2007 Annual Report: Hydrologic Conditions in Baseflow Reaches Pursuant to Conditions 14 and 15, Santa Lucia Preserve, Monterey County, California

This report presents the results of the 2007 baseflow condition surveys of the four major streams flowing through Santa Lucia Preserve- Las Garzas, Portrero, San Jose, and San Clemente Creeks. This report has been prepared for the Santa Lucia Conservancy and is primarily intended for the staff of Monterey County and California Department of Fish and Game, in accordance with the baseflow monitoring and reporting requirements outlined in County Conditions 14 and 15. The scope of this report is limited to the presentation and evaluation of existing baseflow conditions as required by Conditions 14 and 15, and is not intended as a comprehensive analysis. However, data presented here are an important part of the long term data set that will be used for future in depth watershed analyses. (Document contains 13 pages & 14 figs

Analysis of Baseflow Trends Related to Upland Groundwater Pumping for Las Garzas, San Clemente, Potrero, and San Jose Creeks

As Carmel River water supplies have become over-appropriated, new development projects have increasingly utilized groundwater from fractured rock aquifers found in the uplands of the Carmel River watershed. The Santa Lucia Preserve (SLP) is an example of a recent residential development project that has developed its water supply solely from upland fractured rock aquifers. The intensive use of groundwater by the SLP project has generated a great deal of concern because of the potential negative effects this may have by reducing dry season baseflows in Carmel River tributaries and San Jose Creek. Stream baseflows are critical in maintaining quality instream habitat for juvenile steelhead trout during the dry season (a listed species under the Endangered Species Act). This research aims to fill a demand for additional groundwater -- surface water information by analyzing stream baseflows for declining trends associated with groundwater pumping by the SLP. This study used two complimentary multiple-regression model comparison techniques to test for trend at study streams (Las Garzas, San Clemente, Potrero, and San Jose Creek, originating on SLP land) and undeveloped reference streams. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted to test the ability of the analysis methods to detect a simulated reduction in baseflow for records of different lengths (6, 7, 9, and 16 years, representing lengths of available records used in this research). Analysis results provided no substantial evidence to support the hypothesis that declining baseflow trends are occurring in any of the study streams. However, results of the sensitivity analysis revealed that records greater than 9 years are needed to unambiguously detect a trend in baseflow. The sensitivity analysis also revealed that even if a declining baseflow trend is occurring, it cannot be detected using records of 9 years or less. Given that most study streams had records of 9 years or less, declining trends in baseflows cannot presently be ruled out. The methods used in this research will likely be able to produce more useful and unequivocal results on baseflow trends in Carmel River tributaries and San Jose Creek as more streamflow data becomes available in the near future

Solutions to the \u3cem\u3eL\u3csup\u3ep\u3c/sup\u3e\u3c/em\u3e Mixed Boundary Value Problem in \u3cem\u3eC\u3c/em\u3e\u3csup\u3e1,1\u3c/sup\u3e Domains

We look at the mixed boundary value problem for elliptic operators in a bounded C1,1(ℝn) domain. The boundary is decomposed into disjoint parts, D and N, with Dirichlet and Neumann data, respectively. Expanding on work done by Ott and Brown, we find a larger range of values of p, 1 \u3c p \u3c n/(n-1), for which the Lp mixed problem has a unique solution with the non-tangential maximal function of the gradient in Lp(∂Ω)

Assessment of Microbial Biodegradation of Mixed Soil Contaminants at the Santa Susan Field Laboratory Using TRFLP, qPCR, and Culturing

