Negative Findings Report Cultural Resource Survey Comanche Trail Pipeline, LLC. San Elizario Crossing FERC Regulated Area El Paso County, Texas

During early May of 2015, TAS Inc. conducted a pedestrian survey and shovel testing of the Comanche Trail Pipeline, LLC (Comanche Trail) San Elizario Crossing in southeast El Paso County, Texas. The project will connect a natural gas pipeline in Texas with a natural gas pipeline in Mexico. Because of the international nature of the project, the survey fell under jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The survey area was located south and west of Chicken Ranch Road, 1.8 miles south of San Elizario and was confined to FERC regulated areas northeast of the Rio Grande. The project encompasses a staked right-of-way (ROW), as well as a Horizontal Directional Drill (HDD) location and temporary work space to be used to pull the pipe under the Rio Grande. HDD construction will occupy an area approximately 200 by 220 ft, with an additional 2,000-ft-long by 115-ft-wide temporary work space for an area of effect (APE) of 4.2 acres. An additional 1,000 by 100 ft section of proposed centerline between the HDD location and the Rio Grande brings the total area surveyed to 5.5 acres. No evidence of prehistoric or significant historic occupation or use was found by survey and shovel testing within the APE or along the staked ROW. The Texas Historical Commission subsequently requested backhoe trenching to confirm the absence of buried cultural deposits. In July, two 15-m-long trenches were dug to depths of 2 m each. Both were culturally sterile indicating that pipeline installation should not affect significant archeological or historical remains. A full description of the methods and results of trenching are reported in an addendum to the survey report

Retesting visual fields: Utilizing prior information to decrease test-retest variability in glaucoma

PURPOSE. To determine whether sensitivity estimates from an individual's previous visual field tests can be incorporated into perimetric procedures to improve accuracy and reduce test-retest variability at subsequent visits. METHODS. Computer simulation was used to determine the error, distribution of errors and presentation count for a series of perimetric algorithms. Baseline procedures were Full Threshold and Zippy Estimation by Sequential Testing (ZEST). Retest strategies were (1) allowing ZEST to continue from the previous test without reinitializing the probability density function [pdf], (2) running ZEST with a Gaussian pdf centered about the previous result; (3) retest minimizing uncertainty (REMU), a new procedure combining suprathreshold and ZEST procedures incorporating prior test information. Empiric visual field data of 265 control and 163 patients with glaucoma were input into the simulation. Four error conditions were modeled: patients who make no errors, 15% false-positive (FP) with 3% false-negative (FN) errors, 15% FN with 3% FP errors, and 20% FP with 20% FN errors. RESULTS. If sensitivity was stable from test to retest, an the retest algorithms were faster than the baseline algorithms by, on average, one presentation per location and are significantly more accurate (P < 0.05). When visual fields changed from test to retest, REMU was faster and more accurate than the other retest approaches and the baseline procedures. Relative to the baseline procedures, REMU showed decreased test-retest variability in impaired regions of Visual field. CONCLUSIONS. The obvious approaches to retest, such as continuing the previous procedure or seeding with previous values, have limitations when sensitivity changes between tests. REMU, however, significantly improves both accuracy and precision of testing and displays minimal bias, even when fields change and patients make errors

Intensive Survey Of The Proposed Aragorn Solar Farm On University Lands, Culbertson County, Texas

IP Aragorn LLC plans to develop a solar farm on a 1,765-acre tract on University Lands (UL) in Culberson County, Texas. In March and April 2018, Turpin and Sons Inc. (TAS) assessed the potential for significant cultural resources under the authority of Texas Antiquities Permit 8374 issued to UL, Aragorn and TAS with Jeff Turpin acting as Principal Investigator. The project area is a barren extent of interfluvial gypsum plain between the Rustler Hills on the east and the Delaware Mountains on the west. One previously recorded site, 41CU558, barely extends to the access road on the northeastern end of the tract, with the majority of the cultural remains outside the boundary. Although the Texas Historical Commission had at one time declared the site eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), neither the first recording nor two subsequent revisits found anything of significance on the site. One newly recorded site, 41CU862, is a scatter of fire-cracked rock and lithic debris that is equally insignificant with no potential for buried or intact deposits. Neither 41CU862 nor the portion of 41CU558 in the Aragorn tract meet eligibility criteria for listing on the NRHP or merit designation as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL). No further work nor avoidance measures are recommended in the Aragorn tract

Conical refraction healing after partially blocking the input beam

In conical refraction, when a focused Gaussian beam passes along one of the optic axes of a biaxial crystal it is transformed into a pair of concentric bright rings at the focal plane. We demonstrate both theoretically and experimentally that this transformation is hardly affected by partially blocking the Gaussian input beam with an obstacle. We analyze the influence of the size of the obstruction both on the transverse intensity pattern of the beam and on its state of polarization, which is shown to be very robust

Developing and utilising a realist-constructivist analytical framework towards understanding the European Union’s Common Security and Defence Policy

