Prioritizing Caves For Karst Invertebrate Recovery In Central Texas

Prioritizing caves known to contain endangered karst invertebrates in central Texas is more challenging than one may think. Here, we outline a strategy to achieve this goal while thinking of what is best for these species including addressing future impacts from climate change, and what works for landowners that are bound to permit restrictions. For example, there are two entities in the Austin, Texas area that hold regional Section 10(a) (1)(B) incidental take permits issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. When developing the Habitat Conservation Plan for one of these permits several years ago, they listed several caves that they would either acquire or establish management agreements for. Since that time, they have acquired thousands of acres. Some of the caves listed on their permit occur on these lands. However, there are other newly discovered caves on these lands that contain endangered karst invertebrates that are not listed on their permit. Also, some of the caves that are listed on their permit are surrounded by development. This begs the question of which caves should they focus on for long-term preservation? Should they be limited to what their permit says or take a wider approach and look at what is best for the species while considering new cave discoveries? To answer this question from a species perspective, several aspects of these caves should be assessed including but not limited to the cave depth, cave size, species diversity and abundance, and the amount of development etc. around these preserves. Cave size and depth are important because deeper caves may provide more protection from ambient surface fluctuations in temperature and humidity. This approach should provide a more holistic pathway to long-term karst invertebrate conservation. By assessing what is best for the species and acknowledging new cave discoveries, perhaps minor amendments could be made to 10(a)(1)(B) permits that would provide higher species benefits

Is acting prosocially beneficial for the credit market?

This article argues that behaving prosocially implies more transparent information during the negotiation process of a financial contract and more cooperation among the parties to respect the terms of the contract. For this reason this work considers interest rate on loans and insolvency rate functions of prosocial behaviour along with the traditional socio-economic and financial collaterals. The context of study is Italy and the analysis is developed at a cross-regional level. We collect data from the two reports on “Relatives and Safety Net” produced by the Italian Centre Bureau of Statistics (ISTAT) in 1998 and 2003 and from the reports on “Regional Economics” produced by the Bank of Italy in the same years. A two-period panel model shows two interesting outcomes. Firstly, regions with a higher proportion of prosocial individuals report lower interest rates on loans and insolvency rates. Secondly, when we include the efficiency of legal enforcement, evidence supports the idea that a more efficient legal framework can act as a more reliable transmission mechanism of institutional norms and facilitate the internalisation of social norms

A Novel Technique For Reducing Demosaicing Artifacts

Publication in the conference proceedings of EUSIPCO, Florence, Italy, 200

Design of sustainable reactor based on key performance indicators

The design of chemical reactors has been largely considered primarily related to techno-economic evaluations. However, the recent need for sustainable solutions and processes has promoted the inclusion of environmental and safety parameters to identify the most suitable solution. In this sense, an innovative procedure has been developed in this work to identify and design a reactive section in chemical processes. To this aim, different key performance indicators have been defined and quantified for each domain considered within the analysis, namely technological, economic, environmental, and safety domains. In addition, the safety aspects have been quantified by integrating Semenov's theory and Varma, Morbidelli and Wu's theory. The validity and potentiality of the proposed procedure have been tested and shown by applying it to a case study representative for the scale-up of pharmaceutical processes: the industrial synthesis of a Vitamin A intermediate. A preliminary design has been performed for different configurations based on apparent kinetics determined from experimental data and ab initio coefficients available in the current literature. Among the analysed solutions, a single reactor with a volume of 15.90 m3 has been indicated as the most suitable for the process requirements regarding overall sustainability. Hence, the developed procedure can be intended as a powerful tool for screening among available configurations, enabling a more informed decision by simplifying and optimising the scale-up and the detailed design

An integrated approach to elaborate 3-D geological and geotechnical models: a case study from the Daunia Sub-Apennine (Apulia, southern Italy).

In the Daunia Sub-Apennine (Apulia, southern Italy) slope instability processes due to rainfalls and earthquakes are widespread and cause significant damage to buildings and other structures, and, in some cases, loss of life. A detailed slope stability assessment requires information on the predisposing and triggering factors, and a good knowledge of the geological and environmental conditions as well. As concerns seismic-induced landslides, conventional methods used for slope stability analysis can be divided in: i) force-based pseudo-static methods, ii) displacement-based methods, and iii) stress-strain methods. Detailed representations of geological and geotechnical units as well as static and dynamic geotechnical characterization of materials have to be considered for the correct choice of the method for slope stability analysis, since these are fundamental for slope behaviour prediction and modelling. The purpose of this paper was to present a methodological approach for elaborating detailed 3-D geological and geotechnical models for areas very heterogeneous in terms of geological and soil properties. In the southern portion of the eastern Daunia Sub-Apennine, the outermost formations of the chain domain crop out. These are represented by the Cretaceous-Miocene and Pliocene wedge-top basin units, followed upwards, in the easternmost portion, by the Plio-Pleistocene foredeep units and by Quaternary filling deposits. A high susceptibility to slope failures for the area is testified by the large number of slope movements consisting in mud flows, roto-translational and composite landslides, and soil slips. Field variability of the slope movements from site to site for mechanisms, velocity, depth of rupture surfaces and volume of materials involved is due to the presence of structurally complex formations, characterised by very poor mechanical properties and high variability of their lithological and structural features. The construction of geological and geotechnical models able to represent realistic information is conditioned by the efficacy of the methods used for assessing the spatial lithofacies distribution and parametrization. The case study of Deliceto is here presented, where the 3-D geological model was built based on the results of stratigraphic correlations between core logs and 2-D geological sections. In-situ surveys were performed by means of classical geological and geomorphological methods, and continuous coring boreholes. Silty-clayey sandstone materials (Conglomerates and Sandstones of Castello Schiavo) crop out along the slopes and rest on clayey silts and marls of turbidite origin (Flysch di Faeto). The Flysch di Faeto Fm. is a structurally complex geological unit which consists of three main lithofacies: 1) silty clays; 2) silty marly clays 3) marls and shales. A series of geotechnical laboratory tests, carried out in accordance with international standards for the static and dynamic characterization of materials, made it possible to obtain a detailed 3-D geotechnical model. In particular, resonant column (RC), cyclic torsional shear (CTS) and standard and cyclic triaxial (TXC) tests were performed on the silty clayey geotechnical unit of the Flysch di Faeto Fm., because it is highly susceptible to geotechnical fatigue resulting from cyclic stresses. The results of the laboratory tests confirmed a variable post-cyclic degradation in the range 40-80% and 12-36%, respectively for the secant shear modulus (G) and the undrained cohesion (cu) associated with an increase between 2.92% and 19.90% for the damping ratio (D), demonstrating the heterogeneity of the material in terms of geological and geotechnical characteristics

