The Regulation of Subsidies Affecting International Trade

We will begin by examining the basic contours of the present GATT regulation of subsidies. We will then consider the theory of comparative advantage underlying the GATT regime and introduce the complications of externalities and the governmental process designed to take account of them. Finally, we will make some tentative suggestions for changes in rules and institutions that might serve to improve the present state of affairs

Wildlife Habitat Management on College and University Campuses

With the increasing involvement of higher education institutions in sustainability movements, it remains unclear to what extent college and university campuses address wildlife habitat. Many campuses encompass significant areas of green space with potential to support diverse wildlife taxa. However, sustainability rating systems generally emphasize efforts like recycling and energy conservation over green landscaping and grounds maintenance. We sought to examine the types of wildlife habitat projects occurring at schools across the United States and whether or not factors like school type (public or private), size (number of students), urban vs. rural setting, and funding played roles in the implementation of such initiatives. Using case studies compiled by the National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology program, we documented wildlife habitat-related projects at 60 campuses. Ten management actions derived from nationwide guidelines were used to describe the projects carried out by these institutions, and we recorded data about cost, funding, and outreach and education methods. We explored potential relationships among management actions and with school characteristics. We extracted themes in project types, along with challenges and responses to those challenges. Native plant species selection and sustainable lawn maintenance and landscaping were the most common management actions among the 60 campuses. According to the case studies we examined, we found that factors like school type, size, and location did not affect the engagement of a campus in wildlife habitat initiatives, nor did they influence the project expenditures or funding received by a campus. Our results suggest that many wildlife habitat initiatives are feasible for higher education institutions and may be successfully implemented at relatively low costs through simple, but deliberate management actions

Exploring the Ecology of Establishing Oak Trees in Urban Settings of the Northeast

Urban forests notoriously lack diversity in the biological communities that inhabit them, from the age and species composition of street trees to wildlife populations. In reaction to invasions of nonnative insects and diseases as well as predicted response to climate change, an emerging number of community foresters and tree wardens are expanding their urban tree planting practices to include a broader assemblage of tree species. These include oaks, among other species able to tolerate and adapt to urban conditions. Oaks are potentially favorable in regions like the northeastern U.S., where they grow extensively in rural forests and demonstrate potential resistance to specific urban pests that have caused challenges for other historically popular and extensively planted street trees. Additionally, they are known to feature a number of wildlife benefits, and their ranges in the Northeast are predicted to expand under many future climate change forecast models. We examine the role of oaks in the urban environment through the lens of the urban forest diversity deficit, reviewing topics that include diversity recommendations, threats by nonnative insects and diseases, and the human-wildlife interface. The goal of this work is to encourage careful consideration of where and when to plant oak trees to help professionals address issues of uniformity, while achieving benefits for urban forest ecosystems and residents

Time relations and structural-stratigraphic patterns in ophiolite accretion, west central Klamath Mountains, California

New geochronological data and published structural and stratigraphic data show that two distinctly different ophiolitic assemblages formed in general proximity to one another at nearly the same time and were subsequently imbricated along a regional thrust zone. The Josephine ophiolite constitutes a complete oceanic crust and upper mantle sequence which lies within the western Jurassic belt of the Klamath province. Within the study area the Josephine ophiolite was formed by seafloor spreading at about 157 m.y. before present. It was immediately covered by a thin pelagic and hemipelagic sequence which grades into a thick flysch sequence, both of which comprise the Galice Formation. The Galice flysch was derived from volcanic arc and uplifted continental margin orogenic assemblages. A major nonvolcanic source for the Galice flysch appears to have been the western Paleozoic and Triassic belt of the Klamath province exposed to the east. Proximal volcanic arc activity migrated to the site of the Josephine-Galice section by 151 m.y. and is represented by numerous dikes and sills which intrude the ophiolite and Galice Formation. The Preston Peak ophiolite is a polygenetic assemblage consisting of (1) a pre-mid-Jurassic tectonitic peridotite-amphibolite substrate which represents disrupted and unroofed basement of the western Paleozoic and Triassic belt and (2) an upper mafic complex which was intruded through and constructed above the tectonite substrate at about 160 m.y. The mafic complex consists primarily of diabase hypabyssal rocks that are overlain by diabase-clast breccia and hemipelagic deposits. A major arc-plutonic complex was emplaced into the Preston Peak ophiolite in at least two pulses at 153 and 149 m.y. Major phases of this complex consist of wehrlite, gabbro, pyroxene diorite, and hornblende diorite. The Josephine ophiolite is interpreted as the remnants of interarc basin crust. The Preston Peak ophiolite is interpreted as either a primitive remnant arc complex or a rift edge facies for the Josephine interarc basin. The Galice Formation represents a submarine fan complex that was built on juvenile crust of the Josephine basin floor. During the time interval of 153 to 149 m.y. the locus or arc magmatism migrated to an area which included the interarc basin floor and the remnant arc or basin edge. The basin shortly thereafter closed by convergent tectonics during the Nevadan orogeny resulting in the imbrication of the Josephine and Preston Peak ophiolites and their superimposed arc assemblages. The transition from seafloor spreading generation of Josephine ophiolite to its tectonic accretion by convergence and basin closure occurred within 5 to 10 m.y. The process of rifting and ophiolite formation in series with convergence and ophiolite accretion is considered an important mechanism for generating and displacing allocthonous terranes in the Klamath Mountains-Sierra Nevada region, and perhaps throughout the western cordillera

