Systematic Review – Final: Have arid land springs restoration projects been effective in restoring hydrology, geomorphology, and invertebrates and plant species composition comparable to natural springs with minimal anthropogenic disturbance?

The aim of this review is to examine the effectiveness of springs restoration projects in the southwestern United States in restoring hydrology, geomorphology, and plant and invertebrates species composition to condiitions comparable with natural springs with minimal anthropogenic disturbances

The effective mass of two--dimensional 3He

We use structural information from diffusion Monte Carlo calculations for two--dimensional 3He to calculate the effective mass. Static effective interactions are constructed from the density-- and spin structure functions using sumrules. We find that both spin-- and density-- fluctuations contribute about equally to the effective mass. Our results show, in agreement with recent experiments, a flattening of the single--particle self--energy with increasing density, which eventually leads to a divergent effective mass.Comment: 4 pages, accepted in PR

Sensitivity of Evapotranspiration Models to Onsite and Offsite Meteorological Data for a Ponderosa Pine Forest

Evapotranspiration (ET) is a major component of the water budget in most forests, in many cases exceeding 70% of annual precipitation. Due to limitations in time and resources, input data necessary to model ET are not always available for a study site, but offsite data from meteorological networks may be a suitable substitute. In this study, we evaluated three models for estimating ET, Priestly-Taylor (P-T), Shuttleworth-Wallace (S-W), and Penman-Monteith with dynamic stomatal resistance (P-M-d), in a ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest in northern Arizona where eddy covariance data exist for comparison. We tested the sensitivity of the models to the use of offsite meteorological data from a weather station and offsite soil moisture data from two snow monitoring sites in the SNOTEL network. Onsite data are required for accurate ET estimation with the P-M-d model because of its complexity. Acceptable accuracy in ET estimation required onsite net radiation data for the P-T model and onsite vapor pressure deficit data for the S-W model; other input data can be obtained from nearby offsite weather stations. Errors in ET estimation produced by the use of offsite soil moisture data varied between two nearby SNOTEL sites. Recommendations about the use of offsite data are presented

Characterisation of the mycobacterial NER system reveals novel functions of uvrD1 helicase

In this study, we investigated the role of the nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway in mycobacterial DNA repair. Mycobacterium smegmatis lacking the NER excinuclease component uvrB, the helicase uvrD1 and a double knock-out lacking both proteins were constructed and their sensitivity to a series of DNA damaging agents wa analysed. As anticipated, the mycobacterial NER system was shown to be involved in the processing of bulky DNA adducts and inter-strand cross-links. In addition, it could be shown to exert a protective effect against oxidising and nitrosating agents. Interestingly, inactivation of uvrB and uvrD1 significantly increased marker integration frequencies in gene conversion assays. This implies that in mycobacteria, which lack the postreplicative mismatch repair system, NER, and particularly the UvrD1 helicase, is involved in the processing of a subset of recombination-associated mismatches

Coupling groundwater and riparian vegetation models to assess effects of reservoir releases

Although riparian areas in the arid southwestern United States are critical for maintaining species diversity, their extent and health have been declining since Euro-American settlement. The purpose of this study was to develop a methodology to evaluate the potential for riparian vegetation restoration and groundwater recharge. A numerical groundwater flow model was coupled with a conceptual riparian vegetation model to predict hydrologic conditions favorable to maintaining riparian vegetation downstream of a reservoir. A Geographic Information System(GIS) was used for this one-way coupling. Constant and seasonally varying releases from the dam were simulated using volumes anticipated to be permitted by a regional water supplier. Simulations indicated that seasonally variable releases would produce surface flow 5.4-8.5 km below the dam in a previously dry reach. Using depth to groundwater simulations from the numerical flow model with conceptual models of depths to water necessary for maintenance of riparian vegetation, the GIS analysis predicted a 5- to 6.5-fold increase in the area capable of sustaining riparian vegetation

Designing a 3D Printed Prosthetic to Meet Task-Specific Needs: A Case Study

The purpose of this case study is to explore the ease of utilizing task-specific design in computer-aided, open-source 3D printed design software. Two participants were recruited and assessed using subjective and objective measures to guide the prosthetic designs. Hand measurements were obtained and entered into computer software to create computer-aided design drawings of the digit prosthetics. Field notes were taken throughout this process by the interdisciplinary team and analyzed to address the ease of utilizing this technology. Objective assessments showed that both participants experienced decreased expansion, grip, and prehension strength of their affected hands. Semi-structured interviews with the participants identified several meaningful tasks that a prosthetic device could improve function in and offered valuable guidance in the development of the prosthetic designs. Analysis of the field notes allowed for the identification of six domains within the research questions. Those domains include appropriate assessment utilization, time management, participant responsiveness, clinical reasoning, common language, and available resources. The successful collaboration of occupational therapy (OT) and engineering disciplines resulted in customized 3D printed finger prosthetic designs to meet participants\u27 specified tasks

Prevalence of overweight misperception and weight control behaviors among normal weight adolescents in the United States

Weight perceptions and weight control behaviors have been documented with underweight and overweight adolescents, yet limited information is available on normal weight adolescents. This study investigates the prevalence of overweight misperceptions and weight control behaviors among normal weight adolescents in the U.S. by sociodemographic and geographic characteristics. We examined data from the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). A total of 9,714 normal weight U.S. high school students were included in this study. Outcome measures included self-reported height and weight measurements, overweight misperceptions, and weight control behaviors. Weighted prevalence estimates and odds ratios were computed. There were 16.2% of normal weight students who perceived themselves as overweight. Females (25.3%) were more likely to perceive themselves as overweight than males (6.7%) (p < 0.05). Misperceptions of overweight were highest among white (18.3%) and Hispanic students (15.2%) and lowest among black students (5.8%). Females (16.8%) outnumbered males (6.8%) in practicing at least one unhealthy weight control behavior (use of diet pills, laxatives, and fasting) in the past 30 days. The percentage of students who practiced at least one weight control behavior was similar by ethnicity. There were no significant differences in overweight misperception and weight control behaviors by grade level, geographic region, or metropolitan status. A significant portion of normal weight adolescents misperceive themselves as overweight and are engaging in unhealthy weight control behaviors. These data suggest that obesity prevention programs should address weight misperceptions and the harmful effects of unhealthy weight control methods even among normal weight adolescents

Water resources simulation in the Rio Grande basin using coupled models

Regional assessments of water resources under global climate change require models that can resolve management, land use, and climate effects. Los Alamos National Laboratory is developing a coupled model of water resources that places a river basin in its global context. The upper Rio Grande basin above El Paso, Texas is the testbed for this model. The model structure and computational approach are emphasize and issues such as nonlinear feedback between components and spatial and temporal scaling of processes are discussed. Using simulations of regional meteorology, the effects of high spatial resolution simulations on the distribution of precipitation are demonstrated