Can Farmers and Bats Co-exist? Farmer Attitudes, Knowledge, and Experiences with Bats in Belize

Bats (Chiroptera) are often viewed negatively by the public. Negative public perceptions of bats may hinder efforts to conserve declining populations. In Belize, the presence of vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus and Diphylla ecaudata) exacerbates the potential for conflicts with humans because of the increased rabies transmission risks. To mitigate these risks, the Belize government provides farmers with assistance to trap and remove vampire bats. In June 2018, we surveyed farmers (n = 44) in and adjacent to the Vaca Forest Reserve in Belize to learn more about their attitudes, knowledge, and experiences with bats. This information may provide new insights and approaches to address farmers’ concerns and enhance bat conservation efforts in Belize. Farmers held negative attitudes toward bats, exhibited low knowledge of their ecosystem services, and supported the trapping and use of toxicants to control bat populations to reduce the risk of rabies transmission between vampire bats and livestock. Farmers with livestock had more negative attitudes toward bats than farmers without livestock. Despite farmers reporting depredation incidences with fruit-eating and vampire bats, farmers expressed more negative attitudes toward vampire bats. We recommend that conservation education efforts target all stakeholders in the reserve to increase awareness about the importance of bats to ecosystems and highlight the dangers of indiscriminate trapping. Cumulatively, this may lead to positive attitude changes toward bats and their conservation

Modeling of Transitional Channel Flow Using Balanced Proper Orthogonal Decomposition

We study reduced-order models of three-dimensional perturbations in linearized channel flow using balanced proper orthogonal decomposition (BPOD). The models are obtained from three-dimensional simulations in physical space as opposed to the traditional single-wavenumber approach, and are therefore better able to capture the effects of localized disturbances or localized actuators. In order to assess the performance of the models, we consider the impulse response and frequency response, and variation of the Reynolds number as a model parameter. We show that the BPOD procedure yields models that capture the transient growth well at a low order, whereas standard POD does not capture the growth unless a considerably larger number of modes is included, and even then can be inaccurate. In the case of a localized actuator, we show that POD modes which are not energetically significant can be very important for capturing the energy growth. In addition, a comparison of the subspaces resulting from the two methods suggests that the use of a non-orthogonal projection with adjoint modes is most likely the main reason for the superior performance of BPOD. We also demonstrate that for single-wavenumber perturbations, low-order BPOD models reproduce the dominant eigenvalues of the full system better than POD models of the same order. These features indicate that the simple, yet accurate BPOD models are a good candidate for developing model-based controllers for channel flow.Comment: 35 pages, 20 figure

The principal soil areas of Iowa

All the soils of Iowa without exception are, in respect to their origin, referable to one or the other of four easily distinguishable classes, which, are to be found in plainly marked areas. These are: 1. Geest, or soils resulting from the secular decay of indurated rocks. 2. Soils Of Fluviatile Origin, or stream made soils (alluvium). 3. Soils Of Aeolian Origin, or wind made soils (loess). 4. Soils Of Glacial Origin, or ice made soils (till)

The principal soil areas of Iowa

All the soils of Iowa without exception are, in respect to their origin, referable to one or the other of four easily distinguishable classes, which, are to be found in plainly marked areas. These are: 1. Geest, or soils resulting from the secular decay of indurated rocks. 2. Soils Of Fluviatile Origin, or stream made soils (alluvium). 3. Soils Of Aeolian Origin, or wind made soils (loess). 4. Soils Of Glacial Origin, or ice made soils (till)

Poly-ε-Lysine or Mel4 Antimicrobial Surface Modification on a Novel Peptide Hydrogel Bandage Contact Lens

Microbial keratitis (MK) is a serious issue in many countries and is often caused by contact lens wear. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a potentially useful tool for creating antimicrobial surfaces in light of increasing antibiotic resistance. Poly-ε-lysine (pεK) is an AMP that has been used extensively as a food preservative and Mel4 has recently been synthesized and studied as an antimicrobial coating for contact lenses. A hydrogel synthesized of pεK cross-linked with biscarboxylic acids provides a potential lens material which has many surface free amines, that can be subsequently used to attach additional AMPs, creating an antimicrobial lens. The aim of this study is to investigate pεK hydrogels against a clinical strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) for preventing or treating MK. Covalent attachment of AMPs is investigated and confirmed by fluorescently tagged peptides. Bound pεK effectively reduces the number of adherent P. aeruginosa in vitro (>3 log). In ex vivo studies positive antimicrobial activity is observed on bare pεK hydrogels and those with additionally bound pεK or Mel4; lenses allow the maintenance of the corneal epithelium. A pεK hydrogel contact lens with additional AMPs can be a therapeutic tool to reduce the incidence of MK

Public Perceptions of Values Associated with Wildfire Protection at the Wildland-Urban Interface: A Synthesis of National Findings

The wildland-urban interface (WUI) continues to transform rural landscapes as previously undeveloped areas are populated with residential and commercial structures which, in turn, impact ecosystems and create landscapes of risk. Within this context, the science of wildfire risk mitigation has experienced renewed and enhanced support among scientists and managers. However, risk mitigation measures have not found purchase in either the public’s acceptance or involvement in this new role of and for fire. This may partially result from little regard for the effects of wildfire prevention efforts on values other than protecting homes and other structures. We report findings from qualitative interviews conducted across the United States to identify and define various values at risk from wildfire. Values influencing risk mitigation emerged from the biophysical, sociodemographic, and sociocultural contexts of wildfire. Findings demonstrate how wildfire is intertwined with diverse sets of risks experienced in daily life. We provide a discussion of how this research impacts the transformation of landscapes and risk management strategies. Identifying and better understanding the effects of values associated with wildfire—and landscape change in the WUI—will allow natural resource managers and decision makers to develop more effective fuel treatment programs and land use policies

Dynamic Data Driven Methods for Self-aware Aerospace Vehicles

A self-aware aerospace vehicle can dynamically adapt the way it performs missions by gathering information about itself and its surroundings and responding intelligently. Achieving this DDDAS paradigm enables a revolutionary new generation of self-aware aerospace vehicles that can perform missions that are impossible using current design, flight, and mission planning paradigms. To make self-aware aerospace vehicles a reality, fundamentally new algorithms are needed that drive decision-making through dynamic response to uncertain data, while incorporating information from multiple modeling sources and multiple sensor fidelities.In this work, the specific challenge of a vehicle that can dynamically and autonomously sense, plan, and act is considered. The challenge is to achieve each of these tasks in real time executing online models and exploiting dynamic data streams–while also accounting for uncertainty. We employ a multifidelity approach to inference, prediction and planning an approach that incorporates information from multiple modeling sources, multiple sensor data sources, and multiple fidelities