09.030 (1975)
On November 30, 1973, Raymond A. Ways, a member of the United States Navy on active military duty, filed a petition for dissolution of marriage in a Washington superior court. Ways had been stationed in Washington aboard the USS Enterprise (then undergoing repairs at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington) since October 1973, but neither he nor his wife had ever been domiciled in Washington. Ways filed his petition in reliance upon R.C.W. § 26.09.030, a statute allowing members of the armed forces stationed in Washington to petition for dissolution of marriage in the state. On February 2, 1974, sixty-four days after the filing of Ways\u27 petition, the USS Enterprise departed for California, terminating Ways\u27 Washington station. Three days after the ship departed Washington, petitioner\u27s wife filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. The Superior Court for Kitsap County denied this motion. Respondent wife next petitioned the Washington Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari to review the order denying the motion to dismiss and for a writ of prohibition to bar further proceedings in the dissolution action. In a 5-4 decision, the Washington Supreme Court reversed. Held: Where a petitioning member of the armed forces fails to remain continuously stationed in Washington for ninety days after filing the petition pursuant to R.C.W. § 26.09.030, the superior court is without jurisdiction to enter a decree of dissolution. In re Marriage of Ways, 85 Wn. 2d 693, 538 P.2d 1225 (1975)
Is Selectively Harvested Forest an Ecological Trap for Olive-Sided Flycatchers?
Disturbance-dependent species are assumed to benefit from forestry practices that mimic the appearance of postdisturbance landscapes. However, human activities that closely mimic the appearance but not the fundamental quality of natural habitats could attract animals to settle whether or not these habitats are suitable for their survival or reproduction. We examined habitat selection behavior and nest success of Olive-sided Flycatchers (Contopus cooperi) in a naturally occurring burned forest and an anthropogenically created habitat type-selectively harvested forest. Olive-sided Flycatcher density and nestling provisioning rates were greater in the selectively harvested landscape, whereas estimated nest success in selectively harvested forest was roughly half that found in naturally burned forest. Reduced nest success was probably a result of the relatively high abundance of nest predators found in the artificially disturbed forest. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that selectively harvested forest can act as an ecological trap by attracting Olive-sided Flycatchers to a relatively poor-quality habitat type. This highlights the importance of considering animal behavior in biodiversity conservation
A Framework for Understanding Ecological Traps and an Evaluation of Existing Evidence
When an animal settles preferentially in a habitat within which it does poorly relative to other available habitats, it is said to have been caught in an “ecological trap.” Although the theoretical possibility that animals may be so trapped is widely recognized, the absence of a clear mechanistic understanding of what constitutes a trap means that much of the literature cited as support for the idea may be weak, at best. Here, we develop a conceptual model to explain how an ecological trap might work, outline the specific criteria that are necessary for demonstrating the existence of an ecological trap, and provide tools for researchers to use in detecting ecological traps. We then review the existing literature and summarize the state of empirical evidence for the existence of traps. Our conceptual model suggests that there are two basic kinds of ecological traps and three mechanisms by which traps may be created. To this point in time, there are still only a few solid empirical examples of ecological traps in the published literature (although those few examples suggest that both types of traps and all three of the predicted mechanisms do exist in nature). Therefore, ecological traps are either rare in nature, are difficult to detect, or both. An improved library of empirical studies will be essential if we are to develop a more synthetic understanding of the mechanisms that can trigger maladaptive behavior in general and the specific conditions under which ecological traps might occur
Cost–benefit analysis of a mass vaccination strategy to control brucellosis in sheep and goats in northern Iraq
Brucellosis is a major economic and production-limiting disease for livestock owners and the community in Iraq. A cost–benefit analysis was conducted to evaluate the impact of an expanded annual mass vaccination programme of sheep and goats that involves all female and male sheep and goats over the age of 3 months with Rev. 1 vaccine. The proposed expanded vaccination programme was compared to the current annual vaccination program, which involved only vaccinating female sheep and goats between the ages of 3 and 6 months of age with Rev. 1. The cost-benefit analysis model was developed utilizing data collected in Dohuk Governorate, northern Iraq. The seroprevalence in small ruminants (using Rose Bengal test and ELISA in series) was predicted to decrease from 9.22% to 0.73% after 20 years of implementing the proposed annual mass vaccination program. The net present value of the mass vaccination program was estimated to be US per adult female animal. The results of this economic analysis highlight the benefit of implementing an annual mass vaccination program of small ruminants with Rev. 1 vaccine to reduce the prevalence of brucellosis in northern Iraq
Development and delivery of an exercise programme for falls prevention: the Prevention of Falls Injury Trial (PreFIT)
This paper describes the development and implementation of an exercise intervention to prevent falls within The Prevention of Fall Injury Trial (PreFIT), which is a large multi-centred randomised controlled trial based in the UK National Health Service (NHS).Using the template for intervention description and replication (TIDieR) checklist, to describe the rationale and processes for treatment selection and delivery of the PreFIT exercise intervention.Based on the results of a validated falls and balance survey, participants were eligible for the exercise intervention if they were at moderate or high risk of falling.Intervention development was informed using the current evidence base, published guidelines, and pre-existing surveys of clinical practice, a pilot study and consensus work with therapists and practitioners. The exercise programme targets lower limb strength and balance, which are known, modifiable risk factors for falling. Treatment was individually tailored and progressive, with seven recommended contacts over a six-month period. Clinical Trials Registry (ISCTRN 71002650)
Small Satellite Reliability Initiative (SSRI) Knowledge Base Tool: Use Case Review and Future Functionality and Content Direction
The Small Satellite Reliability Initiative (SSRI) Knowledge Base is a comprehensive and searchable online tool that consolidates and organizes resources, best practices, and lessons learned from previous small satellite missions sponsored by NASA, other government agencies, and academia. This free, publicly available tool is available to the entire SmallSat Community.