The potential for biodegradation of contaminants in soil was assessed using an array of molecular methods, including terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP), quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and traditional culturing techniques combined with sequencing of the 16S or ITS regions of the cultured bacteria and fungi. Soil was collected from the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL), which was the site of numerous liquid-propulsion rocket engine tests as well as nuclear energy research and development, which led to contamination of the soil with a wide variety of constituents. The contaminants of interest (COIs) at this site include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and non-PAH petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs). Various metals, most notably mercury and silver, are also present on the site. The purpose of this study was to determine if biodegradation is contributing to natural attenuation of contaminants in the soil, what organisms are likely causing biodegradation, and what rate(s) can be expected in the future. A literature review was conducted to investigate the chemical properties of theses COIs, their toxicity, and abiotic and biotic degradation. This research concluded that these COIs can be biodegraded if the right bacteria and/or fungi are present and active in the soil in sufficient numbers under the right conditions. Many known biodegraders of the COIs were identified in the literature review along with the most common pathways of biodegradation and degradation rates observed in field and laboratory studies. Soil was collected from 30 sample locations, with 3 sets of 10 samples containing high concentrations of one COI but low concentration of the others. PHCs and PAHs were found to be largely co-located, so 10 samples were selected for both of them. The remaining 20 samples were split evenly between PCBs and dioxins. DNA was extracted directly from all 30 soil samples and amplified using PCR for TRFLP analyses. Two soil samples were sent to Microbial Insights® for qPCR analysis. This analysis included 18 gene targets for the degradation of PHCs and PAHs, as well as the target gene for Dehalococcoides (an anaerobic dechlorinating bacteria). For each culturing a model chemical was selected to represent each COI and added to Bushnell-Haas agar plates containing no added carbon source other than the model compounds. The model chemicals were No. 2 diesel fuel for PHCs, naphthalene for PAHs, PCB #1 (monochloro) for PCBs, and dibenzofuran for dioxin. These plates were used to screen for biodegrading bacteria and fungi for each COI. Once cultured, 16S and ITS sequencing were used to identify these potential COI degraders and determine what TRFLP peak they would produce. The identity of isolated organisms was compared to information from the literature to assess the likelihood of COI biodegradation at SSFL. From the culturing experiments, 45 organisms were isolated, sequenced, and identified. The 45 included 14 unique bacteria and seven unique fungi. Of these, 10 different bacterial species and 5 different fungal species have been reported as COI biodegraders or belong to genera that contain reported COI biodegraders. TRFLP analysis revealed that the soil type has more effect on the microbial population than the presence of any of the COIs. There were no specific peaks that were significantly correlated to any specific COI. The peak distributions were fairly even, indicating a large amount of biodiversity in the microbial populations of the soil samples. The qPCR analysis revealed that SSFL soils contain significant populations of microbes that can degrade PHCs aerobically. Anaerobic PHC, anaerobic PAH, and aerobic PAH targets were not detected. A small amount of Dehalococcoides was detected in one of the samples. Collectively this study suggests that microbes present in SSFL soils are capable of biodegrading PHCs, and the genes for such biodegradation are actively being expressed. With the exception of a small population of Dehalococcoides, bacteria associated with the biodegradation of PAHs, PCBs, and/or dioxins were not detected. However, several strains of fungi were identified which have been reported to mediate cometabolic biodegradation of these compounds. Since these fungi do not require anaerobic conditions, they are more likely to contribute to natural attenuation than bacterial reductive dechlorination. Laboratory microcosm experiments are suggested for estimating rates of biodegradation at SSFL under natural attenuation conditions. Bioaugmentation and/or biostimulation methods should also be investigated in addition of natural attenuation. These microcosm experiments are currently underway in a companion study at Cal Poly by graduate student Mackenzie Billings

Ohio Residential Landlord Tenant Act

The new Ohio Landlord-Tenant Act is the legislature\u27s attempt at correcting the imbalance between landlord and tenant. This new law is Ohio\u27s unique adaptation of the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. The thrust of the new act is to abrogate the Ohio common law of caveat emptor and independent covenants and reinterpret residential leases in light of modem contract law. The purpose of this article is to acquaint the reader with the newly defined rights, duties and remedies of the landlord and the tenant. Analysis will be placed on: (1) Ohio case law prior to the act; (2) similar provisions of URLTA, and (3) comparative case and statutes in other jurisdictions emphasizing the new trend in landlord-tenant relations

Commitment to displaying positive emotions at work: an examination of individual and situational antecedents

Studies show that employee emotional displays impact customer behaviors and attitudes (Grandey, Fisk, Mattila, & Sideman, 2002; Pugh, 2001; Tsai, 2001). However, the factors influencing employees\u27 emotional displays have not received much attention. More specifically, research suggests a need to more fully understand the motivational processes underlying employees\u27 emotional displays, particularly in customer service where positive emotional displays are related to customer behaviors and sales performance (Brown & Sulzer-Azaroff, 1994; Diefendorff & Gosserand, in press; Grandey, Fisk, Matilla, & Sideman, 2002; Pugh, 2001; Tsai, 2001). To this end, this investigation examined an expectancy theory model of commitment to positive emotional displays in customer service jobs. Results supported the idea that there is a motivational component behind individual\u27s propensity to follow display rules to express positive emotions. A number of individual and situational variables were found to influence expectancy and valence judgments for positive emotional displays. In turn, expectancy and valence, as well as their multiplicative function, motivational force, were related to commitment to displaying positive emotions. However, expectancy influences commitment to positive displays to a greater extent than valence, when employees consider difficult customer service situations. Results also reveal support for the use of motivational force operationalizations of expectancy theory in order to better understand motivational processes