The “sant’angelo in criptis” cave church in santeramo in colle (Apulia, south italy): A multidisciplinary study for the evaluation of conservation state and stability assessment

Sant’Angelo in Criptis (Santeramo in Puglia, South Italy) is a karst cave located in the Alta Murgia National Park (aspiring geopark), presently degraded, but with signs of intense past visiting activity for worship, as testified by the beautiful wall paintings and the large number of inscriptions and engravings on the cave walls. With the aim to permit the desirable restoration and the following fruition of this ancient geo-cultural heritage, a multidisciplinary investigation of the cave was carried out in this study. The 3D cave model permitted a detailed map of the area and highlighted that the cave vault, although very regular, somewhere presents chimneys that develop upwards, indicating areas where the rock thickness is now very small. The stability analysis indicates that presently, the cave does not show remarkable signs of instability, but block failures, toppling and roof collapse are possible. Archaeometry investigations confirmed the past importance of this holy site, as testified by the overlapping in the paintings of three different pictorial cycles and the use of precious pigments, thus confirming the necessity of preservation through a conservation management strategy for a full future fruition of the cave

Partisipasi Masyarakat dalam Pembangunan di Desa Tumokang Baru Kecamatan Dumoga Utara Kabupaten Bolaang Mongondow

Summary: In act no 16 of 2014 explained that the construction of the village aims to improve the welfareof the village community and quality of life of mankind as well as pverty reduction through the fulfillment of basic needs, development of facilities and infrastructure of village, the development potential of the local economy as well as the utilization of natural resources and the environment in a sustainable way.The study uses qualitative methods. The informant is a government research village ( village chif), the village secretary, chairman of the BPD, head of community affairs and the village. The total number of informant there were as many as 10 people. Data collection with interview techniques, documentation, literature studies. While data analysis using descriptive analysis techniques of maleong.Based of the result of the research can be drawn the conclusion of participation in development in the village celebrated by Tumokang New Sub Regency North Bolaang Mongondow Dumoga, not to the maximum because of the willingness and ability of communities that are low and also human resourch community that is still underdeveloped because of the level of education of the community who only completed up to elementary level.Shove off the research results then put forth suggestions: (a) the government of the village is espected opportunities to the public to cntruction of the village (b) to move the willingness of the community to participate in development programs need to be held by the government\u27s own efforts in the delivery of information development (c)foster community awareness to participate, to socialize as well as cooperation from the government in order to make them aware of the meaning of their participation

Comparison of remote sensing techniques for geostructural analysis and cliff monitoring in coastal areas of high tourist attraction: the case study of Polignano a Mare (Southern Italy)

Rock slope failures in urban areas may represent a serious hazard for human life, as well as private and public property, even on the occasion of sporadic episodes. Prevention and mitigation measures indispensably require a proper rock mass characterization, which is often achieved by means of time-consuming, costly and dangerous field surveys. In the last decades, remote sensing devices such as high-resolution digital cameras, laser scanners and drones have been widely used as supplementary techniques for rock slope analysis and monitoring, especially in poorly accessible areas, or in sites of large extension. Although several methods for rock mass characterization by means of remote sensing techniques have been reported in specific studies, there are very few contributions that focused on comparing the different methods in an attempt to establish their advantages and limitations. With this study, we performed digital photogrammetry, Terrestrial Laser Scanning and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle surveys on a cliff located in a popular tourist attraction site, characterized by complex geological and geomorphological settings, as well as by disturbance elements such as vegetation and human activities. For each point cloud, we applied geostructural analysis by means of semi-automatic methods, and then compared multi-temporal acquisitions for cliff monitoring. By quantitative comparison of the results and validation by means of conventional geostructural field surveys, the pros and cons of each method were outlined in attempt to depict the conditions and goals the different techniques seem to be more suitable fo

Evaluation of InfraRed Thermography Supported by UAV and Field Surveys for Rock Mass Characterization in Complex Settings

The InfraRed Thermography (IRT) technique is gaining increasing popularity in the geo-sciences. Although several studies on the use of this technique for rock mass characterization were reported in the literature, its applicability is challenging in complex environments, characterized by poor accessibility, lithological heterogeneity, karst features and disturbances, such as vegetation and human activities. This paper reports the results of specific tests carried out to explore the application of IRT methods, supported by UAV surveys, for rock mass characterization in complex conditions. In detail, a 24-h monitoring was performed on an appropriate case study to assess which type of information can be collected and what issues can be expected. The results of the thermograms were compared with data reported in the literature and discussed. A novel method to detect correlations between the temperature profiles at the air-rock interfaces and the rock mass properties is presented. The main advantages, limitations and suggestions in order to take full advantage of the IRT technique in complex conditions are reported in the final section