The valuation and use of site information for Douglas-fir reforestation in Western Oregon : a decision analysis

Existing forest site maps have been described as "invaluable tools" in forest management. Their, economic value potentially materializes as the summed advantage from better decisions in all phases of forestry. Via Bayesian decision analysis, this study establishes optimal use and economic value of site information for one facet of management only: The choice of an optimal planting density in Douglas-fir reforestation. Two case studies were undertaken in extremely different environments of Southwestern and Northwestern Oregon. The prior analysis is based on a review of existing ref3restation records and a simulation model. Optimal prior acts differ substantially from present policies. Their implementation may reduce expected costs by approximately $50 per acre. Based on ecological variables observed an 350 survival plots, prediction aids for first-year survival arid site class, the main sources of uncertainty,are established. Plant water relations, and particularly the available water capacity of soils, emerge as prime determinants of survival and productivity. During preposterior analysis, Bayes' strategy translates ecological knowledge directly into optimal managerial choices for specific site units. Site information is evaluated economically, based on prospective reduction of reforestation costs. Expected values of site information are relatively low and almost identical in both ownerships. In the Northwestern Oregon study, it is a rather uniform environment for reforestation which limits the value of information. In the very diverse environment of the Southwestern Oregon ownership, lower marginal costs for plantation establishment, and smaller opportunity losses set these limits. A larger potential value of site information is likely for activities with high marginal costs in Southwestern Oregon. Bayesian decision analysis emphasizes the duality of ecology and economics in forest management. Combined with a system of collecting and analyzing operational records, it resembles a traditional forestry approach to uncertainty: Biolley's control method. As an extended, economically, statistically and computationally refined equivalent of the control method, Bayesian decision analysis deserves a place in the theory of forestry and in practical management of our forests

Nutrient uptake by conifer seedlings as influenced by root CEC and competing species

The objectives of this study were to establish a suitable method for the measurement of the root cation-exchange capacity of conifer seedlings, and to examine possible influences of this root characteristic on nutrient absorption from a Bellpine soil under greenhouse conditions. The exchange sites of fresh, excised roots were saturated with H⁺ by means of ten subsequent 15-second rinses in 0.1 N HC1. Each acid rinse was followed by a water rinse of equal length. This technique, together with the use of large volumes of acid and "lowsalt" roots, permitted complete saturation of the root exchange sites by preventing readsorption of replaced and leaked cations. The acid which was subsequently released into a neutral 0.1 N KC1 solution by these roots was titrated. Neutral pH was maintained by addition of standard KOH for up to two hours. The titration value did not represent an accurate measurement of the root CEC, since short titration periods prevented complete neutralization of the adsorbed acidity. Extended titration times led to the inclusion of large amounts of H⁺, which are derived from various other sources within the root. This latter fraction of H⁺, termed non-exchangeable, was quantitatively determined by titration of the acidity, which was liberated from Ca-saturated roots. The root CEC was measured as the difference between total and non-exchangeable acidity. The Bellpine soil was shown to considerably reduce the root cation-exchange capacity of nursery-grown conifer seedlings. Most likely, changes in the fungus-root association, variations in the N-level, or high levels of Mn are the causes of the observed CEC decreases. In a greenhouse experiment, incense cedar, noble fir, and two Douglas fir varieties were grown singly, in association with each other, and together with bentgrass and tall fescue. Manganese concentrations in the seedlings reached toxicity levels in many instances and induced a Fe-deficiency. The tolerance of the conifer species to high levels of Mn was correlated to their root CEC. Species with a relatively high root CEC took up more Ca; whereas, in most cases, seedlings with relatively low root CEC accumulated more K. Increases in P uptake were paralleled by rising root CEC. These correlations, however, do not necessarily imply a causal relationship between root CEC and nutrient absorption. Competing tree and grass species did not, in all cases,affect the nutrient uptake by the host species according to expectations from their root CEC. Other factors overshadowed possible influences of root CEC in competitive nutrient uptake

Improved upper limb function in non-ambulant children with SMA type 2 and 3 during nusinersen treatment: a prospective 3-years SMArtCARE registry study

Background The development and approval of disease modifying treatments have dramatically changed disease progression in patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Nusinersen was approved in Europe in 2017 for the treatment of SMA patients irrespective of age and disease severity. Most data on therapeutic efficacy are available for the infantile-onset SMA. For patients with SMA type 2 and type 3, there is still a lack of sufficient evidence and long-term experience for nusinersen treatment. Here, we report data from the SMArtCARE registry of non-ambulant children with SMA type 2 and typen 3 under nusinersen treatment with a follow-up period of up to 38 months. Methods SMArtCARE is a disease-specific registry with data on patients with SMA irrespective of age, treatment regime or disease severity. Data are collected during routine patient visits as real-world outcome data. This analysis included all non-ambulant patients with SMA type 2 or 3 below 18 years of age before initiation of treatment. Primary outcomes were changes in motor function evaluated with the Hammersmith Functional Motor Scale Expanded (HFMSE) and the Revised Upper Limb Module (RULM). Results Data from 256 non-ambulant, pediatric patients with SMA were included in the data analysis. Improvements in motor function were more prominent in upper limb: 32.4% of patients experienced clinically meaningful improvements in RULM and 24.6% in HFMSE. 8.6% of patients gained a new motor milestone, whereas no motor milestones were lost. Only 4.3% of patients showed a clinically meaningful worsening in HFMSE and 1.2% in RULM score. Conclusion Our results demonstrate clinically meaningful improvements or stabilization of disease progression in non-ambulant, pediatric patients with SMA under nusinersen treatment. Changes were most evident in upper limb function and were observed continuously over the follow-up period. Our data confirm clinical trial data, while providing longer follow-up, an increased number of treated patients, and a wider range of age and disease severity

Friderici Godoholdi Schoenii De personarum in Euripidis Bacchabus habitu scenico commentatio

FRIDERICI GODOHOLDI SCHOENII DE PERSONARUM IN EURIPIDIS BACCHABUS HABITU SCENICO COMMENTATIO Friderici Godoholdi Schoenii De personarum in Euripidis Bacchabus habitu scenico commentatio ( - ) Einband ( - ) Titelseite ([1]r) Caput I. Praefatio. ([1]) Caput II. De Bacchi persona. (8) Caput III. De relicuo Bacchi ornatu. (20) Caput IV. De Penthei persona et habitu. (35) Caput V. De Agaua (46) Caput VI. De Cudmo et Tiresia. (49) Caput VII. De nuntiorum et famulantium personis. (60) Caput VIII. De choricarum personarum partibus et numero. (67) Caput IX. De apparatu bacchico in universum deque instituenda hac disputatione. (76) Caput X. De ea apparatus parte, quae ad corporis ornatum cultumque pertinet. (78) Caput XI. De instrumentis bacchantium musicis. (121) Caput XII. De Baccharum apud Euripidem habitu scenico. (130) Index scriptorum. (157) Index rerum. (159) Corrigenda et addenda. (165

Modelling of the preheating process of filament tows

Filament winding of powder impregnated fibres has been applied to produce composite rings. Important steps in the process are the preheating of the tow within an infrared (IR) preheater. The paper provides results of modelling the heating process of the tow within the preheater. The calculations are focused on the evaluation of the temperature not only at the surface of the tow but also across the whole diameter, i.e. the skin-core effect is investigated