Remote Chemical Sensing Using Quantum Cascade Lasers

Spectroscopic chemical sensing research at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is focused on developing advanced sensors for detecting the production of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons; use of chemical weapons; or the presence of explosives, firearms, narcotics, or other contraband of significance to homeland security in airports, cargo terminals, public buildings, or other sensitive locations. For most of these missions, the signature chemicals are expected to occur in very low concentrations, and in mixture with ambient air or airborne waste streams that contain large numbers of other species that may interfere with spectroscopic detection, or be mistaken for signatures of illicit activity. PNNL’s emphasis is therefore on developing remote and sampling sensors with extreme sensitivity, and resistance to interferents, or selectivity. PNNL’s research activities include: 1. Identification of signature chemicals and quantification of their spectral characteristics, 2. Identification and development of laser and other technologies that enable breakthroughs in sensitivity and selectivity, 3. Development of promising sensing techniques through experimentation and modeling the physical phenomenology and practical engineering limitations affecting their performance, and 4. Development and testing of data collection methods and analysis algorithms. Close coordination of all aspects of the research is important to ensure that all parts are focused on productive avenues of investigation. Close coordination of experimental development and numerical modeling is particularly important because the theoretical component provides understanding and predictive capability, while the experiments validate calculations and ensure that all phenomena and engineering limitations are considered

Progress Report on Frequency - Modulated Differential Absorption Lidar

Modeling done at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in FY2000 predicted improved sensitivity for remote chemical detection by differential absorption lidar (DIAL) if frequency-modulated (FM) lasers were used. This improved sensitivity results from faster averaging away of speckle noise and the recently developed quantum cascade (QC) lasers offer the first practical method for implementing this approach in the molecular fingerprint region of the infrared. To validate this model prediction, a simple laboratory bench FM-DIAL system was designed, assembled, tested, and laboratory-scale experiments were carried out during FY2001. Preliminary results of the FM DIAL experiments confirm the speckle averaging advantages predicted by the models. In addition, experiments were performed to explore the use of hybrid QC - CO2 lasers for achieving sufficient frequency-modulated laser power to enable field experiments at longer ranges (up to one kilometer or so). This approach will allow model validation at realistic ranges much sooner than would be possible if one had to first develop master oscillator - power amplifier systems utilizing only QC devices. Amplification of a QC laser with a CO2 laser was observed in the first hybrid laser experiments, but the low gain and narrow linewidth of the CO2 laser available for these experiments prevented production of a high-power FM laser beam

Fieldable Fourier Transform Spectrometer: System Construction, Background Variability Measurements, and Chemical Attack Warning Experiments

The infrared sensors task at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is focused on the science and technology of remote and in-situ chemical sensors for detecting proliferation and countering terrorism. Missions to be addressed by remote chemical sensor development will include detecting proliferation of nuclear or chemical weapons, and providing warning of terrorist use of chemical weapons. Missions to be addressed by in-situ chemical sensor development include countering terrorism by screening luggage, personnel, and shipping containers for explosives, firearms, narcotics, chemical weapons, or chemical weapons residues, and mapping contaminated areas. The science and technology relevant to these primary missions is also likely to be useful for battlefield chemical weapons defense, air operations support, monitoring emissions from chemical weapons destruction facilities or industrial chemical plants, and law enforcement applications. PNNL will seek to serve organizations with direct interest in these missions through collaborative research and development efforts approved by NA-22. During FY02, PNNL began assembling a remote IR detection capability that would allow field experiments to be conducted. The capability consists of a commercially available FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared) emission spectrometer and a frequency-modulation differential-absorption LIDAR (FM-DIAL) system being developed at PNNL. To provide environmental protection for these systems, a large, well insulated, temperature controlled trailer was specified and procured. While the FTIR system was field-ready, the FM-DIAL system required many modifications to prepare for field deployment. This document provides an overview of the FTIR system, summarizes the modifications made to the FM-DIAL system, and describes the salient features of the remote systems trailer