The SSRI Knowledge Base provides vetted, high-quality sources of information on elements that are key to successful small satellite missions. These resources include SSRI working group generated documents and presentations in addition to existing guides, publications, standards, software tools, websites, and books. The Knowledge Base is fully searchable, offers downloadable content when possible, and otherwise links to or references content directly from within the tool.
This presentation and paper will discuss the motivation for the SSRI Knowledge Base, review educational use cases, and outline plans for further development. The SSRI is a collaborative activity with broad participation from civil, U.S. Department of Defense, and both national and international commercial space systems providers and stakeholders. NASA’s Small Spacecraft Systems Virtual Institute (S3VI) funds the SSRI Knowledge Base. The S3VI is jointly sponsored by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and Science Mission Directorate
Self-Assembling Peptide Detergents Stabilize Isolated Photosystem Ion a Dry Surface for an Extended Time
We used a class of designed peptide detergents to stabilize photosystem I (PS-I) upon extended drying under N(2) on a gold-coated-Ni-NTA glass surface. PS-I is a chlorophyll-containing membrane protein complex that is the primary reducer of ferredoxin and the electron acceptor of plastocyanin. We isolated the complex from the thylakoids of spinach chloroplasts using a chemical detergent. The chlorophyll molecules associated with the PS-I complex provide an intrinsic steady-state emission spectrum between 650 and 800 nm at −196.15 °C that reflects the organization of the pigment-protein interactions. In the absence of detergents, a large blue shift of the fluorescence maxima from approximately 735 nm to approximately 685 nm indicates a disruption in light-harvesting subunit organization, thus revealing chlorophyll−protein interactions. The commonly used membrane protein-stabilizing detergents, N-dodecyl-β-D-maltoside and N-octyl-β-D-glucoside, only partially stabilized the approximately 735-nm complex with approximately 685-nm spectroscopic shift. However, prior to drying, addition of the peptide detergent acetyl- AAAAAAK at increasing concentration significantly stabilized the PS-I complex. Moreover, in the presence of acetyl- AAAAAAK, the PS-I complex is stable in a dried form at room temperature for at least 3 wk. Another peptide detergent, acetyl-VVVVVVD, also stabilized the complex but to a lesser extent. These observations suggest that the peptide detergents may effectively stabilize membrane proteins in the solid-state. These designed peptide detergents may facilitate the study of diverse types of membrane proteins
Disorder-Driven Pretransitional Tweed in Martensitic Transformations
Defying the conventional wisdom regarding first--order transitions, {\it
solid--solid displacive transformations} are often accompanied by pronounced
pretransitional phenomena. Generally, these phenomena are indicative of some
mesoscopic lattice deformation that ``anticipates'' the upcoming phase
transition. Among these precursive effects is the observation of the so-called
``tweed'' pattern in transmission electron microscopy in a wide variety of
materials. We have investigated the tweed deformation in a two dimensional
model system, and found that it arises because the compositional disorder
intrinsic to any alloy conspires with the natural geometric constraints of the
lattice to produce a frustrated, glassy phase. The predicted phase diagram and
glassy behavior have been verified by numerical simulations, and diffraction
patterns of simulated systems are found to compare well with experimental data.
Analytically comparing to alternative models of strain-disorder coupling, we
show that the present model best accounts for experimental observations.Comment: 43 pages in TeX, plus figures. Most figures supplied separately in
uuencoded format. Three other figures available via anonymous ftp
Trapped O2 and the origin of voltage fade in layered Li-rich cathodes
Oxygen redox cathodes, such as Li1.2Ni0.13Co0.13Mn0.54O2, deliver higher energy densities than those based on transition metal redox alone. However, they commonly exhibit voltage fade, a gradually diminishing discharge voltage on extended cycling. Recent research has shown that, on the first charge, oxidation of O2- ions forms O2 molecules trapped in nano-sized voids within the structure, which can be fully reduced to O2- on the subsequent discharge. Here we show that the loss of O-redox capacity on cycling and therefore voltage fade arises from a combination of a reduction in the reversibility of the O2-/O2 redox process and O2 loss. The closed voids that trap O2 grow on cycling, rendering more of the trapped O2 electrochemically inactive. The size and density of voids leads to cracking of the particles and open voids at the surfaces, releasing O2. Our findings implicate the thermodynamic driving force to form O2 as the root cause of transition metal migration, void formation and consequently voltage fade in Li-rich cathodes
Perennial grasslands enhance biodiversity and multiple ecosystem services in bioenergy landscapes
Agriculture is being challenged to provide food, and increasingly fuel, for an expanding global population. Producing bioenergy crops on marginal lands—farmland suboptimal for food crops—could help meet energy goals while minimizing competition with food production. However, the ecological costs and benefits of growing bioenergy feedstocks—primarily annual grain crops—on marginal lands have been questioned. Here we show that perennial bioenergy crops provide an alternative to annual grains that increases biodiversity of multiple taxa and sustain a variety of ecosystem functions, promoting the creation of multifunctional agricultural landscapes. We found that switchgrass and prairie plantings harbored significantly greater plant, methanotrophic bacteria, arthropod, and bird diversity than maize. Although biomass production was greater in maize, all other ecosystem services, including methane consumption, pest suppression, pollination, and conservation of grassland birds, were higher in perennial grasslands. Moreover, we found that the linkage between biodiversity and ecosystem services is dependent not only on the choice of bioenergy crop but also on its location relative to other habitats, with local landscape context as important as crop choice in determining provision of some services. Our study suggests that bioenergy policy that supports coordinated land use can diversify agricultural landscapes and sustain multiple critical ecosystem services
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