This thesis develops and utilises a realist-constructivist framework for the purposes of analysing the development of the European Union’s Common Security and Defence Policy. This thesis challenges ‘paradigmatic thinking’ within the discipline of International Relations to demonstrate that constructivist elements are not only commensurable to realist analysis of international relations, but can bring added value to our understanding of how states’ interpret and respond to the threats and incentives of the international system. Inspired by readings of classical realism, this thesis recognises that whilst structural realism provides theoretical parsimony and elegance in its appreciation for the role of power within the international system, it lacks the necessary analytical toolkit to understand how states respond to the threats and incentives of anarchy. This is demonstrated with specific reference to the shortcomings of extant realist approaches to the complex empirical puzzle that is the Common Security and Defence Policy, which have resulted in realist theorising being relatively side-lined in relation to this policy area. To address this gap in the literature, it draws upon a neoclassical realist multi-level model of foreign policy analysis, to integrate structural realist analysis at the system-level with constructivist analysis at the unit-level. In order to demonstrate the utility of this novel framework this thesis applies it to understanding the development of the Common Security and Defence Policy, making the case that this development may be interpreted as an instance of limited transatlantic bandwagoning under unipolarity to ameliorate the ‘alliance dilemma’ – the dichotomous dangers of entrapment and abandonment by the senior partner in the alliance. However, the approaches of EU member states facing similar system-level threats and incentives to this policy area diverge. Therefore the ‘black box’ of the state is opened to explore whether the scope and pace of involvement is impacted by ideational factors at the national level. This thesis takes account of the security cultures of the United Kingdom and Germany specifically as a basis by which to understand their respective approaches towards developing security and defence cooperation through the EU. In this sense, the thesis aspires to make a contribution to the literature in both empirical and conceptual terms. The investigation into the development of the Common Security and Defence Policy is understood through reference to both material and ideational factors and the interaction between these provides empirical findings, but the thesis also formulates a realist-constructivist framework to integrate these factors into a single analysis, which has attracted limited scholarly attention thus far. Furthermore, the developed realist-constructivist analytical framework offers significant insights on the continuing relevance of the realist tradition within International Relations to complement existing scholarship, on both theoretical pluralism and the Common Security and Defence Policy. The thesis thus offers a particular formulation and demonstration of realist-constructivist synthesis, but points to further opportunities of the framework within EU and global politics

Pre- and post- prandial appetite hormone levels in normal weight and severely obese women

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Appetite is affected by many factors including the hormones leptin, ghrelin and adiponectin. Ghrelin stimulates hunger, leptin promotes satiety, and adiponectin affects insulin response. This study was designed to test whether the pre- and postprandial response of key appetite hormones differs in normal weight (NW) and severely obese (SO) women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twenty three women ages 25–50 were recruited for this study including 10 NW (BMI = 23.1 ± 1.3 kg/m²) and 13 SO (BMI = 44.5 ± 7.1 kg/m²). The study was conducted in a hospital-based clinical research centre. Following a 12-hour fast, participants had a baseline blood draw, consumed a moderately high carbohydrate meal (60% carbohydrate, 20% protein, 20% fat) based on body weight. Postprandially, participants had six blood samples drawn at 0, 15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes. Primary measures included pre- and post-prandial total ghrelin, leptin, adiponectin and insulin. A repeated measures general linear model was used to evaluate the hormone changes by group and time (significance p ≤ 0.05).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were significant differences between the NW and the SO for all hormones in the preprandial fasting state. The postprandial responses between the SO versus NW revealed: higher leptin (p < 0.0001), lower adiponectin (p = 0.04), trend for lower ghrelin (p = 0.06) and insulin was not different (p = 0.26). Postprandial responses over time between the SO versus NW: higher leptin (p < 0.001), lower ghrelin and adiponectin (p = 0.004, p = 0.015, respectively), and trend for higher insulin (p = 0.06).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study indicates that significant differences in both pre- and selected post- prandial levels of leptin, ghrelin, adiponectin and insulin exist between NW and SO women. Improving our understanding of the biochemical mechanisms accounting for these differences in appetite hormones among individuals with varying body size and adiposity should aid in the development of future therapies to prevent and treat obesity.</p

Structural Performance of Advanced Composite Tow-Steered Shells With Cutouts

The structural performance of two advanced composite tow-steered shells with cutouts, manufactured using an automated fiber placement system, is assessed using both experimental and analytical methods. The shells' fiber orientation angles vary continuously around their circumference from +/-10 degrees on the crown and keel, to +/-45 degrees on the sides. The raised surface features on one shell result from application of all 24 tows during each fiber placement system pass, while the second shell uses the system's tow drop/add capability to achieve a more uniform wall thickness. These unstiffened shells were previously tested in axial compression and buckled elastically. A single cutout, scaled to represent a passenger door on a commercial aircraft, is then machined into one side of each shell. The prebuckling axial stiffnesses and bifurcation buckling loads of the shells with cutouts are also computed using linear finite element structural analyses for initial comparisons with test data. When retested, large deflections were observed around the cutouts, but the shells carried an average of 92 percent of the axial stiffness, and 86 percent of the buckling loads, of the shells without cutouts. These relatively small reductions in performance demonstrate the potential for using tow steering to mitigate the adverse effects of typical design features on the overall structural performance