Requirements for Xenon International

This document defines the requirements for the new Xenon International radioxenon system. The output of this project will be a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) developed prototype and a manufacturer-developed production prototype. The two prototypes are intended to be as close to matching as possible; this will be facilitated by overlapping development cycles and open communication between PNNL and the manufacturer

Phenotypic variation of larks along an aridity gradient:Are desert birds more flexible?

We investigated interindividual variation and intra-individual phenotypic flexibility in basal metabolic rate (BMR), total evaporative water loss (TEWL), body temperature (T-b), the minimum dry heat transfer coefficient (h), and organ and muscle size of five species of larks geographically distributed along an aridity gradient. We exposed all species to constant environments of 15degreesC or 35degreesC, and examined to what extent interspecific differences in physiology can be attributed to acclimation. We tested the hypothesis that birds from deserts display larger intra-individual phenotypic flexibility and smaller intern individual variation than species from mesic areas.Larks from arid areas had lower BMR, TEWL, and h, but did not have internal organ, sizes different from birds from mesic habitats. BMR of 15degreesC-acclimated birds was 18.0%, 29.1%, 12.2%, 25.3%, and 4.7% higher than of 35degreesC-acclimated Hoopoe Larks, Dunn's Larks, Spike-heeled Larks, Skylarks, and Woodlarks, respectively. TEWL of 15degreesC-acclimated Hoopoe Larks exceeded values for 35degreesC-acclimated individuals by 23% but did not differ between 15degreesC- and 35degreesC-acclimated individuals in the other species. The dry heat transfer coefficient was increased in 15degreesC-acclimated individuals of Skylarks and Dunn's Larks, but not in the. other species. Body temperature was on average 0.4degreesC +/- 0.15degreesC (mean +/- 1 SEM) lower in 15degreesC-acclimated individuals of all species. Increased food intake in 15degreesC-acclimated birds stimulated enlargement of intestine (26.9-38.6%), kidneys (9.8-24.4%), liver (16.5-27.2%), and. stomach (22.0-31.6%). The pectoral muscle increased in 15degreesC-acclimated Spike-heeled Larks and Skylarks, remained unchanged in Hoopoe Larks, and decreased in 15degreesC-acclimated Woodlarks and Dunn's Larks. We conclude that the degree of intra-individual flexibility varied between physiological traits and among species, but that acclimation does not account for interspecific differences in BMR, TEWL, and h in larks. We found no general support for the hypothesis that species from desert environments display larger intra-individual phenotypic flexibility than those from mesic areas.The coefficient of variation of larks acclimated to their natural environment was smaller in species from and areas than in species from mesic areas for mass-corrected BMR and surface-specific h, but not for mass-corrected TEWL. The high repeatabilities of BMR, TEWL, and h in several species indicated a within-individual consistency on which natural selection could operate.</p

Why do women choose private over public facilities for family planning services? A qualitative study of post-partum women in an informal urban settlement in Kenya

BACKGROUND: Nearly 40 % of women in developing countries seek contraceptives services from the private sector. However, the reasons that contraceptive clients choose private or public providers are not well studied. METHODS: We conducted six focus groups discussions and 51 in-depth interviews with postpartum women (n = 61) to explore decision-making about contraceptive use after delivery, including facility choice. RESULTS: When seeking contraceptive services, women in this study preferred private over public facilities due to convenience and timeliness of services. Women avoided public facilities due to long waits and disrespectful providers. Study participants reported, however, that they felt more confident about the technical medical quality in public facilities than in private, and believed that private providers prioritized profit over safe medical practice. Women reported that public facilities offered comprehensive counseling and chose these facilities when they needed contraceptive decision-support. Provision of comprehensive counseling and screening, including side effects counseling and management, determined perception of quality. CONCLUSION: Women believed private providers offered the advantages of convenience, efficiency and privacy, though they did not consistently offer high-quality care. Quality-improvement of contraceptive care at private facilities could include technical standardization and accreditation. Development of support and training for side effect management may be an important intervention to improve perceived quality of care